The Traditional Hindu Wedding

A Hindu wedding is a wedding that is filled with many traditions, customs and rituals. Aside from the vibrant colours and rich culture that the union brings, to witness a Traditional Hindu wedding is an awesome and beautiful experience. The rituals and symbolism behind all the different aspects that constitute a Hindu wedding can be overwhelming at times but a pleasure to be a part of this very enlightening experience. It also requires someone with a good knowledge of the religion and all its parts to plan and execute successfully as it lasts for a few days which all consists of different activities.

CHOOSING THE DATE

A hindu wedding cannot commence unless special dates are selected by the Pundit after consulting with the groom and parents of the bride. The union of bride and groom must be blessed and in good steed and not done on auspicious days according to the pundit. The day and period must be selected with no hindrances according to the religious calendar and the position of the moon.

CHAY KAI - THE ENGAGEMENT

The Hindu wedding starts off with the engagement or Chay Kai. This is where the boy gets engaged to the girl at the boy's home. It is usually a very simple ceremony where the girl's father visits the boy's house. Gifts are given to the boy, prayers are offered and they are promised to each other

PRE MARITAL ACTIVITIES

Once the date has been selected, pre marital activities such as Shraadha is performed. Shraada is the offering of food and gifts to the ancestors to bless the union of the couple. Another activity is the erection of the marrow. The marrow is the stage where the first part of the journey to marriage occurs and is usually at the girls house. Building and setting up of the marrow cannot begin on the third, sixth or ninth day of the month and ‘bad’ periods should be avoided.

FIRST NIGHT OF RITUALS - MATICOOR NIGHT

 The first night of the rituals of the marriage usually happens on the Friday and it is called the Maticoor night. I have to say that there is a lot that happens on this night, and its all so traditional and full of  rituals rather than prayers.
 The most interesting part for me was when three selected married ladies had to search for running water outside the home of the bride such as a running river but in this case it was a tank supply with a tap at the base at the residence of the neighbour, and with the bride, the ritual is meant to wash away any evil that may be surrounding her. It was a fun element for onlooking guests and family members and especially for the bride, who smiled through the experience.  Afterwards the bride also does the haardi ceremony where
she is rubbed with safron mixed with coconut oil by young girls to purify and cleanse her form evil and make her skin glow for her wedding day. After this is done the bride stays indoors until her wedding day to remain pure and cleansed.
The bride and her bridal party also have mehindi designs done on their hands and feet prior to the haardi ceremony.

SECOND NIGHT - COOKING NIGHT

The second night of the journey to marriage is the Saturday night which is called the cooking night. The bride and groom usually prepare for the wedding the next day at their respective homes. This night is referred to as the farewell night as their single lives will end the next day. I was able to get a good glimpse into both homes to see what takes place and it was not dissimilar in execution. 
 
The men and women of the respective families and homes, gather to cook dinner as well as prepare vegetables to be cooked on the wedding day as no meat is served. Some vegetables that were prepared included: potatoes, chataigne, caraille and pumpkin. Roti is also made in large quantities on this night which was fascinating to observe. The size of these roti skins were huge and took about 6 persons to prepare it, one after the next on a fire cracker stove. 

The main event aside from the cooking on the bride's side is the parching of the laawa ( rice paddy). The bride's youngest aunt parches the laawa over a fire and everyone dances and gives her money. The parched laawa is taken to the marriage ceremony to toss into the fire.

THE WEDDING DAY

On the wedding day (Sunday) more rituals are performed and it is the most religious of all 3 days. The day starts with Tassa drumming as the groom arrives at the Temple or wedding venue. The fathers of the couple meet and greet each other and then both sides of the respective families greet each other while the Tassa is played in the background. 

At this point the bride is dressed and waits in the dressing room or a separate area, in her yellow wedding dress, to the back of the temple while the rituals with the groom are performed by the pundit and his assistant ( the naow) at the mandap (stage) with the fathers of the bride and groom. The bride enters the temple to do part of her rituals that are separate and apart from the groom and then leaves to change into her red wedding outfit for the final marriage union and rituals

The bride re-enters the temple and joins the groom at the mandap to complete the union / marriage ceremony. After the wedding ceremony is completed, the tassa announces the couple's union with a celebrative rendition to which the bride and groom usually dance through and then they depart to arrive at the groom's house before the sun sets.

At the groom's house, the bride is welcomed and the celebration continues with the serving of food and Indian delicacies such as barfi, kurma, gulujamool and  parshad and dancing celebrations into the evening.

The Hind wedding is a burst of tradition, culture and vibrant colours and rituals. It is a fantastic experience as part of Trinidad and Tobago's culture. The tassa, the colours, the dancing, the many rituals that symbolize so many different things, the families, the traditions, the laawa parching, the haardi ceremony.... it is all rolled together for a really great cultural extravaganza.