Vannakkam: I really didn't know where to post this, but its a tidbit that gives a sense of how intricate ritual can be. It is traditional in Hindu (at least in the out ... not sure about elsewhere) homes and temples to string mango leaves handing straight across doorways.
But the tidbit is that the shiny side always faces outwards, dull side inward I was at our temple here this morning and the decorator volunteers were there hanging fresh mango strings, interspersed with fresh flower strings. I noticed thais, as I had before, and struck up a conversation with the priests on it. The explanation I got (there may be other ones) was that the shiny side has more life, it's the upward or outwards facing side on the tree, and it invites devas in. On the dull side, it invites the asuras out.
Interestingly, during funerals, homes switch the direction around, as it is considered inauspicious times then.
Some links:
http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=mango+...1t:429,r:3,s:0
http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=mango+...t:429,r:10,s:0
Aum Namasivaya
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