Wedding ceremonies as mini-festivals in India

As diverse as the landscape of India is, so are its pre-wedding rituals and customs. Weddings here, are celebrated with not just the union of the bride and groom but that of their families. In that way, Indian weddings are mini-festivals in their own right with rituals that carry on for a few days. Read this blog as we journey you through how weddings are celebrated in India.

Pre-wedding ceremony rituals

Pre-wedding rituals, in essence, are focused on the coming together of the families of the bride and groom. The whole process starts with choosing a suitable groom or bride. Often tacitly referred to as “match-making”, it begins with the elders in the family – usually grandparents, elderly aunts & uncles who enthusiastically yet subtly start the process of looking for a suitable match for their wards of marriageable age. They deploy their considerable networks of extended families, friends and often astrologers, priests, match-makers and deftly deploy their social networks for suitable intelligence gathering to arrive at a potential match.

Ceremonial pre-wedding cleansing baths for the bride & groom

Across India, the significance to ward off “buri nazar” or evil’s eye with a cleansing bath ritual is known as Mangalasnanam in the South, Nahaan in Parsi and Pani Tula in the North-East.

Nahan – In Parsi weddings, the bride and the groom both perform a ritualistic bathing ceremony aimed at purifying their body and soul. After this ceremony, the bride or the groom is prohibited to touch anyone outside their family. They then get ready for the wedding ceremony.

Mangalasnanam – This is an auspicious bath that is performed on the day of the wedding. Both bride and groom are bathed with pure waters at their respective houses to deeply cleanse and purify not just their body but also bring about positivity and wellness of the mind.

A touch of Haldi and its unifying significance to Indian weddings

The auspiciousness and purity of hand-ground Turmeric is celebrated across India, known as Haldi in North India, Manjha for Muslims, Supra nu Murat for Parsis and Roce for Christians to ward off evil spirits and purify the bride and groom’s soul.

Manjha

This is the Muslim marriage equivalent of the Haldi ceremony. It takes place two days before the wedding. After Manjha the couple is not supposed to leave their respective homes until the marriage day.

Supra nu Murat

This is the Parsi equivalent of a Haldi ceremony. Five married women take part in this ceremony as one of them sits in the middle surrounded by four others and she makes a paste of turmeric and milk with a traditional mortar and pestle called Khalbatto. They exchange a special bundle containing, betel leaf, betel nut, turmeric, dates and a piece of coconut, known as supra, between them seven times. The five-pound the turmeric paste together. This is then applied to the bride/groom.

Roce ceremony

Similar to the Hindu Haldi ceremony, a haldaat takes place among North-Indian Christians where turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groom. Even pre-wedding rituals such as the Ros ceremony held among Goan Christians is much the same compared to the Haldi ceremony carried out in certain Hindu communities which is also considered to be a purifying ritual.

The significance of flowers and henna in pre-wedding rituals

In Kashmir, The Phoolon ka Gehna is a ceremony where the bride is adorned with flowers instead of jewels by close female friends and family. Approximately two days before the Kashmiri wedding, flowers, jewellery and tinsel are sent to the bride from the family on the groom’s side. These gifts are called Phoolon ka Gehna.

In North India, the bride decks herself with delicate floral jewellery to symbolize her first “shringar”. Mehendi is also a part of the solah shringar recommended by ancient texts to get the bride ready for her new life. Not only is it considered to bring luck, joy and beauty, its scent also said to have aphrodisiac properties. In most Hindu weddings, the bride’s hands and feet are decorated using rich Mehendi with intricate designs, to draw out heat and cool the body.

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