A History Of Sikkim Weddings

Sikkim, with its rich cultural heritage offers splendid spectacles of unique dressing and celebrations. You can view a fine blend of tradition and contemporary style in Sikkim Weddings. A distinct and charming aura is created in the auspicious occasion of Sikkim Weddings. You can’t beat the vibrant celebrations and the magnificence of Sikkim weddings in terms of splendour.

Attire in Sikkim Weddings :

As the wedding bellsring in the land of Sikkim, you can see the influence of ethnic as well as modern fashion. The bride wears the royal outfit of Bakhu made in fine silk that is accompanied by a full-sleeved blouse. Beautiful accessories accentuate the wedding look. Both the bride and the groom wear beautifully designed traditional pure gold jewellery. Small and dignified pieces of jewellery are worn which reflect the simplicity and elegant style. The concept of ‘White Weddings’ are also becoming very popular in Sikkim. Millions of people staying in Sikkim are adopting this way of the wedding.

Earlier the brides wore wedding gowns in multiple bright and radiant colours. However nowadays, only plain white colour gowns are being opted which appear quite similar to the beautiful wedding gowns of the Christian brides in Sikkim. Gold accessories are now being replaced by very delicate and modern costume jewellery. Brides prefer to wear simple and exquisite jewellery, which matches with the outfits, instead of traditional jewellery.

Few rituals of Sikkim Weddings :

The gaiety and spirit of the celebrations during the wedding is really amazing. The Sikkim Wedding involves a number of rituals and formalities. Without those, it cannot get legal sanctity or acceptance by the people of Sikkim. After the horoscopes of the bride and groom are matched, Khachang, a team of four people takes following gifts including a Jaril or Tealeaf, Tsamtruk chi (a basket of puffed rice, a bottle of wine, token cash of Rs. 108 and a long traditional scarf known as hada. After the proposal has been accepted, the groom goes to the bride’s maternal uncle to offer “Aaya Seygo” which is a special dish consisting of cooked hen and rice along with soup. Then the date for the Nangchang is fixed. The ‘Jo’ or a Shamanist priest performs a ‘Khelen’ ritual with a jar of millet beer and burning incense to signify the marriage tie by invoking the ancestral deities and the family protector deities to shower the blessings. The elderly women assemble in a room in order to finalize Rinzo, which refers to bride’s price.

Nyen or marriage is normally conducted in two parts. The first part of the marriage ceremonytakes place at the bride’s house. After a period of two years, an auspicious day for the marriage ceremony is fixed by the astrologer. The wedding-feast starts with Chang (millet beer) and sumptuous lunch. In the evening, a group of dancers led by their leader commences the traditional songs in the shrine room, which includes ‘Duetse Yarchod’ ritual.
The ceremony known as tashi Chanthung is conducted at the groom’s house and is called ‘Tashi Changthung’.