Wedding in any country is a bright, fun and unforgettable event. If you mention exotic traditions and rituals at weddings, it is necessary to highlight the Indian wedding. Only here is the great variety of unusual rituals associated with this bright event.
1. According to the old Indian tradition, the bridegroom was once chosen exclusively by the parents. Although this tradition is not as popular as it was hundreds of years ago, in some rural parts of India even today a girl cannot choose her own husband.
2. In the Tamil Brahmins, the bridegroom during the wedding pretends as if he does not want to marry at all. The father and other relatives of the bride in every way persuade him, and the young man refuses all the time. In the end, the bridegroom is brought to the wedding hall by his closest friends.
3. There is a tradition of bride kidnapping among some Indian communities. With the permission of the parents, the groom abducts the bride and hides her from relatives for about a year. Only after that, the marriage ceremony takes place.
4. India is considered the birthplace of a wedding contract. It was here in southern India, hundreds of years ago, that the first document was signed between the bridegroom’s parents, confirming the marriage contract between the two families.
5. The night before the wedding, Mehndi-henna patterns—are painted on the bride’s hands and feet. The brighter and more refined the drawings, the more she will love her husband. Also, as long as the drawings remain in the hands of the bride, she is forbidden to work around the house.
6. The most incredible thing about an Indian wedding is that no one drinks alcohol. At the same time, everyone has fun, dances and sings for several days.
7. After the Indian ceremony, the bride should enter the house with her right foot. They also place a pot of rice at the doorstep, which they traditionally have to turn over, the more rice poured out of the pot, the happier the family will be.
8. In some parts of India, a wedding can take place only with the permission of the astrologer and at the day and time that he will determine. Horoscopes of the bride and groom must match with each other. Therefore, parents begin to search for a couple for their children as early as possible.
9. At Punjabi weddings, the bridegroom’s shoes are traditionally stolen during the wedding and after the ceremony, the groom is obliged to buy it.
10. The bridegroom who arrives home after the wedding ceremony is given a jug of saltwater on the doorstep, which he must break right away to ward off evil from his home.
