Marriage is the most opulent festival in an Indian family. Every parent dreams about their child’s marriage from the very day of their birth. The commotion, upheaval and the array of emotions that a wedding unfolds not only in the life’s of the bride and the groom but their entire families are a consequence of the elaborate rituals and customs performed before, during and after the wedding ceremony that last for days.
Indians are deep followers of religion and have been carrying these traditions, generations over generations, from the very foundation of our societies. Also, India houses people belonging to several different religions and each group follows a varied set of rituals with utmost sanctity.
Pre-Wedding Rituals
The lavish ceremonies start days before the wedding. Most Hindu weddings comprise of the tilak ceremony, ring ceremony, Sangeet and Mehndi ceremonies most importantly. These ceremonies symbolize the commitment between the two families. During these days there is an exchange of gifts that takes place between the families of the bride and the groom.
In the sangeet ceremony, traditionally, the women of the family sing and dance to age-old folk songs, but the ceremony has altered with the generations and is now a ceremony enjoyed by both the males and the females. Mehndi ceremony involves the applying of henna on the palms and the feet of the bride with beautiful and elegant patterns. These rituals are interspersed with small rituals like applying pastes of turmeric and saffron to the bride and groom and bathing them with milk.
The Wedding Ceremony
The groom’s family comes to the wedding venue in a procession and the groom is then welcomed by an aarti and is fed sweets. The procession may be preceded by ceremonies like sehrabandi and ghudchadi. Some of the most common rituals among different religions are the varmala ceremony and the seven pheras.
In the varmala ceremony, also known as mala badal or jaimala, differing for followers of different beliefs, the couple exchanges garlands. Then a ceremony is performed, where the father of the bride gives his daughter away to the groom. After this, the couple takes seven pheras around the sacred fire, amidst mantras. The seven pheras symbolize the seven vows that the bride and groom make to each other during the pheras. Numerous smaller ceremonies are performed in between and after these ceremonies, which vary from religion to religion.
Post-Wedding Rituals
In most religions, the wedding is followed by the ‘vidai‘ ceremony, wherein the bride parts with her marital family to become a part of the groom’s family. In some ceremonies, we see that the bride throws three handfuls of rice and coins towards her marital house, which is a symbol for ensuring wealth and prosperity in her maternal home. The farewell is then followed by the ‘Grehpravesh‘. In this ceremony, the bride knocks down a small utensil of rice with her right foot. The bride, who is seen as Goddess Laxmi, then dips her feet into vermilion or lac dye and milk, and walks into the house leaving footprints.
After this, to make the bride comfortable in her new home, several little games are played, each pointing to some or the other aspects of their marital life. In the evening, the groom’s parents host a reception party, celebrating the new couple.
