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Mehendi Ritual

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Mehendi Ritual

Mehendi Ritual

The Mehendi ritual is one of the most significant events in a Hindu marriage ceremony. In fact this popular reddish dye has now become synonymous with Indian weddings.

Mehendi is not just a dye applied by the bride on the palms and feet but it is believed to have the effect of soothing the nerves of the bride because of its cooling properties.

The colour of the Mehendi is also symbolic of the prosperity that the bride is expected to bring to her new family. In fact, there is a myth that the darker the co lour of the Mehendi on the bride's palms and feet, the stronger and greater the love between her and her mother in-law.



A day before her wedding, the bride and the women folk of the family gather for the Mehendi ritual - a ceremony that is punctuated with a great deal of merry making, music and dancing. There are a lot of traditional songs associated with this ceremony in the north of India. This ritual is also a test of the bride's patience, as she has to sit for hours waiting for the Mehendi to dry. Another popular belief associated with this ceremony is that if an unmarried girl receives the dry scrapings of Mehendi from the bride, she is next in line for marriage, a la the wedding bouquet superstition in the West.

A bride is not expected to perform any household work until her wedding Mehendi has faded.

The art of applying Mehendi has also caught on in the south of India, although the Mehendi ritual is apart of the North Indian wedding culture.

The intricate designs of Mehendi and the patterns that adorn the palms and feet of not only the bride but the other womenfolk in the family are beautiful to see. In fact there are a lot of fun and games associated with the Mehendi designs where the bridegroom is expected to find his name in the intricate patterns of the Mehendi. If he cannot, it is believed that the bride takes control of the relationship, as it were..

In the earlier times, someone from the family would come and apply the Mehendi paste. But now, times are a changing. There are professional Mehendi artists who come and apply Mehendi prior to the marriage. The artistry and the delicacy with which they apply the Mehendi paste speak volumes of their talents. So, the auspicious red hue of the Mehendi will continue to cast its colour on Indian weddings. The deeper, the better!