by Teresa Greenleaf The wedding ceremony in West Bengal is quite long and complicated, with bright and significant rituals and festive fun. According to the tradition, a wedding in Bengal is arranged by close friends or relatives, called ghotoks. If you are about to get married and want to know more about Bengali marriage rituals, then this article is for you.
1. Bor Jatri
Members of the groom’s family, as well as his friends, dress up and go to the bride’s house, where the wedding takes place.
2. Bor Boron
When Bor Jatri reaches the bride’s house, as a rule, the mother of the bride, along with other her relatives, meets the groom and his family, performing aarti. Women, performing the arati ritual, present the bride with a bamboo-woven or metal horseshoe-shaped flat tray, called Dala ram, on which are sandalwood, betel leaves and nuts, turmeric, flowers, fruits, yogurt, ghee, and rice. After that, they give the groom sweets and sprinkle fragrant rose water over him.
3. Potto Bastra
The groom sits on a chadnatolla (or wedding mandap) and receives new clothes from the person who should make the sampradan (see the 7th ritual) — usually older people, family members of the bride (father/uncle).
4. Saat Paak
Traditionally, Bengal wedding mandaps are decorated with flowers and lamps, and two small palm trees are placed in front of the entrance and an alpana (rangoli) is drawn. During the festive procession to the mandap, the bride, covering her face with two betel leaves, is carried on a wooden seat called piri (pidi). In this chair, the brothers raise her and go around the groom 7 times. This ritual means that now they are related to each other.
5. Subho Drishti
Then follows the ritual of Shubho Drishti, during which the bride, removing betel leaves from her face, gives the groom the opportunity to look at her closely for the first time.
6. Mala Badal
During the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom exchange flower garlands, after which they sit at the sacrificial fire. Their hands are tied with kusha grass, and some of the clothes are knotted (after the wedding, knotted clothes are stored in a designated place, and the knots are never untied).
7. Sampradan
The bride takes place in the chadnatolla, where an elderly man, a member of the bride’s family, hands her to the bridegroom, and the hands of the spouses are tied with a sacred thread while reading Vedic chants.
8. Yagna
The bride and groom sit in front of the sacred fire and chant mantras after the priest. Yagna, the god of fire, signifies divine marriage.
9. Saptapadi
In this Bengali wedding ritual, the couple makes 7 circles around a bonfire, thereby solemnly concluding a marriage.
10. Anjali
In this Bengali wedding ritual, the bride and groom make an offering of popped rice to the lamb. The bride’s brother gives rice to the bride’s hands, while the groom holds her hand to bring the sacrifice to Yagna together.
11. Sindoor Daan
The Bengal marriage ends with the Sindur Daan ritual, during which the groom applies sindoor or vermillion the bride’s hair-parting.
Hopefully, we managed to shed light on the Bengali wedding. Stay tuned for our new posts!
