Know about The Traditions and Glamour of Marwari Wedding

Marwaris hail from Rajasthan and are one of the biggest business communities in India today. Marwari weddings are a community affair and apart from being full of traditions and rituals it is an expensive celebration which continues for many days. The elaborate display of wealth and customs make a Marwari wedding spectacular. It can be divided basically into pre-wedding rituals, wedding day and post-wedding rituals. Let us now check out how Marwari wedding customs and celebration goes ahead.

The event of ‘Sagai’ that is engagement takes place at the groom’s house. Elders from the bride’s side bless the groom and the bride’s brother applies kumkum and rice tika on the groom’s forehead. This ceremony is called ‘Mudha Tikka’. The family of the groom also visits the bride’s household with gifts of sarees and jewellery and the ring ceremony takes place. The ritual ends with seeking the blessing of elders and lunch.

‘Ganapati Sthapana’ and ‘Griha Shanti’ are two religious rituals observed in both groom and bride’s household after the ‘Sagai’ and it is performed by a priest to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha and for appeasement of the planetary lords. Puja, havan and various other ceremonies are observed for successful completion of the marriage. 

The ceremony of ‘Sangeet’ is like an ice-breaking occasion with the bride. The future in-laws of the bride assemble around her, dressed in their fineries and share light jokes along with song and dance to popular Bollywood and folk songs. A separate occasion for the groom is a bachelor’s party where the groom along with his friends and male cousins get together to share jokes with dance and maybe some drinks. This is a time when the groom enjoys his last day of bachelor life.

The ceremonies of ‘Haldi’ and ‘Mehandi’ are another pre-wedding ritual of much importance and are celebrated in both the groom and bride’s household. ‘Haldi’ is the ceremony where the groom and the bride are bathed ritually after applying turmeric paste. ‘Mehandi’ is also a very joyous ceremony for the ladies of the house, especially the friends and cousins of the bride. Mehendi or henna dye is applied to the hands and feet of the bride and also the other ladies.   

The wedding attire of a Marwari bride and groom is very regal, traditional and elaborate. The groom is dressed in sherwanis, jodhpuris and turban with a sarpech. He carries a sword on his kamarbandh and wears traditional Rajasthani jootis. The bride dresses up in red Lehenga Choli and a heavy Odhni. She is decked up in traditional jewellery of gold, meenakari and kundan. 

On the day of the wedding, the groom heads out to the wedding venue but before that the ‘Sehra’ is tied around his head to hide his face. The ‘Sehra’ is usually made of flowers, zari or string of pearls. The procession leading to the wedding venue is called ‘Baraat’. The groom rides a horse and holds a sword which is typical of the Rajasthani Marwari tradition. The ‘Baraat Dhukav’ is the ceremony when the groom’s procession reaches the venue of the wedding. He is welcomed by the bride’s mother with ‘aarti’, sweets and water.

With the welcome of the groom, the main rituals of the wedding ceremony start.  The bride is brought into the wedding Mandap. She puts seven suhalis on the head of the groom. Suhali is a type of snack. Following this the bride and the groom exchange garlands which are known as ‘Jaimala’ or ‘Varmala’. At this point, the bride and groom’s odhni are now tied which signifies their union and is known as ‘Granthi Bandhan’. Later, the father of the bride performs the ‘Kanyadaan’ where he asks the groom to take the full responsibility of the bride and the bride also accepts the in-laws family as her own. In Marwari weddings, the bride and the groom go around the holy wedding fire seven times. For the first three rounds or ‘pheras’, the bride leads and in the next four, the groom leads. The next important ritual of a Marwari wedding is ‘Sindoor daan’. The groom puts vermillion on the forehead of the central hair parting of the bride symbolizing the marital status of the woman. After the final offering in the holy fire, the bride and the groom seeks the blessing of the priest and elders of the house and thus ends the wedding rituals. 

‘Joota Chupai’ is one of the entertaining parts of a Marwari wedding. The groom’s shoes are hidden by the friends and cousins of the bride and the groom has to bargain and settle for an amount to get his shoes returned. ‘Bidai’ is the process of the newlyweds leaving the parental house of the bride to the house of the groom. It is an episode of a tearful goodbye. Upon arrival at her husband’s home, the bride receives an elaborate and warm welcome from her mother-in-law who performs an ‘arti’ before ushering the bride in. The bride is asked to put her right foot over the threshold into a tray containing milk and vermillion solution. This ceremony is called ‘Griha Pravesh’. The bride kicks over a pot filled with rice and coins and enters the household of her husband. This symbolizes incoming of wealth and fertility. ‘Pagelagni’ and ‘Mooh Dikhai’ are the next rituals. The bride is introduced to the family and to its extended members and she offers her respects to them. Elder female member of the groom’s family lifts the bride’s veil and one-by-one and bless her. She is also presented token gifts on the occasion. ‘Chooda Pehenana’ is a ritual where the bride’s mother-in-law presents a set of lac and ivory bangles to the bride as a symbol of marital life and good omen. The entire wedding cycle is completed with the ‘phool sajja’ in which the bride and the groom sleep together and the wedding is consummated.

Marwari wedding is all about traditions and rituals and it is an occasion where the community is at their best. Right from the very beginning of the ceremony till the end it is like a celebration. We at releaseMyAd for last one decade have served the Marwari community to find an ideal matrimonial match with our newspaper advertising platform. With top newspapers in our listing and local Rajasthan circulated newspapers, releaseMyAd is a one-stop solution for finding the perfect bride or groom by placing Marwari matrimonial ads. 

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