Orissa Wedding And Its Rituals
On the east coast of India, along with the Bay of Bengal lies the amazing state of Orissa, the locals there are knows as Oriyas. The Oriyas like to live a simple and plain life with minimal pomp and show, which gets reflected in their festivals and in their weddings.
The weddings in Orissa are very similar to Hindu weddings.
In a typical Oriya wedding, one can find many similarities with a Hindu wedding. An Oriya wedding is also a prolonged event that goes on for several days the basic rituals are also similar. One thing that is different when it comes to marriages in Orissa as compared to other marriages in India is that the mother of the grooms in Orissa doesnt attend the marriage; neither does any of the aged female in the grooms side. Even in the Oriya category, there are two types of Oriyas; one is the Brahmin Oriyas who perform the wedding rituals during the day time, whereas the non-Brahmin Oriyas conduct the marriage ceremony during the evening or the night time, just like most Indian weddings.
Like all other Indian marriages, Oriya marriage is a long and extended affair but it is a lot more simple and free from any sort of hassles and complex rituals. In a Orissa wedding, the bride and the groom are made to sit together next to the holy fire aka mandap where the pandit recites various chants and mantras followed by saptpadi, where seven mounts of rice are kept each signifying the saptakulaparwata and the seven hills after which the pheras are taken by the bride and the bridegroom. After the pheras are performed, the haatha ghanti takes place, where puffed rice is offered to the holy fire as a lajja by the bride and groom, where they face each other and the brides brother places the hand of his sister in the grooms hand and puts puffed rice in their hands. Once these are complete, the kanyadaan takes place in a nicely decorated madap, which is basically performed by the father of the oriya bride where he hands over his daughter to her groom.
Besides these rituals, special attention is given to the attires of the bride and the groom. The bride wears a rich red, orange or pink colored lehnga and is adorned with gold jewllery and flowers. The groom, on the other hand, adorns a dhoti or a jor i.e. a white silk cloth draped around him. For grooms in Orissa, dhoti is considered as the best and most preferred attire for a wedding.
There are many big and small pre as well as post wedding ceremonies in Orissa like – Jayee Anukolo, Mangan Tradition, Jairagodo Anukolo, Diya Mangula Puja, Barajatri & Baadua Pani Gadhua to name a few. Each ritual has its own procedure and importance. Hence its pretty evident that like a regular Hindu marriage, wedding in Orissa is an elongated process that goes on for several days.
Once all these ceremonies are performed and the bride bids farewell to leave for her grooms house, there is a custom called the astha mangala where after eight days of the marriage the newly wed couple is invited to the brides house for a delicious treat. Both are served nicely cooked food by the brides family. The procedure to conduct a wedding in Orissa is not much different from other weddings in India and its a pious occasion for both the bride and the groom and their families.
Few useful links:
http://www.jeevansathi.com/
http://www.jeevansathi.com/matrimonials/bengali-matrimonial/