Significance Of Mehndi In An Indian Wedding

Mehndi has a major role to play in most of Indian celebrations. And wedding is one the biggest occasions in one’s life. In fact, just a day before the marriage there is a celebration called Mehndi-ki-raat. On this occasion, both the bride and the groom apply beautiful mehndi on their hands.

Mehndi-ki-raat is an amusing ritual observance that derives its origin from the Traditional Indian customs. It is applied on the hands and feet of both the bride and the groom, with beautiful and intricate designs, made by Mehndi experts mainly consists of henna paste.

Traditionally, in Indian weddings, there are many rituals before the actual wedding. And easch ritual has its own significance and meaning. These celebrations and rituals mainly include engagement, sangeet, mehndi, haldi and tilak. Each custom has its own importance and significance. There are some important rituals that signify the actual Hindu matrimony and Mehndi is one of them.

Weddings and its ceremonies in India are performed not only to establish a strong bond between the bride and the groom but also the two families.

Mehendi Ceremony and its ritual have a lot of significance in Indian weddings. Mehndi signifies love and affection in a marriage and the longer it retains the more it is auspicious for the bride, as it symbolizes more love from her husband. During the Mehndi ceremony, the whole family indulges into great merriment and dancing. During this ceremony both the bride and the groom are supposed to wear just normal clothes so that they look exceptionally good during the actual wedding ceremony. The bride specially is supposed to adorn very normal clothes.

It’s not only bride and the groom who apply Mehndi on their hands during the ceremony. The whole family, mainly the female members like sister, mother, cousins and friends of the bride also apply Mehndi on their hands and at times feet. They also give an expression to their happiness by doing so.

It is mainly an occasion of ladies, where they sing traditional wedding songs and dance on its tunes. But these it is more of a cocktail party where all the gents and the ladies enjoy and party together reflecting happiness in their minds.

In fact, in a typical Hindu wedding or north Indian wedding, Mehndi is one function and ceremony that all the family members look forward to. They feel that it is the best time to exude excitement and happiness. These days, Mehndi ceremony is performed in a lot of style and a lot of investment is made on this occasion like all other major occasions such as engagement and reception.

Held just a couple of days before the marriage, this function becomes all the more vibrant with colorful dresses, pulsating music and enthusiastic dance.

Historical background of Mehndi:-

Mehndi is obtained from finely chopped Henna Leaves. Anopther significance of henna is that the bride is not allowed to perform any household work until all the Henna melts. It is also said that during the ceremony, the image of both the bride and the groom are drawn over the hands and feet of the bride.

Henna which is otherwise called Hawsonia inermis, is also called Henne; the various forms are Al-Khanna, Al-henna, Jamaica Mignonette, Mendee, Egyptian Privet, and Smooth Lawsonia. Besides being used in a wedding ceremony, females also apply Mehndi during occasions like Karva Chauth, Gangaur, Teej, Holi, Rakhi and Diwali.

Henna is generally planted in hot areas and climates and is available in abundance in India, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, Malaysia, Persia, Sudan and other North African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries. To make Mehndi, the entire plant with its twigs, flowers, leaves is chopped into pieces and afterwards powder is made from it. After that, hot water is added to it. On adding Tea, coffee, cloves, tamarind, lemon, sugar various hues are obtained which are further strengthened by using different kinds of oils. This is the Henna that we use in the Mehendi Ceremony in India.

In ancient times, Henna was used as a sort of cosmetic. It was also popular for its therapeutic properties. According to some historians, Henna’s origin was exclusively due to the arrival of the Moguls in the 12th Century C.E., who brought along with them the interesting Henna cult.

Undoubtedly, Mehendi Ceremony is one of the earliest and grandest Pre - Wedding ceremonies in India.

Sukhpreet Kaur writes on behalf of Jeevansathi.com, which is India’s fastest growing matrimonial website, provides online Indian matrimonial classified services. Jeevansathi.com enables users to create a online matrimony profile on the website and allow prospective grooms and brides to contact each other. Users can search for profiles through advanced search options on the website. Users can avail free registration and make initial contact with each other through services available on Jeevansathi.com via Chat, SMS, and e-mail.