South Asian Wedding Accessories and their Meanings

Traditions take its massive place in weddings, but things change through time andweddings took its part. Now weddings are modernized and fewer beliefs are being followed. There are countries that strictly follow their traditions, like the South Asian weddings. Many are mesmerized on the way they continue their culture and rituals when it comes to their weddings.

For South Asian photographers, they should capture every detail this wedding has. It includes their rituals and their breathtaking accessories and clothes, because everything they wear symbolizes something:

• MAANG TIKKA – is a bridal accessory that is worn on the center of a bride’s forehead. The place where the tikka or pendant falls is known as “ajna chakra/ to know or perceive”. By placing the chain on their forehead, the bride could gain insights and control from her “third eye” (the power and wisdom in the forehead of a deity, especially their GOD Shiva)
• JHOOMAR- is similar with the maang tikka, but is worn on the other side of the bride’s head. This symbolizes unity and togetherness for the couple.
• EARRINGS- their ancestor’s legends foretell that evil spirits can enter the bride’s body through any opening that is why they turn their earrings into a protective element against bad spirits.
• BANGLES- bangles are given to the brides in different cultures,
  • Bengali bride- iron bangle plated in gold
  • South Indian bride- green bangles as a sign of fertility and prosperity
  • Northern Punjabi bride- is given chooda, which is a set of ivory and red bangles that the bride wears for 40 days. 
  • KALIRE- this is a part of the choodas given in a Punjabi bride, they are traditionally tied on the bride’s wrist by her sisters and female cousins. It signifies best wishes and blessings from the bride’s closest girl friends.
  • HATH POOL/ HAND FLOWER- traditional hath pools include chains that connects a bracelet to 5 individual rings located on the bride’s fingers. Because flowers are very important symbols for South Asian weddings. With the modern bride’s they prefer to wear 1-2 rings.
  • NOSE RING- in Hindu communities, the size of their nose rings equates the status and wealth of their family. It means the larger the nose ring, the richer the bride and the smaller the nose ring, the poorer the bride.
  • RINGS- their culture believes that the vein in the ring fingers connects to the heart making their wedding ring promising as well as romantic.
  • MIRRORED RING- from the ancient times, brides wore a large mirrored ring during the wedding ceremony. Brides with arranged marriages use the ring to peek on his groom during the ceremony.
  • PAYAL/ announcing bell- these are chimes placed on the bride’s ankles symbolizing her arrival at her new husband’s home.
  • BAJUBAND/armlet- this accessory is placed on the bride’s upper arm which signifies strength for the new bride.
  • KAMARBAND- is a chain placed on the bride’s waist that serves as a part of the bride’s jewelry and it holds up the bride’s sari. Traditionally, the kamarband includes a ring to hold all their household keys which is given to the bride by her mother-in-law. It represents the transfer of power and responsibilities.

Because of their wonderful culture, many photography companies provide services for this type of wedding, like the south asian wedding photographer Toronto.

Comments

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[evalMichael]

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