Pakistani Henna

vinithathomas22
Oct 11, 2014
2 min read

Marriage in Pakistan is a legal union between a man and a woman. Culturally, it is not only a link between the husband and wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. Since about 97% of Pakistan's population is Muslim the Islamic law is usually observed.

Given the diversity of Muslims, some of the most common events that are held in a Pakistani marriage include variations of the following. Marriage Proposal, Engagement, Dholki, Mehendi (Henna), Barat, Nikah, Registration, Reception, Rukhsti (Farewell), Valima (Walima), and Honeymoon. The only Islamic requirement is the Nikah and Valima. Other events are cultural additions and registration is usually a legal requirement.

The Dholki or Dholak celebration takes its name from the percussion instrument Dholki, which is featured heavily during this wedding celebration. 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 percussion instruments. Today, this ceremony has also been reduced to a single night of singing and is often combined with Mehndi or Henna ceremony.

Mehendi the Henna ceremony, or the Rasm-e-henna ceremony, typically takes place one or two days prior to the main wedding day. The event is traditionally held separately for the bride and the groom. The henna is symbolically placed on the couple's hands. The groom's friends and family bring along sweets and henna for the bride, and the bride's family does the same for the groom. In the bride's ceremony, the groom normally does not participate, and similarly on the groom's event, the bride stays at home. Female guests are sometimes offered mehendi at the host's discretion. Sometimes, elaborate musical and acting performances are part of the Mehndi celebrations. Elaborate dance sequences and competitions between the bride and groom's families are also quite common these days. Traditionally, the Mehendi was considered a women's event and men did not participate in it. However, this has changed substantially in recent times with males featuring prominently in the Mehndi celebrations as well.