The Hindu wedding is the culmination of a long process that mixes religious and traditional considerations and most material and interested aspects. Once the marriage is arranged, the spouse is chosen, and the date is fixed, the ceremony is organized and can take place invariably according to Hindu rites. After the engagement ceremony, which is a brief ritual where the couple exchanges gold rings, women and men are separated. The women organize the ceremony of Mehndi, “a party where the bride and female guests have their hands decorated with henna, [which] is usually held at the home of the bride or her relatives” (Yee par.8). Then, there is the evening of the Sangeet, during which they sing and dance all night. As Divya Patwari explains in …show more content…
These clothes are made specifically for the occasion: the groom wears white dhoti or sherwani, and a wedding hat. The bride is dressed in a traditional red sari and jewelry. The ceremony begins with the symbolic giving away of the bride, Kanya Dhanam. In this part of the ceremony, the “bride’s father pours sacred water in his daughter’s hand and places her hand in the groom’s hand, officially giving away his most precious gift to the groom” (Patwari par.11). The husband in his turn reciprocally accepts the hand of the bride. The groom’s closest female family member, such as a sister or cousin, then ties the end of the groom’s scarf to the bride’s sari with betel nuts, copper coins and rice, symbolizing unity, prosperity and happiness. The knot made with their clothing represents the eternal bond of …show more content…
The red, saffron and yellow colors, which are the divine colors, are present in all the steps of the ceremonies, and the fire, symbol of life, is as well. Throwing perfumed rice is also a way to invoke the Gods and get their good graces for the couple. And although marriage remains a mostly traditional ceremony, a small part of youth, mainly urbanized, turns to more contemporary practices and behaviors. In fact, as Tulika Jaiswal states in her book Indian Arranged Marriages: A Social Psychological Perspective, “in the wake of globalization, there has been ever-increasing consumerism, including access to education, employment and Western media. These have all influenced the social values and norms of the collectivistic cultures, in turn encouraging adoption of individualistic values” (Jaiswal
...roperty of one another and nothing is held individually against one another. The two will share one of everything, and the Bride is also forced to forget other people. The reason being for all of this is because now the Bride and Bridegroom can now have love for their marriage.
The ghunghat, which is equivalent to the veil of the Christian bride, is worn by the bride.
Shereny khory or namzady (Dari for: engagement) is the first step to formalize the affinity. The groom's father, accompanied by some kinfolk and elders, comes to the bride's home in a prefixed date with bags of sweets and gifts for the to-be bride, some money and clothes to some family members. After the food is served, the groom's father or a respected man from among the guests formally unveils the purpose for their coming and puts the demand as if the bride's father accepts his son "as a servant of him."
This book includes all the basic materials that take place with a Hindu wedding including words to speak and what they mean, wedding rituals and the complete ceremony.
“Arranging a Marriage in India” by Serena Nanda is a well written, informative article aimed at sharing the view of the Indian culture on arranged marriages and also showing how much effort is put into the process of arranging a marriage. Our own culture has evolved into accepting the fact that we are all independent individuals who could not imagine having someone else make such a significant decision for us. Serena Nanda does an excellent job of using her sources within the society as evidence of the acceptance of the arranged marriage aspect of their culture.
Despite people celebrating marriage in different ways it all comes back to one thing; marriage is a social ritual that by which two people affirms one abiding contracts between. The ceremonies are composed of rituals which symbolize facets of married life and the obligations being undertaken. In Hinduism the marriage celebration can start weeks before the actual ceremony depending on the preferences of the family. Once the day of the ceremony comes around the day starts with the brides’ family welcoming the groom into their home and both families are formally introduced. Both the bride and groom sit at the Mandap- tent where the ceremony is held under,-and are offered a drink. Gifts between the two families are generally exchanged at this point. The groom's mother gives an auspicious necklace to the bride, which is essentially an emblem of the married status in the Hindu religion. Then scared fire is lit and a pundit recites t...
In the article Arranging a Marriage in India, Serena Nanda, a professor of Anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, writes about what she learned about arranged marriages in India from interviewing informants and participating in arranging a marriage herself. Nanda brought in some American biases about how marriage and love are “supposed” to work. She initially had trouble accepting why someone would want or let another arrange their marriage instead of seeking a partner themselves. Nanda’s difficulty understanding arranged marriages, is a result of having grown up in a culture that leaves such decisions to the individual. Furthermore, if the quotes given in the article are an indication, Nanda let her biases influence her conduct
Oh, haven’t we all dreamed of being married in a gorgeous church wedding? Goan Catholic brides are the envy of most Indian girls with their long flowy white gowns (sometimes with a train) inspired by western designs made out of luxurious and rich fabrics like silk and chiffon with delicate embellishments, ornate jewellery and a veil. They carry a beautiful bouquet during the wedding ceremony. The overall look is very classic, oftentimes with a slight hint of modern influences.
A Hindu Wedding In Hinduism marriage is not just the joining of two people, whose souls are brought together mentally and physically, but of two families. There are sixteen sacraments that must be performed whilst a Hindu is alive to make the life of the individual prosperous and noble, one of these is marriage. Many Hindu wedding ceremonies follow the same sequence of events, whether it is an arranged marriage or not. I went to the wedding ceremony of Anika Shah and Arun Patel. Many events happen before the main wedding ceremony.
In Brunei Darussalam, the ceremonies, customs and rules of wedding in Brunei have been inherited from generation to generation for the newlywed couple. The bride and groom are regarded as the king and queen for the day. Malay wedding customs are amont the most important customs and held firmly by most of the Malays here in Brunei both in rural areas and in the city (even other culture and tribes attend these wedding events as well). As far as we learned, the marriage in Malay community in Brunei has its own unique characteristics and ceremonials. One of the main wedding customs here Brunei is Malam Berinai / Berpacar which means “Henna night”.
2. In the South, the bride wears a red kanjivaram silk saris with with gold embroidery to symbolize spirituality, commitment, and fertility.
Wedding Ceremony – The wedding ceremony starts when the Groom arrives at Bride’s doorstep with his friends and family called “Baraat”. At the door step, the groom’s party is welcomed by bride’s family. This is called “Darwazza”. The bride’s mother performs “Aarti” of the groom and invites him. He is taken to a stage where he is soon joined by the bride. A ceremony called “Jaymaal” takes place on the stage. This comprises of exchange of flower garland by the bride and groom.
Today's weddings are stacked with traditions acquired from families, social orders, and custom. Personalization is a standout amongst the most clear trends in contemporary weddings, with brides and grooms now valuing the adaptability to mold weddings that are unique to them. Couples of various ethnic, national, and religious legacies are likely to arrange weddings that blend and respect their individual cultures. The purpose of this section is to highlight the policies and procedures for 21st century wedding trends, accompanied with a couple of examples of different customs and faiths.
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli
First of all, the man who is going to be the groom and his parents or his respected elders must go to the bride’s house and ask the bride’s parents for permissions to marry their daughter. Then they will make a deal of how much money the groom has to give to the bride on their wedding day. After that they will go to a monk to ask for an appropriate wedding date. And when the date is arranged, the wedding will be prepared by the parents and relatives of both sides.