Indian wedding glossary · Before the wedding
What is Kankotri?
Also written: Gujarati wedding card, કંકોત્રી
Kankotri is the Gujarati word for the wedding invitation card, named after kanku (kumkum), the red powder families mark it with for luck.
- Who keeps it
- Gujarati Hindu and Jain families.
- When
- Sent a few weeks before the wedding.
About Kankotri
What should you know about Kankotri?
In many Gujarati families the first kankotri is offered to Lord Ganesha or the family deity before any guest receives one. The cards are often marked with a dot of kanku before they are handed out or posted.
A kankotri lists the functions in order, such as mandvo, grah shanti, mameru, pithi, jaan (baraat) and the wedding, with dates and times, and closes with the family's names.
In the order of functions
Where does Kankotri come in an Indian wedding?
Sent a few weeks before the wedding.
- Before the weddingFixing the match, the engagement, the date and the card.
- The functionsPujas, haldi, mehndi, sangeet and the family days before the wedding.
- Wedding day ritualsFrom the baraat to the pheras, nikah and anand karaj.
- After the weddingVidaai, the new home, the reception and the first visits.
Planning your own days? The free wedding function order planner puts your functions in a sensible order with dates.
On the card
What do families write on the invitation for Kankotri?
Shree Ganeshay Namah. With joy, the Patel family invites you to the wedding of our daughter Riya with Arjun.
Related words
Words that go with Kankotri
- Shadi card
A shadi card is the wedding invitation, and its card matter is the wording: the invocation, the hosts, the couple and their parents, each function with date, time and venue, and the family's welcome.
- Mandvo
Mandvo is the Gujarati word for the wedding canopy, and the mandvo or mandap mahurat is the puja when that canopy is set up and blessed before the wedding.
- Mameru
Mameru is the Gujarati custom where the bride's maternal uncle (mama) brings gifts for her, traditionally including her wedding saree, called the panetar, and her bangles.
- Pithi
Pithi is the Rajasthani and Gujarati name for the haldi ceremony, when a paste of turmeric and gram flour (pithi) is applied to the bride or groom by the family.
- Ganesh puja
Ganesh puja is the prayer to Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles, that many Hindu families hold before any wedding function so that everything goes smoothly.
Questions
Kankotri, answered
What is Kankotri?
Kankotri is the Gujarati word for the wedding invitation card, named after kanku (kumkum), the red powder families mark it with for luck.
Which families celebrate Kankotri?
Gujarati Hindu and Jain families.
When does Kankotri happen in the order of wedding functions?
Sent a few weeks before the wedding.
What do families write on the invitation for Kankotri?
Shree Ganeshay Namah. With joy, the Patel family invites you to the wedding of our daughter Riya with Arjun.
Put Kankotri on your invitation with its date, time and venue, and send it on WhatsApp. Two invitation designs are free forever.
Make your invitation