Wedding news
Mass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrationsDowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in PakistanRitesFrom brides’ hands to a Starbucks cup: Meet Manii Basran, the mehendi artist who turned her art into a viRitesJefferies Sees A Reason for Indian Hotels To Cheer Louder In The Upcoming Wedding SeasonLawSamuel Alito blames marriage equality for America’s ‘decisive’ turn ‘against religious liberty’LawSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says marriage equality turned US "against religious liberty"LawSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Calls Marriage Equality Ruling a Turn 'Against Religious Liberty'DressMiss Manners: Modern weddings are less about tradition, more about celebrationMass weddingsLaoag City’s ‘Alisto I Do’ seals decade-long promise for 42 couplesIndustryIndia hotels see winter wedding boomMass weddingsWhy South Africans won't stop spending on celebrationsDowry and giftsNow Solar Panels given as dowry in PakistanRitesFrom brides’ hands to a Starbucks cup: Meet Manii Basran, the mehendi artist who turned her art into a viRitesJefferies Sees A Reason for Indian Hotels To Cheer Louder In The Upcoming Wedding SeasonLawSamuel Alito blames marriage equality for America’s ‘decisive’ turn ‘against religious liberty’LawSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito says marriage equality turned US "against religious liberty"LawSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Calls Marriage Equality Ruling a Turn 'Against Religious Liberty'DressMiss Manners: Modern weddings are less about tradition, more about celebrationMass weddingsLaoag City’s ‘Alisto I Do’ seals decade-long promise for 42 couplesIndustryIndia hotels see winter wedding boom
EveryShaadi

Wedding traditions with water and washing

Water cleans, blesses, cools and joins.

Water cleans, blesses, cools and joins. At weddings it appears in baths, in libations to ancestors, in the pouring of a sacred vessel and in the simple act of offering a guest a drink.

Washing and bathing

The bridal bath is a very old rite. Greek brides once bathed in water from a sacred spring, and Moroccan and Turkish brides visit the hammam. In Indonesia, the Javanese siraman is a bath with flower water poured by elders, and in Hindu weddings turmeric and oil are washed off in a bath. In Jewish tradition the bride may visit the mikveh before the wedding.

Pouring and joining

In Thai and Cambodian weddings the couple's hands are poured with water from a conch shell by guests, in the rod nam sang. In Sri Lanka and India water is poured to seal a gift, and in Hindu weddings a kalash, a pot of water topped with a coconut and mango leaves, stands for the sacred. In many African weddings water is poured as a libation to ancestors, and in Igbo weddings palm wine is used for the same purpose.

About this page

Written by the EveryShaadi desk with AI assistance. Background on Water and washing (symbol). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
KindRiteVowBetrothalGift customAttireAdornmentPerformanceFeast customBlessingPlayFamily roleSettingModern
StageFinding a matchEngagement and betrothalThe weeks beforeThe eveProcession and arrivalThe ceremonyThe wedding feastReception, dance and giftsAfter the wedding
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreRomvongរាំវង់ (Khmer) A circular folk dance across Southeast Asia where couples hold hands and step in time with drums.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts 🇬🇧 United KingdomQuaichcuach A shallow two-handled cup used in Scottish weddings to share a drink and symbolise union.Feast custom · The ceremony 🇮🇳 IndiaOdia Hindu weddingBahaghara (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ବାହାଘର) The traditional Hindu marriage ceremony of the Odia people in Odisha, India.Rite · Engagement and betrothal 🇲🇽 Oaxaca, MexicoOaxacan wedding A multi-day Catholic celebration in Oaxaca featuring mole, mezcal, and communal dancing.Feast custom · Engagement and betrothal 🇺🇦 UkraineTraditional Ukrainian weddingТрадиційне українське весілля A multi-day sequence of folk rites, bread baking and church vows that marks the transition from maidenhood to married liRite · Finding a match 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreWedding superstitions Traditional beliefs about luck and omens that shape wedding rituals across culturesAttire · The weeks before 🇮🇶 Baghdad, IraqWedding traditions in Iraq A structured sequence of arranged matches, religious vows, and family feasts across Iraqi communities.Betrothal · Finding a match 🇩🇪 GermanyLandshut WeddingLandshuter Hochzeit A four-year historical pageant in Bavaria re-enacting the 1475 royal marriage of George and Hedwig.Setting · Engagement and betrothal 🇲🇷 MauritaniaT'heydinnالتهيدين (al-T'haydīn) A Mauritanian Moorish epic performance of poetry and music kept by griot families.Performance · Reception, dance and gifts

Photo credits on this page

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

The weekly EveryShaadi

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