The Ambani pre-wedding festivities have given us countless memes, a never-ending existential crisis and the question du jour: What on Earth is a Mameru ceremony?
The Earth continues to rotate on its axis and the pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant churn out another ceremony with blinding displays of jewellery and clothes. The most recent ceremony confounded most of the audience glued to Instagram as paparazzi footage began to filter through on our feeds: The Mameru/Mosadu/Mausalu night.
The Ambanis and their extended family gathered in their palatial Mumbai residence Antila to celebrate the ceremony officially kicking off the wedding rituals. Before we move on to (impatiently) waiting for whichever International superstar the Ambanis unleash upon their well-heeled guests in the coming days, we figured we’d take a closer look at what exactly goes on at a Mameru/Mosadu/Mausalu ceremony.
The Ambanis might like to enjoy a Katy Perry concert on an Italian cruise for the pre (pre?) wedding festivities, but their hearts are rooted in Gujarati traditions. After a mass community wedding ceremony, the billionaires and their celebrity guests made their way to Antila for the Mameru ceremony.
The groom’s mother Nita Ambani’s family came to bless the soon-to-be-wed couple and bestow them with gifts. Anant Ambani’s maternal grandmother Smt Mamta Dalal and aunt Mamta Dalal led the ceremony last night.
Which brings us to the question: What goes on at a Mameru ceremony?
It’s a Gujarati ceremony where, traditionally, the bride’s maternal uncle, the mama, and maternal aunt’s husband, the mausa, visit the bride and groom to bestow gifts upon them. In turn, the couple asks for their blessings. This, officially, kicks off the wedding rituals.
Usually, the uncles gift the bride a traditional Panetar sari, ivory or white chura, sweets and dry fruits.
The ceremony is very similar to other North Indian wedding rituals. Maternal uncles are put to work during their nieces’ weddings. Take the Mahira Dastoor ceremony in Marawari cultures or the Bhaat ceremony popular across the region. In the ceremony, the mother of the bride goes to her brother’s house to invite him for bhaat, a simple meal, where she gives him a formal invite to the wedding and receives gifts from the uncle for the bride and the groom.
Another similar ceremony popular in Hindu culture is the Mayra. Historically, the uncle would bring the wedding dresses for the bride and her mother during the ceremony. But now that the brides have started taking the lead on their bridal outfits, the ceremony has been adapted to individual family rituals.
What is the ceremony called in your culture?
Salva Mubarak is the Digital Editor of Manifest. In her free time, she likes to read murder mysteries, discover new KitKat flavours, and rank movie makeovers (not necessarily in that order). View Profile
