Jolbhora consists of two words – jol means water and bhora means to fill up. Hence the ritual literally means filling up of jars/pitchers (usually Kolosh or brass jar/pitcher) for pre-wedding bath after “Gaye Holud”.
The day before wedding is usually fixed for jolbhora ritual. On this day mothers of bride and groom separately go to a nearby waterbody alongwith other married women and collect water in the metal pitchers/jars after performing certain rituals.
At first near waterbody vermilion or sindur is put (usually odd number of dots).
Betel leaf from the Panokhili (check out by clicking the link below) ritual is placed above the sindur marked place
Bengali Wedding Rituals: PANOKHILI
Then small flour dough with husked rice (dhan) and a special sweet “batasha” is placed above the betel leaf.
Egg is marked with sindur. Normally in all the rituals odd number of marks are put.
Mustard oil is poured. Then using hand-fan or pakha wind is blown above the water surface. Using daa (cutting instrument) oil is cut in X manner.
Then metal pitchers/jars (Kolosh) are filled up with water for holy bath of the bride and groom.
After reaching home all the married women who went for filling up the pitchers/jars are given first “batasha” and water at the gate and then sweets after keeping the pitchers/jars at a sacred place.
Mother of the bride or groom goes to odd number of neighbors’ houses (3 or 5 or 7) to get “Sidha”. She carries the winnow on her head.
The neighbor gives mustard oil. Mother cannot sit face to face, she has to sit opposite to the neighbor so that she doesn’t see her pouring oil.
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