The Significance of the Bride’s Red and White Bangles in Bengali Weddings

 

It is same with Bengali bride where more and more traditional enmblems and symbols are incorporated into her dress, although subtly. These are bride’s Shakha and Paula the red and white bangles that holds a deep cultural significance.

Shakha and Paula:

Shakha is a white bangle made from conch shell and Paula is a red coral bangle. These bangles are normally used in matching pairs on both the wrists and are an indispensable part of the bridal accoutrements in Bengali tradition.

Symbol of Marital Bliss:

The Shakha and Paula portray fertility and happiness to the bride and hence represents the well-being of the marriage. It is thought that they will help a young couple and make them all lucky and happy in their married life in future.

Traditional Customs:

Shakha and Paula are gifted to the bride by the bride’s mother before the wedding night or during the first few days of the marriage, during which the couple go through various rituals called Gaye Holud. These bangles are worn by the bride through right from the engagement ceremony and the wedding up to the reception or even the subsequent wedding ceremonies marking the new phase in her life as a married woman.

Cultural Identity:

This is not only a part of bengali bridal jewellery, they become a part of bengali bridal personality or identity. It represents the culture she comes from, the traditions that she has been raised with and the family ancestry that she has inherited and thus, could symbolize the assertion of her cultural identity as she starts a new life as a married woman.

Emotional Value:

Besides the symbolism associated with the dance, the Shakha and Paula are important to the bride for purely sentimental reasons. They are valued mementoes that keep her reminiscing with pride over her wedding event and resultant blessings showered on her by her family.

Thus, the Shakha and Paula bangles are much more than mere accoutrements in body ornaments; They are hallmarks of tradition, marital concord, cultural dignity, and emotional resonance in Bengali marriages.