Cultural Identity

A traditional “vivaah”(wedding) ceremony is known for being quite the extravagant event, which includes: vibrant colors, loud music, and exotic food. But before I get into all the wonderful things that happen, first, I will discuss what you should wear at a vivaah ceremony. The bride traditionally wears a sari or lehengas. A sari and lehengas, is “a garment worn by Hindu women, consisting of a long piece of cotton or silk wrapped around the body with one end draped over the head or over one shoulder. “(Stanford.edu). Red, unlike white is the desired color of a sari for the bride. Red symbolizes “prosperity, fertility and saubhagya (marital bliss).”(Stanford.edu) In

According to students Sravani Gullapalli and Aparna Raju Sagi article “Indian Wedding Traditions” (on page 3) traditionally the bride wears a sari or a lehenga which is highly ornate with gold and silver embroidery. The color of the sari or the lehenga is of great

At weddings, lots of silk and bright colors are worn. Girls wear big, bright dresses with lots of multi-colored beads. Men wear bright color tunics and pants underneath . At funerals everyone wears dark colored berkas made of velvet. At Rundako men wear woven grass skirts and blue body paint. They also have mini cymbals of wood for the dance. Women wear a woven grass dress decorated with blue beads and jewels. During The Awakening, everybody wears their everyday clothes, but decorated with jewels and bright colors. The Messenger Leader wears a large tunic with a heavily decorated headdress .

Both men and women wear native wrappers and sandals. For example ," he then adjusted his cloth which was passed under his right arm pit and tied above his left shoulder."

These female dancers wear a tight-fitting traditional dress with a golden headdress and jewelry (Di Giovine 293-294). The Apsara’s crown is a tricorn gold and silver headdress decorated with gold and emerald garlands (Coe 119). According to Zhou, Apsara dancers wore a Sava, which is a band of beads worn across the chest. Apsara dancers also wore a Sarong Kor which is a round red collar worn below the neck. The collar is decorated with detailed gold and copper ornaments and beaded designs (Zhou 50-51). The Sampot Tep Apsara is the most famous Sampot (“Traditional”). This Sampot is secured with a golden ornate belt decorated with spear-like tips dropped on red cloth (Zhou 50-51). The Sampot has two knots. The right knot is thin and long, and

Ancient India has numerous important factors but among all of them, the one that remains the most fascinating to many is fashion. Ancient India’s fashion includes many styles that are still worn in modern India today. The fashion of ancient India also slightly differed in the north and the south regions. Some factors of India’s fashion are the bright colors of the clothing and the bright jewelry worn to accompany the clothing. Additionally, India is known for its detailed embroidery that adds a touch of ”jadoo” which is Hindi for “magic”. Ancient India has a very unique, and traditional culture which is demonstrated in Indian fashion.

India’s ancient clothing had a small variety that mainly consisted of silk and cotton. Ancient India was one of the first places to grow cotton which made it very popular. Men and women’s styles were different from each other. Men would wear a dhoti which was a cloth that would wrap around their waists and was knotted in the back. Some men also wore turbans. Turbans are a headpiece that is used to cover their hair. If they didn’t wear a turban they would put their hair in man buns and keep their beards short or shaved. Men in India continued to dress like this for thousands of years. Women would wear cloth wrapped around them similar to what Greek women would wear. Some women would wear skirts that were knotted in the front. Another common

[Transition: First, Indian clothing comes in many different styles and we have endless options when it comes to deciding what to wear to Indian weddings or other social events.]

Symbols are very important in a Hindu Marriage Ceremony. The bride of the wedding often wears clothes or jewellery to symbolise or remind her of particular roles that come with a marriage. An example of a symbol that women wear to symbolise they are married is toe rings. Married Hindu women wear toe rings to remind themselves of their marital status and the restrictions that come with being a married woman. Some other symbols worn by a woman is bangles. A married Hindu woman is prohibited from leaving her arms bare once she is married, therefore, she must wear bangles to signify that she is

To start off, the grandeurs of Hindu weddings are quite interesting. In many Hindu weddings, the bride and groom’s apparel is very cultural and elegant. The bride wears a long intricately designed dress that is wrapped. It is called a saree or a lehenga. The bride’s outfit will usually be in red and white, and so will the groom’s, because red is the most auspicious color in the Hindu religion as it resembles the color of a new life. The groom will also wear a traditional outfit called a sherwani, and formal headdress called a sehra. Flowers are integrated majorly in Hindu weddings. They are used during a Pooja, which is the worship of the various Hindu gods, as a sign of respect and prayer so that the gods will protect their family and household, bestowing prosperity. Divya Patwari states that “Indian

Many people hear the word culture and the first aspect that comes to mind is where they are from; I don’t look at culture the same way. I hear the word culture and I think of traditions, beliefs, morals, and things we value in my family. All of these points are just different aspects of culture that people may not always think about. Even though major parts of my culture may clash at times, being academically driven, being focused on sports, and being family oriented are all aspects that are important to me and my cultural identity.

Red is also the color that brides typically wear on their wedding day. Another color that is seen throughout the Indian culture is black, which is used to ward off evil. Often times when infants many Indians received a black dot on their chin to ward off any evil spirits. White is also an important color in Indian culture. It is the color that is worn at a funeral celebration and is the only color widows are allowed to wear. Some of the other colors that are seen in the Indian culture are blue, green, and yellow. Each of these colors have different meanings depending on religious beliefs.

There are a number of pre-marriage celebrations that are carried out, including the engagement and other days on which families and friends get together and rejoice. Other pre-marriage celebrations consist of Mehndi, Sangeet, and Tilak. Mehndi, also known as henna, plays a great role in the wedding celebrations. There is a whole day devoted to the Mehndi Ceremony, which is performed by the bride’s side. There was a banquet hall booked for the Mehndi ceremony and close to three hundred guests were invited. There was singing and dancing to traditional music, remarkable diversity of foods, exquisite decorations with an elegant assortment of mostly yellow flowers. The bride’s friends and relatives performed wonderful dances. The girls applied henna on the bride’s hands and feet, making traditional designs and patterns. The henna is supposed to symbolize passion and the strength of love in the marriage and so the bride has to keep it on for a long time. The bride was dressed in light yellow and white clothes, the colours symbolizing purity. After the Mehndi Ceremony, the bride is not allowed to the leave the house until on her marriage day. Between the Mehndi Ceremony and the marriage day there is a night devoted to Sangeet. Sangeet merely just means music. It is mostly considered the most enjoyable and entertaining night as friends and family just dance all night long. Sangeet was held at the bride’s house and mostly the friends and relatives of the bride

In additionally, the ceremony start with the audience is basally that Muslim people have one rule during the wedding that was they had to get separated by gender. They had one place that is just for a man and another was for women. They give so much importance to their audience that was invited to the ceremony. They will significantly follow that rule because it was from the old generation to today’s generations. Later on the audience is required to not wear the shoes during the ceremony they had some place that they can keep their shoes in the safe place. The audience is required for joining with them and also help them if they need help to do something. They announce that most of the audience should wear their culture dress, but is not required for the guest. They just want their relatives to wear the kurta and cap that was written the god name on it so, they believe that they gives more respect about their god or culture. Therefore, they are very responsible with each other and they know how to respect their guest who was invited.

As you deck up your home with rangolis and diyas and dish out traditional delicacies — it’s time to go traditional with your child’s ensemble too. Silk ghagara choli sets in attractive colours like red, yellow, fuschia, turquoise are in fashion this festive season. Modern Indian designers are also laying huge focus on TUTUs (layered skirt) and tiered ghagras with ethnic tops, cholis or kurtis. And like always sarees continue to find a place in the season’s festive fashion. Custom-made sarees for little girls are easily available. These sets usually come with a blouse, petticoat and saree. The pleats are pre-made and can be draped within minutes with the least effort. The waist of the saree has a drawstring band that keeps the attire intact as the child runs and plays. Kurtas with Patialas or dhotis are also a big hit this season, not only because of their style quotient, but also their comfort value. When it comes to boys fashion, designers these days