Unique wedding between two trees in Uttarakhand

The century-old tradition of entwining the Banyan tree's branches with that of peepal tree which is considered sacred by the Rait residents was performed at Harju temple in Almora district of Uttarakhand on Monday. This time the ritual was performed on two-year-old banyan and peepal tree at Harju temple and a grand feast was organised for all the guests.

Almora (Uttarakhand):Amidst the blowing of conch shells and a colourful procession, people of Rait village of Uttarakhand's Almoradistrict married off two trees in a specially organised wedding ceremony on Monday.

The century-old tradition of entwining the Banyan tree's branches with that of peepal tree is considered sacred by the Rait residents.

This time the ritual was performed on two-year-old banyan and peepal tree at Harju temple and a grand feast was organised for all the guests.

Villagers split into two groups representing the bride and the groom for the ceremony.

Women represent the peepal tree whereas men represent banyan tree during the marriage.

On the occasion, women dressed in traditional attire take out a grand procession towards the wedding venue and carry urns on their heads.Men of the village representing the banyan tree carry out the procession amid beating drums and singing.

As the two groups reached the temple, priests performed rituals and chanted ‘slokas’ and declared them as a “couple”.

"As per Hindu customs, peepal tree is considered holy, hence it is worshipped by Hindus. It is also used for performing the last rites of a person. After performing the last rites, peepal tree is not worshipped by the people of Rait until it is not married off to a banyan tree. Therefore, the ritual plays a key role in maintaining the divinity of the peepal tree," a local told.