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to procreation. The sexual act open to procreation is a sacred act among the
St. Thomas Christians. So the couple should approach it with internal and
external preparation. They should first call upon God’s help, as he is the
Lord of life. The mother of the bride invokes on the newly wedded couple
the affection and blessing of God. On their part, they prepare their mind and
body by “putting on oil” and “bathing”. During the ceremony of “touching
the lamp” (Vilaku Thodel), the community prays for the newly wedded by
singing: “May the Virgin Mary, the twelve apostles and the Lord Jesus bless
them with a happy married life”. 103

This is an act which manifests the awareness of the Knānāya
community has about the sacredness of sexual life. It is divine and one
approaches sexual activity with spiritual preparation. This ritual requests
blessings from God and the protection of saintly persons for a happy life for
the newly wedded. In the Old Testament, we see Tobias praying with his
wife in their bridal chamber. The demon spoken of in this text can represent
lust and passion. He cannot harm those who approach the marriage bed with
a deep awareness of the sacred nature of their vocation, and who understand
sexual relationship to be an expression of a sacrificing love rather than a
means of self-gratification. 104 Though this ceremony is not practiced today,
the theological sense of sacredness of marriage and family is evident in it.

With this last ritual, the marriage celebrations come to end. Thus the
marriage celebrations of the Knānāya (Southist) family lasted for several
days. Several of the ceremonies are centred around home, and the
participants get the impression that it is a family festival, though the proper
celebration of the sacrament of marriage takes place in the church. 105

3.8 Other Family Customs
Knānite families have special ceremonies related to various
situations in life. Marriage customs are the ones which are more popular and
are well-known, but there are also customs that are equally meaningful and
very particular for the Knānāya family, which also manifest the faith and
morals of this community. One can easily distinguish in them the
communitarian, ecclesial and pro-life aspects.

103 ANANTHAKRISHNA AYYAR, L. K., The Anthropology of the Syrian Christians, n. a,
Ernakulam, 1926, p. 90. Cf. L. EDAKALATHUR, The Theology of Marriage in the East
Syrian Tradition, Pontificium Institutum Orientale, Roma, 1994, p. 161.
104
Cf. KOIKARA, M., The Sacredness of Marriage and Family in the Cultural Milieu of
St. Thomas Christians, Academia Alfonsiana, Rome, 1988, pp. 56-57.
105
Cf. Ibid., p. 38.

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