I'm back!

[osuche]

Back from the land of wedding bliss, that is. I'll drop by this thread tomorrow to give you all the "gory" Indian wedding details...and maybe some pics. ;)

I am exhausted but happy.

I missed all you guys. :x:

[lizzardbits]

Wooo hoooo!

*grabs a cold drink and sits back to listen*

[Teddy Bear]

Welcome home!!

Looking forward to hearing and seeing it all.

[TinTennessee]

Welcome back! [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[HUGS]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

[jseal]

osuche,

I'm pleased to see that you're back, and I look forward to learning about the Indian wedding. :)

:hug:

[Lilith]

I bet it was beautiful. Congrats.

[cowgirltease]

Congratulations!

[WildIrish]

Mmmmmm.....curry kisses!


Congrats osuche! Many happy years to you both. :)

[1nutworld]

Welcome Back Osuche!!

[Belial]

WB! :D

*squeezes osuche*

[PantyFanatic]

<--- Looks forward to some interesting posts. :)

(why are events more meaningful when they involve someone we "know"? ) :confused:

[Pita]

Congrats Osuche! :)

[Aqua]

Congratulations Osuche!

We missed you too... :x:

Welcome Back!!

[Steph]

Welcome back!

I hope you're exhausted for good reasons, too!

[imaginewithme]

Congratulations and welcum back!

[sodaklostsoul]

Congrats!!!!! May your lives be filled with joy!!!

[RandyGal]

Oooooh welcome back and congratulations! I'm anxious to hear more about the wedding!!

[Cheyanne]

Wow!!! Welcome back....I love hearing/reading about different types of cultural traditions...this is soooooooo cool! Congrats BTW!!! ((((((((((Osuche))))))))))))

[maddy]

Welcome Back... I hope you had a wonderfully stress-free time :)

[musicman]

Back from the land of wedding bliss, that is. I'll drop by this thread tomorrow to give you all the "gory" Indian wedding details...and maybe some pics. ;)

I am exhausted but happy.

I missed all you guys. :x:

We missed you too.....mind if I pull up a chair and have a listen too?

I could bring some beer?

[MilkToast]

WB :wave: and congratulations!

[Coaster]

Missed you girl!!! Welcome back!!

Congrats! :x:

Hey, just what do the Indians wear under those deerskins? :D

[osuche]

Here's a summary of the different "wedding events" we had over the past 10 days.... I've described each below, as well as listed them how WE did them chronologically.... However, we compressed several ceremonies together, and some were not in their most traditional order.

Any errors or omissions are my fault.


Day 1 -- Saturday May 21st

I arrived on a red eye flight from SFO to Columbus at about 9 am. When I got to Mr. Osuche's mom's house, the first ceremony was already underway.

A. Adan Pradan
Adan Pradan (give and take) is a ceremony that involves the matching of ancestral lines or bangsas in the presence of a purohit (priest). The purpose is to ensure that the marriage does not take place between close relatives or persons having the same gotra (lineage).


B. Vridhi (conducted about 12 pm)
This is about offering puja (worship) to the ancestors of the bride and the groom. It is attended by all the family members. All the samagri or items for the puja are arranged in a baran dala. A baran dala is a silver plate containing items for puja. A 'Sri' symbol is made in the baran dala. The purohit brings an idol of Bhagwan Narayan to the puja. The idol is worshipped by lighting agarbattis (incense sticks) and diyas (lamps). The vridhi is usually performed by a paternal uncle. Tradition demands that the uncle and the bride/groom be on a liquid diet.

C. Ashirbaad (Around 6 pm that day)
The "engagement ceremony" is a gathering of both families with an emphasis on the exchange of gifts, discussions, negotiations and the fixing the date for the marriage. The elders bless the couple by showering them with 'dhaan' (husked rice) and 'dooba' (three blades of grass), which they place on the couple's heads.

[osuche]

Day 2 -- Friday, May 27th

I arrived back from Chicago (where I was working Mon-Thurs) at 9 pm Thursday night. Friday morning the festivities started again.

A. Wedding Piris (12 pm on Friday)
The piris (ritual seats from the bride and groom during the wedding) are brought to the bride's house a day before the wedding or on the wedding day. A relative or friend paints and decorates the piris. When the decoration is completed and the piris presented by the proud artist, conch shells are blown and ululation taken up.

B. Gae halud tattva
Gifts are presentede for the bride from the groom's house. The gifts include at least six sarees with blouses, petticoats and cosmetics to go with them. Also among the gifts are fish, assorted sweets, curd, paan, dhaan and durba. A relative of the groom arrives at the bride's house with an entourage of servants bearing the gifts. Incense is lit welcome them and conch shells are blown. These gifts are part of the groom's promise to care for the bride for the rest of their lives together.

C. Snan (about 6 pm that evening)
The snan literally means bathing. In this case, it stands for the bathing rituals that the bride and groom must individually follow on the day of the wedding. The bathing is done in tumeric powder and paste. Turmeric is placed all over the body of the bride and groom to make them beautiful and fair-skinned. A few married women apply turmeric and oil on the hair and body of the bride/groom. After bathing, the bride and groom must wear the new set of clothes that have been presented to them by their in-laws.

D. Sankha Porana (10 pm that evening)
The bride follows the tradition of wearing sankha porana or conch shell bangles that have been dipped in turmeric water. After her bath she wears a new sari and wears the sankha poranas. There are actually 3 bracelets that must be worn by the bride (traditionally for the rest of her life, from this moment) -- one is iron, one is conch, and one is coral.

[osuche]

Day 3 -- Saturday, May 28th

This was my wedding and reception day.

A. Dodhi Mangal (5 am, day of the wedding)
This ceremony is performed at the crack of dawn on the day of the wedding in the house of the bride and of the groom. About ten married women accompany the bride/groom to a nearby pond. They invite the Goddess Ganga to the wedding and bring back a pitcher of water from the pond to individually bathe the bride and the groom. Then they offer food to the bride/groom. The meal consists of puffed rice, raw yogurt, and sweets. The bride and groom cannot eat again until they are married. The relatives of the groom bless the bride and groom by placing yogurt on their foreheads (third eye) and saying prayers.

B. Wedding Ceremony (from 2-4 pm)
Observance I: Bride's grandpa and Priest will sit and will recite hymns and sprinkle water (and sometimes purified butter) here and there. Purpose of those hymns is to pray for holiness, completeness, and success of the ceremony. We will have fire burning in front of us, we will invoke the Holy Spirit and request the fire to deliver our prayer to Him.

Those hymns can be translated as follows:
I salute you, fire, the all mighty, the high priest, the eternal messenger to God. I invite you so that you awaken our consciousness, fulfill our
dreams, bring us happiness, give us wisdom to protect us from evil, and
bring victory in our life. Pleas invite the Eternal Spirit and carry my
offerings to Him. Fire! A worship overseen by you never fails. Complete this
worship for us. Be benevolent to us like a father to his child, like a true friend to a friend. Forgive our mistakes and unite the bride and groom. Please accept our offerings of (name a few items that he will offer).

Observance II: {During Shubahdrishhti (First glance) and Malyavinimaya (Exchange of garlands)} As the bride walks around the groom, the father/grandfather listens to priest reciting some Sanskrit hymns.

A figurative summary follows:
You the guests please bless our commendable bride and groom so that: they can have a long happy conjugal life; those who oppose, be destroyed; the disrupters flee; and all inconveniences of their life vanish. Let their benevolence create a haven in their home for themselves, their children, other relatives, guests, and pets.

{At that time you are done exchanging garlands and both of you recite
after me some Sanskrit hymns that can be translated as follows:
Let the Supreme Being help this sacred union of our mind and soul and form the ultimate synthesis. Your heart be mine my heart be yours. You give me your full support, your attention and respect}

Observance III: {During Sampradana (Giving away the bride)}:
The essence can be captured in a few lines where your grandpa welcomes the bride and the groom. During this welcoming process and following that he will listen to what I recite and after (almost) every hymn hands the groom different items. Again I will put the individual items in his hand and tell him to pass those on to the groom.

This portion ends when the hymn asks the groom to promise that he will obey the rules of conduct. Translated that hymn goes as follows:
I present my graceful granddaughter who is about to be married. You who will be her husband please promise that for the sake of your belief, for the sake of wealth, and/or for the sake of your lust you will not disobey your own loyal codes. The groom says I do.

C. Bashi Biye (about 4 pm)
The groom adorns the forehead of his bride with vermilion. This vermillion is the sign that she is married. He uses his wedding ring to anoint her forehead with the vermillion. The newly-weds visit the mandap, and worship the Sun God in the presence of the purohit.

D. Reception (approximately 5 pm - 10 pm)
I changed for the reception, and then we welcomed guests, ate, drank, danced, and even cut the wedding cake. This was more "traditional" type affair, although even it had a wedding flair.

[osuche]

Most of these happened on Sunday, May 29th

A. Phool Sajja (2 am)
The last of the wedding ceremonies, this occasion sees the bride in a new sari and the groom in a new dhoti and kurta. Their nuptial bedroom is beautifully decorated with flowers, which is why the term, phool sajja. The flowers, clothes and sweets for the occasion usually arrive as gifts from the bride's house. The husband and wife get to sleep together (FINALLY!) :D

B. Bou Bhat (10 am)
It is during this ceremony that the bride has her first meal in the home of her in-laws. Until now, her meals usually arrive from a neighbour's house.

C. Dira Gaman (8 pm)
A ceremony that is conducted when the newly-weds visit the bride's house for the first time after the wedding. The groom presents the bride with a sari and some food and promises to take care of her for the rest of her life. The ceremony is followed by a family celebration.

[Prophet Reality]

Congrats Osuche. I hope you are happy and it lasts as long as love is there between you!

[campingboy]

I can see that this is not something that you just throw together over a weekend. Thank-you for writting in detail all the different parts of the wedding festival. I wish both of you all the best as you settle into your new home. One other thing, you are not allowed to gloat about the weather come winter.

[osuche]

Here is a sample of the blessing. :)

[osuche]

Mostly these were from the first Saturday. I'm still waiting on getting the wedding pohotos from the photographer. :)

[Lilith]

Sounds beautiful and traditional and romantic. Much love and happiness to you both always.

[RandyGal]

That was facinating! Thankyou so much for sharing such an intimate moment in your life with your Pixies friends!

[lizzardbits]

Wow! how wonderful and exciting! I am so happy for you both!

[Lilith]

I may be barking up the wrong tree but did any of the ladies have henna painted on their hands?

[osuche]

Yep, that's traditional. :D Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do it (would have taken most of Thursday, assuming I'd been in town....which I wasn't). So.... they put me in temporary tatoos on my hands and feet instead. I had peacocks on the backs of my hands and floral designs on my feet.

These washed off...henna take sabout 2 weeks. ;)

Although,.....that damn rad dye they put on your forehead to signify marriage is still there. And I think people are studying my hairline to figure out what it is. :D I caught someone in the grocery store doing exactly that today. :p

[Lilith]

I've seen the henna done and thinks it's sooo beautiful.

[FallenAngel5]

Congrats osuche! It all sounds very beautiful and intricate. Much love and joy to you and your husband. :)

[jseal]

osuche,

Well done. :)

[sodaklostsoul]

WOW......very exciting!!!!

Congrats again!!

[wyndhy]

so much loving detail.
congrats to you both!
here's to a lifetime together :wine:

[WildIrish]

Did they catch Mr. Osuche's nose?

And did they hide the shoes?

[rabbit]

Osuche...am soo happy for you. Welcum back and congrats! All the best to you and your husband.

And thanks for sharing all of the intricasies of the ceremony. Most impressive and beautiful!

(((osuche)))

rabbit

[osuche]

Thanks so much to everyone for your good wishes and congratualtions.

I'll post some more pictures when Mr. Osuche gets home with the CDs. :D

[jseal]

...I'll post some more pictures when Mr. Osuche gets home with the CDs. :D

osuche,

That'll be very nice! Looking forward to it. Thanks in advance.

[osuche]

osuche,

That'll be very nice! Looking forward to it. Thanks in advance.


:x: :hug: :boobs:


:x:


Missed you sweetie..... :x:

Just 'cause. :)

[Fangtasia]

How lovely....am looking forward to the next pics too

[Coaster]

WOW..... thanks for all the details. It was fascinating to read.... must have been great to actually be a part of all that!

Best wishes to you both and keep telling him how lucky a man he is!! :x:

[dicksbro]

A late, but sincere ...
CONGRATULATIONS!

Glad to see you back! And really happy for you, too!

:x: and :hug: