Juroon - May 25, 2002 at 12:00pm

A day or so before the wedding, various rituals are performed on both the bride and the groom in their own homes. One of these rituals, is the juroon ceremony. This is an Assamese ceremony that takes place in the bride's home. Several women from the groom's family arrive at the bride's home and the mother of the bride greets the mother of the groom. The bride's mother leads the groom's mother to the morol, which is a decorated small mandap made of banana or mango leaves. The bride is brought in and sits in front of a morol while the groom's mother as well as other women from the groom's family present the bride with gifts. The groom's mother also puts sindoor on the bride's forehead during this time.

After the Juroon, the women from the bride's family will leave for a nearby lake for the pani tula. The bride's mother will bring back some water from the lake which will be used for the ga dhua or haldi ceremony. Though the bride's mother is the only one who will be collecting the water in a vessel, she is accompanied by other women who are singing songs. The bride doesn't attend this ceremony and instead waits for the women to return back to her home for the next ceremony.

The haldi ceremony takes place next at the bride's home. The bride will be seated on a pira, or small stool, while her body is anointed with turmeric, sandalwood paste and oils. Their purpose is to cleanse the body, soften the skin, and make it aromatic. The water that was collected during the pani tula is also used. All the women from the bride's family as well as her female friends take part in this ceremony. The women also throw rice on the bride as a sign of prosperity.

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