AllAboardTheBlingTrain
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2020
- Messages
- 2,995
Hi everyone! There was a bit of interest in a thread like this over on a different thread so I thought I’d write something up... just as an FYI that jewelry is highly specific to the different communities and subcultures that a person belongs to so this is just borne from my experience. Maybe others would also like to chime in 
I didn’t do pictures because it was really hard to find a representative one... there are several different types of necklaces for example, so which one should I include here? 
I put the names though to make it easy to google. Hope this is interesting for people to read @RunningwithScissors @Daisys and Diamonds @kipari hope this isn’t too much
Traditionally, in terms of decorating the bride, there are a ton of things she must wear (not all of them are jewelry). Nowadays, not all brides wear all of them, but out of the 16 you can usually see people incorporate at least 9 or 10. I usually see people hitting 12 of these, easy.
- outfit: self explanatory most common are lehengas (blouse skirt and scarf/stole), saris (blouse, petticoat and long draped fabric), kurtas (tunic, pants and scarf/stole). Most brides usually take a second scarf/stole (called a dupatta) and wear it on their heads like a veil.
- bindi: the dot between the brows. Used to be applied with vermillion powder, but nowadays you can buy stick on ones.
- sindoor: red vermillion powder that is applied to the middle parting of the hair by the groom during the ceremony. It signals a married woman.
- kajal: kohl for the eyes (though usually brides nowadays just use eyeliner)
- hair decoration: traditionally the hair is twisted into either a braid (in the south) or a bun (in the north) and decorated with flowers.
- Head ornament: an ornament worn at the hairline. If it’s a pendant in the centre, often round/oval, sometimes with a drop, it’s called a maangtikka. If it has lines of metal/stones framing the pendant from on either side till the ears and possibly down the middle of the head, the lines are called a mathapatti. If it’s a triangular shaped pendant worn to the side, in the hair, almost touching the temples/ear, it’s called a passa.
- earrings: again different types and shapes are worn. If your earring is really heavy, you can get a decorative ear chain that hooks around your whole ear and keeps it from falling off. Popular styles are jhumkis/jhumkas, which are shaped almost like an umbrella/bell, chaandbalis, which have a wide crescent moon like shape, chandeliers, jhalars, which are like long earrings with long thin strings (???) like a tassel almost?
- nath: nose ring. A very quintessentially bridal thing, while others might wear a small nose ring (especially if they have a pierced nose), bridal naths tend to be pretty elaborate and heavy and can sometimes be held up by a chain to stop the nose from tearing. Guests will usually just wear a stud if at all, unless they’re the mother/sister of the bride.
- necklaces: a lot of brides barely stop at one. Two or more is pretty common. You can find everything from chokers to collar necklaces to bib necklaces to long necklaces. Some quintessentially Indian ones are the tevta, which is a thick large pendant on a bunch of pearl or coloured stone strings held closely together as a rope, aadh, Which is a block of gold as a choker which continues down in a rectangular shape and ends in a series of triangles, Rani haar, which is just a name for a long dramatic necklace, satlada, which is a collection of 7 pearl strings with small pendant spacers dangling between each string, gulbandh, which is like a collar necklace that starts at/under the collarbone, etc. The most important necklace for a married woman is the mangalsutra, which is like a pendant on a string of black and gold beads that the groom makes the wife wear during the ceremony. It’s like the wedding ring for Indians. Nowadays fewer brides wear one everyday after marriage, but that was the norm back in the day.
- bangles: made of glass or gold or lac (which is a kind of resin, I think) is a must have for brides. These are slipped on to the wrist, not opened with a clasp. Kangan or chudiyan are other words for bangles. The bridal chooda, as it’s called in some parts of the country, is super important. They can also wear thick bracelets (which are openable with a clasp of some kind), called a kada. Some brides tie kaleere, which are like umbrella shaped hangings, to their wrists and then shake them over their female unmarried relatives and friends’ heads, if a kaleera falls on a girl it means she’ll get married soon (so sort of like the bouquet tradition in Christian weddings
- bajubandh: armlet, worn on upper arm. Much more essential for a South Indian bride.
- rings: traditionally, brides wore hathphool, which is like a collection of rings that are attached with chains/harness to a bracelet (kada) at the wrist. Traditionally, brides wore aarsi, which are rings with mirrors on them, on one finger (I think the thumb?) so that they could catch a glimpse of their husbands.
- mehendi: or henna. Again, quintessentially bridal, though guests apply it too. But it’s done differently. Guests usually just put some on their palms or back of the hand, but the bride’s henna is more elaborate, traditionally goes all the way up to her elbows or even upper arm, and knees (though nowadays hands, forearms and feet only is more common).
- kamarbandh: waistband. Can be cloth these days, but usually metal (gold). Much more essential for South Indian brides.
- perfume: so you smell nice
- foot accessories: anklets (pajeb or payal). Traditionally it was not made of gold (at least in some parts of the country) because you didn’t wear gold on your feet! Also, toe rings (bicchua). Toe ring on the second toe was considered a symbol of a married woman though nowadays I know very few women who wear them daily. Also, like pajeb, made of silver traditionally.
Whew. For the 2 people who made it all the way to the end, I hope it was informative and fun to read
I didn’t do pictures because it was really hard to find a representative one... there are several different types of necklaces for example, so which one should I include here? I put the names though to make it easy to google. Hope this is interesting for people to read @RunningwithScissors @Daisys and Diamonds @kipari hope this isn’t too much Traditionally, in terms of decorating the bride, there are a ton of things she must wear (not all of them are jewelry). Nowadays, not all brides wear all of them, but out of the 16 you can usually see people incorporate at least 9 or 10. I usually see people hitting 12 of these, easy.
- outfit: self explanatory
most common are lehengas (blouse skirt and scarf/stole), saris (blouse, petticoat and long draped fabric), kurtas (tunic, pants and scarf/stole). Most brides usually take a second scarf/stole (called a dupatta) and wear it on their heads like a veil.- bindi: the dot between the brows. Used to be applied with vermillion powder, but nowadays you can buy stick on ones.
- sindoor: red vermillion powder that is applied to the middle parting of the hair by the groom during the ceremony. It signals a married woman.
- kajal: kohl for the eyes (though usually brides nowadays just use eyeliner)
- hair decoration: traditionally the hair is twisted into either a braid (in the south) or a bun (in the north) and decorated with flowers.
- Head ornament: an ornament worn at the hairline. If it’s a pendant in the centre, often round/oval, sometimes with a drop, it’s called a maangtikka. If it has lines of metal/stones framing the pendant from on either side till the ears and possibly down the middle of the head, the lines are called a mathapatti. If it’s a triangular shaped pendant worn to the side, in the hair, almost touching the temples/ear, it’s called a passa.
- earrings: again different types and shapes are worn. If your earring is really heavy, you can get a decorative ear chain that hooks around your whole ear and keeps it from falling off. Popular styles are jhumkis/jhumkas, which are shaped almost like an umbrella/bell, chaandbalis, which have a wide crescent moon like shape, chandeliers, jhalars, which are like long earrings with long thin strings (???) like a tassel almost?
- nath: nose ring. A very quintessentially bridal thing, while others might wear a small nose ring (especially if they have a pierced nose), bridal naths tend to be pretty elaborate and heavy and can sometimes be held up by a chain to stop the nose from tearing. Guests will usually just wear a stud if at all, unless they’re the mother/sister of the bride.
- necklaces: a lot of brides barely stop at one. Two or more is pretty common. You can find everything from chokers to collar necklaces to bib necklaces to long necklaces. Some quintessentially Indian ones are the tevta, which is a thick large pendant on a bunch of pearl or coloured stone strings held closely together as a rope, aadh, Which is a block of gold as a choker which continues down in a rectangular shape and ends in a series of triangles, Rani haar, which is just a name for a long dramatic necklace, satlada, which is a collection of 7 pearl strings with small pendant spacers dangling between each string, gulbandh, which is like a collar necklace that starts at/under the collarbone, etc. The most important necklace for a married woman is the mangalsutra, which is like a pendant on a string of black and gold beads that the groom makes the wife wear during the ceremony. It’s like the wedding ring for Indians. Nowadays fewer brides wear one everyday after marriage, but that was the norm back in the day.
- bangles: made of glass or gold or lac (which is a kind of resin, I think) is a must have for brides. These are slipped on to the wrist, not opened with a clasp. Kangan or chudiyan are other words for bangles. The bridal chooda, as it’s called in some parts of the country, is super important. They can also wear thick bracelets (which are openable with a clasp of some kind), called a kada. Some brides tie kaleere, which are like umbrella shaped hangings, to their wrists and then shake them over their female unmarried relatives and friends’ heads, if a kaleera falls on a girl it means she’ll get married soon (so sort of like the bouquet tradition in Christian weddings
- bajubandh: armlet, worn on upper arm. Much more essential for a South Indian bride.
- rings: traditionally, brides wore hathphool, which is like a collection of rings that are attached with chains/harness to a bracelet (kada) at the wrist. Traditionally, brides wore aarsi, which are rings with mirrors on them, on one finger (I think the thumb?) so that they could catch a glimpse of their husbands.
- mehendi: or henna. Again, quintessentially bridal, though guests apply it too. But it’s done differently. Guests usually just put some on their palms or back of the hand, but the bride’s henna is more elaborate, traditionally goes all the way up to her elbows or even upper arm, and knees (though nowadays hands, forearms and feet only is more common).
- kamarbandh: waistband. Can be cloth these days, but usually metal (gold). Much more essential for South Indian brides.
- perfume: so you smell nice
- foot accessories: anklets (pajeb or payal). Traditionally it was not made of gold (at least in some parts of the country) because you didn’t wear gold on your feet! Also, toe rings (bicchua). Toe ring on the second toe was considered a symbol of a married woman though nowadays I know very few women who wear them daily. Also, like pajeb, made of silver traditionally.
Whew. For the 2 people who made it all the way to the end, I hope it was informative and fun to read
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