Weddings in Nepal

I have been to a few weddings recently. This is because there are certain days when people are allowed to get married here. Since some of these days seem to fall at the beginning of the new year, this has resulted in many weddings taking place at the same time.

I never knew the bride and groom beforehand. But since I was seen as part of Anil's family, I felt invited too, so I went along. Generally, invitations are very generous, so the whole village comes together for a wedding. A wedding invitation is seen as a nice change and a reason to dress up, and is therefore gladly accepted.

Upon arrival, the guests give the bride and groom money and put a "tika" (blessing in the form of red paint) on their foreheads. At one of the weddings I attended, the guests even washed the bride and groom's feet as part of this ritual. Once this is done, the guest has fulfilled his "duties". As guests come and go throughout the day, the bride and groom sit for many hours to receive the congratulations and blessings.

The wedding ceremonies were slightly different each time. I found out that each caste has its own wedding rituals. Even though the caste system was officially abolished in Nepal in 1963, it is still present in everyday life.

Regardless of the rituals, all weddings were similar in that the bride and groom were busy the whole time, while the guests enjoyed themselves with food and dancing and did not really pay attention to what was happening to the bride and groom.

After my experiences at weddings, I asked around a bit and was confirmed in my belief that it is much more fun to be a guest at other people's weddings than to be the bride or groom at your own wedding. Since the wedding lasts several days with pre-partying, ceremony and post-partying, and these days are always full of obligations for the bride and groom, your own wedding is understandably very stressful.

The wedding ends with the bride being handed over to the in-laws' house. In Nepal, it is customary for sons to stay with their parents after the marriage and daughters to move in with their in-laws. This means that having at least one son is a good retirement plan.

One of the weddings I attended was actually held in the capital city of Kathmandu. Special buses were hired to transport the wedding party there. The wedding in Kathmandu was also a love marriage, which is actually a rarity here, as most marriages are arranged.