bride’s parents give the groom’s parents a Shagan, a gift of money. During
the ceremonial party the families exchange other gifts. The bride’s mother
presents the groom with a silver platter, Thaal, covered with symbols of the
Sikh faith: sweets, saffron, and flowers. As well he receives some gold
jewelry. At this point the bride and groom exchange rings of promise, now
the couple are officially engaged. The next day the families invite a Guru to
come and set the date of the wedding, according to the alignment of the
stars when the bride and groom were born.
After the engagement, the second event of importance is the Shri
Akhand Path. This is a marathon of prayer in which the Guru Granth Sahib,
the holy book, is read continuously for a period of forty-eight hours to
ensure that this is a sacred union. This ceremony takes place a few days
before the wedding, in the homes of both the bride and the groom.
Two rituals involving the ladies follow soon after the solemn prayer
ceremony. First, is the Sangeet, a party where the close family of the bride
will enjoy gaana, bajaana, khaana, and peena (singing, dancing, eating, and
drinking!). At this time it is a lot if fun to be a Punjabi Kuri (girl). Even more
exciting is the Mehendi ceremony. This usually happens a few days before
the wedding, and is very special to the culture. The most important person,
the bride, has the most elaborate henna applied to her hands and feet.
Other members of the bridal party usually have this done as well. In order
to achieve the beautiful deep red color that guarantees the affection of the
mother-in-law, lemon juice is applied, and then the bride must have her
careful beauty sleep.
The next morning the bride arises to a ceremonial dressing. She will
wear a beautifully decorated red Lenga, and on her arms will be the symbolic
ivory bangles given to her by her family. Over her eyebrows are carefully
applied red and white dots of dye, which enhance her beauty. Between her
eyebrows is a jewel-like Bindi, complemented by an ornamental gold chain
going up through her hair. The veil that covers her face is covered with
jewels, and is extremely heavy, but it is amazingly gorgeous.
The Bride has now gone through all the special steps in becoming a
traditional Punjabi Bride. This sequence, as old as the culture, is important
to the bride, and her family, as she goes on to meet her destiny, and begin a
happy new life.
