| WEDDING
As a girl
and the boy reach marriagable age the Sindhi family,
like other Indian families, start searching for
a suitable match. Sindhis have special pundits called
Mehraj who specialize in the field of match making.A
Guryanni(a lady)also specialises in carrying horoscopes
of eligible boys and girls from house to house.This
custom is still prevelent in Mumbai, which houses
a major population of Sindhis in India.
Kachchi
Misri
Once a match is fixed,
the boy goes over to the girl's house and decides
if she is the suitable match for him. The same applies
to the girl. After the approval of both the families,
the first formal ceremony takes place. The girl/boy
is given mishri and coconut to signify that she/he
is the one, who belongs to the other family. This
is called Kuchcha shagun or Kachchi Misri.
Pakki Mishri
The formal engagement
ceremony or the Pakki Mishri takes place a week
before the wedding. It is like any other Indian
engagement ceremony. The boy and the girl exchange
rings and there is a get together of family members
and close friends. Ten days before the wedding,
a satsang in the name of the Sindhi God, Jhulelal
is organised. This is called Berana and is an optional
ceremony. It signifies the start of the ceremonies
for the forthcoming wedding.
Mehendi
This is followed
by a Mehendi ceremony, where the girl's hands and
feet are adorned with pretty mehendi patterns. At
this time the women in the family get together,
play music. Folk songs are also sung on this day.
Another interesting event on this day is the Wanwas.
In this the girl and the boy are asked to wear their
old clothes, which are torn and discarded once the
ceremony is over. These clothes are then wrapped
into a bag and thrown into the sea/river.
Santh
Another ceremony
which takes place is 'Santh' where seven married
women put oil on the girl's head. It is performed
the night before the wedding. The bride is then
asked to break the cover of an earthen pot placed
before her in a go. If she succeeds, it is considered
to be a good sign.
Ladies Sangeet
Like the bachelor
party hosted by the groom's side there is a party
which the bride gives her girlfriends as a maiden
called the
Saagri
The Saagri (showering
of the bride with flowers) is performed on the same
evening.This is a beautiful and special ceremony.
The groom's sisters(one should be married), cousins
and the small children from his side go to the bride's
place with the jewellery made of mogra(white flowers).Then
the sisters dress the bride in a silk saree and
then adorn her with all the flower jewellery. In
the night the groom visits the bride's house where
he is showered with garlands. A feast is held for
the family. This ceremony signifies the blessings
which are showered on the bride in the form of flowers.
Thread Ceremony
The wedding day begins
with a series of traditional rituals. The first
is the thread ceremony, without which the wedding
is incomplete. Previously, this ceremony was conducted
once the boy reached adolescence, but now, men prefer
it just before marriage.
Haldi
Thereafter, oil and
haldi is applied to his hair and body and from then,
he cannot move out of the house. His brother-in-law
sits next to him with a knife, symbolic of a protector.
Similarly, the bride too goes through a haldi and
oil massage ritual at her place. Haldi is meant
to work as a cleanser and purifier. The bride too
is not allowed to leave the house after this ceremony.
Sindhi weddings take
place either in a temple, a gurudwara or a marriage
hall. A sheet is placed between the bride and the
groom when they sit for the ceremony, as they are
not supposed to see each other's face. They are
asked to place their feet in a plate and it is believed
that the partner whose feet is higher, will be the
dominating one. Then the bride's mother washes their
feet with milk and the pundit begins the religious
chants. Shortly, the sheet is removed and the married
couple take seven perambulations, conducted as per
vedic rites around the sacred fire. |