The Sindhi community is very much like other Indian communities and therefore Sindhi matrimonials are very similar to other marriages carried through out in India.
In a Sindhi family, like in every Indian matrimonial alliance, once a daughter or son reaches marriageable age, they start looking out for a suitable match. The Sindhi matrimonial alliance is generally conducted through special Mehrajs (a Male) or Guryanis (a Female) of the community. The rituals begin days ahead of the actual wedding ceremony. Once the respective bride and groom have approved of each other, the first formal ceremony takes place. This community performs a 'Shagun' (Kacchi Misri), which is observed in the presence of both the girl and boy and token gifts are exchanged between the two families.
To proceed with the Sindhi matrimonial alliance, like in every community, a sacred yellow thread is put on the groom, and the pujari or maharaj (Brahmin priest) chants the guru mantra (the Gayatri mantra) into the groom's ear. This is known as 'Janya'. The 'Pucci Misri' follows and is like any other formal engagement in an Indian community. Here, rings are exchanged in front of a pujari and the marriage alliance is declared formal in front of family relatives and friends. Since this community is very extravagant, the ceremonies that follow are adhered to with great lavishness. read more..
The community, in accordance with the Sindhi matrimonial rituals, normally holds a 'Satasang' a week ahead of the actual wedding, but this ceremony is not compulsory. However, as in every Indian community, the 'Mehendi' ceremony is held with great zest. Though this is not religiously significant, it is considered a very important part of the matrimonial alliance with professional mehendiwaalis or henna artists adorning delicate patterns of mehendi dye on the hands of the bride to be and other womenfolk. The zeal reaches its pitch with the women singing folk songs teasingly. Dinner and cocktails follow the ladies 'Sangeet'.
On the morning before the actual wedding, the 'Navgrahi Puja' is performed to invoke harmony within the planets. The pujas performed on this day also include the 'Ganesha Puja', 'Omkar Puja', 'Lakshmi Puja' and the 'Kalash Puja'. These ceremonies are held to bless the actual Sindhi matrimonial alliance to take place the next day and are not uncommon to the Indian community. The same evening 'Sagari' is held at the bride's home where the groom's sisters adorn her with floral decoration. The bride-to-be is also presented with cosmetics (including perfume), five types of fruits, sugar candy, along with a thali of dried coconut, and sweetmeats.
Just as in other Indian matrimonials, the Sindhi community also does not forget the importance of the mothers of the bride and groom. A special Sindhi wedding ceremony, known as the 'Ghari', is performed on the night before the holy matrimony. This ceremony, which is revered highly by the community, is conducted simultaneously in the respective houses of the bride and the groom-to-be. As per the community culture, a matka is placed full of water on the head of the mother, which is then carried out of the house with the help of her son-in-law who carries a katti or a knife to protect the mother from evil spirits. The pot of water is then brought back into the house and every person present, garlands the mother and the father of the bride or the groom (as the case may be). This matka is now placed in the pujasthan (a shrine found in the home of every community in India) inside the home. The son-in-law or ghor as he is now addressed, gives money to the priest after circling it around the pot of water and the bride or the groom.
For the Sindhi community, the wedding day is very sacred and the ambience very intense due to the sacredness of the holy matrimonial rituals about to take place. As per the community's culture, on the morning, the bride's sister, the sister-in-law and a young male child go to the groom's home in a decorated car carrying muras (money, sweets, misri and a coconut). The bride's trousseau is left in the groom's house and the bride's sister or the sister-in-law performs 'Sanathan Dharam Pooja'. This matrimonial ritual in Sindhis is small whereby cosmetics are applied on the face of the groom and his mother.
The priest puts a red dupatta on the groom and the groom then proceeds to the bride's home. At the bride's house the hands are tied together with the sacred thread or mouli. Some money and a dried date are placed between their palms before their hands are tied. This signifies that the matrimonial alliance, which was entered into earlier (Kacchi Misri), is now to be fulfilled. After the chanting of mantras the couple and their relatives leave for the wedding venue where the actual tying of the matrimonial knot will take place.
In the Sindhi weddings, it is customary for the couple to take only four parikramas (circumvention's) around the sacred fire. This is very unlike in the Indian community, where seven parikramas are taken. The bride leads in the first three and the groom in the last. After the fourth parikrama, the bride has to sit on the left of her husband. The holy matrimonial alliance is now complete.
As mentioned earlier the Sindhi community is very extravagant and thus it is time for the 'Satavaro'. This again is very similar to the reception of the Indian community. The Sindhi community normally hosts the reception on the same day as the wedding. This celebration is for the family, friends and well-wishers to bless the matrimonial alliance of the newly weds by showering gifts on the couple. The 'Satavaro' is the most sought out ceremony in the matrimonial alliance as both the families and relatives in the Sindhi community can enjoy the food and drink to their hearts content.
Once the reception is over and the bride is taken to her groom's house, 'Dattar', a Sindhi matrimonial ritual typical only to the community, is performed. The groom's family brings two kilograms of salt in a steel parat or platter. The hands of the bridal couple are untied and the mouli or sacred thread and the dried date are placed in the pujasthan (shrine). The Sindhi matrimonial alliance, although complete, proceeds further with the husband being the first to place some money and a gift in the salt for his wife as a blessing for a healthy lineage and a happy married life. Keeping up with the Sindhi community culture the bride fills her hands with as much salt as they can hold and slowly showers the same into her husband's hands. This salt is exchanged three times. The next person to perform this ritual with the bride will be her father-in-law, followed by her mother-in-law and then one by one each person from the groom's family.
This ceremony wards off all evil and means the close of the Sindhi matrimonial alliance.