Wedding traditions of South Asia
Saptapadi and the sacred fire, mehndi and haldi, baraat and nikah: the longest, loudest weddings anywhere. 64 traditions on EveryShaadi so far.
Countries
🇦🇫 Afghanistan 2🇧🇩 Bangladesh 6🇧🇹 Bhutan 1🇮🇳 India 69🇲🇻 Maldives 0🇳🇵 Nepal 8🇵🇰 Pakistan 9🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 4
Cities and towns
On the calendar
Dev Uthani EkadashiHindu winter shaadi season (Dev Uthani to Kharmas)Magh and Phalgun wedding windowHindu spring wedding window (April to June)Akshaya TritiyaVasant Panchami as a wedding dateBhadli NavamiShubh Vivah muhuratShawwal, the month after RamadanThe winter wedding season of South AsiaMehr, the Persian autumn of weddingsRamadan
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreLaavaanਲਾਵਾਂ ਫੇਰੇ (Lavan)
The four sacred hymns sung during the Anand Karaj that guide a Sikh couple through spiritual stages of married life.Rite · The ceremony
🇮🇳 IndiaNishekam
The Hindu rite of consummation on the first night after marriageRite · The ceremony
🇮🇳 IndiaTulasi Vivahतुलसी विवाह (Tulasī Vivāha)
A symbolic Hindu wedding uniting the holy basil plant with a stone representing Vishnu.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMaithil Vivahमैथिल विवाह
The arranged Hindu marriage of Maithils in the Mithila region, guided by Vedic texts and local customs.Betrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaSvayamvaraस्वयंवर
The ancient Hindu ceremony where a princess picks her husband from assembled suitorsBetrothal · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
The turmeric ceremony that prepares the Bengali bride and groom for marriageRite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreMayian
The turmeric paste ceremony held the day before Punjabi weddings in India and Pakistan.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaChaklong wedding
The traditional Ahom marriage system involving rice powder mandalas and ancestral rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaMeitei weddingLuhongba (ꯂꯨꯍꯣꯡꯕ)
The traditional union of the Meitei people, marked by clan exogamy and specific courtship rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇮🇳 IndiaGauna
The ceremony that marks the start of conjugal life in northern Indian Hindu marriages.Rite · After the wedding
🇮🇳 IndiaAyyavazhi wedding
The sacred rite of Ayyavazhi that treats marriage as a spiritual sacrament and family life as the highest austerity.Rite · Procession and arrival
🇮🇳 IndiaTelugu Hindu weddingతెలుగు వివాహ వేడుక
A multi-day Telugu Hindu marriage marked by seven vows around fire and family rituals.Rite · Finding a match
🇳🇵 NepalIhiईही
The Newar rite in which a girl is married to Vishnu, shown by a golden figureRite · The weeks before
🇱🇰 Sri LankaPoruwa ceremony
The Sinhalese wedding ritual performed on a carved wooden platform with betel leaves and milk rice.Rite · The ceremony
🇮🇳 IndiaOdia Hindu weddingBahaghara (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବାହାଘର)
The traditional Hindu marriage ceremony of the Odia people in Odisha, India.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 1 moreBengali Muslim weddingবাঙালি মুসলিম বিয়ে
A multi-day Bengali Muslim marriage blending Islamic rites with local folk traditions.Rite · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaVaramalaवरमाला (Varamālā)
The exchange of flower garlands that marks mutual acceptance in a Hindu wedding.Rite · The ceremony
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
- Ihi: Dirghaman Chitrakar, Public domain, source
- Mayian: Rakzika, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
- Odia Hindu wedding: Aditya Mahar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bengali Muslim wedding: NahidSultan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maithil Vivah: Sntshkumar750, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Laavaan: Ashish 100, CC BY 2.0, source
- Tulasi Vivah: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chaklong wedding: Chiring chandan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Varamala: Sumita Roy Dutta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gaye holud: Arr4, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meitei wedding: Dabu Leichombam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source