Kashmiri Wedding

By Author: Ankush Singhal
Total Articles: 173
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The northern most state of India, Kashmir is a valley of beauty and excellence. It is known as “The Paradise on Earth” and the people are loving and beautiful. Kashmiri wedding has many similarities with other Indian wedding but one should attend a Kashmiri marriage in his/her lifetime because few traditions are very unique.

The first and foremost requirement in a Kashmiri wedding is the good match of horoscopes or teknis of the boy and the girl. After matching horoscopes they lay emphasis on the background and family status of the family of the prospective match. After finalizing the alliance between the girl and the boy, the formal commitment is made between the two families which are known as Kasamdry. After few days the close relatives from paternal and maternal side from both sides exchange flower bouquets with each other. After affirmations the snacks and drinks are served from the bride’s side which includes milk and crispy naan along with matthi and traditional tea known as Kahwa.

After initial ties the wedding date is decided ...
... after which for few day ladies on both sides sing songs every evening till the wedding day, this ritual is known as Wanvun. After singing all the guests are served pink salted tea known as sheer chai.

The pre-wedding celebrations in Kashmiri matrimony involve a ritual where both the houses are cleansed completely to make it holy and this ritual is known as Livun. Then a married woman from groom’s side and bua or pof from bride side makes Var for its relatives and neighbors. Var is a dish made of ghee and is garnished with lots of almonds, cardamom and other dry fruits and is served with kulchas. Then big celebrations start with performing the ritual of Maanziraat which is the mehndi ceremony that take place 2 to 3 day before the wedding ceremony. Before this ceremony, Krool Khanun ritual is followed where the doors of the house of both the bride and the groom are decorated elaborately after which the bride goes for a bath and her aunt applies mehndi or henna on her palm and feet.

The exchange of gifts continue during this time where the bride’ mother sends 51 large plates filled with sweets, dry fruits, khajur, ghee and other things to the groom’s house which she distributes later into their close relatives. After this, the phoolon ka gehna i.e trousseau package is sent from the groom’s side for the bride that includes a ring, wedding dress, head band, flower jewelry which she wears at the time of her wedding

On the wedding day, Diugun ceremony is preformed where a mixture paste of curd, gram flour and saffron is applied on the head of the bride and the groom. After which the Kashmiri bride and groom takes a bath and attend a puja and keep a fast for the whole day till the wedding rituals are completed. In bride’s house her parents adorn her with jewelry, clothes and give her household items for her future house. A special jewelry known as dijaru is gifted to the Kashmiri bride which is an ear ornament and is a sign of a married women.

The bride and the groom get dressed for their wedding which takes place during evening time. The bride wears traditional Kashmiri wedding dress which includes a head wear known as Kalpush and over it a cloth known as zoojh is wrapped around 3 to 4 times. This entire head wear is called as tarang. Along with it she wears a sharara or long suit or something of her choice. The Kashmiri groom wears a pheran and a waistband which includes a sword attaches with the waistband.

Kashmiri pundit weddings are similar to Hindu rituals where the bride and the groom are seated on each other’s side and the purohit recite chants and tell them about their after marriage duties. The bride and the groom then hold hands and a golden thread known as mananmal is tied on their foreheads. Their left feet is kept upon each other on a stone after which they take first round by touching on a 7 one rupee silver coins and rest of the six rounds or pheras are taken while the purohit chants. The bride and the groom after taking pheras are considered to be married. They then eat food and break their fast.

Kanika writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, providing online Indian matrimonial classified services. Jeevansathi.com enables users to create and search matches for their profiles like Kashmiri Brahmin matrimony, Jammu Kashmir matrimony wherein users can avail free registration and make initial contact with each other.