Ceremonial Wedding Cerebrations In Bengal Matrimony

By Author: Ankush Singhal
Total Articles: 173
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Bengalis mostly hail from Bangladesh and West Bengal, who follow same Bengali rituals and customs in Bengal matrimony. However, there are obviously different rituals in Hindu and Muslim cultures; still some of the similar customs can also be noticed.

Fixing a wedding:

As per the tradition, the matchmakers approach the families and introduce the girl and the boy’s families together. After the talks between the families, the boy and girl are introduced to each other. After the families like each other and the boy and girls agree for the wedding, the wedding talks proceed further and the wedding is fixed.

Gaye Halud:

The wedding in Bengal Matrimony commences with the Gaye Halud, in which the turmeric paste is applied to the body of the bride, and then the groom. The groom’s family sends the turmeric paste to the bride, along with the wedding dress, Gaye Halud ceremony outfit, jewellery, and henna paste with them. Two big fishes decorated as bride and groom, as per Bengali traditions, accompany the gifts. The elders of ...
... the family apply the turmeric paste to the bride’s body and make the ceremony very interesting and entertaining with traditional dance and music. Similarly, the bride’s family visits the groom’s house, accompanied by gifts like wedding dress for the groom, sweets, gifts and turmeric paste.

Wedding:

On the wedding day, a number of rituals start from the morning in the Bengal matrimony. In the evening, the wedding procession reaches the bride’s place, where the groom is accompanied with his family member’s friends and acquaintances. The groom wears silk kurta and dhoti, and wears a headgear, also known as Topor in Bengali.

At the time of wedding ceremony, the bride drapes heavy embellished red Benarsi sari, and is beautifully decked in heavy jewellery made up of gold. Designs of sandalwood paste are made on the face of the bride, making her look stunning. A typical Bengali marriage is completely traditional, and involves a number of customs and rituals that are required to be followed by the bride, groom and their respective families.

At the time of wedding, the younger girls and boys from the bride’s side, try their best to tease the groom, which adds a fun quotient to the Bengal matrimony. During the wedding, the groom puts sindoor in the hair parting of the bride using a silver coin, followed by saptapadi. During Saptapadi, seven circles are taken around the sacred fire, and after which the bride and groom accept each other as husband and wife, and start a new phase of life. The chanting of matras, blowing of conch shells and ululation sound by the women make the wedding environment really auspicious.

The father of the bride gives away his daughter to the groom during Kanyadaan. This custom in Bengal matrimony says that the father is now free from his responsibilities towards his daughter and she is now the responsibility of her husband and his family. Kanyadaan is really a very emotional moment when there are tears in the eyes of everyone. The bride isgiven a warm farewell from her family side, and she enters a new world and a new life with the husband, and enters her new home.

Post-wedding:

Reception, also known as 'Bou bhat' in Bengali, is a function which is arranged by the groom's family to honor and welcome the new bride. The bride is again beautifully decorated as was done at her wedding. Family and friends of both the bride and groom are invited to the wedding function to give their best wishes to the newlyweds. A grand feast is arranged in the Bengal matrimony for the invitees and the wedding solemnizes in a very traditional manner.

Rashmi writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com , which is India’s fastest growing Matrimonial website. Jeevansathi.com enables users to create and search corresponding matches for their respective profiles like Bengali Marriage, Bengali Matrimony Kolkata wherein users can avail free registration and make initial contact with each other.