#337 So Much Gold That It Needs A Map

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Welcome back to the Turn It Up podcast.
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This is Rabbia, and I'm excited to share my latest episode with you.
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Let's get into it.
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What up, it's Rabbia.
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You're turning it up on the Universal Radio, and we are getting into the end of summer.
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Yes, I do think summer is over, it's September, y'all, it's fall.
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But wedding season seems to keep going because as the days are getting shorter, the climate change and all of those wonderful impacts of having warmer days into the fall means that there's more times for people to have, more time for people to have weddings in comfortable weather.
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Whereas before, not necessarily easy to get married in the in the winter or in September in Edmonton, because you don't know when it's gonna snow.
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But besides that, there's also the issue of so many people getting married that you're having a hard time finding dates at halls or girdlas or manders, wherever you're getting married.
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So maybe you'll push it to the fall.
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Maybe you want to get those fall colors in.
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So while I am maybe, you know, saying that this is a wrap-up of my South Asian wedding series, what it really is is a pause on the South Asian wedding series.
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So we've talked about all of the wedding events, I've gone into detail for the Mendy, the Maya, what is a bakra party, what are the sociocultural contexts of South Asian weddings, and how does the matchmaking process start and end?
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So those are some of the things that I've gotten into.
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The thing is, this topic is so broad, I could go on and on and on.
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And the exciting part is, guess what?
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I probably will.
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I'm hoping that now that wedding season is a little bit slower, I can even interview some people in the wedding industry.
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And if you're listening and you're someone in the wedding industry, specifically South Asian wedding industry, and you want to like talk about your experiences or how unique and like the trends, different changes, what unique things you're seeing, I would love to chat with you.
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Send us an email at info at the universalradio.com, and we should be able to, you know, figure something out.
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That should be that would be really fun.
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I have talked a lot about the regional differences of brides and grooms and the different cultural ornamentation that happens on pre-wedding events.
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One thing that I haven't really dived into yet is the differences of ornamentation and the separate rituals around those in different regions.
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One of the ones that I have gone into a deep dive in is the Judah ceremony.
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There is a whole episode on that and the history of bangles, but there's also Kalire that are added to the bottom of those.
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And that is a quintessential Punjabi bride look.
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I'll do a little bit of a deep dive, not a deep dive, but I'll do a little bit of an overview of some of the other regions and their beautiful intricacies and differences for what brides wear.
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So in Nepal, there is a traditional ornament called the Jarkit Dilhari, which is a beautiful long green beaded chain.
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So there's multiple strands of beads and it goes up until about like your waist.
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So it's, I would say it's about like two inches thick, and it goes around the neck and it is put on kind of like a Mangal Sutra on the Nepali bride, and she wears it on her wedding day like a har.
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So she wears it over her head.
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But after she's married, she wears that ornament every event, at weddings, and instead of wearing it like around your neck, just like up and down, you actually wear it crossbody because you're married now.
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So it is something that you carry on and on throughout your life.
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So at your first anniversary, you wear it, and later on you go on and wear it.
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It's just such a beautiful statement piece, especially since a lot of South Asian brides are wearing red or other colors.
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The green really looks beautiful.
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And then I also want to mention that there is like an amulet at the bottom, and it's this gold, beautiful like piece that just looks stunning.
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I I love looking at it.
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And let's move down to Maharashtra, where brides wear Mundavalya on their foreheads, which is a chain of beads that goes across your forehead and then goes down on the sides.
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And you've probably seen that in movies of like I'm trying to think of all the South Indian movies I've watched, and it's such a beautiful look.
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It's so distinctive, and I love the way it frames a person's face.
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Okay, let's go up north to Jemun Kashmir.
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This is a beautiful piece of jewelry that I have seen some of my Kashmiri friends wear.
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And after they get married, it is so beautiful.
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And honestly, it's one of those things where it's like, I want to get that piercing because it looks cool.
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The dejerus is a pair of gold pendants hanging from the ears.
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It is a piercing that is put in kind of in the deepest part of your ear that like goes back, and it is a symbol of marital commitment in Kashmiri Bandit weddings.
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They're traditionally gifted from the groom's family and are believed to carry divine blessings for a happy married life.
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If you see women wear those, they're usually long, beautiful, and they hang down up into like the base of your neck, essentially.
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I've seen similar styles also get popularized with like gungrus and like different styles and it being modernized.
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But usually, if you are a married Kashmiri Pandit woman, you would just wear it as your regular jewelry, which is absolutely beautiful.
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We're staying up north.
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There is in Ladakh, there is Barak Barak, a turquoise studded headpiece that is Ladakh's bride's prized possession.
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It is captivating and it is one of those things that goes back to Tibetan influence where each turquoise stone is believed to hold wisdom and blessings of previous generations.
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It's passed down through your maternal line, and it's more than just a piece of jewelry that you get on your wedding day.
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It's something that you have to give to the next generation.
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And let's go a little bit.
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We're still staying north and we have Himachal Pradesh.
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There is the Chuk, the Chandarhar, Chuk, a silver hair piece, uh also known as the Jandanhar.
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It's a multi-layered necklace, which is linked to Himachal's royal history.
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And it's one of those pieces of jewelry that's so ornate that when you start looking at it, you're like, where does it end?
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Where does it start?
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It is absolutely stunning.
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And if we look at Harajana, there is the Shishful or Hansli Shishful, which is a forehead band.
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The Hansli is a thick silver neck piece where there is a like gungru is tied on it.
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There's often chains draping over the person's head, and there's also a borla.
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A borla is also worn, yes, in Rajasthan, and it is a round mangika or a tikka, which is put in the center part of your hairline, and it is part of one of the solar stringars for Hindu brides, and in Rajasthan specifically, it looks especially bridal.
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If we go to Uttarkhand, there is a lot of jewelry that is more silver, very like, you know, it's it's different from what we see around the other parts of the world.
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But one of the things are other parts of Asia, anyways, one of the most distinctive pieces of bridal jewelry in Uttarkhand is their ornate nose ring, which is the Natuli.
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It also is representative of wealth, fertility, and social status.
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And it's also passed down through families.
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One of the beautiful things about all of this bridal jewelry is that there is a lot of familial heritage and matrilineal kind of relations that are kept through this jewelry.
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Yes, maybe your husband's family is gifting it to you, but after that, you probably give it to your daughter.
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Having the like that piece of gold or jewelry being kept in a woman's hands is so important.
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Also, when we talk about what it means for women to own gold in India.
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Now, I went into that into in another episode when I was talking about dowries and all of that right here on the Turn It Up Podcast.
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So if you're gonna be listening to that one, I'll I'll let you I'll let you go listen to that one before I get into more.
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Now, I briefly touched on this in what I was just saying, but in Maharashtra, the Mundalvea and Nath are the most iconic pieces, pieces that you see in Maharashtra brides ensemble.
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So the trail of beads that goes across their forehead, and you know, this usually pearls and gold beads, sometimes red.
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There are also, you know, it goes across your forehead and then also dangles down the side of your cheeks.
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It symbolizes her readiness for marriage, and the string signifies a bride's transition from her childhood into womanhood, marking a beginning of her new life with her spouse.
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Of course, now this is more of like not childhood to womanhood.
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It's probably from being single to married life and being in a partnership because back in the day, child brides were a thing, and we're hoping that they're not anymore, right?
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So that's, I feel like it's still a beautiful symbol of being ready and connected.
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And again, the nut comes up again, a large nose ring that is worn on the bride's left nostril, which is a very captivating and quintessential South Asian part of what it looks like to look like a bride, right?
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Like I feel like it just makes it.
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It's interesting in Maharashtra, though, because Maratha queens, so Maratha royalty, were known to wear ornate nuts as a sign of their regal status and power.
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And so wearing that as a part of your bridal look really makes you look like a royal bride.
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It really adds some valor to what you look like, which is amazing.
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There is a lot of cultural and historical connections that we see happening in Maharashtern weddings.
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And I feel like it's so beautiful.
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One of the other ones I'm really I've been on Instagram and I've been scrolling through these like gorgeous belts, is there they come from Madhya Pradesh, is the Kandhora.
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It is a finely crafted waistbelt that has a like ornate gold or silver encrusted with intricate carvings.
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It is meant to be worn usually on top of a sardine and it cinches your waist and it is absolutely beautiful.
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Again, it's what is really cool is that it was also worn by warrior women back in the day, and it is a symbol of strength and dignity.
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Over time, yes, it be changed to ride a tower, but attire, but maybe it's like connecting that like strength and dignity that's needed, that strength that's needed to get into that partnership and you know learn how to communicate and bring your best to that relationship.
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In Madhya Pradesh, they also have a head ornament which is called the Rakri.
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It holds deep cultural meaning.
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It is believed to protect the bride from negative energies.
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So a lot of what we see in the ornamentation of women is it's symbolic, it has some sort of power to help people stay connected to their families, yes, but also keep them away from the evil eye.
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There, those are those are some of those, you know, very key things that we're seeing.
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If we go to Andhra Pradesh, there are some very specific and spiritual pieces that are called temple jewelry from Andhra Pradesh that has spiritual significance.
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It's traditionally crafted to adorn deities in temples.
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They symbolize divinity, eternal connection between sacred and earthly realism.
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They're often have religious motifs like goddess Lakshmi, goddess Sarswati, Lord Ganesha.
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They're commonly depicted in the meticulous handicraft that is like done to the gold or the silver, and there's precious stones, and it usually plays a significant role in rituals and festivals in Andhra Pradesh.
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And yes, it's not worn by the bride or groom, but it is a part of the wedding process.
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So if they're doing pujas, if they're doing, you know, part of the procession of the wedding, that might be something that you end up thinking about across your wedding.
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If we go to Karnataka, there is also more temple jewelry that is very significant to the region.
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So the Nekdi Churti and the Lakshi Lakshmi Haram, these gold ornaments are decorated with Lakshmi motifs.
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And these ones are actually worn for blessings of wealth and fortune because goddess Lakshmi, you know, she'll still take care of you for that.
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If we go to Tamil Nadu, there's also the Orianam, which is a gold waistbelt, and the Vanki, which is an armlet.
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Y'all, the Vanki is such a cool piece.
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I've seen it on Instagram, um, being actually reshaped into a wedding ring by this jeweler in New York City.
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If you want to check it out, just look up Vanki Ring.
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And the armlet is a symbol of being a married woman.
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It's essentially like you would wear it as a woman when you're married.
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And it's worn on the upper arm, and it has a rich tradition in Thummel tradition.
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It's described as a symbol of wealth, elegance, was worn by queens and noblewomen, but today it is often worn by brides, and it looks absolutely stunning.
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Going back to the gold waistbelt, yes, those waistbelts are the same, like not the same, but they're they're different in in Tamil, in Tamil Nadu than across India.
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But it is the beautiful gold waistbelt that you see tying those amazing heritage silk sadis that are like Binarsi silk, like they're so finely crafted, and then they are wrapped in gold.
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It is absolutely stunning to see that whole ensemble come together.
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And if we go to Kerala, there is the mulamotumala and the balakamala and the mulamutumala, which resemble jasmine buds and balakamala, which is inspired by Kerala's lush greenery to signify prosperity.
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So there is like basically the traditional jasmine hair piece that you might see women wear, is sometimes then crafted in gold for people to wear in their hair as well.
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Across India, there is also in the Telangana region, there is the Satlara or the Jada Billa Satlara, which is a seven-layer pearl necklace.
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It is also sometimes used to be wearing, like to be put in hair as well, like seven layers of pearls.
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I'm curious if that has any sort of relation to the idea that you're connected to your spouse for seven births.
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Hmm, I don't know.
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There are so many unique bridal jewelry things.
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Like I'm not even through all of them yet, but let's go to Assam.
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There is crescent moon-shaped thick bracelets that talk about the folklore between bravery and love, and there's often studded with red rubies.
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I was also watching, I was literally on Instagram looking at pictures of these, and they look very beautiful.
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If you go to Arunuchal Pradesh, there are beaded coin necklaces that are representation of tribal heritage and wealth, and they often have little like charms, like there's little fish charms, little like chili pepper, and they're very cute.
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If we go to Manipur, there is these gorgeous head pieces that look like crowns, but they represent more than that.
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They have like very fine, like filigree work, and they are raised above the head, and then alongside like the mataprati, there's also a crown on top.
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It is absolutely stunning.
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Moving to Megalia, there is the Pila and Silver Bengals Pila, which is a red and gold necklace that has beads, and people wear them all, you know, to dress up their look.
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It looks absolutely stunning.
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Going to Mizo Ram, which is there's traditional beaded necklaces and intricate bead necklaces and silver belts.
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There is a copper bracelet that's worn at Miso weddings that is a it's like copper, gold, and silver all intertwined together.
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Absolutely stunning.
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I feel like if you're looking for stuff like for your own wedding and you want to see like what kind of cool things can I incorporate, I feel like there's endless inspiration.
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Let's head to Naga Lan.
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Bridal jewelry is so connected to the sea because they are, you know, by the sea.
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A red coral necklace is considered a precious and rare material, and it has been used in Naga bridal jewelry for centuries.
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There's vibrant red beads, strands of beads, and there's selected coral beads which are strung together to create a thick band of coral beads.
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And it's not just, you know, an item that you wear at your wedding that's decoration.
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It is also, again, a symbol of the family's status in the community.
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In many Naga communities, the size and intricacies of the coral necklaces can reflect the bride's social standing, with wealthier familiers making more elaborate designs.
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And the jewelry also holds cultural significance, which represents the bride's transition into a new phase of life, naturally, as a lot of bridal jewelry does.
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If we are going to Tripura, there is these beautiful beaded belts called the Risha.
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It is a colorful belt that is made through beads, woven threads, and worn around the waist, which is again like many of these other ones, considered a symbol of honor, beauty, and fertility with vibrant colors and lots of intricate craftsmanship.
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There's also in the Thripari communities, there are silver chokers that are a crucial part of the Tripperi bridal ensemble.
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They are made from finely worked silver and are worn around the bride's neck that symbolize wealth, purity, and tradition, and is often complemented with matching earrings, armlets, and with it with a choker.
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Like there's so many beautiful examples of these like really intricate pieces of jewelry just coming from South Asia, which is I'm so inspired right now.
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Let's go to Bihar, where bridal jewelry includes traditional pieces like the tikli, which is a decorative forehead ornament, and the gangan, those big white bands that you see that are conch shell bangles that are commonly worn by Bihari brides, and they are often worn like all the way up your arms.
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So they definitely make you stand out.
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If we go to Odisha, there is also bindis that people wear that are specifically made for the wedding day, and there's also bridal jewelry that is very intricate with filigree work.
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If you look at Orisha like craftsmanship, it is absolutely very detailed.
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If we go to Sikkim, there's brides that wear live necklaces and chumbi that are made with specific cultural, like regional designs.
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And as we see that, a lot of the designs are actually often inspired from local floral or fauna, like jasmine or the jungle, or in Punjab you have bitpulpatia, which are like little gold necklaces that are inspired by the Bipbal tree, which is absolutely such like I just I love seeing that conjunction.
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And then if we go to Jarkon, there is the Karamchina, which is often considered a part of the bridal jewelries.
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It is a forehead ornament and gukra, which are circular earrings, and they are worn by tribal brides to symbolize honor, fertility, and the bride's connection to her ancestral roots.
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So I've walked through a lot of South Asia, and a lot of the jewelry has, you know, traditional bangles that are worn.
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So, like in Punjab, you have your, you know, your Judah that's red.
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In Goa, there is a Juda that is green and gold, and it's called a chudo.
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So there's like all of these similarities, and a lot of them are ornamentalizing and like really making the bride look like she is decked out head to toe and ensuring that she is protected from bad spirits and prepared for her new life ahead.
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And now I've just gone through.
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Some of the regional differences in bridal jewelry in South Asia.
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This is not even encompassing all of the traditions that are involved in putting those pieces of jewelry on.
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Because usually, when you put on the bridal chuda, when you have the Kalire put on, when you're, you know, putting on the even like the morning of the wedding when you're putting when your mom puts a gala dick on you, it is an event.
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And often, as we've seen in the conversations that we've had previously, the wedding photographers will be orchestrating and documenting that event because it is significant.
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People save their entire lives to be able to give their family, their daughters, a piece on their wedding day.
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It is something that is so significant to them to be able to create something and get their daughter prepared for this life.
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Where in a patriarchal society, yes, she is moving out of that home and leaving that family to start a new life in a new family.
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And I think there is a lot of care and like consideration that families put into what they are giving their daughters when they are doing this.
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But nowadays we see that changing and women are, you know, making their own decisions on what they want to wear.
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And as much as I've tried to do that in my own like wedding planning, the more and more I'm realizing that I don't have a control over all of it.
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So sometimes you just kind of have to go with it and allow your family to do what they need to do to make them feel like they're preparing you in the right way.
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So we've talked about all of these diverse ways people wear jewelry on their wedding day.
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And just as many types, as many like times I've talked about different types of jewelry, there are even more different types of minuscule traditions that are carried out on the wedding day across cultures, across religions.
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Now I've thought about doing a little bit more of a deep dive onto the different days.
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So, like let's say you are invited to a Hindu ceremony, a Sikh ceremony, a Jain wedding, maybe you're invited to a Muslim wedding.
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What do those look like?
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I don't know if I'll do those right now because all of them are pretty different.
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I mean, there's the bases are the same.
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Maybe you're invited to like a Malayalam Christian wedding and you're like, I don't know what to wear.
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I've never been to a church before.
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It is all very daunting.
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The thing is, I don't want to be over-generalizing and I don't want to say that this is the way to do it because every family and community does it a little bit different.
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But I think what would be interesting for this series is talking to people that are working in the industry and have seen multiple different types of weddings across religion, across culture, and see what they think are the best tips they can give to guests, because who am I to say?
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I've never actually been to like many other cultural weddings.
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I've been to Western weddings, I've been to Punjabi weddings, I've been to Hindu weddings, Sikh weddings, and I'm actually going to my first Muslim wedding very soon.
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So I am looking forward to knowing what else y'all want to see on the South Asian wedding series, because even though this is acting as like a little bookend to the first part of our breaking the mold of getting into what is the whole South Asian wedding situation that's going on, there's a lot more to talk about here.
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If this is, you know, supposed to act as a bookend to talking about South Asian weddings in the summer of 2026, I think I would be doing a disservice if I didn't talk about wedding receptions and what they have become in the last few years, maybe the last decade.
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Back in the day, growing up, there was often a wedding in the morning and the reception in the evening.
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And you know that whole day was crazy.
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And right in the middle was this very emotional event called the Dolly, or I've seen it called the Ruxati, and I've seen other words for it as well.
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But it is the moment when the daughter is leaving the home to go to her marital home, and often it is uh involves a lot of tears, and it is quite an emotional roller coaster, the wedding day that is.
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So you have your wedding in the morning, and it is very joyous, very cheerful.
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Then you go to the bride's house.
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Maybe you take pictures in between, that often happens.
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You go to the bride's house, and she is saying goodbye to her family because she's leaving and she's being made a part of this new family, that is her husband's family.
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And that moment causes every person in the room, if not every woman in that room, to have their eyes fill with tears and just think about their own moment of their doli.
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It really makes people reflect.
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I remember being eight or nine at my first doli and realizing what was happening and like crying, and I didn't even know the bride that well, but I was like, why does she have to leave?
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Then I even remember my little cousin this summer, and even before, she would start crying the day, like two days before the wedding, like before the wedding even happened, and she'd be like, I don't want her to leave.
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So the dolly happens and it is very emotional.
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And then the bride goes to the groom's house, and everyone is like, Yay, our new puppy's here.
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And it is then another emotional roller coaster because you just cried and you're like, I am, I just saw my dad cry.
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So all these people, like, what's going on?
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This is so hard.
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And then you have to go be super fun and entertain your new family, your in-laws, and you're like, I feel like the guy, the groom in the situation is put in an especially awkward situation because he's just like standing there and you're like, I'm causing all this pain to her.
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What is going on?
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You're trying to comfort her, but you're the source of her pain.
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So, what is what's a guy to do, right?
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In that situation?
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Like, what is what where is he supposed to put his hands?
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Of course, he's trying to hug her, he's trying to take care of her.
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That's his that's what you should be doing.
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I I I will say that.
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That's that's what a guy is is to do.
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After that, you have maybe the groom's family at the in-law's uh your in-law's family like setting up games for you, trying to cheer you up, and they're like welcoming you.
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But everyone's really tired because if you were at a sick wedding, everyone was up at 3 a.m.
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getting to get their hair and makeup done, and no one slept that week.
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And it is the end of that time.
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After that, imagine doing after that, you go straight to the reception, and that's what they used to do.
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And I've seen it happen a few times recently, but normally, I what I've seen more often is that the day after the wedding day, the doli, and the welcome of the bride at the groom's house, the day after is when the reception happens.
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Now we've seen receptions grow exponentially.
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I've seen everything from fireworks to smoke guns to like acrobatics, circus acts.
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They've they've really turned it into a production of itself.
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This was Ravia.
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