Marriage is a sacred bond of togetherness where the bride and the groom make a commitment to grow old together with love and care. There is a never-ending relation between Indian marriages and it’s rituals, and traditions. You can’t imagine an Indian wedding without practicing significant rituals regardless of any religion and region. You can acknowledge different wedding rituals depending upon the specific state. One such state that follows distinctive marriage rituals is Uttrakhand.
Uttarakhand is divided into two regions, Garhwal and Kumaon. People who live in Garhwali region are known as Garhwalis whereas people belonging to Kumaon district are known as kumaonis. So, the marriage rituals differ in accordance with Garhwali and Kumaoni people. Read the article to know the marriage rituals of Garhwali brahmins.
No doubt, Indians give preference to caste and religion even to this day. Garhwali people are not an exception. Before finding a suitable match for their children, Garhwali brahmin sees whether the opposite family belongs to higher caste or not. Marriage is arranged by elders of the family. They match the horoscopes (kundali) of both the bride and the bridegroom to check marriage compatibility. The purohit reads and matches kundali of both individuals.
When the marriage proposal is accepted by both sides, a small ceremony is held ar bride’s home where tikka is applied on bride’s forehead. Later on, engagement ceremony takes place at groom’s home where both the would-be couple exchange rings in the presence of close relatives and friends. Everyone showers blessings by giving cash and gifts. A simple meal is served to the guests. Tehri nath is presented to the bride by parents or groom’s mother which she has to wear on wedding day.
Intricate henna designs are applied on the hands of the bride and respected groom before the day of the wedding while guests enjoy and dance to the tunes of Garhwali songs.
On the d-day, the bride wears ghagra (lehenga) and adorns Rangwali Picchora and gifted Tehri Nath (nathuli) whereas groom wears sherwani or dhoti-kurta. Traditional garhwali marriage still follows the ritual of the white and red flag. The white flag leads the marriage procession followed by shehnai, nagara, dhol dhamau and pipers. The groom is saddled on the horse or in palanquin along with family, relatives, and friends grooving to the beats of dhol dhamau and loud music. It is followed by doli of the bride. The last man carries the red flag representing bride.The baraat is then welcomed by parents of bride and feast is served to the guests.
The bride and the bridegroom is taken to the canopy where they perform marriage rituals when purohit recites and chants the holy mantra and tell them the duty of a husband-wife. The couple takes seven marriage vows around the bedi (agni kund). He puts vermillion in bride’s forehead. After completing several marriage rituals, comes an emotional moment for the bride and her family as she has to bid goodbye to depart in a new home. While returning, the red flag takes the lead which represents doli of bride, the last man of the procession carries a white flag representing palanquin of the groom.