Khatri Wedding Traditions

This community is kshatriya community that is found in Uttar Pradesh. They have their roots in Punjab. Their weddings have typical customs and traditions. They follow all these traditions strictly. Let us have a look at the different customs and traditions that the Khatri community follows in their weddings.

Sagai:

Once both the families decide to go ahead with the alliance the bride and her parents and few relatives visit the groom’s house. They give the groom gifts. A tilak is applied on the forehead of the groom. This is the formal engagement ceremony. The date of the wedding is now fixed.

Godh bharai:

This ritual normally takes place just a few days before the wedding.The groom’s mother along with few other female relatives will go to the bride’s place with the sari, jewelry, sweets and many other gifts. These gifts are kept on a silver tray. The groom’s mother will apply tilak on the bride’s forehead and will give all these gifts to her.

Kangana:

Betel nut, tamarind, and small shells are tied to form a bundle. This bundle is tied to a red thread called mouli. This is then tied on the hand of the bride and the groom after it is purified by the priest. This has to be kept until all the wedding rituals are completed.

Mehndi ceremony:

In this ceremony, mehendi is applied to the hands and feet of the bride and all the other women. This is an exclusive women function.

Seedhe Haath Tanni Kadai:

This is the haldi ceremony, which is done in both the groom and bride’s house. In this ceremony, a mixture of turmeric, curd, milk, mustard oil and besan is applied to the face, hands, and feet of the couple.

Chooda ceremony:

A pooja in performed and cream and red colored bangles or the chooda is put into the wrist of the bride by her maternal uncle and aunt that is mama and mami.

The wedding attire:

The groom normally wears a sherwani and ties a safa on the head. He also carries a decorated sword. The bride wears a colourful sari and plenty of gold jewelry.

Barat:

The groom will mount a horse and will leave the wedding venue. His relatives will accompany him. They will sing and dance in the wedding procession. When they reach the venue the bride’s family will give them a warm and traditional welcome.

Jaimala:

The bride and the groom are taken to the mandap. The priest will perform a puja. Then the bride and the groom will exchange the garlands. This is known as jaimala.

Havan:

The priest will chant holy mantras and finally, the sacred fire is lit. This is known as the havan.

Kanyadan:

The bride takes betel nuts, betel leaves, flowers and rice grains in her hands and stands to face the groom. The priest will touch the heads of the couple with a copper vessel called Kalash. The bride’s father will place her hand in the groom’s hand and ask him to take her responsibility to which the groom will respond in the affirmative.

Gath Bandhan:

In this, the bride’s pallu and the groom’s shawl are tied together.

Pheras:

Now the couple will go around the sacred fire seven times and will take the seven vows of marriage.

Bari Palang:

In this ritual, the couple is taken to a room which has a bed. The couple is made to sit on it and say a prayer. Then the bride will take rice grains in her hands and will throw it above her head. The ladies who are standing behind will try to collect these grains in their pallu. The more they are able to collect the better luck it will bring to these ladies.

Vidaai:

By the time all these rituals take place it is almost daytime. The bride is sent to the groom’s house. Within a few hours, time bride’s brother will go and bring the couple, groom’s parents and few of their relatives to the bride’s parents home. The groom’s family is served an elaborate breakfast. Now the bride will bid a tearful goodbye to her parents. She is blessed by elders and is given gifts. She will then come to her new home.

Bedi Lutna:

This is a special and a very different custom for Khatri weddings. When all the wedding rituals have completed the children in the family will go to the wedding altar and will remove all the decorations and ornamentation.

It should be noted that the main rituals of the Khatri weddings take place during midnight. So normally what is done is after the Jaimala wedding dinner is served to the guests. Most of the guests leave post dinner. Only the close relatives of the bride and the groom stay back for the entire function. The wedding gets completed only in the wee hours. Khatri weddings are a very cultural affair. As you can see that they have a number of traditional rituals. You will find that they have a combination of several rituals of the different communities. Overall a Khatri wedding is unique in many ways. The customs, the way the rituals are solemnized is different. While some of the traditions and customs like kanyadan, Barat, Gath Bandhan etc are seen in other communities.

There are some rituals which you will find only in a Khatri wedding. Take the example of bari palang and Bedi lutana which is a typical Khatri tradition. Even the Khatri food is different and delicious and one must not miss out on a Khatri wedding treat. The attire of not just the bride and the groom but also of the entire wedding party is a sight to behold. This community is rather conservative and normally have marriages only in their own caste. If you get a chance to be part of a Khatri wedding then do not miss it and if possible try to be there until the end so that you get to see all the rituals.