Assamese Wedding Rituals: Color, Culture and Mekhela Chadar

Just like any Hindu marriage tradition, Assamese wedding rituals is a diverse set of traditions that is rich with rites, rituals and also cultural variation. The traditions of a typical Assamese wedding can be characterized as being simple and yet, very graceful. Let’s dive right into some of the distinctive characteristics and features that you can easily find in any Assamese wedding, starting with the pre-wedding rituals.

The Pre Assamese Wedding Rituals

The celebrations start a little early with pre-wedding rituals, that are then followed by the traditional rituals on the day of the wedding. Some of the customs and rites typically found in the pre-wedding rituals of an Assamese wedding are:

Juran

In Juran, the mother of the groom visits the house of the bride and is heartily greeted by the bride’s mother. After the welcoming, she gives the groom’s mother a brass plate with a stem and xhorai on it. It is meant to be an auspicious and holy gift for the initiation of the wedding rituals.

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Tel Diya

The tradition of Tel Diya sees the mother of the groom put a beautiful ring and betel leaf along the parting of the bride’s hair to bless her. Over this, she pours oil on the hair parting thrice and then applies her sindoor on the bride’s forehead and gives her the wedding trousseau. The wedding attire consists of the muga silk mekhela chadar, the traditional attire of the Assamese women.

Pani Tola

In the pani tola ceremony, both the mothers (of bride and groom) gather and carry holy water which is to be used for the ceremonial bath that the bride and groom undertake before the main wedding rituals take place.

Nuani

It is the ceremonial bath that is given especially to the bride with various herbal packs and ubtans before she sits for the wedding rituals to take place. Nuani purifies the skin, resulting in a magnificent glow that is just mesmerizing to see.

The Main Assamese Wedding Rituals

The traditional, ceremonial bath of the bride and groom is followed by the reception. The reception is a grand occasion where all the guests feed on delicacies before starting the procession.

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The Groom’s Procession and Entry: The Main Event Begins

The procession of the groom with all his family and friends to reach the venue where his bride is waiting for him is just amazing. The procession consists of the band music, dance and a lot of pomp and show as they reach the venue and are welcomed by the family of the bride. The groom is allowed entry only after he pays a heavy cash amount to the family of the bride, and then the bride’s mother welcomes him with aarti and the bride’s sister washed his feet.

The Bride’s Entry

The bride takes her entry after a while, with her maternal uncle at her side. The bride is fed with the traditional paanch-amrit, a ritual drink made from a mixture of ghee, curd, honey, sugar and raw milk before she heads the wedding.

The Traditional Assamese Wedding Rituals

The rest of the rituals are quite common and consist of the exchange of the gardlands between the bride and the groom, the reciting of the mantras by the priest in front of the holy fire of the yagna, the traditional pheras and blowing of the conch shells, the vidai and the aarti of the bride and the groom as they enter the house of the groom to start a life together.

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All in all, an Assamese traditional wedding are a treat for the eyes as well as the tongue as you can expect some of the awesome traditional Assamese dishes to savour and enjoy the delights of life.

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