Indian wedding glossary · Wedding day rituals
What is Laavan?
Also written: Lavan, laav, ਲਾਵਾਂ
Laavan are the four hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib that are sung during the anand karaj while the couple walk around the Guru Granth Sahib once for each hymn.
- Who keeps it
- Sikh families.
- When
- During the anand karaj, after the palla ceremony.
About Laavan
What should you know about Laavan?
The granthi reads each laav, the ragis sing it, and the couple walk clockwise around the Guru Granth Sahib, with the groom leading and the bride holding the palla. Relatives often stand around to help the bride along.
The four laavan describe the stages of a spiritual union, and completing the fourth completes the marriage. Guests sit on the floor of the darbar hall, with heads covered and shoes left outside, as they do for any service at a gurdwara.
In the order of functions
Where does Laavan come in an Indian wedding?
During the anand karaj, after the palla ceremony.
- 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 Laavan?
Anand karaj (laavan): 10:30 am, Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
Related words
Words that go with Laavan
- Anand karaj
Anand karaj, meaning blissful union, is the Sikh wedding ceremony, held in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, in which the couple walk around it four times as the four laavan are sung.
- Palla
Palla is the moment in a Sikh anand karaj when the bride's father places one end of the groom's scarf (the palla) in the bride's hand, joining the couple before the laavan.
- Milni
Milni is the Punjabi welcome where relatives with the same relation on both sides, such as the two fathers and the two maternal uncles, meet, embrace and exchange garlands and gifts when the baraat arrives.
- Kurmai
Kurmai is the Sikh engagement ceremony, usually held at a gurdwara or at the groom's home with an ardas, where the bride's family blesses the groom and gives him gifts.
- Jaggo
Jaggo is a Punjabi night celebration where relatives carry a decorated brass pot of lit lamps on their heads and dance through the neighbourhood, singing to announce the wedding.
Questions
Laavan, answered
What is Laavan?
Laavan are the four hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib that are sung during the anand karaj while the couple walk around the Guru Granth Sahib once for each hymn.
Which families celebrate Laavan?
Sikh families.
When does Laavan happen in the order of wedding functions?
During the anand karaj, after the palla ceremony.
What do families write on the invitation for Laavan?
Anand karaj (laavan): 10:30 am, Gurdwara Singh Sabha.
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