Rituals That Makes Oriya Wedding Awesome

Wedding is no doubt a great celebration and blissful occasion that truly celebrates as per the rituals and customs of each community. Simplicity and joy well summarize an Oriya wedding. The Oriya people strict to their Oriya Matrimony rituals and the celebration begin after sending betel nuts to the relatives and friends for inviting them to join the marriage. Wedding in Odisha culture is fixed by the elders. Three main rituals complete the wedding and these are Nirbandha (fixing the marriage), Bahaghara (wedding day) and Chauthi/Chaturthi (completeness). Minimalism is the only word that makes the Oriya wedding as it's great and holds the old tradition and values important for wedding.

Let us discover the simple yet minimal rituals that represent a wedding of the Oriya community.

Nirbandha: This ritual represents the engagement of the bride and the groom without their participation. Only family members take part in this ceremony. The bride and the groom father promise each other to wed their children.

Jayee anukolo: In this ritual, the wedding invitation is formally distributed to the relatives. The first invitation card devotes to the Lord Jagannath temple or family deity.

Mangan: The seven married women apply the paste of turmeric or oil or sandalwood to the bride’s body just to polish her look for the D-day. After that, she goes for a ceremonial bath.

Diya Mangula Worship: The female barber of the bride’s family offers the bride’s married items to the Goddess, praying wealth and prosperity in the bride’s happy married life. This ritual is very necessary to be followed so that the goddess keeps away the negativity and barrier to the couple wedding life.

Barajatri: The bride’s mother welcomes the groom with a small Arti. The other members warmly greeted with respect inside the wedding venue.

Kanyadaan: This is the emotional ritual that performs by the bride’s father where he left his daughter’s hand and puts in the groom’s hand and requests him to take care of his adoring princess after marriage.

Saptapadi: This belongs to the 7 vows of Hindu marriage where the bride and the groom move around the holy fire and this turn the bride and the groom into husband-wife. They take seven steps together and promise each other with every single step that remarks the beginning of their new life together.

Haatha ghanti: The puffed rice puts to the bride’s hand and the groom’s stand back to the bride and puts his hands under her hands and together they place the puffed rice to the holy fire.

Chauthi: On the fourth day of the wedding, a small pooja is held at the groom’s house where the dry coconut is roasted in the fire. The couple room is decorated beautifully with fresh flowers. A roasted coconut is then offered to the couple. As per Oriya tradition, the Oriya matrimony is treated to be complete after following this ceremony.

Ashtha mangala: On the eight-day, the couple visits the bride’s maternal residence where they both warmly welcome and the whole family enjoys the couple company and fun together.

Windup: The simplicity of the Oriya wedding is associated with the State of the Orissa. The Oriya matrimony ceremonies and rituals are similar to the Hindu wedding but distinct in many aspects. Oriya people believe in simplicity and hence they simply organize their wedding.