What Occurs At An Hindu Wedding?
In accordance with Hindu tradition, marriage is a sacrament - sanskar - which marks the start of a new family unit and, since it is regarded as so important, a lot of formality surrounds the event.
The bride's dress will be a white sari with gold and red decoration given to her by her maternal uncles, which is said to symbolise purity and then she will change into a red one given by the family of her groom to symbolise her future fertility.
The groom will wear a white or ivory traditional Nehru jacket and trousers.
There are up to 8 versions of Hindu marriage.
From Brahma, where the bride's father invites a well-respected man to marry his daughter in return for a large quantity of jewels and other items or Arsha where the swap is for a cow and a bull, through various disconcerting Rites involving unwilling or medically unfit brides! The most socially acceptable one for modern UK culture would have to be Prajapataya, where the bride's father blesses the prospective bride and groom with a speech that encourages them to perform their responsibilities in life together before giving her hand in marriage.
Having said that, the thing that is common to all of these is that the father of the bride gives her away to the groom - and this is always reflected during the ceremony of a Hindu Indian Wedding. The marital event itself is made up of so many symbolic sections that it can go on for several days.
At some weddings there can be a lot of processions and preliminary celebrations at the properties of the respective couple's families; the main marriage ceremony is carried out under the awning of a temporary covered wooden platform incorporating chairs for the bridal couple and their parents plus a special place for the sacred fire. This is the Mendap or sacred tent.
Because of the intricate movements involved in the various rituals in such a confined space, it is important that the person responsible for taking the wedding photographs for the future is in the right position.
This crucial part of the marriage ceremony consists of up to 13 traditional sections where the bride's family welcome the groom's and their giving of the modern-day equivalent of a dowry in the form of gifts of clothes and ornaments.
The couple go around the fire four times, sometimes touching a stone in each revolution to represent overcoming any changes and responsibilities in their daily lives - to signify prosperity, health and wealth, becoming good parents, liberation and salvation.
The couple takes seven steps together which represents their inseparable journey through life in an ideal marriage with enough food, health, wealth and children in an atmosphere of mutual respect, love and loyalty.
The groom shows that he welcomes his bride into his life by making a mark on her forehead with red powder. He also gives her a necklace of black beads - a mangalsutra as a symbol of the eternal bond that binds them
The bridal couple then feed sweets to each other symbols of the promise of eternal love and fidelity.
They are then blessed by the Brahmin, parents and family. The wedding party and their guests move on to a feast and games.
Inevitably the celebrations have to draw to a close and the bride says goodbye to her relatives and is escorted by her brother, her husband and several other people to her new home, where she will be received by her new husband's mother and sisters and given a piece of jewellery to welcome her to her new home.
About the Author
Whether you want Hindu wedding photography or any other culturally based wedding traditions, Pauls Studio offer a unique and unobtrusive wedding reportage style that will capture the memories without getting in the way of your day.
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