Sikh marriages had been boiled down to catch up Bollywood songs in mainstream media, but they were so much more. In fact, a typical Punjabi wedding doesn’t occur in 1 day – instead, it was a composition of various pre and post-wedding events that occur over the course of some days. It consisting of numerous ceremonies that reflecting the traditions involved in Sikh culture. Let’s taking a look at them in the succession:
Roka/Thaka
Parental consent was the center of each Sikh marriage, be it love or arrange match. The Thaka and Roka ceremony celebrating this by having the bride’s father visiting the groom’s house and apply the “Tilak” mark on groom’s forehead. A present set of cultural sweets and clothes was accompanied. Some families also going the extra mile by gifting a bangle and a ring. The groom’s father then visiting the bride’s family in the same vein to show its approval as well. This whole ceremony happened before engagement.
Chunni
This was considered official engagement ceremony, where the ladies from groom’s side present the bride with the wedding outfit and jewelry. Afterward, they splayed the simple red chunni on bride’s head to marking the ritual end.
Kurmai
The location of this ceremony was either the groom’s house or the Gurdwara (the Sikh place of prayer). It’s where the groom gave the bride a ring and is, in turn, presenting with the steel bangle and the knife that representing the heroism of Sikh culture. The Priest served the small prayer to seal deal.
These were just the beginning. The traditional Sikh wedding was comprised of numerous much more sub-ceremonies that involve the Shagun (where gifts were prepared from bride’s side for groom’s side), the Maiya (where turmeric paste was applied to the bride and groom approximately 5 days before wedding), and Gaana (where the red string is tied on groom’s and bride wrist to protecting them from the false occurrences. Now that we had looking at pre-wedding Punjabi marriage rituals, here were the most significant ones that occur on a actual day:
Aanand Karaj
Literally translate to “the ceremony of joy,” this ritual occur in Gurdwara; The Sikh place of worship.. It entailing the recitation of “Shadabs” or musical compositions of Sikh religious text and was deeply rooted in a Sikh culture.
Baraat
This was the ceremony where the bride’s family greeted the groom’s family at a venue of the wedding. It’s the boisterous affair and could be as extravagant as one could make it. Some baraat’s involve the groom riding in on the royal horse while a wedding party rides in on accompany buggies. Sometimes, there were mini rituals within the baraat that involve the bride’s party blocking the venue entrance and asking for presents from a groom in exchange.
Milni
This particular ritual was all about bringing the 2 families together. It consisting of each member of both families greeted each other individually. The affair was cosy, made even much more so by the elders being acquainting over tea hot cups.
Ardas
This was where the Sikh marriage deviated to the more religious phase. Everyone stands together to reflecting on the inner values while the couple was prepared for official wedding.
Lavaan
Just like a wedding vows phase in the western ceremony, the Lavaan was where religious scripture was recited or sung in a Gurdwara while the couple sits next to every other on a floor. Then the couple walking around Guru Granath Sahib four times to defined that they had living the life centered around him after the union.
Jaggo Ceremony
The Jaggo Ceremony was the lively end to a whole Punjabi wedding affair. This was where all the bride’s female relatives coming together and performing the dancing ritual with pots on the heads. These pots were further accentuating with oil candles. The whole affair was mesmerizing and end up with a dancers being rewarded with hot cups of tea afterward and the “barfi” sweet.