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LawMarriage registrations get new venues CustomsWedding crashers wanted! Couples are charging strangers to attend their big day Dowry and giftsIndia's dowry curse: Outlawed practice remains deeply entrenched - Reporters DressHBCU mascots get married during homecoming CustomsWhy Brides Are Refusing to Buy Traditional Wedding Dresses for $5,000 RitesGrooms redefine wedding wardrobes with comfort, tradition, and reusability in mind LawColumn: Va. conservatives should vote for marriage equality amendment Dowry and giftsDLSA Secretary calls for wider student awareness on Dowry Prohibition Act Mass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrations Dowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in Pakistan LawMarriage registrations get new venues CustomsWedding crashers wanted! Couples are charging strangers to attend their big day Dowry and giftsIndia's dowry curse: Outlawed practice remains deeply entrenched - Reporters DressHBCU mascots get married during homecoming CustomsWhy Brides Are Refusing to Buy Traditional Wedding Dresses for $5,000 RitesGrooms redefine wedding wardrobes with comfort, tradition, and reusability in mind LawColumn: Va. conservatives should vote for marriage equality amendment Dowry and giftsDLSA Secretary calls for wider student awareness on Dowry Prohibition Act Mass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrations Dowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in Pakistan

EveryShaadi

Wedding traditions of South Asia

Saptapadi and the sacred fire, mehndi and haldi, baraat and nikah: the longest, loudest weddings anywhere. 119 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.

🇮🇳 IndiaShankha White conch shell bangles worn by Bengali Hindu married women as a symbol of their husband's well-being.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 IndiaOppanaഒപ്പന A circle dance and song tradition of the Mappila Muslim community in Kerala weddingsPerformance · Engagement and betrothal 🇱🇰 Sri LankaBeena marriage A pre-Islamic Arabian custom where the husband moves to the wife's home and she keeps her own tent.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreSvayamvaraस्वयंवर (svayaṃvara) A ceremony where a bride selects her husband from assembled suitors or through a public contest.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 IndiaBride buying in India The forced purchase of women from impoverished regions for arranged marriages in Northern India.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaTree marriage A symbolic proxy marriage between a person and a tree to bypass restrictions on remarriageBetrothal · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaArabikalyanam A temporary marriage arrangement between Arabian men and women in Kerala that has been linked to exploitation.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ) The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match

🇮🇳 India and 2 moreArranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent The family-led matchmaking process that shapes most marriages across South Asia.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 4 moreWatta sattaوٹّا سٹّا (Punjabi), شغار (Urdu) A reciprocal marriage arrangement where two families exchange sisters and brothers to bind their households together.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇮🇳 IndiaTelugu Hindu weddingతెలుగు వివాహ వేడుక A multi-day Telugu Hindu marriage marked by seven vows around fire and family rituals.Rite · Finding a match 🇮🇳 India and 4 moreAuspicious wedding dates The selection of lucky times for a ceremony based on astrology, numerology, and tradition.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaSakharpuda The Maharashtrian engagement rite where sugar and coconuts seal a verbal promise between families.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAiburo Bhaatআইবুড়ো ভাত The final bachelor feast for the bride and groom before their Bengali weddingFeast custom · The weeks before 🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLeirum Pheeꯂꯩꯔꯨꯝ ꯐꯤ A traditional Meitei shawl given as a wedding gift from parents to daughtersAttire · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaHindi wedding songs Film and folk music that accompanies the stages of a North Indian Hindu wedding.Performance · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 IndiaDaiva marriageदैवविवाह (Daivavivāha) An ancient Hindu rite where a daughter is given to the priest who officiates her father's sacrifice.Vow · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 Delhi, India and 4 moreSindoorसिंदूर (Hindi) The vermilion powder a Hindu husband applies to his wife's hair parting to mark her marriage.Adornment · Engagement and betrothal 🇵🇰 Pakistan and 1 moreVaniونى (Urdu) A forced child marriage used as compensation to settle tribal disputes in Pakistan.Gift custom · Engagement and betrothal 🇮🇳 Sasaula, IndiaSasaula Sabha Gachhiससौला सभा गाछी A historic gathering spot where Maithil Brahmin families matchmake and record marriages.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇮🇳 Mysore, IndiaMysore Kalyanam A fraudulent marriage scheme targeting women from Kerala for dowry moneyGift custom · Engagement and betrothal

🇳🇵 NepalSherpa marriage The astrological matching and barley beer offering that binds a Sherpa couple.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇮🇳 IndiaMangala Dosha A Hindu astrological belief that Mars in a birth chart affects marriage compatibility and outcomes.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal

🇮🇳 Saurath, India and 2 moreSaurath Sabha The annual Maithil Brahmin gathering in Bihar for arranged marriages based on lineage records.Betrothal · Finding a match

🇵🇰 Pakistan and 5 moreCousin marriage A union between people who share a grandparent or recent ancestor, practiced in many regions and communities.Vow · Finding a match

🇮🇳 India and 5 morePolyandry A marriage structure where one woman is wed to multiple men simultaneously or in sequence.Betrothal · Engagement and betrothal

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Svayamvara: Nandalal Bose, Public domain, source
Sherpa marriage: Dirk Pons, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Bride buying in India: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shankha: Salil Kumar Mukherjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Polyandry in India: Raja Ravi Varma, Public domain, source
Saurath Sabha: Saurath Sabha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Arranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent: Hindustanilanguage, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Oppana: Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Aiburo Bhaat: Ranganm2021, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Cousin marriage: 綾絲, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

The weekly EveryShaadi

Every week: one wedding tradition from somewhere new, the wedding days coming up around the world, and one idea explained.