(article by Shu Shu Costa from the feature entitled: “Rituals of Bliss”; text & images courtesy of aOnline)

In the ancient Hindu wedding ceremony, the whole family is involved, from young nieces to the bride’s brothers. The mothers of both bride and groom also play special roles throughout the wedding festivities.

Pre-Wedding Ceremonies

A few days before the wedding ceremony, the priest visits the bride’s home to recite prayers and readings, blessing the wedding ceremony. On the evening before the wedding, the bride’s parents welcome the groom’s family with another small ceremony. Oftentimes, the bride’s mother will give a special gift to the groom’s mother. During this time, the bride and groom are not allowed to see each other. If they do, they will bring bad luck into the marriage.

The Wedding Outfits

Though the color and costume differ depending on the village or state, the bride most often wears a red and white sari, embroidered in gold. The white signifies purity; the red symbolizes abundance and fertility. She is usually adorned with lots of gold jewelry. In the northern part of India, she may wear a headdress of flowers; in the southern region, her head is usually bare. The groom also generally wears white. The loose, long-sleeved shirt is untucked and embroidered with golden threads. Depending again on the village, grooms may wear loose pants or a sarong-like skirt. In northern India, elaborate headdresses with strings of flowers almost covering the face adorn their heads. In the South, the groom’s head is generally bare. Around the necks of the bride and groom are placed flower garlands of roses and marigolds that hang almost to their knees.

The Ceremony

The wedding ceremony is held under a four-pole canopy called a mandap. The bride is escorted to the canopy by her maternal uncle; the groom is accompanied by the best man and a young girl, usually a sister, niece or cousin, whose job is to keep the groom alert by shaking a metal pot filled with coins. The ceremony consists of three parts: In the first, called kanyadaan, the bride’s parents wash the couple’s feet with milk and water to purify them for a new life. In the second, called hastamelap, or the “joining of hands,” the bride’s right hand is placed on the groom’s right hand. After verses from the holy scripture are chanted by the priest, a loop of white, raw cotton wound 24 times is placed around the shoulders of the bride and groom, symbolizing their bond. Then, a small open fire is lit in the center. A white cloth is tied to the bride’s sari and placed around the groom’s shoulders. The bride’s brothers–and sometimes her male cousins–are called up to lead the bride and groom around the fire a number of times. (How many times the couple walks around the fire depends on the village where you come from. And in the southern state of Kerala, there is no fire. Instead the couple walks around coconut blossoms.) In the couple’s hands are grains of rice, oats and leaves, signifying the four blessings of wealth, good health, prosperity and happiness. At the end, the groom’s brothers may sprinkle rose petals over the couple to ward off evil. When the ceremony is over, the bride feeds her groom five mouthfuls of Indian sweets, showing that it is her duty to cook and care for him and their family. The groom then reciprocates, signifying that it is his duty to provide for her and their family. Then relatives are invited under the canopy to place a red dot on the couple’s foreheads and sprinkle some rice grains, wishes for a long, happy and prosperous life together.

The Food

The Hindu wedding feast is also an elaborate event. No foods are favored over the others, but all must be well-fed. When dinner is over, the departure of the wedding party begins. Called viday, this is one of the emotional highlights of the wedding, as the bride, with tears of joy and sorrow, leaves her family for her new life.

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Other Asian Wedding Cultures:

Filipino | Chinese | Japanese | Korean

Related Links:
– Exploring a few Ethnic Wedding Traditions, The Gainesville Sun (January 20, 2001)
– Adding Asian Elements and Traditions to Your Wedding, IMdiversity.com (April/May 2001)
– Married to Tradition, San Antonio Express-News (June 23, 2001)