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Assamese Wedding |
The traditional Assamese weddings are colorful and have their share of fun and games. The
marriage goes on for three days. The first day is called juran diya. The bridegroom's
family goes to the bride's family and gives the gifts to bride and her mother.
The second day is called adhivasa. The bride, groom and their mothers observe a fast on
this day. Offerings to god are given.
The third is the wedding day. A ceremony called daiyan diya is observed in the morning.
Curd is sent to bride's house from the groom's house and the bride takes half of the curd
and returns the other half to the groom. Both bride and groom are then given the
ceremonial bath.
The groom is welcomed by his mother-in-law at the gate of marriage hall and the bride's
younger sister washes his feet and in return gets a cash gift from the groom. He is then
led to the mandap and bride joins him. Bride's pallu is tied to the groom's shawl. The hom
pura is performed by offering 101 mango stems to the agni/fire. The main part of the
wedding is the homage paid by the bride and the groom to agni devata/god of fire, by
offering the ghee and baked rice to the fire, while the priest chant the mantras. The
kanyadaan or offering of the bride to groom's family is done by the father of the bride.
The couple is made to play a game in which a ring is put into a vessel containing rice and
the couple has to put their hands in and search for the ring. Whoever finds the ring first
wins and is said, will dominate the other. The celebration comes to an end with the
offerings to the two demons called Khuba and Khubuni for a happy married life.
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