The Indian flower garland

What it is

A garland, called mala in many Indian languages and haar in Hindi, is a loop or length of flowers strung closely on thread. Some are thin single strands of jasmine buds. Temple and wedding garlands can be as thick as an arm and reach the knees, with bands of different colours and a pendant of flowers at the bottom. Leaves, fragrant roots, tinsel and beads may be worked in. A garland is made to last a day, and a fresh one is bought for each occasion.

How it is made

Garland makers work with a long needle and cotton thread, or with strips of banana fibre in the south. Marigolds are pierced through the centre and pushed tightly together. Jasmine buds are knotted in pairs along a string without a needle, a quick movement of the fingers that takes long practice. Rose petals are stitched into dense ropes. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, temple garlands are made to fixed patterns by families who have done the work for generations. Flowers picked before dawn reach the market the same morning.

The wedding garland

The exchange of garlands at a Hindu wedding is called varmala or jaimala. The bride and groom each place a garland around the other's neck, which signals that each accepts the other. It usually happens early in the ceremony, in front of the guests, and friends sometimes lift the groom to make the bride reach. The idea is ancient. In the epics a princess chooses her husband from a gathering of suitors by placing a garland on him.

Which flowers are used

Orange and yellow marigolds are the everyday choice in most of India because they are cheap, bright and tough. Jasmine is prized for scent, above all in the south. Roses, tuberoses, lotus buds, orange crossandra and chrysanthemums are also common. Basil leaves are strung for Vishnu, and garlands of lemons or of bilva leaves are made for particular deities. Flowers are bought by weight at wholesale markets before sunrise.

How to take part

1. Visit a wholesale flower market early in the morning, such as Mullick Ghat in Kolkata or KR Market in Bengaluru.
2. Watch the stringers at work at the stalls outside any large temple.
3. Buy a short jasmine or marigold string and try adding flowers with a needle and doubled thread.

Good manners

• If you are garlanded as a guest, bow your head to receive it. It is fine to take it off after a few minutes.
• Do not smell flowers or garlands that are meant as an offering to a deity.
• Never step over a garland or leave it on the ground.

The flowers

GarlandA string or braid of flowers, leaves, or other materials for decoration or ceremonyAztec marigoldThe golden-yellow flower of Mexican altars and Day of the Dead offeringsArabian jasmineA small white jasmine with a strong, sweet scent, treasured in Asia for garlands and ceremoniesRoseWoody perennial plants with showy, often fragrant flowers in many coloursSacred lotusThe pink aquatic flower sacred in Asia and grown for food, worship and beautyChrysanthemumAutumn-blooming flower with thousands of varieties, cherished in East Asia and beyond

Also part of it, and being written: Agave amica, Crossandra infundibuliformis.

Sources and further reading

• Garland on Wikipedia