The Marwaris Wedding

This is a post-wedding ritual when the bride comes to her sasural for the first time.  The bride and her devar (husband’s brother) are given a neem chadi (a branch of a neem tree) each.

They are supposed to go around in seven circles, while hitting each other in every round.

Only one hit is allowed per round.  It always starts off with the bride hitting lightly and by the seventh round everybody is yelling for her to hit her devar harder.  It’s great fun and serves as an ice-breaker between the bride and family members.

In another custom, when the couple enters the house, the groom has to carry a sword.

Seven plates are laid down on the floor.  The groom touches one of the plates with his sword and the bride is supposed to pick it up immediately.  He then touches another plate and the bride has to continue stacking up the plates until all seven are picked up.  This is a test of courage and if she passes it successfully, it signifies that she will be able to take on every possible difficulty.