Esha Deol wearing chuda at her wedding

Choora (in Hindi-Urdu) or Chuda or Chudlo[1] (in Gujarati) is a set of bangles traditionally worn by a bride on her wedding day and for a period after, especially in Indian weddings.

Materials and appearance

The choora is usually red and white; sometimes the red bangles are replaced with another colour, but they are usually only two colours. They are traditionally made of ivory,[2] with inlay work, though now made with plastic.[3] Traditionally there are 21 bangles,[4] although more recently the bride often wears 7, 9 or 11 bangles.[5] The bangles range in size according to the circumference of the top of the forearm and the wrist end so that the set fits neatly.

Gujarati Chudlo

In Gujarati tradition, the bridal bangles are referred to as Chudlo (ચૂડલો).[1] Traditionally they were made using elephant's tusks/ivory and were known as "Haathi Daant no Chudlo". These bangles are gifted to the bride by her maternal uncle "Maama".

Chudlo is generally paired with Gujarati bridal saree known as Panetar. These Chudlo bangles are generally red and green in color to match the Panetar Saree. Chudlo has great significance in Gujarati culture as is evident several folk songs like "Chudlo Lyado Ji Meera Bai Pehar Lyo" and "Radha Chudlo Perje Mara Naam Nu".[6]

Marathi Hirva Chuda

Hirva Chuda, peacock green colored Chuda bangles are preferably worn by Marathi brides. The green is the color of fertility and is associated with Devi (Hindu Goddess). In the Devi shrines of Tuljabhavani and Renukadevi, the Goddesses are adorned using Hirva Chuda. The Marathi tradition of Hirva Chuda during marriage is akin to wearing green bangles during Hariyali Teej in North India. Sometimes, green bangles are also paired with red bangles. The hirva chuda (green bangles) are worn after the haldi oil bath, given by a suvasini and are worn for a year.[7]

Nepali Chura

Chooda is often spelled as Chura[8] in Nepali. A Nepali chura set is usually made of red colored gilded bangles. Chura bangles are often paired with pote (beaded necklace).[9] Chura bangle sets are also worn during Teej celebrations as is evident from Nepali Teej songs like Chura Tika Laali.

Odia and Bengali Shakha Pola Chuda

In Odia & Bengali marriages, brides wear red and white set of bangles which are made from sea shell (shankh) and red coral (pola). Thus, Shakha are white bangles made through conch-shell and Pola are red bangles made by red corals. Loha, a large iron bangle covered with gold is also worn along with Shakha Pola Chuda.[10]

Assamese Muthi Kharu Chuda

The Muthi Kharu is a traditional and ethnic bangle worn in marriages by the bride also while celebrating Bihu festival in Assam extensively. It has a golden layer and silver in some parts making it more attractive.[11]

Customary use

Wearing the chooda is primarily an Indian Hindu tradition which is also followed by other Indian religious communities culturally. Sindhoor and Mangalsutra— are other adornments worn by married women. The custom is widely observed in Jammu, Himachal,[12] Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan[13][14] and Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.[15][4] The chooda ceremony [15] is held on the morning of the wedding or the day before.[2] The bride's maternal uncle and aunt give her a set of choodiyan.

Traditionally, the bride would wear a chooda for a full year,[16] although if a newly wed bride became pregnant before her first anniversary, the choora was taken off. When the color started to fade, her in-laws would actually have it re-colored, so everyone would know that she had been married for less than a year.[17] On an auspicious holiday, usually sankranti, after the first anniversary her in-laws would hold a small intimate ceremony in which the choora was removed and glass choodiyan (bangles) were placed on both hands. This usually was accompanied with mithai (Indian sweets) and a monetary shagun. The chooda then was taken to a river and a prayer was said and it was left to float onto the water. Afterwards the woman could wear other chooda in any colour for as long as she liked.

It is now normal for the bride to wear her chooda for a month and a quarter (40 days). As the chooda is made of fragile materials, Indian custom has it that the bride may refrain from heavy housework in her marital home to keep it intact for the 40 days, as a kind of honeymoon. After that, in traditional homes at least, she takes over the lion's share of domestic work from her mother-in-law.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Gujarat (India) (1969). Gazetteers: Bhavnagar District. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications.
  2. 1 2 Veena Talwar Oldenburg (2002). Dowry Murder: The Imperial Origins of a Cultural Crime. Oxford University Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-19-515072-8.
  3. ↑ Amiteshwar Ratra; Praveen Kaur; Sudha Chhikara (1 January 2006). Marriage And Family : In Diverse And Changing Scenario. Deep & Deep Publications. pp. 500–. ISBN 978-81-7629-758-5.
  4. 1 2 Mathew Mathews (2017). Singapore Ethnic Mosaic, The: Many Cultures, One People. World Scientific Publishing Company. p. 317. ISBN 978-981-323-475-8.
  5. ↑ Mina Singh (2005). Ceremony of the Sikh wedding. Rupa & Co. p. 38. ISBN 9788129106339.
  6. ↑ Sharma, Manorma (2004). Folk India: A Comprehenseive Study of Indian Folk Music and Culture. Sundeep Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7574-135-5.
  7. ↑ The Illustrated Weekly of India. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. July 1970.
  8. ↑ Śarmā, Tārānātha (1983). Beginning Nepali (in Nepali). Sajha Prakashan.
  9. ↑ Shrestha, Bimala (1997). Social Life in Nepal, 1885-1950. Vani Prakashan Co-operative Limited.
  10. ↑ Sharma, Arvind; Young, Katherine K. (2001-11-01). The Annual Review of Women in World Religions: Volume VI. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-5426-8.
  11. ↑ Sarma, Ashok (2004). Folk Culture of the Misings of Assam: Tradition and Change. Decent Books. ISBN 978-81-86921-27-2.
  12. ↑ affair, Wedding (2023-01-19). "The Himachali Wedding". Wedding Affair. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  13. ↑ Pravina Shukla (2015). The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India. Indiana University Press. p. 431. ISBN 978-0-253-02121-2.
  14. ↑ Taknet, D. K.; IntegralDMS (2016-07-07). Jaipur: Gem of India. IntegralDMS. ISBN 978-1-942322-05-4.
  15. 1 2 Kumar Suresh Singh; Anthropological Survey of India (2005). People of India. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 1127. ISBN 978-81-7304-114-3.
  16. ↑ Pravina Shukla (2015). The Grace of Four Moons: Dress, Adornment, and the Art of the Body in Modern India. Indiana University Press. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-253-02121-2.
  17. ↑ Prakash Tandon (1968). Punjabi Century, 1857-1947. University of California Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-520-01253-0.
  18. ↑ Surinder Singh bakhshi (2009). Sikhs in the Diaspora. Dr Surinder Bakhshi. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-9560728-0-1.
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