The Chooda Ceremony

Preparing the bride for her wedding ceremony

The Chooda ceremony is a joyful, women-centered rite held on the morning of a Punjabi Hindu wedding (often after the haldi). The bride sits on a low stool while her mama and mami — maternal uncle and aunt — slide a set of ivory-and-vermilion bangles onto each arm, usually 21 or 51 in number. Sisters, cousins, and close female friends gather to lace the bangles with gold kalire tassels, sing folk boliyan, and feed the bride sweets while elderly women sprinkle rosewater or pat her head in blessing. Male relatives are present but watch from a respectful distance; the spotlight stays on the maternal side, whose role is considered auspicious for a daughter’s send-off.

The red-and-ivory chooda proclaims the bride’s new marital status for up to forty days after the wedding, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and the continuity of family lines. Because it is gifted by the mother’s family, the ceremony also honors the nurturing years the bride spent in her maayka (parental home) and the loving authority her maternal kin still hold in her life. Each clinking bangle is thought to ward off negativity and remind the bride that she carries the strength, prayers, and joy of her clan as she steps into married life.