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Abstract
In the Nayars had three major marriages of ceremonies. The thaali tying rite took place before the onset of puberty. During this ceremony the girl was married to a man, preferably a Namboothiri Brahman. The ritual husband had no further duties to the girl after the completion of this ritual, although she had to observe a period of death impurity upon the death of her ritual husband. The thaali ceremony was a female centered ritual which emphasized fertility and household prosperity.1 This ceremony had to be performed on pain of excommunication.