The first step in a Sikh wedding is the purchase of Rumalla Sahib, a set of four pieces of cloth to be used to cover the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy text of Sikhs. The bride’s grandparents and uncles publically acknowledge the mark of wedding by purchasing clothes and jewelleries and hosting one day meal.

The Engagement or “Kurmai”:

This formal engagement is usually conducted either at Gurudwaras or at the groom’s house. The families of the bride and groom exchange gifts like clothes, traditional sweets and jewellery.The bride’s father gives the groom a gold ring, bangle and gold coins. The bride wears these gold coins around her neck which is a tradition similar to the “mangalsutra” seen among Hindu women.

“Chunni” or Wedding Veil:

After the engagement the groom’s family visit the bride’s house for a ceremony called “Chunni” or Wedding Veil. Only close relatives and friends attend this ceremony. The groom’s mother and aunts give the bride a “Chunni”or the wedding veil at this time. The bride is also given clothes and jewellery. The groom’s mother applies “Mehendi” (Henna) on the bride’s palm. After the engagement the bride and groom are confined to their respective homes up to the date of marriage but now days this confinement is usually for one day only. The confinement period is called “Maiya” which is celebrated by the ladies singing with their drums.

Chunni Ceremony

Henna

“Vatna” Ceremony:

This ritual is conducted a few days before the actual day of wedding. In this tradition the female relatives of the bride and groom apply a scented powder consisting of turmeric, sandal, barley flour, rose water on their bodies which are followed by an auspicious bath.

“Gana” Ceremony:

In this pre wedding ritual, a red thread is tied to the right wrist of the groom and left wrist of the bride at their respective houses. It is believed that this practice is to protect the two from ill effects.

“Jaggo” Ceremony:

This ceremony is performed by the maternal relatives of the bride. They join in the late hours before the wedding day. The maternal aunt of the bride carries a decorated copper vessel with lights or “dhiyas”made of wheat flour. The aunt carries this vessel after lighting and another woman carries a long stick with bells or “ghungroos.”The ladies in group then visit the nearby relatives in the village and perform their traditional dance “giddha.”

“Gharoli” Ceremony:

This ceremony is observed in the morning of the wedding day by the sister-in –law of the groom and other female relatives. They go to Gurudwara or a nearby well to fill water in an earthen pot,“Gharoli.”This water is used to bath the groom on the wedding day. The bride also performs a similar bathing in her house.

“Chura”or the Bangle Ceremony:

This pre wedding ritual is conducted at the bride’s residence. The maternal uncle and aunt give the bride white and red bangles which are tied with gold and silver ornaments.

“Milni” or Wedding Ceremony:

On the wedding day the groom’s sisters tie a floral veil or “sehera”to his forehead. The relatives adorn his neck with currency notes. The groom wears a long coat and the male members wear pink turbans. Before leaving to the bride’s house the groom’s sisters-in law apply surma or “kohl.”

Similarly bridal make up is done in the bride’s house by their sisters and friends. They tie golden metal plates or “kalerian” to her bangles. She wears a lehenga-chunni or salwar-kameez, a hair ornament or “tikka”and a nose ring or “nath.”She also wears other ornaments and gets ready to expect her groom.

The groom accompanied with friends and relatives leaves for the bride’s house on horseback or in car as in many places, the party then arrive at the bride’s house with music and dance. The family members of both bride and groom exchange garlands and gifts. The procession then go to a Gurudwara or other wedding hall for the wedding ceremony “Anand Karaj.”After serving breakfast for all, the bride and groom sit together to attend the Guru Granth Sahib Kirtan.The men and women sit separately with legs crossed.

The groom’s sister or other female relative drapes a shall or turban cloth around his shoulders and he holds the end with his right hand. The bride’s father or other acting on his behalf holds the other end and gives it to her to hold it by her left hand. The bride and groom circle the Guru Granth Sahib four times. The groom leads the bride with a sword in his hand. The priest of the Gurudwara sings hymns from the Granth and after the fourth round, they are declared as husband and wife. All those assembled there bless the couple and give gifts. The ceremony is ended after a grand feast.

Post Wedding Ceremony or “Vidaai”:

This ceremony is a very emotional affair to the bride as she moves to depart from the house; she throws back rice or wheat over her shoulders to wish prosperity and well being to her parents.

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Amruth Sanchar

Amruth Sanchar or the Khalsa Baptism ceremony involves drinking of Amruth in the presence of five Sikhs who have been previously baptised.The ceremony is held in a quite place with the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. It was initiated by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru on the Baisakhi day March 30th 1699.Anybody who plans to undergo baptism should be aware of the commitment and significance of the tradition. Those who have undergone Amruth Sanchar are collectively called Khalsa Sikhs.
A person should wash hair, cover head and wear clean clothes to undergo baptism. He should carry the five symbols, the “five K”s or “Panch Kakka,”which are,
• Kesh: Uncut hair
• Kanga: A small comb
• Kaccha: Short trousers
• Kara: Steel bangle
• Kirpan: Sword
The ceremony is performed by six Amruthari Sikhs, who have been previously baptised. Five Sikhs will conduct the ceremony and the sixth will read the Guru Granth Sahib. The principles of Sikhism are explained to the person undergoing baptism. The sweet sugar water “Amruth” is prepared in a steel bowl and stirred with a kirpan.Verses from Anand sahib are recited followed by Ardas.The Amruth is given to the person to drink five times in cupped hands. It is also sprinkled on the eyes and hair of the person and any left over is drunk by all present. After this the code of conduct as a Khalsa Sikh is explained to the person.Baptised Sikhs should not cut their hairs, consumption of alcohol and drugs are also prohibited.

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Sikh Funeral

According to Sikh tradition, death is part of human life cycle “Ava Guvan” and a stage to reach “Nirvana” meaning final union with the God. The death ceremony is split into two parts, Sanskar, the cremation and the Antam Ardas, the final prayer.
The tradition starts with washing the body and dressing with clean clothes. The body will be burnt on the funeral pyre or taken to crematorium. Burial and submergence at the sea or river are also acceptable methods among Sikhs. As a general rule any public display of grief during the ceremony is not allowed. The cremation is performed by the eldest son or in his absence, by other close relative. As the body is being cremated, Kirtan Sohila, the bed time prayer is recited and Ardas offered. The ashes collected are disposed in the sea or nearest river. Some Sikh families living in other countries prefer to take the ashes to Punjab.
The second part Antam Ardas consists of final prayer, the complete reading of Guru Granth Sahib for ten days. This may be held in a Gurudwara or at home. The reading is meant to provide spiritual support to the family of the deceased and to seek blessing of the God to the departed soul.

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Dastar Bandi

Dastar Bandi is another important function among Sikhs. In a Sikh family this ceremony is held normally during the boy’s eleventh to sixteenth years of his age. It is usually held in a Gurudwara before the Guru Granth Sahib and following Ardas.The “Gandhi” or an elderly family member ceremonially ties the first turban on his head. The boy is explained the importance of turban as a Sikh tradition. The turban may be of any colour but usually elders use white. At present Sikhs use all colours for their turbans.

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Nam Karan

Long ago a Sikh named Shiva took his child to Guru Angad and sought for his blessing. The Guru recited “Japji”, which consists of “Mool Mantra” appearing at the beginning of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy text of Sikhs. He sprinkled holy water on the child’s face and selected a letter at random from “Japji” to name the child. This was the start of the Sikh tradition called “Nam Karan” which means naming.
The present tradition of Nam Karan is also very simple among Sikhs. After the birth of the child the mother and the child along with other relatives go to the Gurudwara for the ceremony. The “Granthi”, the person in charge of the Gurudwara or any other senior member of the family stirs water and sugar crystals in a bowl with a “Khanda”placed near the Guru Granth Sahib. While doing so he reads first five verses of “Japji Sahib” and “Mool Mantra.” A few drops of this holy water are given to the child and the remaining given to the mother.
The Sikh prayer “Ardas” is recited and the divine command “Hukam” read. The child’s name starting with the first letter of the Hukam is proposed by the Granthi and after its acceptance by all, the name of the child is declared. The boy is given the title “Singh” and the girl is given “Kaur.”After the naming ceremony the sacred pudding “Karah Parshad” is distributed to all.

Punjabi Language

The language spoken by the people of Punjab is called Punjabi. It is world’s 11th most widely spoken language and the official language of Punjab state in India. Basically an Indo- Aryan language, the exact origin of this language can not be determined easily. About one million people speak Punjabi in the whole world. It shows close resemblance to other languages like Sindhi, many of the Punjabi vocabulary have similarity to Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit and English.
There are two different scripts for Punjabi language-Perso-Arabic and Gurmukhi.The Muslims of Pakistan uses the script Perso-Arabic and the Sikhs of eastern Punjab use Gurumukhi. It also written in Devanagari script occasionally.
The present Punjabi is a tonal language that uses various tones to differentiate identical words. Therefore much effort is needed to master the tone if anybody wants to learn the Punjabi language.
The earliest traces of Punjabi literature can be seen in 9th century consisting of spiritual and religious texts written by Sufi mystics. The language used in these texts was close to “Shauraseni Apabramsha”, the vocabulary used showed Punjabi influence. Later well known poets and writers propagated Punjabi through their works, and today Punjabi literature has gained global recognition.

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Jaggo

This is a dance ceremony performed during the late hours before the wedding day. The bride’s female relations carry a decorated copper vessel called gaffer with lights or “dhiyas”made of wheat flour. The aunt carries this vessel on her head and the other women follow her in group, singing and dancing their traditional giddha. A woman carries a long stick with bells or “ghungroos.”They visit nearby relatives in the village where they are welcomed with foods, grains and ghee for lighting up the lamp.Jaggo dance is a procession to wake up and call the neighbours for wedding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMfAiR6SceE

Giddha

Giddha is another popular folk dance in Punjab which is played exclusively by women. The dance displays the vigour, elegance and elasticity of Punjabi women. This dance is performed during the Lohri festival and other celebrations like marriage and cultural programmes.
In Giddha dance, one woman plays the drum or “dholki”, while others dance in unison. They clap their hands and strike their palms against the adjacent participants. The leader of the group sings a “boli”, repeated by other women. The subject of this folk poetry, the boli, ranges from family and political life of Punjabi people to express the women’s suppressed feelings.
The women wear bright coloured dresses, salwars, kammeez, chunnis druppattas and ornaments like “suggi-phul” on head,“pazaibs” or anklets,“haarhamela” or golden necklaces. The comfortable and loose dresses help the girls to move freely with legs and hands.
The Giddha dancing girls perform mimicry with various roles playing sessions like mother-in laws, aged groom or a sister-in law and incorporate village life routines during their dance. The role playing is accompanied with corresponding songs.

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A Gurudwara consists of a main hall or “Durbar, “a free community kitchen or “Langer”, resting rooms or “Serai” and a libraray.A Gurudwara can be identified from a distance by observing the Sikh flag or “Nishan Sahib.” All visitors to the Gurudwaras should remove their shoes, wash their hands and cover their head with a cloth. Smoking, alcohol, meat and any other intoxicating substances are prohibited inside. The Guru Granth Sahib is placed on high Palanquin under a canopy inside the durbar hall.

The Custom and Protocol:

When people enter the hall, they walk slowly and respectfully to the throne or “takht” on which the holy Granth rests. The people, as they come, kneel before the Granth Sahib, the forehead touching the ground; place a small offering generally in the form of coins or flowers. Devotees then sit cross-legged on the floor with men on one side and women the other.
The daily services in the Gurudwaras consists of morning “kirtan,”singing of holy hymns; “katha” the readings of the hymns and singing of hymns from Granth Sahib. At the end of the service sacrament, a sweet vegetarian pudding or “Karah Parshad” is distributed to all devotees. They are also served with food or “Langer” from the Guru’s kitchen.

An Important Sikh Gurudwara in India is the Harmandir Sahib or the Golden Temple at Amritsar, Punjab.

The Golden Temple

Langer Hall of a Gurudwara

The main masala in a typical Punjabi dish contains onions, ginger, garlic and tomatos. The roti or chappathi made of wheat flour is the main food of many Punjabis. Another common food, lassi a preparation of curd is also widely used by the people of Punjab.

For breakfast, Parathas stuffed with onion, potatos, cauliflower, raddish and a glass of lassi (buttermilk).For lunch, Sarson Ka Saag and Makki Ki Roti with mint and onion Chutney. For dinner Mah Ki Dal, Bhunna Gosht, Tandoori Roti and Dahi Raita. Other popular Punjabi recipes include Chicken Tikkas, Dal Makhni, Punjabi Chhole and Aloo Amrtisari.
The tandoori cooking style is very common in Punjab. Traditional foods are prepared in large earthen ovens.

Some of the most common Punjabi preparations are here.

For preparing a delicious Punjabi roti, only wheat flour, water and common salt as ingredients are needed.

Punjabi Roti (Chappathi)

Punjabi Chicken Tikka

Traditional Punjabi Dinner- Naan