# Wedding glossary

Source: https://kalyanco.com/glossary

Publisher: Kalyan Co (https://kalyanco.com)
Updated: 2026-09-24

**Ashtamangalyam** (അഷ്ടമംഗല്യം) — Kerala Hindu: A tray of eight auspicious items, such as rice, a lamp, a mirror and flowers, carried in Kerala Hindu wedding ceremonies and processions.

**Baraat** — North Indian: The groom’s wedding procession to the venue, traditionally with music, dancing and the groom on a horse or in a decorated car.

**Chenda melam** (ചെണ്ടമേളം) — Kerala: A Kerala percussion ensemble led by the chenda, a cylindrical drum played with sticks, with cymbals and wind instruments; played at temple festivals and weddings.

**Chingam** (ചിങ്ങം) — Calendar: The first month of the Malayalam calendar, from mid-August to mid-September, and one of Kerala’s most popular months for weddings.

**Destination wedding** — Planning: A wedding held away from the couple’s home town, where most guests travel and stay for several days of functions.

**Fusion wedding** — Planning: A wedding that blends traditions from two cultures, such as Western vows and a first dance with an Indian garland exchange, mehndi and a sadya.

**Haldi** — Pan-Indian: A pre-wedding ritual in which family and friends apply a turmeric paste to the couple for blessings and a glowing complexion.

**Kalyana mandapam** — Kerala: A wedding hall, common across South India, built for large ceremonies and feasts.

**Kanyadanam** — Pan-Indian: The rite in which the bride’s father places her hand in the groom’s, a central moment of many Hindu weddings.

**Karkidakam** (കർക്കിടകം) — Calendar: The last month of the Malayalam calendar, from mid-July to mid-August, traditionally avoided for Kerala Hindu weddings.

**Kasavu** (കസവ്) — Kerala: Kerala’s cream handloom cloth with a gold zari border, worn as a saree by women and as a mundu by men, especially at weddings and festivals.

**Kettuvallam** (കെട്ടുവള്ളം) — Kerala: A traditional Kerala rice barge with a curved cane-and-thatch roof, now used as a houseboat on the backwaters.

**Kollavarsham** (കൊല്ലവർഷം) — Calendar: The Malayalam calendar, a solar calendar whose year begins with the month of Chingam in mid-August.

**Lagnam** — Calendar: The zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at a given moment; wedding muhurtham times are often chosen within a favourable lagnam.

**Madhuram vekkal** (മധുരം വെക്കൽ) — Kerala Christian: A Kerala Christian pre-wedding ceremony, usually the day before the wedding, in which relatives feed the bride or groom sweets as a blessing.

**Mahr** — Kerala Muslim: A gift from the groom to the bride, agreed as part of the nikah, the Islamic marriage contract.

**Manasammatham** (മനസ്സമ്മതം) — Kerala Christian: The Kerala Christian betrothal, held in church, in which the couple formally declare their consent to marry.

**Mandap (mandapam)** — Pan-Indian: The canopied platform, often open-sided and decorated with flowers, under which a Hindu wedding ceremony takes place.

**Manthrakodi** (മന്ത്രകോടി) — Kerala Christian: A new saree blessed by the priest and draped over the bride by the groom during a Kerala Christian wedding.

**Mehndi** — Pan-Indian: Henna paste painted in patterns on the bride’s hands and feet before the wedding, and the relaxed party at which it is applied.

**Melmundu** (മേൽമുണ്ട്) — Kerala: An upper cloth draped over one shoulder and worn with the mundu.

**Minnu** (മിന്ന്) — Kerala Christian: A small gold pendant, usually marked with a cross, that the groom ties around the bride’s neck in a Kerala Christian wedding.

**Muhurtham (muhurat)** (മുഹൂർത്തം, मुहूर्त) — Calendar: An auspicious time for a ceremony, chosen from the Hindu calendar using the tithi, nakshatra and other factors; Kerala weddings are timed to the muhurtham.

**Mundu** (മുണ്ട്) — Kerala: A white or cream cloth wrapped and tucked at the waist, worn by men in Kerala; the gold-bordered kasavu mundu is worn at weddings.

**Mundum neriyathum** (മുണ്ടും നേര്യതും) — Kerala: The traditional two-piece Kerala garment for women: a lower cloth (mundu) and an upper cloth (neriyathu) draped over the blouse.

**Mylanchi** (മൈലാഞ്ചി) — Kerala Muslim: Henna in Malayalam; the mylanchi night is the henna party held before a Kerala Muslim wedding.

**Nadaswaram** — Kerala: A long double-reed wind instrument from South India, played at weddings and temple ceremonies, usually with the thavil drum.

**Nakshatra** — Calendar: One of the 27 lunar mansions, each spanning 13°20′ of the sky, used to describe where the Moon is; certain nakshatras are favoured for weddings.

**Nikah** — Kerala Muslim: The Islamic marriage contract, agreed in the presence of witnesses and an officiant; the essential ceremony of a Muslim wedding.

**Nilavilakku** (നിലവിളക്ക്) — Kerala: A tall brass oil lamp with one or more tiers of wicks, lit to open auspicious occasions in Kerala, from weddings and housewarmings to public events.

**Nirapara** (നിറപറ) — Kerala Hindu: A wooden measure filled to the brim with paddy and placed beside the lamp at Kerala Hindu ceremonies as a sign of prosperity.

**Oppana** (ഒപ്പന) — Kerala Muslim: A Malabar Muslim wedding song and dance in which women sing and clap around the bride.

**Panchangam (panchang)** — Calendar: The Hindu almanac, which records five elements for each day: tithi, weekday, nakshatra, yoga and karana.

**Panchavadyam** (പഞ്ചവാദ്യം) — Kerala: A Kerala temple orchestra of five instruments, four percussion and one wind, often played at grand arrivals.

**Pandal** — Pan-Indian: A temporary canopy built for a wedding or festival, traditionally from bamboo and woven coconut leaves, and often decorated with flowers at the entrance.

**Payasam** (പായസം) — Kerala: A sweet pudding of rice, lentils or vermicelli cooked with milk or coconut milk and jaggery; the dessert of a sadya.

**Pheras (saptapadi)** — North Indian: The rounds a Hindu couple take around the sacred fire, or seven steps taken together, which complete the marriage in many traditions.

**Pudava** (പുടവ) — Kerala Hindu: A new cloth the groom gives the bride in many Kerala Hindu weddings; the giving itself is called pudavakoda.

**Rahu kalam** — Calendar: A daily period of about ninety minutes considered inauspicious for starting anything new, avoided when fixing ceremony times.

**Sadya** (സദ്യ) — Kerala: A traditional Kerala feast of twenty or more vegetarian dishes served on a banana leaf in a set order, ending with payasam.

**Sangeet** — North Indian: The music and dance night before an Indian wedding, when both families perform prepared dances and then everyone dances.

**Special Marriage Act, 1954** — Planning: India’s civil marriage law, open to any two people regardless of religion or nationality; it requires notice to the local Marriage Officer and a 30-day notice period.

**Thalappoli** (താലപ്പൊലി) — Kerala Hindu: A welcome in which girls or women carry brass plates (thalams) with lit lamps, rice and flowers to receive the groom or a guest of honour.

**Thali (thaali)** (താലി) — Kerala Hindu: The sacred pendant the groom ties around the bride’s neck; tying it, called thalikettu, is the central moment of a Kerala Hindu wedding.

**Tharavadu** (തറവാട്) — Kerala: An ancestral family home in Kerala, traditionally shared by an extended family, often used for intimate weddings.

**Thavil** — Kerala: A barrel-shaped South Indian drum that accompanies the nadaswaram at weddings and temple ceremonies.

**Tithi** — Calendar: A lunar day: one thirtieth of the lunar month, measured as each 12° the Moon gains on the Sun. Weddings avoid certain tithis.

**Varmala (jaimala)** — North Indian: The exchange of flower garlands between bride and groom, a joyful moment of many Indian weddings.

**Walima** — Kerala Muslim: The wedding feast hosted by the groom’s family after the nikah.