Weedings in Newar Community

Weddings in Newar Community

As the mellow dusk sets against the busy Newa neighborhood, giving way

to a serene blue sky, an elderly woman looks nostal gically over the newly

wed bride. The old woman, who was also once a bride, stands observing

the unfolding story of human hopes enduring against the creases of time.

Had it not been for love, the world would have never found a reason to

celebrate and to hope.

As the bride devoutly bows down to the bridegroom, sharing all her hopes

with his, the psychedelic wedding feast waits below.

Time comes and goes, and life events like marriage are repeated over and

again. Every time history repeats, however, the characters change while

the hopes and the dreams endure. The old woman’s curious eyes still

sparkle with undefeated hope for the future as she watches the crowd of

celebrants.

The bride, meanwhile, with feminine grace, dreamy eyes and shy but

promising smile, literally lives up to the word “better half”. And, while

bridegroom evokes a faint smile in the shade, it is actually the bride who

breathes life into it.

Ever since her childhood, when she stealthily smeared her lips with her

mother’s lipstick or draped a sari around her, she awaited this day. She is

adorned with gold from head to toe, but the grace radiating from her face

is the most precious.

Then, suddenly one day, she is transfigured into a princess and the whole

world seems to revolve around her.

Dressed in a special brocade sari and typical Newa jewels, the bride

personifies elegance. In a Newa marriage, like most Hindu marriages, the

bride is dressed in the image of a deity (or, is it that most Hindu deities are

created in the image of a bride). According to popular myth, the bride

personifies good luck, loveliness and divinity. Marriage is not just aboutliving with another person, however, but more importantly is about

unifying the yin and yang forces of Nature, giving continuity to the human

race.

To prepare her for this great task of creation, special attention is given to

adorn her, to worship her and to purify her being. This way the sacred

union of marriage takes place in a pure space, which will determine the

quality of the life of the couple in union.

In the meantime, it is also a day of great transition, both physical and

emotional. While on the one hand, she is elated with the prospect of

conjugal life, on the other she appears to have doubts. The home where she

grew up and discovered herself, the place where she shaped most of her

dreams and, more importantly, the persons through whose eyes she learned

to see the world, will soon be all behind.

All eyes, of the eldest, of the youngest or in between, are curiously

following the ceremony as if there is nothing in the world so important to

be attended. The crowd around the bride heightens the importance of her

presence and the event and she is, for the moment, the center of their

world. The bride, haloed by the mystic aura, blushes.

The marriage is not a special event only for the bride and groom, but also

for those gathered for the celebration. It gives continuity to eternal ritual,

a communion of souls and is another excuse to celebrate the richness of

life.

Newa tradition stands for the celebration of life. Newa feasts and dances,

known for their lavishness, epitomize the spirit of the celebrations. And

when it come to marriage, celebration is not compromised.

Marriage is a dream in the eyes of everyone since childhood. A small girl,

juxtaposed against the bride, peers into the mirror and tries to put herself

into the shoes of the bride just as the lads in the other room try to emulate

the groom.

Whether it be as a dream in the eyes of a child, or the memory in the eyes

of the old woman, this once-in-a-lifetime day will linger on in memory.

Source : ECS NEPA

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