Ceremonies Associated With A Sindhi Matrimony

By Author: Ankush Singhal
Total Articles: 173
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Sindhi people originally hail from the province of Sindh, the region now a part of Pakistan. Many community members have moved out of the province and settled in various countries of the world. They are unified by one common language-Sindhi. The community members practice different religions like Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Further, they are divided into tribes according to the religion practiced. The Sindhi Matrimony ceremonies depend on the religion of the community members.

A prominent population of the Sindhi people follows Islam. The culture of the erstwhile Sindh was influenced by the Persian culture and traditions. The language, Sindhi has number of words from the Persian language. Invasion of Arabs brought the region of Sindh and its people under the influence of Islam. The Sindhi population practicing Islam mostly comes under the Sunni sub-group. The Muslim Sindhi population has usually kept conventional Muslim first names. The surnames for Muslim Sindhi community members are derived from their clans or tribes. The Sindhi Matrimony ...
... for the Muslims has important rituals like the mehendi function and the Nikah.

There is also considerable population of Sindhi practicing Hinduism. The Sindhi Matrimony customs and traditions for the Hindus depend on where the members are residing. The Sindhi population of Hindus has surnames mostly ending with ani. The first names for Sindhi Hindus have their name derived from their forefathers.

Both the Sindhi Hindus and Sindhi Muslims culture and traditions have the influence of Sufi way of life. The Hindu and the Muslim Sindhi communities revere Jhulelal. He was the pioneer of Sufism in the Sindh province.

The Sindhi Matrimony for the Hindus has many pre-wedding rituals. Like the various Hindu communities, the Sindhi community also believes in matching horoscopes. The matchmaker for the Sindhi community is known as Mehraj. The rituals start days prior to the actual wedding day. The pre wedding rituals are as follows:

1. Janya
2. Kachchi misri
3. Pakki mishri
4. Berana
5. Dev Bithana
6. Lada
7. Tih
8. Saanth or Wanwas
9. Mehndi
10. Sangeet party
11. Saagri

Pakki Misri is an important ritual of Sindhi Matrimony. This is the Sindhi engagement ceremony held mostly in the temple and at times in a venue selected by both the families. Presence of the Sindhi priest is necessary for the engagement ceremony. Before starting the engagement ceremony, the Hindu god Ganesh is worshipped. The groom’s family gifts fruits, jewelry, cosmetics and clothes to the bride. In return, the bride’s family offers five kilos of misri (small sugar cubes) packed in a clay pot. The boy’s mother opens this clay pot. Exchange of rings and garlands marks the end of the ceremony. The boy and girl feed the misri to each other.

There are many interesting rituals on the wedding day too. In the ritual of Garo Dhago , a red thread is tied to the bride and the groom’s wrist. Other important rituals are the Haldi, the Baraat and the Swaagat. Paon Dhulai is another important ritual in the Sindhi Matrimony for the Hindus. The brother of the bride washes the feet of the groom and the bride. After washing the feet, both of them are seated with a partition between them. Raw milk is used to wash the feet. The priest measures the groom and the bride’s feet with a thread. The Sindhi Matrimony has only four pheras unlike other Hindus communities that have seven pheras. The couple encircles the holy fire four times. The last rituals are Kanyadaan and Saptapadi.

The post wedding rituals in a Sindhi Matrimony are Vidai, Datar, Dev Uthana and Sataurah. The Sataurah is the reception party, which is given by the groom’s side. Sometimes the wedding and the reception is held on the same day.

Shipra writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, which is India’s fastest growing matrimonial website. Jeevansathi.com helps the users to search corresponding matches from their respective community like Hindu Matrimonial, Muslim Matrimony from their online matrimonial and matchmaking services.