Ritu Kala Samskaram
{{Short description|Hindu rite of passage for young female}}
File:Group of Tamil girls.jpg, flowers and jewelry of her Ritu Kala Sanskara rite of passage.]]
{{Hinduism}}
Ritu Kala Samskaram, or Ritushuddhi, is a female coming-of-age ritual in South Indian Hindu traditions. The ritual is performed when a girl wears a langa voni for the first time. The event is also known as Langa Voni (Telugu: లంగా ఓణి), Pavadai Dhavani (Tamil: பாவாடை தாவணி), and Langa Davani (Kannada: ಲಂಗ ದಾವಣಿ). It is also referred to as a Half-sari function.
The ritushuddhi marks a transition out of childhood. Schlegel, Alice, and Herbert Barry, 'Leaving Childhood: The Nature and Meaning of Adolescent Transition Rituals', in Lene Arnett Jensen (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Human Development and Culture: An Interdisciplinary Perspective, Oxford Library of Psychology (2015).
Ritual
The ritu kala samskaram is a rite of passage for women. The ceremony, which is customary in South India, occurs after menarche. {{cite web |last1=Jaiswal |first1=Vaibhav |title=Garbhadana Samaskara: A Scientific Review: Pharma Science Monitor |website=Pharma Science Monitor |pages=220–223 |date=January 2015}}
This milestone is observed by family and friends with gifts.{{cite web |last1=Today |first1=Hinduism |title=SACRED SAMSKARAS |url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/may-june-2001/2001-05-sacred-samskaras/ |website=Hinduism Today |date=1 May 2001}}Heidi Munan (2012), Hindu Puberty Rites in CultureShock! Malaysia: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette, {{ISBN|978-1558680708}}, page 74 It normally takes place at the girl's home. She receives half-saris, which she wears until she is married, when she wears a full sari.
During the first part of the ceremony, the girl wears a langa voni, or half sari. Her maternal uncle then gifts her her first sari, which she wears during the second half of the ceremony. This marks her transition into womanhood. The tradition of presenting a langa voni begins with the girl's namakaran, or naming ceremony, and her annaprashana, or first rice-feeding ceremony. She receives her final langa voni at the ritu kala samskaram.
Related traditions
{{Main|Tuloni biya}}
Tuloni biya ({{Translation|small wedding}}), also referred to as Xoru Biya, Nua-tuloni, and Santi Biya, is a traditional Assamese Hindu ceremony that marks the attainment of puberty in girls{{Cite book |last=Gogoi |first=Nitul Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrN5_kseuDcC&dq=tuloni+biya&pg=PA70 |title=Continuity and Change Among the Ahom |date=2006 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-281-9 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Rajat Kanti |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgNFAQAAIAAJ&q=tuloni+biya |title=North East India in Perspective: Biology, Socio-cultural Formations and Contemporary Problems |date=2005 |publisher=Akansha Publishing House |isbn=978-81-87606-90-1 |language=en}} and celebrates the girl's transition from childhood to womanhood.{{Cite book |last1=Kumaramkandath |first1=Rajeev |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SG_CDwAAQBAJ&dq=tuloni+biya&pg=PA159 |title=(Hi)Stories of Desire: Sexualities and Culture in Modern India |last2=Srivastava |first2=Sanjay |date=2020-02-20 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49441-0 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Pragya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQVcEAAAQBAJ&dq=tuloni+biya&pg=PA41 |title=Pages from the diary of small town girl |date=2022-02-01 |publisher=Blue Rose Publishers |language=en}}