Guide To The Bihari Wedding Rituals and Customs

Much like a Bengali or a North Indian wedding, a Bihari wedding has its own beautiful, rustic, and elaborate yet interesting Bihari wedding rituals and customs. Bihar is located in the eastern part of India and shares its borders with Nepal and states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand. It has its own unique and a lot of beautiful Bihari rituals and customs for weddings.

For your better understanding let us divide the Bihari marriage rituals step by step into three categories - Pre-wedding, Wedding Day, Post wedding. To get your big day documented beautifully and freeze all the Bihari wedding rituals for the rest of your life contact the best wedding photographer in Dhanbad.

Let's start with the Pre Wedding Rituals:

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Satya Narayan Katha:  

It is the starting point of Bihari wedding rituals and customs which takes place in the bride’s house. Here the priest chants the katha and a haven is lit and it is kept lit the entire Bihari wedding. From here the moments and memory capturing starts, so you should contact the best wedding photographer in Deoghar and book them in advance because in the end moment, they might not give you the slots as they get booked pretty early. 

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Cheka: 

This is the official engagement where the rings are exchanged and it takes place in the bride’s house. The groom’s family will come with pieces of jewellery and other gifts for the bride. This is one of the most important Bihari rituals of marriage. For capturing this beautiful moment contact the best photographer in Dhanbad.

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Haldi Kutai :

This is the main haldi ceremony that happens before the wedding. Here several married women apply haldi on the groom’s body and the rest of the haldi is sent to the bride’s house to apply on the bride. This is one of the most important wedding rituals in Bihar.

Tilak :

Now, in a Bihari marriage, the bride’s brother will reach the groom’s house with the tilak thaal. The priest will then apply tilak on the groom’s forehead and later shower him with gifts.

Matripuja :

The parents of both bride and groom take an active part in this ritual and seek the blessings of the ancestors and elders of the newly married couple. They offer clothes and money called Paunpooji and ask for forgiveness from their ancestors. This is very common in every Bihari shaadi and also in other states of India.

Now comes the Wedding Day. To keep all the beautiful moments of D-Day and the Bihari bridal look, contact the best photographers in Deoghar.

Parchhavan Ritual :

This whole ritual takes place before the baraatis leave for the wedding. Here the groom’s mother applies tilak on the groom’s forehead and does aarti and prays for her son’s happy married life.

Jaimaaland Galsedi :

Here the Bihari bride and groom exchange the Varmala to show their togetherness on the main mandap. After the garlands are exchanged the Gelsedi ritual is performed by the bride’s mother and other married women.

Kangna Bandhana and Kanyadan :

Now the priest will put a special bracelet made with cotton thread, turmeric, money, colorful rice, and mango leaves on the right hands of both the bride and groom. Then the Kanyadaan happens where the bride’s parents give her to the man.

Bhaisur Nirakshan, Kuldevta puja and Pheras :

In this ceremony, the Bihari bride is gifted with family jewelry, sarees, and lehenga by her father-in-law and brother-in-law for her Bihari bridal look. Then the bride and groom pray to the family deity and take pheras in the mandap.

Now starts the Post Wedding Rituals:

Kowhar Parikshan, Salami and Vidai :

For the Bihari rituals after marriage, the couple takes an early bath in the morning and gets ready for their Kowhar Parikshan and all the married ladies look for blood spots on the bed sheet. In the salami ritual the elders give cash to the groom and then the groom along with his bride leaves his house for vidai.

Swagatarthi, Mooh dikhai and Chauthari :

 During this time the bride will push a plate with her right foot and place her foot on an alta plate and enter the house. Then the bride will be gifted with gold jewelry, cash, and other gifts for mooh dikhai. Then Chauthari is performed to thank the almighty for the successful wedding.

Overall, a Bihari wedding surely is very long and elaborate but each ceremony is very beautiful and holds a lot of emotions. It has a lot of colorful rituals which are dribbled deeply into the tradition and culture.

FAQ:

What do Bihari brides wear?

Ans: A special dress called Chaapa is specially designed for the bride to wear at their weddings. It is a traditional bridal dress made with silver block prints.

What is the Roka ceremony in Bihar?

Ans: On the Roka ceremony, a tilak ceremony takes place where a paste of holy thread and rice is put on the forehead of the bride and groom. The bride is given a red scarf. Then the exchange of gifts happens from both sides. The Roka ceremony is the start of the wedding.

Who puts the ring on first in a Bihari wedding?

Ans: The groom puts the ring first on the bride’s finger and showers her with gifts. Next, the bride puts on a ring on the groom’s finger.

Are roka and chheka the same?

Ans: Yes, Roka and Chheka are the same . In different parts of India, it is mentioned by a different name for Punjabis its sagai, and for Bengalis is ashirwaad. The significance of this ceremony is that the boy and the girl cannot marry anybody else apart from each other.

What rituals are done after the marriage?

Ans: In a Bihari marriage, there are a few post-wedding rituals that are Kowhar Parikshan, Salami, and Vidai which occur in the bride’s house. As they reach the groom's house there is Swagataarti, Mooh Dikhai, and Chauthari followed by the Chauka Chulai ritual.