A Hindu wedding in Sydney

We've just returned from a very pleasant few days in Sydney and Canberra. In Sydney we were honoured to attend the wedding of a friend's daughter. This was a very interesting occasion as the marriage involved not one but two separate ceremonies on consecutive days. The first ceremony was the Sinhalese Poruwa ceremony. Buddhism was repeatedly mentioned during this ceremony by the Sri Lankan celebrant who seemed to say that he was conducting the ritual on behalf of the clergy. I have attended many such ceremonies and have not previously understood that this was the case. In fact the Buddhist clergy are not supposed to have anything at all to do with marriages and weddings - not that such a rule got in the way of one monk I know of who made a lot of money out of arranging marriages until outrage finally saw him get into trouble. [Ordination rules also prevent Buddhist monks from touching money, too.] Anyway, as we also had a Poruwa wedding coming up to fifty years ago, I really enjoyed the memories it brought back. Unfortunately the bright lighting behind the poruwa and the fact that I could not get a good position means that I don't have even a half decent picture.

Hindu Temple, Sydney

The next morning saw us at a Hindu temple for the second ceremony. This was my first Hindu wedding and I think the ceremony has similarities with the Sikh weddings I have attended. Unlike in the Poruwa ceremony, only the groom was asked if he agreed to the marriage - an interesting difference I thought.

The bride's sister looked especially lovely in her colourful sari.

At the auspicious time the groom entered followed by his family. We then had to wait until it was the auspicious time for the bride to join him under the canopy.

As soon as the bride was seated on the groom's right the ceremony began.

At the end of this interesting and colourful ceremony we joined the long line of guests to offer our blessings and have our photo taken with the newly married couple.