The same wedding idea in 15 places, grouped by region. Each entry is a short portrait; follow the link for the full tradition.
The mehndi, with women applying henna to the bride's hands and feet, is held before the wedding, and the sangeet and the haldi ceremony follow in many Hindu families. The groom's name is sometimes hidden in the pattern, and tradition says that the darker the stain, the stronger the love.
Read: MehndiThe mehndi night is a large event with song, dance and the carrying of henna trays by the groom's family. The bride, often dressed in yellow or green, is seated on a decorated stage while relatives come to put a dab of henna on her palm.
Read: MehndiThe gaye holud, the turmeric ceremony, is held on the eve of the wedding by both families separately, who send each other a procession of gifts including a large fish, sweets and saris. Turmeric paste is applied to the bride or groom by guests who then feed them sweets.
Read: Gaye holudMalay couples hold the berinai, or henna night, and the bride's fingertips and palms are stained red. The groom and bride later sit on a dais for the bersanding, where elders and guests sprinkle rice and scented water.
Malay wedding, being writtenHan brides are not painted with henna. The decorations are red, and on the eve a family elder may comb the bride's hair four times, with blessings, in a rite called shangtou, and in some regions face threading is used to smooth the skin.
Chinese marriage, being writtenThe henna night is held in the bride's home on the eve of the wedding, with songs and a plate of henna carried in with candles. In the folk song Xına yaxdı, women sing of the bride's hands being stained.
Henna night, being writtenAt the kina gecesi, women wearing red gather around the bride, who wears a red veil, while the elders sing sad songs called kina turkusu. A married woman with living parents puts the henna into the bride's palm, and gold coins are pressed in.
Henna night, being writtenThe henna night, with music and dance, is an important event, and the bride's hands, feet and sometimes arms are decorated in fine geometric patterns, with dark outlines. Yemeni Jewish communities had a similar henna ceremony, which is now carried on in Israel.
Read: Henna nightThe hammam bath and the henna night are part of a wedding that can last several days, and a specialist, the neggafa, dresses the bride and sings blessings. The patterns are fine and geometric, and a bride's feet are decorated too.
Read: NegafaBrides undergo weeks of beauty rites, including the dukhan, a smoke bath of burnt acacia wood, and henna applied in dark lace-like designs to the hands and feet. The henna artist is a respected woman in the community.
Culture of Sudan, being writtenHausa brides have their hands and feet decorated with lalle, the local word for henna, as a part of the wedding events of the kamu, a ceremony the night before. Women gather and wedding songs are sung.
Hausa people, being writtenBritish Asian families bring mehndi and haldi nights to Birmingham, Leicester, Bradford and London, with halls booked for hundreds. Mehndi artists are now also hired by non-Asian brides.
British Asian, being writtenIndian, Pakistani, Arab and Somali American communities hold henna nights, often at community halls and homes, and professional artists travel for wedding season. Henna is also used by couples of other backgrounds at bridal showers.
Read: MehndiDescendants of indentured Indian workers keep the matikor, a night of women's singing and dancing before a Hindu wedding, with turmeric and the digging of earth with a ritual hoe. The songs and rites go back to the villages of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian, being writtenIndo-Fijian Hindu weddings keep the haldi ceremony and the mehndi, and the houses of both families are alive with songs and cooking for days. Fijian Muslims hold their own henna night.
Indo-Fijians, being writtenWritten by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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