Traditional Indian Wedding Accessories
Being from a very unorthodox Indian family I must say I was surprised when my brother announced that not only was he getting married in the Fiji Islands, but he was also going to have an Indian wedding. Nonetheless, in June of 1997, our family packed up and headed off to Fiji for the joyous event.
There are many different Indian religions each with their own cultures and traditions. My family, being Hindu, consider marriage a sacred institution where the couple becomes one in spirit. It is the 13th of 16 ceremonies in a person's life. It is a dedication to the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism which date back several thousand years. A Hindu man does not become his complete self unless he is married and has the support of his wife.
Before my brother and his fiancee were allowed to marry they had to receive blessings from the elders of each family. We traveled to their house to meet her parents and siblings. We were offered refreshments while our parents chatted to determine if they made a compatible couple. Once it was agreed that this was going to be an agreeable marriage, the engagement was blessed and rings were exchanged in the “Misri” (ring celebration). My brother and his bride-to-be adorned each other with beautiful garlands and our families exchanged traditional Indian sweets. The evening was completed with a dinner party for all.
Then the multi day celebration truly began. Hindu weddings are rich in color, tradition, culture and the sweet smell of incense. It consists of many Puja's (Pooja), a religious ritual that Hindus perform on a variety of occasions to pray or show respect to their chosen Gods or Goddesses. The prayers are made to the accompaniment of drum beating, horn-blowing, bell ringing and the chanting of Vedas.
The bride and groom remain separated in their own residences until the day of the wedding, each performing their own set of rituals. My brother's first ceremony was performed with the bride's father and other male relatives. They brought with them coconut and clothes as gifts and offerings to perform the Tilak Puja . During this ritual a pundit (priest) puts a mark called a teeka on the groom's forehead as a symbol of the rising sun. After this event was complete everyone celebrated with dinner and the men drank the traditional Fijian drink called "grog", which is made by pounding sun-dried kava root into a fine powder and mixing it with cold water.
The second day was filled with religious services. The first was a puja called the Mandap Mahurat . The pundit performs this puja to pray to Lord Ganesh and seek His blessings to dispel all evils and promote a successful, peaceful completion of the wedding ceremony. The second puja was the Grah Shanti (Worship to the Nine Planets). Ancient Indian studies reveal that various celestial bodies influence the destiny of an individual. During this puja, the Gods are asked to instill courage, peace of mind and the inner strength to the bride and groom to help them endure life's sufferings. After that was the Ghari Puja . This ceremony gives offerings of coconut, wheat grains, oil, betel nuts and turmeric. The mother and close female relatives of the bride planted a small stalk in the garden to celebrate the marriage.
