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Punjabi wedding traditions are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture with ritual, song, dance, food, and dress that have evolved over centuries.
Roka is one of the most significant ceremonies that take place before a Punjabi wedding. The roka ceremony marks the union of both the bride and groom's family and friends. Gifts from both families are acceptable at Rokka.
Engagement is a significant part of a Punjabi wedding. First, the girl is draped with a phulkari (very decorative dupatta), which is usually very ornate. In some families this chunni is a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. She is also presented with jewellery, which her mother and sister-in-law help her wear. A tiny dot of henna paste (mehndi) is applied to her palm for good luck, and the function is sealed with the exchange of rings. The bride's father applies the tikka (forehead mark) to the groom's forehead and blesses him. Exchange of gifts takes place between the two families. Everyone present congratulates the couple by feeding them sweets.
The word sangeet is Sanskrit for "sung together." A sangeet ceremony is a traditional Punjabi and North Indian prewedding ceremony involving lots of festive dancing and celebratory songs. According to Sen, "it is traditionally recognized as a prewedding custom only in many parts of North India. Historically, the Indian wedding tradition of a sangeet ceremony was a female-only event that was organized by the ladies of the bride and groom's families to celebrate the bride a few days before the main wedding ceremony. Modern Sangeet ceremonies have evolved to being celebrated in either ones homes or in larger venues to accommodate the proposed number of guests.
The last major function before the wedding is decoration with temporary henna ( mehndi ). This is often blended with the sangeet ceremony. Mehndi artists are called to the houses of the boy and girl and apply mehendi to the palms of the female family members, groom and the hands and feet of the bride. A basket containing Bindi and bangles is handed around so girls can choose those that match the outfit they plan to wear to the wedding. The Mehendi ceremony takes place in the atmosphere of a party. The bride and other ladies get mehendi (henna designs) done, on their hands and feet (most ladies get it done only on their hands but the bride gets it done on both hands and feet). For the bride the mehendi is sent by the future Mother in Law, which is beautifully decorated.
Chooda: On the wedding day the rituals at the girl's home begin with the chooda ceremony. The oldest maternal uncle and aunt play an important role in the performance of the ceremony. Choora is basically a set of Red bangles, gifted by girl's mama (mother's brother). People touch the choora and give their heartiest wishes to the girl for her future married life. Also, they sprinkle flower petals on the bride. After that, the girl's uncle, aunt, friends and cousins tie kaliras (silver, gold or gold plated traditional ornaments) to a bangle worn by the girl.
Mayian: This is the preparation ceremony one day before a Punjabi wedding. This ceremony is an evening festival, at the couple's parental homes. It consists of many rites, the Batna, Choora, Jaggo fireworks and sometimes the Ladies Sangeet and Mehndi. The mayian happens the night before the wedding and is celebrated according to which part of Punjab the participants are from.[ vague ]
Vatna/Haldi: Four lamps or diyas are lit and the bride sits facing them. Oil is constantly poured into the lamps, so that the glow from the diyas is reflected on her face. Vatna involves applying a paste made from turmeric powder and mustard oil all over the bride's body by her female friends and relatives. This is done to make the bride look more beautiful on the most special day of her life. This ritual demands that the bride stay at home in her old clothes for a couple of days before her wedding. Ubtan[ clarification needed ] is supposed to bring a glow to the bride's and groom's body, especially on their faces. This tradition is also known as Shaint in some cultures. After this ritual, the bride and groom are constrained from meeting each other until the wedding ceremony. [1]
Ghara gharoli: A decorated pitcher of water (ghadoli) is brought for the bride's bath by the bride's bhabi (brother's wife). In the ghara gharoli ritual, the bride's sibling or sibling's spouse visits the nearby temple and fills a pitcher with holy water. The girl is then bathed with this holy water. Thereafter, the bride wears her wedding attire. The ghara gharoli and the vatna ceremonies take place at the groom's house too. But over there, the groom's sister-in-law brings the pitcher of water. As per the tradition, their wedding dress is presented to them by their respective maternal uncles.
Jaggo: In this ceremony, the family dances and sings in the beautifully decorated wedding home. Jaggo is celebrated in the last hours of the night. They decorate copper or brass vessel called khadaa with diveh (clay lamps) and fill them with mustard oil and light them. The bride or bridegroom's maternal aunt (mami) carries it on her head, and another woman will carry a long stick with bells, shaking it. The women will then go into other friends' and families' homes; after being welcomed by sweets and drinks, they dance there and move on. It is a loud ceremony, filled with joy, dancing, fireworks, and food. It is also practised in Pakistan.
Sarvala: A young nephew or cousin dons the same attire as the groom. He is called the sarvala (caretaker of the groom) and accompanies him.
Sehra: Like the bride's home, the Vatna and Ghara Gharoli are followed by the dressing up of the groom in his wedding attire. After the groom has dressed up in his wedding clothes, a puja is performed. Thereafter, the groom's sister ties the sehra on the groom's head. After the completion of Sehrabandi ceremony, all those who witness the function give gifts and cash to the boy as a token of good luck.
Varna is a ceremony that is supposed to ward off the evil eye. The groom's bhabi lines his eyes with surma (kohl).
Ghodi Chadna is the final ceremony at the groom's place. The groom's sisters and cousins feed and adorn his mare. To ward off the evil eye, people use cash and perform the Varna ritual. The cash is then distributed among the poor. After this the boy climbs the horse and leaves his home for the wedding venue.
Milni literally means "introductions". In a Sikh marriage, Ardas is performed by the person in charge of looking after the Sikh scriptures, followed by the formal introductions of senior men in the families. For example, both eldest chachas (father's younger brother) will come together and exchange garlands of flowers. In the Milni ceremony [2] , the girl's relatives give shagun (a token of good luck) to the groom's close relatives in descending order of age. Cash and clothes are gifted.
Jaimala/Varmala: After Milni, the bride and groom come in the center of the circle where the family is standing, and place a heavily made garland made of flowers- varmala on each other to state, they accept each other and will love and live together with one another. Friends and relatives of the bride and groom indulge in teasing and fun, to celebrate this happy occasion. An auspicious time or muhurat is chosen for the performance of wedding ceremony. [3]
Kanyadaan and Phere: The bride's father puts a ring on the boy's finger and then he gives his daughter to the boy. This ritual is known as the Kanyadaan. It is after the kanyadaan that the pheras begin. The pheras take place in front of the sacred fire, agni. After this the groom applies Sindoor (vermilion) to the girl's hair partition and the Mangalsutra Rasam takes place where the groom ties a beaded necklace i.e. a mangalsutra to the girl's neck. When all these rituals are over, the couple gets up to touch the feet of all the elder members in the family and seek their blessings for a happily married life. In a Hindu Punjabi Wedding, Agni (sacred fire) is usually encircled seven times.
In a Sikh wedding, the bride and groom will walk in tow around the Guru Granth Sahib four times, called laavaan. This signifies they not only vow to see each other as one soul in two bodies, the ideal in Sikh marriage, but also as the Guru as the center of their marriage. Sikhs do not do pujas during any part of the marriage ceremony.
Joota chupai literally means 'hiding the shoes'. The bride's sisters indulge in stealing of shoes. It is a fun tradition, in which the girls charge a fee for agreeing to return the shoes. They demand Kalecharis of gold for the bride's sisters and of silver for her cousins.
Vidaai/Doli: Vidaai marks the departure of the bride from her parental house. As a custom, the bride throws phulian or puffed rice over her head. The ritual conveys her good wishes for her parents. A traditionally sad ritual, here the bride says goodbye to her parents, siblings and rest of her family. Her brothers/male cousins then lead her to her husband, who waits to take her to his family home to begin her new life as a married woman. Her relatives throw coins in the wake of this procession.
The mother-in-law has a glass of water in her hand, which she circles three times around her new daughter-in-law and then offers it to her to drink, as a symbol of her acceptance and blessing as her newest daughter.
Reception at the boy's house: The newlyweds are welcomed in a ceremony called the pani bharna. Then the bride must, with her right foot, kick the sarson ka tel (mustard oil) that is put on the sides of the entrance door before she enters the house. Then, along with her husband, she must offer puja in their room. Then they must touch the feet of the elders in a ceremony called matha tekna. The rest of the evening is spent playing traditional games.
Phera Dalna: The newly weds visit the bride's parents on the day after the wedding. The bride's brother usually fetches them.
Songs of the bridegroom's side
Sitthniyan (taunts)
Others
A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, denominations, countries, social classes, and sexual orientations. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple; a presentation of a gift ; and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs.
A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed.
Baraat, also known as Varayatra, is an Indian wedding procession in which a groom travels to the wedding venue, often the bride's house, accompanied by his family members. It is rooted in North Indian traditions of Hindus.
A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha, Marathi: Lagna (लग्न), Bhojpuri: Biyah (बियाह), Bengali: Bibaho (বিবাহ), Kalyanam, Kannada script: ಮದುವೆ (Maduve), Tamil: திருமணம் (Tirumanam), or Pelli, is the traditional wedding ceremony for Hindus. The wedding ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days and usually a large number of people attend the wedding functions. The bride's and groom's home—entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof—are sometimes decorated with colors, flowers, and other decorations.
Anand Karaj is the Sikh wedding ceremony, meaning "Act towards happiness" or "Act towards happy life", that was introduced by Guru Amar Das. The four laavaan were composed by his successor, Guru Ram Das. Although the recitation of Guru Amar Das' stanzas in Sikh ceremonies is a historical and enduring tradition, the practice of circumambulating around the Guru Granth Sahib to conduct a marriage ceremony is a relatively recent innovation that supplanted the tradition of circumambulating around the sacred fire (havan) in the early twentieth century.
A Bengali Muslim wedding is a Bengali wedding in accordance with the Muslim faith. It includes rituals and ceremonies that may span up to three days. In most cases, it starts with the Dekha Dekhi, followed by the nikah, which is conducted by a Qazi with a fixed denmohor. It ends with the Bou Bhat ceremony, which is popular as the wedding reception arranged by the groom's family. This is the dominant tradition of weddings seen among the Bengali Muslims of Bangladesh and the West Bengal state of India.
Marriage in Pakistan pertains to wedding traditions established and adhered by Pakistani men and women. Despite their local and regional variations, marriages in Pakistan generally follow Islamic marital jurisprudence. Marriages are not only seen as a union between a husband and a wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. These traditions extend to other countries around in the world where Overseas Pakistani communities exist.
Kettu Kalyanam, also known as Thali Kettu, was the name of an elaborate marriage ceremony of the Samanthan, Nair, Maarar, and Ambalavasi communities of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The customs varied from region to region and caste to caste. Sambandham might take place only if the bride had already had this elaborate ritual mock-marriage known as Kettu Kalyanam. The Kettu Kalyanam is ceremonial only, for after the rituals the groom returns to his house, never to meet the bride again. In some parts of Malabar immediately after the ceremony, a formal divorce is constituted, whereas in other areas the groom enters into sambandham with the girl and becomes her husband in practice, if the girl be of marriageable age.
A Zoroastrian wedding is a religious ceremony in Zoroastrianism in which two individuals, a man and a woman, are united. In Zoroastrianism, marriage within the community is encouraged, and is greatly favored in religious texts. The following information will detail ceremony procedures and traditional processes for a Zoroastrian wedding.
Mayian, also known as Vatna Maiyun, Haldi, or Ubtan, is the term used for the preparation ceremony one day before Punjabi weddings of India and Pakistan. This ceremony is usually done in morning but sometimes done in late afternoon or early evening and after this ceremony bride/ groom take a shower and get ready for wedding. The Ceremony usually takes place at the couple's parental homes. It consists of many rites, including the Batna, Choora, Jaggo, fireworks and sometimes the ladies Sangeet and mehndi. In South Indian weddings a similar ceremony takes place called the "Pithi" ceremony.
Ukrainian wedding is the traditional marriage ceremony in Ukrainian culture, both in Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. The traditional Ukrainian wedding featured a rich assortment of folk music and singing, dancing, and visual art, with rituals dating back to the pre-Christian era. Over time, the ancient pagan traditions and symbols were integrated into Christian ones.
Henna is a reddish dye prepared from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. It has been used since at least the ancient Egyptian period as a hair and body dye, notably in the temporary body art of mehndi resulting from the staining of the skin using dyes from the henna plant. After henna stains reach their peak colour, they hold for a few days, then gradually wear off by way of exfoliation, typically within one to three weeks.
Hindi wedding songs are a major genre of Hindi film music. They often form the backdrop of some very memorable emotional or joyful scenes in Hindi movies. They are often played during Indian, and other South Asian weddings.
Islamic marital practices are traditions and practices that relate to wedding ceremonies and marriage rituals in the Muslim world. Although Islamic marriage customs and relations vary depending on country of origin and government regulations, Muslims from around the world are guided by Islamic laws and practices specified in the Quran. Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women.
A flower girl is a young female who scatters flower petals down the aisle during a wedding procession.
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Bahaghara is the Hindu wedding ceremony performed by Odia people in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the main ritual of an Odia Hindu wedding.
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