The Heartwarming And Special Roles Brothers Play In Indian Weddings

While they may battle it out occasionally for the control over the TV’s remote or the last cookie in the jar, there’s no denying that the bond between a brother and sister is special. This is why it’s not a surprise that many wedding rituals in India evolve around celebrating this unique bond and highlighting its importance as the sibling stands on the cusp of a new life.

Whether it is the Lajja Homam ceremony in the Southern parts of India, the Shubbho Drishiti Ceremony in the east or the Baraati Arati ritual performed by the Jains, brothers have a vital role in performing wedding rituals apart from being the errand runner or generally overlooking the wedding planning during the ceremony..

Rituals Performed By Brothers During Indian Wedding Festivities

Lajja Homam ceremony in South India

The Lajja Homam ceremony is performed in Telugu weddings and involves pouring rice into the altar, which is also symbolic of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and a sign of fertility. During the ceremony, the groom places his hand beneath the bride's hand, and the bride's brother pours the rice over her hand into the sacred fire.

Saat Paak and Shubho Drishti in Bengal

Shubho Drishti in Bengali literally translates to ‘sacred gaze’. In this ceremony, the bride covers her face with a beetle leaf and is made to sit on a wooden stool or a pidi. The pidi is then taken to the wedding altar by her brothers, who circle the pidi around the groom seven times before allowing her to remove her beetle leaf and take a glance at her to-be-husband.

Throwing of rice MangalPhera in Gujarat

Similar to the Lajja Homam in the South and the Khoi Fela ceremony in Bengal, in traditional Gujarati weddings, the brother of the bride offers the husband and his wife a handful of rice after the four basic pheras which highlights the main aspects of every human life as per the Shastras. (Dharma, Artha, Kama Moksha). The bride and the groom proceed towards the saptapadi, or the seven sacred steps and take vows.

Karmasampati ritual of Maharashtra

Resembling the Ponkhana ritual in Gujarat, where the mother-in-law pulls the son-in-law's nose to make him more humble, this post-wedding ritual of Maharashtrian weddings involves the bride's brother stepping in and pulling his brother-in-law's ear to remind him of his duties as a husband and to ensure the well being of his sister. Post which the groom gives a new name to his wife and the wedding altar extinguished.

Barati Aarti ritual performed at Jain weddings

In Jain weddings, the aarti ritual involves the singing of holy hymns in the background by the ladies of the family while the bride's brother applies tikka on his brother-in-law's head and offers him gifts. In return, the groom gives the bride's brother a coconut, which is supposed to represent protection against evil forces. This barter between the two families signals the beginning of a new harmonious relationship.