gaye holud on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''Gaye holud'' ( lit: "yellow/
It is part of an elaborate series of celebrations constituting the
The bride is seated on a dais and the turmeric paste is applied by the guests to her face and body. Turmeric is known to cleanse, soften and brighten the skin, giving the bride's skin the distinctive yellow hue that gives its name to this ceremony. The sweets are then fed to the bride by all the guests and attendants, piece by piece. In Muslim Bengali families the henna is used to decorate her hands and feet with elaborate abstract designs.
File:Gaye Holud Bangladesh.jpg, Gaye Holud from Bangladesh
File:Fish Holud.jpg, The groom's family members often bring fish decorated as a wedding couple to the bride's Gaye Holud
File:Gaye holud, RAOWA Convention Hall.jpg, A girl is dancing in her Gaye Holud
File:Wedding Photography of Bangladesh.jpg, Girls are dancing in Bangladeshi Gaye Holud Ceremony
turmeric
Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast ...
on the body") or ''gatro horidra'' (গাত্র-হরিদ্রা) is a ceremony observed mostly in Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and in the Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
state of West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the ea ...
and Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
by all Bengalis
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
regardless of their religion.
It is part of an elaborate series of celebrations constituting the Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
wedding. The ''gaye holud'' takes place prior to the religious and legal Bengali wedding ceremonies. The ''gaye holud'' may be a joint event for the bride and groom's families, or it may consist of separate events for the bride's family and the groom's family.
Ceremonial process
The bride is seated on a dais and the turmeric paste is applied by the guests to her face and body. Turmeric is known to cleanse, soften and brighten the skin, giving the bride's skin the distinctive yellow hue that gives its name to this ceremony. The sweets are then fed to the bride by all the guests and attendants, piece by piece. In Muslim Bengali families the henna is used to decorate her hands and feet with elaborate abstract designs.
Popularity of the custom
Although similar ceremonies exist in other parts of the Indian subcontinent, the ''gaye holud'' is a custom particular to the Bengali people. It is not considered a religious function, as it is celebrated by Muslims, Hindus, and Christians in both Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal and wherever Bengalis live irrespective of religion. Although it is considered a part of the Bengali wedding tradition, the couple is not considered married at the end of the ''gaye holud''. There is no legal marriage performed during this ceremony. Unlike the wedding ceremonies, the ''gaye holud'' is not a formal or extravagant event; both guests and bridal party members dress more simply and decorate the venue less intricately than at the wedding ceremonies.See also
*Wedding in Bangladesh
A Bengali Muslim wedding ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমানের বিয়ে ''Bangali Musalmaner Biye'') includes many rituals and ceremonies that can span several days. In most cases, it starts with the ''Paka Dekha'' ceremon ...
* Culture of Bangladesh
The culture of Bangladesh is intertwined with the culture of the ''Bengal region'' of the Indian subcontinent. It has evolved over the centuries and encompasses the cultural diversity of several social groups of Bangladesh. The Bengal Renaissan ...
* Culture of West Bengal
The culture of West Bengal is an Indian culture which has its roots in Bengali literature, music, fine arts, drama and cinema. Different geographic regions of West Bengal have subtle as well as more pronounced variations between each other, w ...
References
External links
* {{Indian wedding Bengali culture Indian wedding traditions Bangladeshi wedding traditions