Indian wedding glossary · The functions
What is Ladies sangeet?
Also written: Dholki, geet
Ladies sangeet is the traditional women's gathering before a wedding, with a dholak and folk wedding songs, held at home in the days before the wedding.
- Who keeps it
- Punjabi, Haryanvi, Rajasthani and many North Indian families.
- When
- In the days before the wedding, often several evenings in a row.
About Ladies sangeet
What should you know about Ladies sangeet?
The women of the family and neighbourhood sit together and sing ghodi songs for the groom, suhaag songs for the bride and teasing songs about the other family, with a dholak and a spoon on its rim keeping time. In Punjabi homes it is often called a dholki.
It is smaller and more informal than a modern sangeet night, and many families hold one or several in the week before the wedding.
In the order of functions
Where does Ladies sangeet come in an Indian wedding?
In the days before the wedding, often several evenings in a row.
- 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 Ladies sangeet?
Dholki at our place! Ladies sangeet, Tuesday, 10 February, 6 pm. Bring your voices.
Related words
Words that go with Ladies sangeet
- Sangeet
Sangeet is the music and dance night before the wedding, where both families perform songs and dances for the couple and each other.
- Mehndi
Mehndi is the ceremony where henna is applied to the bride's hands and feet in detailed patterns, while the women of the family sing, dance and celebrate around her.
- 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.
- Mata ki chowki
Mata ki chowki is an evening of devotional songs to the Mother Goddess that many Punjabi and North Indian families hold at home before a wedding to seek her blessing.
- Ghudchadi
Ghudchadi is the ritual where the groom mounts a decorated mare (ghodi) before the baraat, with his sisters and sisters-in-law performing small customs around him.
Questions
Ladies sangeet, answered
What is Ladies sangeet?
Ladies sangeet is the traditional women's gathering before a wedding, with a dholak and folk wedding songs, held at home in the days before the wedding.
Which families celebrate Ladies sangeet?
Punjabi, Haryanvi, Rajasthani and many North Indian families.
When does Ladies sangeet happen in the order of wedding functions?
In the days before the wedding, often several evenings in a row.
What do families write on the invitation for Ladies sangeet?
Dholki at our place! Ladies sangeet, Tuesday, 10 February, 6 pm. Bring your voices.
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