16 Extremely Strange Wedding Traditions That You Will Find Only In India

We have all attended weddings. While some of us have been fortunate enough to see weddings of different cultures, others might not have had that kind of luck! Even amongst those who have seen various kinds of weddings of different cultures, many have still not seen all the disparate Indian ones as this country is a world in itself.

In an Indian wedding, there are various customs and rituals that are identified with a particular religion, state or caste. While most of us are aware of the basics of a Hindu wedding, there are many other curious rituals performed at Indian weddings that are bound to leave you stunned!

Let us take a look at some such peculiar customs that form an unbelievably important part of an Indian wedding.

1. A Bengali mother cannot attend her son’s or daughter’s wedding

In many traditional Bengali weddings, the mother is not allowed to be present for the wedding of her son or daughter. The belief is that the mother’s presence may bring about an evil/harmful effect on the married life of her child. Whoa! How strange?

2. A town in UP – Baraat welcomed by tomatoes

Yes, you read that right! In tribal areas of UP such as Sarsaul, the baraat, with of course the groom, is all welcomed with not any kind of ‘aarti-ki-thali’ but by tomatoes thrown at them! Bet you hadn’t heard about this! At least I hadn’t. Not just that, along with the tomatoes, one more thing is thrown at them – swear words! The belief behind this weird ritual is that a relationship which starts with testing your patience level and tolerance for torture goes a long way in coping up with the stress that comes along with a marriage, ensuring love and harmony between the couple.

3. In Maharashtrian weddings – Twisting of groom’s ear

Another ritual followed in Maharashtrian weddings; this has the brother of the bride twist the groom’s ear. The ritual symbolizes the consequences that will follow if the groom does not take care of the bride after the wedding.

4. In Manipuri wedding – Fish used to ward off evil

In traditional Manipuri weddings, as per the ritual, the bride and groom are required to set loose two fish in the nearest pond. The movements and directions in which the fish swim implies the fate of the marital relationship.

5. In Bihar – Balancing the pots on your head

Sounds challenging for a newlywed bride! Well, as per the customs followed in Bihar weddings, the newlywed has to balance earthen pots kept on her head upon entering the house. She is also required to seek blessings from elders by bowing down and touching the feet, well almost, without letting the pots fall.

6. In Malayali weddings – Teen ‘Phere’

We all know about the ‘saat phere’ or seven rounds of the fire that the bride and groom are required to take as a part of the wedding formalities. However, in Malayali weddings, the bride and groom are required to take only three rounds around the fire.

7. When the bride is manglik – Getting married to a tree/dog

Most of us have heard about this ritual, thanks to Bollywood, if you know what I mean. For those who haven’t, let me explain. This ritual is practiced when a woman is ‘manglik’ (which brings bad luck to the husband after marriage) she is married off to a tree or a dog to break the spell. After this marriage, she is ready to marry a human being as that would be considered her second marriage and won’t do any harm to the husband. Superstitions!

8. Rabha Tribe in Assam – Garlands only please!

The ceremonies we witness while attending a marriage can be time consuming, however, the Rabha Tribe in Assam keep it very simple by only keeping one ceremony where the bride and groom exchange garlands and are then declared married. This is followed by the feast which is also served by the bride and the groom.

9. In Gujarati weddings – Mother of the bride pulls the nose of the groom (Ponkhana/Ponkvu)

This a fun custom that is practiced in Gujarati weddings in which the mother of the bride pulls the nose of the groom in a playful manner, after performing the customary ‘aarti’. This ritual is symbolic of reminding the groom that he has to remain humble.

10. Tamil Brahmin wedding – Change of mind before the wedding

As scary as that sounds, it is customary in a Tamil Brahmin wedding for the groom to change his mind and get set to leave the wedding venue and consider himself as a ‘sanyasi’. The father of the bride is then required to talk him back into getting married.

11. In Maharashtrian weddings – Antrapat

Antrapat is a silk shawl which is used in Maharashtrian weddings to separate the bride and groom until the groom has to tie the mangalsutra around the bride’s neck. Only after the Antrapat is removed, the bride and groom see each other for the first time during he wedding.

12. In Punjabi weddings – Ghada Gharoli

Being a Punjabi myself, I have witnessed quite a lot of these and many of you would have too if you live around Punjabis. As per this ritual, the mother and sister-in-law of the bride/groom visit a temple on foot to get a pot filled with the temple’s water. This water is considered sacred and the bride/groom is supposed to bathe with it before wearing the wedding attire. They sing wedding songs throughout the way.

13. In Assamese wedding – Tel-Diya

This ritual is followed in Assamese wedding and is performed before the bride gets the wedding attire from her in-laws. While performing Tel Diya, the would-be mother-in-law places a ring and beetle leaf on the bride’s hair and applies oil on the hair thrice. Post this she also gives the ‘sindoor’ to the bride.

14. In Gujarati community – Madhuparkha

This is a custom followed by the Gujarati community in their weddings. According to this ritual, before the baraat enters the wedding venue, the father of the bride is required to clean the groom’s feet with milk and honey. However, as per the traditional norms, madhuparkha consists of a potion made from curd, honey and ghee which the groom has to partake, reciting chants.

15. In Sindhi weddings – Saanth

This custom is followed in Sindhi weddings and is performed before the marriage ceremony. In saanth, an anklet is tied to the ankle of both the bride and the groom in their respective homes. Post which, eight married women pour oil on the heads of the bride and groom. They are then required to wear new shoes and break earthen pots with their right foot, which is considered as a good omen.

16. In Kumaon weddings – Flags at the wedding

Kumaon weddings follow a custom where they place flags for both the sides – white for the groom and red for the bride. These ceremonial flags are carried ahead of and at the rear end of the procession at the wedding.

Phew! And we thought dealing with the ‘Sangeet Ceremony’, ‘Roka’, ‘Engagement’, ‘Haldi’, ‘Chuda’ was enough to make a wedding wholesome! Of course, how can we forget the latest fads like cocktail parties and bachelor’s/bachelorette party! While people are moving ahead with times, many communities still choose to follow various customs which are deep rooted and form a significant part of an Indian wedding. After all, a wedding is one of the most auspicious times in a person’s life and people prefer to follow the age-old customs in order to refrain from jinxing it!