Gowda matrimony

Gowda is a title used in names by Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities in the Southern state of India, Karnataka. Gowda matrimony refers to marriage between Gowda bride and groom. This article talks about Gowda origins, culture, their traditions, marriage rituals, bride decorations and Gowda matrimony sites.

Gowda Origin:

Gowda people are the landlords, village heads and politically conscious community in the state. They command respect from other communities in the state. The name "Gowda" is derived from words "Grama" and "Munda". Grama/Gava refers to a village and Munda means Head, thus the name. Vokkaliga community and Gowda are used almost like synonyms in Karnataka. Gowda people inhabit Bangalore, Mysore, and Bombay regions and constitute majority of the population. 

Agriculture is the main occupation of Gowda community.Deve Gowda and Sadananda Gowda were the former chief ministers from this clan. Saroja Devi and Ambareesh are the popular actors. Dodda Ganesh and Vikas Gowda are the famous sports personalities.

Gowda Culture:

Gowdas are called differently in different states. In Maharashtra Pateels and Choudhary have the ancestral origins of Gowda. In Andhra Pradesh some Reddys and Kammas are Vokkaliga. Vokkaligas laid the foundation for capital city Bangalore. Looking at the history, vokkaligas belonged to a clan in Himalayan mountains. They settled as farmers in Punjab, Delhi and Bengal region. Due to the atrocities committed by Muslim Kings and the war by Chandragupta II, Vokkaligas moved to south and settled around river Tungabhadra for sometime. They gradually moved to south of Tungabadra after learning to cross the river. Number 18 has a great importance in Gowda families as it signifies the crossing the river.

Today many schools and business are run by Gowda communities in South Karnataka. Though they are not the most educated in the state, seven of the past chief ministers of Karnataka are from Gowda community, which denotes their influence in politics.

Gowda marriages:

Gowda is a Hindu community and most of the rituals they follow resemble that of other Hindu castes. Nischitartam, Mangalsutradharana and Saptadi are the main events in the marriage. Some ceremonies like Hasegode, Kukke Tambuvudu, Uguru Madichuva Sastra, Mai Maduva , Dibbana are very specific to Gowda marriages. In Uguru Madichuva Sastra the nails of groom are cut by the barber after which the barber will be presented gifts by the Gowda groom. Talige Battalu is an event in which groom's feet are washed by the bride's parents. The marriage celebration ends with watching of Arundhati star by the bride and groom. The priest helps the married couple in locating Arundhati star in the sky.

Gowda matrimony for Brides:

Gowda brides look beautiful and gracious in a wedding dress. They walk  7 rounds around a sacred fire and become one with the groom. Gowda bride leaves her parents to stay with the groom and in-laws after the marriage. Gowda brides typically go for an arranged marriage. Some educated girls also use matrimonial sites since Gowda grooms are very easy to find on matrimony sites.

Gowda matrimony for Grooms:

Gowda grooms use matrimonial sites and marriage brokers to find their matching bride. In general their marriages are arranged by parents or relatives. But the main advantage with these sites is that they provide free registrations and large database of profiles. 

Gowda Matrimonial Sites:

Matchfinder.in and Gowdamatrimony.com are some of the popular matrimonial sites we can recommend to the Gowda bride and groom profiles. It is also suggested that Gowda boys and girls take help from their parents when they are ready for marriage. This is because Gowda community is big and around 32% of the Karnataka population are Gowdas (15% Lingayats and 17% Vokkaligas). It's not difficult to find your matching profile from such a large and great community.