Sikh Wedding And Its Rituals

The Sikh Wedding Ceremony is known as Anand Karaj meaning ‘blissful union’, is a religious celebration in Sikhism. It is a lifelong spiritual commitment where two individuals reaffirm their vow to perform social and religious duties to achieve a spiritual union. The wedding couple sits before the Sikh Holy Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, and makes a social commitment to live in harmony with one another while serving humanity. The Sikh Wedding Ceremony involves a number of several sacred rites and rituals such as:

Maiya Or Vatna

In Sikh Marriages, Sikh Wedding Ceremony begins with the first and foremost custom of Maiya. In this rite, a fragrant powder of turmeric, mustard oil and barley flour is applied to the bodies of bride and groom by their respective families. It is followed by a ritual bath. After performing the rite, the bride and groom are not allowed to leave their homes until the day of wedding.

Gana And Mehendi

On the eve of wedding, an auspicious red thread, called gana, is tied to the wrists of bride and groom. In the case of bride, the gana is embellished with certain other auspicious items like iron key chain, pearls, cowrie shells and small silken bundle containing sugar to wish luck and happiness to the bride. Along with this, henna is also applied on the feet and hands of the Sikh Bride.

Chooda Ceremony

The morning of the wedding is marked by Chooda ceremony in which the bride is made to wear red and white ivory bangles dipped in buttermilk or ‘kacchi lassi’ by her maternal uncle. In addition to this, gold danglers or kaleeren are suspended to the girl’s wrist by her close female relative signifying that she is the new fortunate bride.

Ghodi Chadhna

This is an age old tradition of Sikh Weddings in which the groom mounts a decorated horse mare. He is made to wear a floral veil or sehra along with the garlands of currency notes by his sisters. Then, the groom and all the ‘baraatis’ reach the wedding venue or gurudwara for Anand Karaj.

Lawan Phere

This is the final ceremony of the wedding day in which the bride and groom have to sit and attend the Guru Granth Sahib Kirtan in the Gurudwara. Then, the ‘paathis’ recite the holy prayers or ‘sabad’ during which the wedding couple revolves around the Guru Granth Sahib. After all the four lawans, the family members of the couple read ‘hidayats’ or the duties and responsibilities that the bride and groom have towards each other.

After performing all the traditional rites and rituals, the couple is wished immense happiness and fortune in their married life. The occasion is concluded by a grand feast in which all the friends and family dine together and enjoy themselves.

Anurag Gupta has been writing for a variety of matrimonial, educational, matchmaking publications for more than 5 years & authored several articles on Indian Matrimonial & Matchmaking sites and lots more. Plz Visit:- http://www.matrimonialsindia.com