The Giving Away Of A Daughter In Hindu Indian Wedding Ceremonies

According to Hindu tradition, marriage is a sacrament - sanskar - marking the setting up of a new family unit and, since it is deemed so important, a lot of formality surrounds the event.

The bride will start off by wearing a white sari with red and gold stitching to represent purity and then, during the ceremony, she will put on a red sari, representing fertility.

The groom's outfit will be ivory or white trousers with a traditional Nehru jacket.

There are up to eight different types of Hindu marriage preamble.

Brahma is where the bride's father extends an invitation to marry his daughter to a well respected man and accepts a jewellery and other valuable items in return. Arsha involves the swapping of said daughter for a cow and a bull. Prajapataya sees the bride's father blessing the couple with words about performing life's duty as a couple. There are two or three rather disturbing 'Rites' where a woman is forced into marriage whether she is physically or mentally capable or not.

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 celebration of a Hindu Indian Wedding. The marital event itself incorporates so many symbolic traditions that it can carry on for several days.

Although for 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 goes on beneath a temporary covered wooden platform incorporating chairs for the bridal couple and their parents plus a special place for the sacred fire. This sacred tent is known as a Mandap.

Because of the many different traditions involved, any Hindu wedding photographer needs to know the exact format and order of the rituals, as well as where to stand to capture the best images.

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.

Sapta Padi is the most important part of the ceremony and, facing north, the couple take seven steps together, calling upon God to bless the them with food, strength, prosperity, wisdom, children, health and eternal friendship.

The groom uses Sindur, the holy red powder,to make a mark on his bride's forehead, to show his acceptance of her into his life. He also gives her a necklace of black beads - a mangalsutra as a symbol of the eternal bond that binds them

The couple then feed each other sweets to symbolise their promise of eternal love and fidelity.

Blessings then follow by the priest, parents and family. The bridal party and their guests move on to a feast and games.

Inevitably the party has to end and the bride says goodbye to her relatives and is escorted by several people, including her brother and her husband to her new home, where she is received by her new husband's mother and sisters and given a piece of jewellery to welcome her to her new home.

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