Indian Weddings Sociology Cassandra Wea
Cassandra Weaver
Introduction to Sociology
Professor Ekern
Due: January 19, 2015
Indian Traditional Wedding The Indian wedding compared to the Christian wedding, in my opinion is much more intense and has many more rituals. Their weddings are much more colorful, comparatively to our traditional black and white and are much more intricate and ornate. Not only that, but there is much more involved in the actual wedding before the ceremony even takes place. Lastly, the bride and groom don’t rely on a priest to marry them, they marry themselves. An Indian wedding is not just the coming together of a man and a woman; it is the coming together of two families. Traditionally, the families of the bride and groom would arrange the wedding. This is becoming less common now, at least in urban areas, and there is a huge rise in love weddings rather than arranged weddings. Though, arranged weddings are still very common is rural areas and typically set up by a marriage priest selecting possible wedding candidates or even word of mouth of prospective grooms or brides. Weddings of love are becoming popular from online dating sites and are offsetting this tradition of arrangement. I think a lot of this comes from a new movement in a lot of foreign countries that have less rights for women or arranged marriages changing their ways and moving more towards where America is now, which is having more rights and freedoms. Arranged weddings are strictly intra-religion and intra-caste. Before the wedding happens and the bride and groom are selected there will be a Manghi (North India) or Nischitartham (South India) where both families hold a ritual to make the arrangement official. During this time there is a Muhurat which, based on horoscopes, will determine an appropriate time to hold the wedding. After these rituals the bride and groom to be are blessed by the elders of both families and the engagement ceremonies begin. Typically the wedding and its pre-wedding ceremonies will
Introduction to Sociology
Professor Ekern
Due: January 19, 2015
Indian Traditional Wedding The Indian wedding compared to the Christian wedding, in my opinion is much more intense and has many more rituals. Their weddings are much more colorful, comparatively to our traditional black and white and are much more intricate and ornate. Not only that, but there is much more involved in the actual wedding before the ceremony even takes place. Lastly, the bride and groom don’t rely on a priest to marry them, they marry themselves. An Indian wedding is not just the coming together of a man and a woman; it is the coming together of two families. Traditionally, the families of the bride and groom would arrange the wedding. This is becoming less common now, at least in urban areas, and there is a huge rise in love weddings rather than arranged weddings. Though, arranged weddings are still very common is rural areas and typically set up by a marriage priest selecting possible wedding candidates or even word of mouth of prospective grooms or brides. Weddings of love are becoming popular from online dating sites and are offsetting this tradition of arrangement. I think a lot of this comes from a new movement in a lot of foreign countries that have less rights for women or arranged marriages changing their ways and moving more towards where America is now, which is having more rights and freedoms. Arranged weddings are strictly intra-religion and intra-caste. Before the wedding happens and the bride and groom are selected there will be a Manghi (North India) or Nischitartham (South India) where both families hold a ritual to make the arrangement official. During this time there is a Muhurat which, based on horoscopes, will determine an appropriate time to hold the wedding. After these rituals the bride and groom to be are blessed by the elders of both families and the engagement ceremonies begin. Typically the wedding and its pre-wedding ceremonies will
References: Gullapalli, Sravani (Phd. Student -Chemical Engineering), and Aparna Raju (Phd. Student –Chemical Engineering) Sagi. "Indian Wedding Traditions." 1 May 2009. Web. 15 Jan. 2015. <https://oiss.rice.edu/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=854>.