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.
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.
🇮🇳 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 moreAlpanaআলপনা (Bengali)
Rice flour floor paintings that bless homes and mark wedding celebrations in Bengal.Adornment · The weeks before
🇮🇳 IndiaGaye holudগায়ে হলুদ
The turmeric ceremony that prepares the Bengali bride and groom for marriageRite · 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
🇮🇳 IndiaWedding mandapaVivaha Mandapa (विवाह मण्डप)
The temporary pavilion where Hindu and Jain couples exchange vows around a sacred fire.Setting · The ceremony
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇳 India and 2 moreHindu weddingvivaha (विवाह)
The traditional marriage ceremony for Hindus, centered on sacred fire and seven vows.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 IndiaVadhu PraveshaBou Boron
The ritual welcoming the bride into her husband's home with blessings and symbolic acts.Blessing · After the wedding
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreAnand Karajਅਨੰਦ ਕਾਰਜ
The Sikh wedding rite where the couple circles the Guru Granth Sahib to four hymns of union.Rite · Procession and arrival
🇱🇰 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
🇮🇳 IndiaZoroastrian wedding
A Zoroastrian marriage ceremony featuring hand-fastening, rice sprinkling, and shared meals.Rite · Engagement and betrothal
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreChuraचूरा (Hindi)
The red and white bangles that mark a bride's new status in Indian Hindu weddingsAttire · The weeks before
🇮🇳 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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Poruwa ceremony: A Derivative Work by MediaJet ,, CC BY 2.0, source
- Odia Hindu wedding: Aditya Mahar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Laavaan: Ashish 100, CC BY 2.0, source
- Alpana: Tripan123, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tulasi Vivah: Unknown author, CC BY 3.0, source
- Chaklong wedding: Chiring chandan, 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
- Alta: Shounak Ray, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Wedding mandapa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ayyavazhi wedding: Vaikunda Raja, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hindu wedding: Dinesh Cyanam, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source