Origin of aachhu michhu

On auspicious occasions such as when a couple gets married, a wife enters her husband’s home for the first time, or when a member of the family returns from abroad, we perform what is called in Gujarati the aachhu michhu ceremony.

What does this ceremony signify and what is its origin?

BHIKHAJI M. ADENWALLA

The editors reply

In his definitive work The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Par­sees, Jivanji Jamshedji Modi, without naming it as aachhu michhu, describes the custom, as performed at a wedding: "(The bridegroom) is made to stand at the threshold where several ceremonies are performed to welcome him and to wish him good luck. A fresh kunkun mark is made upon his forehead, and a little rice is stuck upon the moist kunkun mark and thrown over his head. Rice is considered to be the symbol of plenty and prosperity. Hence the sprinkling of rice plays a prominent part on many occasions of joy for wishing good luck… An egg is then passed round his head three times, and then thrown upon the ground and broken. This seems to be the remnant of the old custom of animal sacrifice. It signifies that if there is any evil destined for the person it may pass off to the egg and be destroyed with it. A coconut is then similarly passed around the head three times and then broken. A little water is then poured in a tray, which is then passed round the head three times, and then the water is thrown at the feet of the bridegroom… Water is considered to be a symbol of prosperity and also of humility.”