The Most Interesting Post-wedding Rituals Across India

Indian weddings are grand, colourful and really long affairs. With wedding rituals beginning from months before the actual wedding takes place and extending to months after the wedding. We get our fair share of exposure to the pre-wedding rituals observed by various communities courtesy Bollywood. But there is another super interesting set of rituals that almost all the communities have a diverse collection of- the post-wedding ritual. Every culture has its own set of interesting, fun and sometimes even strange post-wedding rituals that aim to ease the couple into their new life with their new families. It also gives them the space to unwind and relax after the long and hectic wedding day.

Here are a few interesting post-wedding rituals from different parts of the country: 

Interesting Wedding Rituals
Interesting Wedding Rituals

Kaal Ratri:

One of the most interesting post-wedding rituals that the Bengali community follows is the Kaal Ratri. Based on a folktale where a woman’s husband was bitten by a snake on the night after their marriage, the bride and the groom are forbidden to see each other on the night right after their wedding. They have to sleep in separate rooms. The entire evening is full of games and family gatherings where the family and friends tease the newlyweds and indulge in some good food, singing and dancing.

Guna:

It’s a fun Punjabi post-wedding ritual. Almost all cultures have some post-wedding games to make the bride comfortable with the new family. The Punjabis have a fun game called ‘Guna’. It involves all the family members and introduces everyone to the bride in a fun way. The eldest member of the family orchestrates the game, by placing some rice in each family member’s hand, one at a time. This rice is to be then transferred into the bride’s hand without being spilt. Once the rice has been transferred, the family member gives a gift to the bride, blessing and welcoming her in the family.  

Sirguthi:

A very thoughtful and interesting Marwari ritual, in which a Marwari bride is pampered by her sisters-in-law. The groom’s sisters and sisters in law comb the bride’s hair and help the bride freshen up after the long and arduous wedding rituals are over. This helps the bride relax and ease into her new family and also doesn’t let her miss her own sisters and friends helping her out in the days leading up to the wedding. The bride is made to wear a maang tika and other jewellery which is from the groom’s side and is dressed up to take her home. It is followed by the bride giving a gift to all the sons-in-law in her husband’s family.

Nalangu:

A Hilarious Tamil post-wedding ritual. Wedding rituals differ between different castes amongst the Tamils. One of the most interesting rituals that most castes follow is that of ‘Nalangu’ or post-wedding games. One of these games includes the bride and the groom hitting each other on the head with fried papadams. Another one includes the bridal party and the groom party singing songs and teasing each other. Everything is allowed in the form of songs, even some pretty objectionable content, we were told! That sure sounds interesting! 

Does your culture also have its share of interesting post-wedding rituals? We would love to hear all about them in the comments!

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