Himachal Pradesh Wedding
Shadi or Marriages are very important ceremony in Himachal Pradesh. Elders being to look a perfect match for their child. The final decision is taken on the basis of the horoscopes matches in the same gotra are not considered very good match in himachal pradesh. When the good match found and settled, a ritual gift called tika is send to groom and his family members are invited for tea by bride's family. In the tribal area both family's exchange rice wine and close relatives are invited to participate in the ceremony. In kinnaur this system is knows as chharmi nata, else where it is known as sending the tihar. The date of marriage is fixed with consultation with the pandit. The preparation for the marriage are to kept a secret from the bride. In kinnaur as the wedding party approaches the house the bride and her friends begin to wail and weep. Wedding customs are differ place to place in himachal. The bride and groom are taken in palanquins expect from the lahaul area. The girl is requested to touch her father's feet at the time of departure. People in kinnaur follows a matriarchal system where all the brothers a wife and if there are more than six brothers then another may be brought in. All the brother are looked upon as common father to the children. The eldest is knows as teg bawal and the younger as gota bawal. A maid accompanies the bride temporarily from her father's house to help her settle down in the midst of her new family. In Lahaul when the groom departs with the bride the friends of bride block his way till the groom promises them that he will take good care of their dear and sweet friend. The day when the bride enters the new home, a heaven is performed as per the guidance of pandit. Then bride is asked to cook kheer (made with rice and milk) which is served to all the gathering by relatives. who in turn bless her. At feroni ( ritual of returning of bride after her first visit from father, know as dwiragaman ) the bride and groom are welcome with great joy and fed with sweets and butter. There are many more different marriage ceremonies associated with the welcome of new bride in family in Himachal Pradesh. The first person to get is itself groom who return gives bride , jewellery or money. The ritual is accompanied by songs sung at this time bu women sitting around bride. Pair bandal is the custom which helps to introduce the bride to husband's family and the bride offers relatives with a gift of money, covering her hands with the edge of saree, touching their feet to get the blessings.
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