Hindu Wedding Ceremony

As I said before, my family is wonderfully diverse. This is a photo of my cousin, Michelle, getting married to Enrique during their Hindu wedding ceremony recently. There was a Catholic wedding ceremony the following day as Enrique is of Philipino descent. The rich colour and detail of Indian wedding costumes can be seen here. Please View Large on Black By Clicking on 'Slideshow' in my Photostream

Most of us in my generation did not get married in this way, so it was a real treat for all in attendance. This ceremony is thousands of years old and is conducted in the ancient language of Sanskrit. At its core, a Hindu wedding ceremony is essentially a Vedic ritual, in which the Aryan deities are invoked in the Indo-Aryan style.

The primary ‘witness’ of a Hindu marriage is the eternal fire (agni is Sanskrit for "fire", or in Latin ignis, which is the root of English ignite, Russian ogon, Polish ogień, Lithuanian - ugnis - all with the meaning 'fire'). Seven encirclements are made around the fire by the bride and the groom in which she leads him seven times and then he leads her seven times. With every round they make one promise to their partner. In this way they make seven promises.

In the first round, the couple prays to God for plenty of nourishing and pure food. They pray to God to let them walk together so that they will get food.

In the second round, the couple prays to God for a healthy and prosperous life. They ask for the physical, spiritual and mental health from God.

In the third, the couple prays to God for wealth. They ask God for the strength for both of them so that they can share the happiness and pain together. Also, they pray so that they can walk together to get wealth.

In the fourth round, the couple prays to God for the increase in love and respect for each other and their respective families.

The bride and groom together pray for the beautiful, heroic and noble children from God in the fifth step.

In the sixth holy round around the fire, the couple asks for the peaceful long life with each other.

In the final seventh round, the couple prays to God for companionship, togetherness, loyalty and understanding between themselves. They ask God to make them friends and give them the maturity to carry out their friendship for a lifetime. The husband says to his new wife that now they have become friends after the Seven Vows and they will not break their friendship in life. As representatives of the masculine and feminine aspects of God, nature, and the universe, men and women are regarded as equals. Neither is superior nor inferior to the other.