8 Pakistani Wedding Traditions and Rituals - Wedbuddy (2023)

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8 Pakistani Wedding Traditions and Rituals - Wedbuddy? ›

Traditionally, many days or even weeks before the actual wedding day, women will gather in the house of the bride at night to sing and dance while accompanied by other percussion instruments. Today, this ceremony has also been reduced to a single night of singing and is often combined with the Rasm-e-Heena ceremony.

Traditionally, many days or even weeks before the actual wedding day, women will gather in the house of the bride at night to sing and dance while accompanied by other percussion instruments. Today, this ceremony has also been reduced to a single night of singing and is often combined with the Rasm-e-Heena ceremony.

Traditionally, the bride and her family pay for the wedding, whilst the valima (see below) is paid for by the groom and his family. However, recent years have shown a collaboration of both events into one day, resulting in the costs being divided between both sides.

Pakistani Prewedding Traditions

This is where the bridal party, close friends and family members of the engaged couple will sing and dance traditionally while beating on a dholak drum. The night before the main ceremony is the mehndi, or henna night.

Rice in Pakistan is a high source of nutrient so it symbolises wealth and efficiency. When the Bride throws the several grains behind her, she signifies that 'she is leaving her mothers comfort and nurturing to enter in to a new family'.

It's polite to graciously accept tea and refreshments served in social situations. People wait for elders to sit down and begin before eating. Pakistanis will often use their hands to eat rather than cutlery. However, it is considered bad etiquette to pass, serve or spoon food to one's mouth with the left hand.

Here's the rub: British and Lebanese brides both traditionally wear white down the aisle; Pakistani brides, however, wear red.

If we talk about a typical Pakistani family, you should know that a marriage ceremony lasts from 3 to 7 consecutive days. Each day is full of traditions, customs, and exciting events, adding much more to the celebrations. With lots of ceremonies and games, the whole event becomes wholesome and exciting for everyone.

A bride price – or mahr – is one of the important aspects of an Islamic marriage contract. It is a gift, or a promise of a gift, to the wife by the husband. It is agreed between the parents or guardians of the bride and the groom verbally or in writing shortly before the couple's marriage.

The bride's side of the family traditionally pays for the bride's wedding dress and the bridesmaids' dresses.

Who pays a brides dowry? ›

Dowries Are the Price a Groom Pays for His Bride

It is something a woman can take as security should she choose to leave her husband. In certain cultures, the dowry can even be the engagement ring itself.

Polygamy in Pakistan is legally permissible, according to the law of 1961, but restricted to Muslim men, who may have a maximum of four wives at one time. However it is illegal for Hindus as per the Hindu marriage law.

Mangni (Engagement Party)

While at one time rings may not have been part of the Pakistani tradition, they are now commonly exchanged between the couple. During the magni (or engagement party) the groom's family will approach the bride and ask for her hand in marriage, providing a ring from the groom.

Under Muslim Personal Law, 'marriage or Nikkah is a religious legal contract that regularizes the sexual relationship between man and woman. Common law regards marriage as a civil contract with the following conditions: Parties are legally capable of contracting marriage. Mutual consent or agreement.

Pakistani Wedding Decor

The milk is traditionally given by the brides sisters. After the groom gives the sisters an offering they will give him the milk. They say the person who drinks the rest of the milk in the cup will ought to get married soon.

From the customer's point of view a typical upper-middle class Islamabadi family pays Rs 1-1.5 million for a two day event. Then there are other costs as well, such as decor, accommodation, dress, photographers. The food costs usually amount to just 20% of the entire budget.

Usually people give around 500–5000 rupees to the couple depending on their closeness to them. Extremely near relatives give more which could be over hundred thousand too.

The bedding ceremony refers to the wedding custom of putting the newlywed couple together in the marital bed in front of numerous witnesses, usually family, friends, and neighbors, thereby completing the marriage.

The Kiss of Peace

In ancient Catholic wedding ceremonies, the priest would give the groom the “kiss of peace”, and the groom would then be asked to pass the kiss on to his bride. It is thought that this may be where the phrase “you may now kiss the bride” originated.

The lighting of this candle is a ceremonial acknowledgement of the vows exchanged by the bride and groom that have united them in marriage. This single flame signifies that marriage is a joining of two people who have chosen to share life together rather than individual lives.

What is Pakistani culture rich with? ›

Pakistan has a collectivist culture in the sense that people are deeply interdependent and loyal to those who are in their inner circle. Social connections are essential to daily life, as citizens have often had to rely on themselves instead of their government for support and opportunities.

These may include incest, cannibalism and killing of parents. Psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (Sigmund Freud) believes that these may be universal taboos. Since the establishment of Pakistan, various taboos have become part of society.

Pakistani People and Community

Parents, their sons, and the sons' families will often live together in the same household. In more traditional families, men serve as head of their homes. In less traditional families, men and women make decisions together. Women are typically responsible for household duties.

As everyone knows, Islam preaches marriage without dating. So, Islam marriage doesn't undergo the whole process of an engagement or even exchanging wedding rings. That's because Islam sees dating as an act of sin. The tradition of wearing wedding rings is derived from the West which goes against the Islamic teachings.

Bindis are part of Bangladeshi culture and women in Bangladesh, irrespective of their religion, adorn themselves with bindis as an ethnic practice. In Pakistan, bindis are worn by some Muslim girls during Eid, though they are ordinarily worn by Hindu women in the Punjab and Sindh.

If you're really close to the bride or groom, then you can always ask them about the gift they want. Otherwise, you can pretty much choose anything you like such as crockery, picture frames, perfumes or fashionable accessories. If you want, you can also give cash since it is a tradition at many Muslim weddings.

The median ideal age at marriage was 18.4 years (see Table 7.5). Although ages 20-21 were considered ideal by the largest percentage of women (23 percent), more than one-quarter said it is ideal for a woman to get married at age 15 or earlier.

The nikah itself is relatively short and can take fewer than 20 minutes. Even the vows and blessings portion of the ceremony does not take long to complete. However, you should be ready to spend a long time celebrating the bride and groom.

Traditionally, black is for mourning, and often symbolizes disapproval of the marriage. If the groom's mother prefers a dark color, she should choose deep blue, emerald, or maroon. What clothes do you usually like to wear? I like to wear dresses.

A wife is entitled to a quarter share of her deceased husband's estate if she has no children. If she has children, she is entitled to one eighth. Sons usually inherit twice as much as their sisters when one of their parents dies.

What do Muslims pay for marriage? ›

A dowry in the Muslim faith is a gift, or a promise of a gift, to the wife by the husband. It is negotiated shortly before the couple's marriage and is often in written form. It is often in the form of gold coins, cash or land.

As part of Nikah, there are other rituals performed such as Mehr, Ijab-e-Qubool, and Nikah Nama. After the Nikah, the bride receives Mehr, a form of dowry for the marriage. It is believed to be a mandatory custom that signifies a promise from the groom to the bride's father that he would take care of her wife.

The Rukhsati

Then comes the anticipated intimate moment for the couple. Rukhsati means the consummation of marriage. After Rukhsati, the spouses begin living together as husband and wife. It usually takes place a few hours after the Nikah.

During this period between the nikah and the rukhsati, it is permissible for the couple to interact with each other in a manner that is permissible for a husband and wife including the actual consummation of marriage.

The ceremony

The actual Muslim wedding is known as a nikah. It is a simple ceremony, at which the bride does not have to be present so long as she sends two witnesses to the drawn-up agreement. Normally, the ceremony consists of reading from the Qur'an, and the exchange of vows in front of witnesses for both partners.

The most common greeting among Pakistanis is “As-Salamu-Alaykum” ('Peace be upon you'). Elders are greeted first out of respect. Well-acquainted men may hug each other upon greeting.

Pakistan has the fourth largest irrigation system in the world (Indus Basin). World's second largest salt mines (Khewra Mines) are located in Pakistan. The world's famous pink Himalayan salt is also mined in Pakistan. The highest polo ground in the world is in Shandur, Pakistan.