During the initiation phase of Demure Drapes, some of you had shared your wedding stories, walking down memory lanes, writing about the function, events, traditions and customs followed. This time round, to make the wedding season even more colorful, I thought to create a shaadi mahol virtually, going region wise and learning in depth about the traditions of the different states. To kickstart.... Assamese weddings.... Thanks so much Jolly to introduce me to Inu baidue (older sister) who in turn introduced me to this treasure trove, Anindita. Anindita thanks once again. I am sure everyone at Demure Drapes will enjoy reading about Assamese weddings and learning, as much as I did. Anindita writes In Assamese language, the wedding ceremony is referred to as ‘Biya’. This generally spans over 2-3 days. There are couple of pre & post ceremonies which are followed in a Biya. The significance behind most of the rituals in an Assamese wedding stems from rustic settings. The first ceremony in a Biya is the Juroon. It is the main pre-wedding ceremony and takes place two days before the wedding. Juroon generally occurs in the first half of the day and the groom’s mother plays a pivotal role in this ceremony. The Groom & the Bride are called as Dora & Koyna in Assamese language. The Groom doesn’t take part in this ceremony. The rituals in a Juroon are infact an all ladies affair. The grooms mother along with the other female members of the family arrives at the brides house.At the threshold of the main entrance of the bride’s house, the bride’s mother welcomes the groom’s mother with a tamul-paan(betel nut & betel leaves) filled xhorai (a brass artifact) covered with a gamusa (traditional assamesetowel). {Betel nut & betel leaves play an important role in an Assamese society. In earlier days, elders used to be greeted with tamul-paan as a mark of respect}. The groom’s mother too carries a xhorai containing tamul-paan and both the mothers exchange the tamul-paan. This exchange signifies the new relationship or bond between the two families. All this takes place amidst biya naam(traditional wedding songs) & uruli (sounds made by women by rolling their tongues during any religious/auspicious ceremony). The bride’s mother gently tugs the groom’s mother’s attire and using a traditional fan (bisoni) brings her inside the venue. (In olden days, groom’s mother along with the other ladies had to cover long distances on foot to reach the venue, so the use of the bisoni is only to make her feel comfortable after the long weary walk). Once inside, the groom’s side places a mat on the floor and light a lamp & some incense sticks before the alpona (rangoli). This is a square-shaped rangoli with the drawing of a butterfly (prajapoti) on it in most of the occasions. The four corners of the alpona is flanked byfour young banana plant (kol puli), which are in turn covered with flowers & mango leaves. All these elements signify positivity & newness. While the grooms party is served refreshments, the bride flanked by her friends & female members is brought to the venue and made to sit on the mat where her future mother-in-law along with the other ladies are waiting for her. The grooms mother gifts her main bridal trousseau (the traditional Assamese two-piece sari called mekhela sador) along with an odd number of mekhela sadors. The bride is also presented with a number of jewelry sets and the complete make-up kit. Every single object is touched by the groom before it is packed for the bride. The groom’s mother places the main bridal trousseau around the bride and dresses her up with the jewellery. A mirror is kept near the alpona for the convenience of the bride. The bride touches each & every item as it is gifted to her. Besides, the bride is also given for other rituals two sets of things like coconut,doi(yougurt), two earthen pots filled with rice grains, a big fish, mithais , tamul - paan bunch, maah-halodhi(turmeric and black urad lentils) for another ritual(it is used to bathe the bride and the groom at a later ritual). During the Juroon ceremony, the most significant ritual is of the groom’s mother pouring a little oil on a betel nut kept over the brides head thrice. This is known as Tel Diya. This is followed by the mother of the groom applying sindoor on her daughter-in-laws hair partition. Strangely, in an Assamese wedding, it’s the groom’s mother who first applies sindoor to the bride and not the groom. This is to signify that the groom’s mother has given her consent wholeheartedly for the wedding and blesses the new bride. The bride now takes the blessings from the other elders of the grooms family. The brides mother is also gifted with a set of clothes as a mark of respect for having brought up the bride. A feast follows, after which the grooms party departs. After the Juroon, the bride is forbidden to go out of the house as a precautionary step to keep evil eyes at bay. A day before the Juroon, the bride applies jetuka (mehendi)to avoid skin & nail problems as it is antifungal & antibacterial. Similar to Juroon, the Ulta Juroon is held at the groom’s place in the evening. The brides family visits the grooms side presenting the groom with his wedding dress including assamese silk kurta & white dhoti. Nowdays, it’s the bride’s siblings & cousins who carry out this ritual Attached are the Juroon pictures in order of the sequence of events....
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:25:53 +0000
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