Wedding Styles in India

Parsi Wedding

The Parsi Wedding is a fun filled affair where a man who is above 21 years of age and a woman who is above 18 years of age become man and wife and spends the rest of their life. In earlier days, the parents used to look out for ideal matches for their sons and daughters and then based on the mutual liking of the bride and the groom got them married. However, it has slightly changed now and the children are making their choices and are presenting the groom or the bride to their parents and take the approval and get married. With the passage of time, these are becoming common in most other marriages and the same is applied to the Parsi Wedding as well.

Nam Padvun

This is also called Adravvun in recent days and this signal the time when the ladies of the families of both the girl and the boy start making gift packs with silver coins and they use these silver coins to gift each other. These silver coins from the bride’s home go into the groom’s house and vice versa. This will encourage the spirit of sharing and caring even before the marriage is conducted. This is also considered to be engagement of the couple to each other as a step before the actual marriage ceremony is conducted.

Lighting of Dual Lamps - Divo

This is also another procedure that is done by the ladies in both the bride’s and groom’s family. They light a pair of lamps in their respective homes and they go to the homes of each other to place a silver coin in the lamp of the other party. This is an ideal platform for giving and getting gifts for the people of both families and this opportunity is used to send the wedding ring for the groom and bride as well.

Gifting the Bride

The Adarni is a function that is conducted a couple of days before the marriage and is a very auspicious time for the bride as this is the time she gets a lot of valuable gifts including costly dresses, jewelry, other costly items from the relatives of the groom including his parents. Quite unique from the other cultures is the tradition of the bride going to the groom’s home before the marriage but the groom not being allowed to come to the bride’s home.

Rituals Performed in Parsi Wedding

The marriage is conducted over a four day period in the Parsi tradition. The days that are most preferred for weddings are the first day of the Parsi calendar, new moon days which is a good omen for a start etc.  On the first day, the branches of a mango tree are hung in front of the homes of the bride and groom. This is considered to usher in a lot of prosperity and good luck for the couple who are soon going to start their life together.

The next two days are spent in offering prayers and in ceremonies for the elders in the family who have already passed away. They are remembered, special foods are prepared and the present sets of elders invoke their blessings for the bride and the groom and pray for a happy and a peaceful married life.

The next day, which is the fourth day, is the event of the marriage and this is conducted in the evenings.  The bride and the groom take bath, and wear traditional clothes in white. They both have kumkum on their foreheads, while it is long and line like for the groom, it is round for the bride.

The marriage is generally conducted in the house of the bride. Rice used is plentiful since it is considered to bestow fortune to the couple and they both throw handfuls of rice on each other. There is the custom of warding off the evil by breaking an egg and a coconut after rolling it over the head of the bridegroom. There are two priests who conduct the ceremonies of the marriage after taking the consent of both the bridge and the groom and there are two witnesses who are also required to sign off the marriage. The couple first joins hands in the presence of the priests and then agrees to hold hands until the end of life and support each other. The wedding feast is organized and there is a lot of music that flows through the entire ceremony of the Parsi wedding.

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