Ismailis are the third largest branch of the Shi’a sect of Islam, and the only Shi’a community with a continuing line of Imams.

Ismaili weddings take place in the Jamaat Khana or the Ismaili Centres

The Ismaili priest, known as the Mukhisahib is allowed to do an Ismaili blessing and a civil wedding ceremony.

An Ismaili wedding is a celebration of a four to five days event starting with the Mehndi followed by the Pithi and the following day is the big day the Nikkah Ceremony and Reception. The final day is called the Rukhsati “send off”, when the bridegroom and his family will leave together with bride.

Mehndi Ceremony

Mehndi, the Henna ceremony refers to the decorative henna applied on woman’s hands and feet, particularly a bride’s. Traditionally, the women from both the bride and groom’s families get together on the evening when the bride’s Heena is applied to dance, sing and celebrate. The bride’s Heena is said to signify the strength of love in the Marriage: The darker the mehndi, the deeper the love. Also, as long as the mehndi doesn’t fade, the new bride is excused from doing household chores. Thus brides try to keep the mehndi fresh and vibrant for as long as possible!

Pithi Ceremony

Pithi refers to a cleansing ceremony generally held the evening before the wedding, in which the bride and groom are rubbed with turmeric paste in a beautification process. It is believed that turmeric softens and whitens the skin, so the purpose of this ceremony is to help the bride and groom to be radiant for their wedding. Family members and friends often times have fun getting the bride and groom completely covered in the paste.

As a part of the Pithi, family and friends also bless the couple with good luck (by dabbing their forehead with saffron), shiny hair (by anointing them with oil), prosperity (by giving money), abundance (by showering them with rice), and sweetness (by feeding them sugar). The bride and groom’s ceremonies are traditionally held separately at their respective homes, but for our purposes, we have combined them, and the Mehndi, into a single event.

Nikkah Ceremony

Nikah, or Nikkah, (Arabic: النكاح ‎), is the matrimonial contract between a bride and bridegroom within Islamic marriage.

Ismaili Ceremony

The sari is usually worn over a blouse and petticoat.

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STEP SIX

Two ways of wearing a sari

A Sari is an unstitched and uncut, rectangular piece of cloth worn by women in the Indian sub-continent since ages.

They come in various lengths, colors and designs. Fabric ranges from textured hand- woven to sheer luxurious silks to the modern day synthetic ones.

Even today there are a wide range of traditional Saris, created with a range of fabrics and designs which reflect the country’s great culture.

Although Sari is an untailored length of cloth, the fabric is highly structured and its design vocabulary very sophisticated.

Traditionally, each area of the Sari structure communicated a woman’s social and family status, as well as her regional identity; for certain colors and motifs were region and community specific. The size or elaboration of motifs on the sari and sophistication of colors were also an indication of the monetary status of the wearer. For, the more elaborate the ornamentation on the Sari more is the time taken to weave it and hence the more expensive it is.

 A sari is divided into three areas:

1. Longitudinal Borders or “Kinara”

2. The End piece or the “Pallu”

3. The Field or the “Jamin”

1. Longitudinal Borders or “Kinara”:

These borders usually extend the full length of the Sari. These may be created using these techniques:

As a woven design created by contrasting supplementary warp or weft weaving.

Through the warp threads on Border being a different color to the warp making the field.

By printing on the border or doing embroidery.

2. The End piece or the “Pallu”:

The end piece is the part of the Sari that is draped over the shoulder and left to hang over the back or front of the body.

The degree of embellishment on this part of the Sari depends on how it will be draped by the wearer, as well as the occasion for which it is used.

If the woman wears the sari in such a way that the “Pallu” is in the front then the chances are that the pallu will be more embellished. Also for more formal occasion the saris have heavier decoration on the end piece.

3. The Field or the “Jamin”:

Field of the sari is the one which occupies most of the area.

It can be simple with one background color or it can have some big plaids or it can have “butis”(small motifs) all over the ground.

Usually this part of the sari is in contrast with the border or the end piece.