Wedding are such beautiful and unforgettable ceremonies where two bind their love forever. Different cultures have different traditional way of celebrating tying the knot, depending on their religion. Last summer I had the opportunity to take part of a Sikh wedding which was so new and beautiful to me. Sikhism emerged in city of Punjab, India, and it is known to be a religion that separates itself from Islam and Hinduism. For the purpose of this paper I will explain some ceremonies I observed as well as the visit to the Gurdwara, the Sikh temple.
First night I arrived to the bride's family house they were having the Choora Ceremony also known as the bangle ceremony. During this ritual the bride's uncle gives her 21 red bangles known as choora.
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All the guests were waiting outside, on the steps of the building for the groom to arrive. The arrival of the groom is called Milni as the bride's parents and family welcome him and his side of the venue in front of the Gurdwara. The groom was wearing a traditional Indian suit with a red turban on his head along with a heavy embroidery veil, and a sward around his waist. Both falilies sing songs and hymns as they introduce themselves and place garlands on each other's necks. After the Milni everyone is invited inside to have breakfast before the ceremony begins. Langar is known as a community kitchen in a Gurwara which serves meals before any religious ceremonies. Before eating everyone has to take their shoes off as they enter the temple, women had to have their head covered and the men that didn't wear a turban were given a cover for their head as well. After entering everyone was waiting in line to put some traditional food on their plates. I found it fascinating because there were so many different types of Indian dishes and all of them were vegetarian. After I got my food I sat down along everyone else on the floor and started eating. Being raised as a Christian I knew we weren't allowed to eat before going to church services, and we always had to eat after. It was very interesting to learn that all people ate Langar before any religious …show more content…
As we walked in everyone had to bow on their knees in front of the holy book and females were seated on the left side while males were on the right. After everyone took a seat the groom entered followed by the bride dressed in a red and gold sari escorted by her brother, and the ceremony of Anandkaraj begun. This ceremony is known as the "bliss" that starts off with the traditional singing of hymns, which explains the Sikh philosophy of marriage. During all the ceremony a priest was feathering the holy book while the others were singing. At the end of Anandkaraj both the bride and the groom along with their parents stand to say a prayer called (ardas) which is a part of worship service in the Gurdwara. Next followed the Laavan (four prayers) which seal the marriage. During the Laavan the bride and groom walk clockwise around Guru Granth Sahib until the priests finish the prayers. During this ceremony, the groom walks first given one end of palla (red scarf) on his shoulder while the bride follows him holding the other end. After the completion of laavan the couple is showered with flowers and the couple is officially married. The ceremony is ended with ardas and distribution of gurupasad (a sweet treat) to the guests and newlyweds. Having to witness such beautiful ceremony at a such beautiful place of worship intrigued me to learn more about the Sikh
Masses of innocent Sikh civilians, dressed in traditional, Indian clothing, gathered at the Golden Temple on June 8th, 1984. People gathered to celebrate an important religious holiday, the anniversary of the death of their fifth guru, Arjun Dev Ji, the Guru who built the Golden Temple. Priests recited the daily prayers, as individuals listened and paid their respects. Others sat on the floor together and ate langar (simple food provided by the temple), as equals. In this way, Sikhs expressed the ideals of equality, and unity. However, soon this holy shrine and its pure marble floors would be stained with corpses and blood as a result of the gruesome fighting between militant Sikhs and Indian government soldiers that ensued shortly after. For the first time in the 400 years, the 24-hour prayer vigil had ceased.
... A final prayer ends the ceremony. The women then rush to the kitchen to serve dinner while the men set up the tables. After dinner the afternoon is spent visiting, playing games and matchmaking. Sometimes the bride will match unmarried boys and girls who are over 16 years old to sit together at the evening meal which ustarts at 5:00 P.M. The day usually ends around 10:30 P.M.
The bride is then assisted in adorning herself for the public ceremony which begins with a feast at the family’s home.
In this case, the woman goes as she starts a new life with her fiancé. Before the wedding, the man goes to the synagogue and they throw nuts. and sweets at him to symbolize sweet life with his bride-to-be. Both the man and woman fast on the day of the wedding, like at Yom. Kippur, for forgiveness and the start of a new life.
A wedding is a great social event in our society, which establishes a new bond between two individuals and families. Marriage is a joyful occasion with plenty of music, dance, partying and merrymaking. It also brings together long-lost friends, relatives and acquaintances. In India, the parents choose the mate for their child, which is called an arranged marriage. In most cases, the bride and groom do not even talk to each other until after they are married.
very modern traditional Indians, as likely to attend a ceremony as they are to have
Overall, I enjoyed the experience of learning more about a new culture and participating in their cultural events. My original fear of being an intruder went away when people would be friendly and introduce themselves to me. I was surprised to enter the prayer room and see that people were sitting on the floor because I am used to people having a chair to sit on. I was also nervous about sitting on the floor for a long period of time because my body is not used to it and I am not as youthful as I once was. After about thirty minutes, I started to get really uncomfortable, but I continued to sit because I did not want to be offensive by standing. I was surprised to see volunteers cooking meals for the guest because that is not something that I am used to seeing at a
The Hindu wedding is a complex ceremony whose various components has all a specific meaning and has all a relation to
This book includes all the basic materials that take place with a Hindu wedding including words to speak and what they mean, wedding rituals and the complete ceremony.
Finally the priest offered ghee into the sacred fire thereby completing the wedding ceremony, and for the last time blessed the couple for there future together. It was also then that we, the relatives and guests could great the newly married couple, and shower them with our blessings of usually flowers and rice. Watching such an elaborate and time taking event is truly wonderful. The extent of effort that is put into any Hindu wedding that is similar to the one I have described is without a doubt evident.
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast between various wedding customs that are prevalent in different continents of the world. The essay sheds light on culturally diverse traditions that originate in different parts of the world. It is the wide variety or cultural conventions that give each nation or tribe a unique identity. Every culture has ...
He then mentions cultural traditions in Mongolian weddings such as the groom searching for his bride under a bed of one of the neighboring gers, the preparation of the bride’s family for the bridal breakfast and the groom’s family for the evening feast; that indicates that each family is both trying to show their excessive generosity, care and luxury to the other family. In addition to that, he shows that it was a custom for the sisters of the bride to serve both families with liquor and to make sure that everyone from the bride to the furthest guest are at their absolute comfort and satisfaction. Every Mongolian guest was supposed to give out a song related to weddings even the shyest of them all would have no problem in reciting as the others will accompany him/her later on in the following verses. Another tradition was that each guest had to drink as least three bowls of airag.
McLeod, W. H. (2000). Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh identity, culture and thought. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
He usually arrives dressed in his wedding attire on the back of a horse, or sometimes on the back of an elephant. “The wedding altar (mandapa) is built the day of and the groom is welcomed by his future mother in law where his feet are then washed and he is offered milk and honey. His sister in law will attempt to steal his shoes and if she succeeds, the groom must pay her to get them back” (beau-coup.com). At the wedding venue the bride waits for the groom in a room covered in garland, when the groom arrives they exchange garland. After this, the brides family will welcome the grooms family to the wedding. Like Christian weddings, the father of the bride gives the bride away at the wedding, this is called a Kanyadaan. A priest will facilitate the marriage by reciting mantras or holy hymns, but the bride and groom marry each other. The bride and groom are considered married when the groom ties a thread that symbolizes his vow to care for the bride. He ties it in three knots that symbolizes the gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Masheshwara. The ceremony takes place around a fire and the god, Agni is considered the witness to the union. “The bride and the groom then circle the fire seven times, in a clockwise direction, called Saat Phere which signifies seven goals of married life which include religious and moral duties, prosperity, spiritual salvation and liberation, and sensual gratification” (Gullapalli
People around the world have many different kinds of wedding due to the differences in their religions and cultures. Since most Thai people are the Buddhists, the traditional Thai wedding is mainly related to Buddhism. However, it is also blended with Thai culture and Thai people’s ways of life. Traditional Thai wedding can be organized in various ways depending on the local people’s beliefs. In this essay I will describe some details of the general traditional Thai wedding.