Last week we featured Dimple and Gautam’s wedding that took place in Assam, India. Today she is going to tell us more about a Marwari wedding. Marwaris come from the region of Marwar in the state of Rajasthan. Their wedding are known to be lavish and ornate, lasting several days.
Here’s Dimple explanation of Marwari Weddings.
Extravagant Affair in Marwari Weddings
Marwari weddings are all about the endless list of rituals and traditions. Festive galore is visible right from the time, when the marriage of to-be bride & groom is fixed.
Pre-Wedding rituals
Normally wedding rituals start either 4 or 6 days before the D Day to make a count of 5 or 7 days of total celebration including the wedding day. These rituals are performed separately for the bride & the groom at their respective venues.
Ganesh Puja is done before the start of any function to invoke the lord and dispel any evils that may occur. Ganpathi pujas are invokes before any major religious ceremony, especially weddings in order to open up the wedding for blessings and good fortune.
Ghari Puja – The beautification of the bride and groom is done using turmeric powder.
There is a function hosted by the bride and groom’s maternal uncles where the tilaks are done and gifts are exchanged.
Mehendi function
Other small rituals
The groom’s tilak ceremony is done just before the wedding day where the bride’s parents visit the groom’s place and showers him & his family with gifts.
The entertainment evening function is hosted by the groom’s parents and is usually the previous night of the wedding day. This comprises of dance performances, cake ceremony, ring ceremony & of course great Indian food.
Wedding Day Rituals
It is surprising & different from many cultures but Marwari wedding ceremony is followed by the Reception party late in the evening and goes until 3 – 4 a.m. Day starts with a function called ‘Korath’ where the bride’s dad and other male members of the family goes to groom’s place to invite them for the reception.
The groom with his whole gang of family & friends come as ‘Baraatis’ with dance & fireworks to the venue. He usually comes to the venue either on an elephant or horse chariot or for those more modern, long car, accompanied with music band.
This is followed by Varmaala & Wedding Reception
Around 10:00 pm or later the wedding ceremony starts and lasts for 4-5 hours. Surprisingly most of the family members stay awake until the Vidaai! The wedding ceremonies are interesting because the priest crack jokes on the newlywed and there is ritual of stealing the shoes of the groom.
The vidaai is the last part between the two families where the bride parts her family to go to the Groom’s house.
The wedding has still not come to an end, and even after the bride arrives the groom’s home there are small rituals that takes place of the newlywed bride.
More detail of individual event of Marwari Wedding Function can be found at -http://www.dimplegautam.com/index.cfm?fa=familyfriends