Meadow grass instead of tiara, basil leaves for veil: Lentil dumpling pair on their wedding pedestal

As winter evening descends gradually, encompassing the surrounding, the faint strains of Ustad Bismillah Khan’s clarinet recital gradually gains momentum. In the twilight, guests arrive in ones and twos and there is a sudden scurry of activities. The wedding venue is filled with beautiful scent emanating from sweet smelling flowers. A room is tastefully decorated for the groom’s post-wedding night-long ‘Bashor’ ritual. Soon the bride will appear at the wedding podium (Chhadnatola), her face covered with two betel leaves and the wedding ritual will begin with the holy chanting of ‘Shri Shri Prajapataye Namoh…” followed by the priest solemnizing the marriage between X person’s daughter and Y person’s son.

‘Boris’ wedding rituals resemble dolls’ weddings. Both the bride and groom are made from the batter. Meadow grass is placed atop the groom ‘Bori’s top as his headgear (Topor), a basil leaf is placed atop the bride ‘Bori’ as her veil. The bride ‘Bori’ is smeared with vermilion, as a sign of wedding. A number of small lentil dumplings are placed next to the bride and groom ‘Bori.’

Winter is a favorable season when most Bengali weddings are held and we are all acquainted with the series of rituals and rites held to solemnize the bond. But this unique indigenous wedding ceremony that many of us are not familiar with or do not know or have simply forgotten about, centers around our very own, hand-made ‘Bori’ aka lentil dumplings!

Winter in Bengal is short and crisp and the season is favored for all auspicious occasions – be it arranging marriages or making lentil dumplings. There is no substitute for early morning winter frost and bright sunshine which are the perfect natural condiments that add to the taste of the ‘Bori.’ Nowadays, people don’t have the time or patience to develop taste for the best products. Instead, they procure anything from the market that is easily available. Does that mean tasty, authentic ‘Bori’ has become an extinct product? Not really. If you set out from the safe haven of your urban home and venture into the state’s hinterland in winter, you will encounter women folks in small towns and villages busy whisking lentil paste to form a light foamy batter. They prepare for the ‘Bori’ season and as soon as the month of Agrahāyaṇa (Agrahāyaṇa is the eighth month of the Hindu calendar, beginning on 16 November and ending on 13 December) begins, the season for making the dumplings formally begin after the ‘Bori’ wedding ceremony is held.     

‘Boris’ wedding rituals resemble dolls’ weddings. Both the bride and groom are made from the batter. Meadow grass is placed atop the groom ‘Bori’s top as his headgear (Topor), a basil leaf is placed atop the bride ‘Bori’ as her veil. The bride ‘Bori’ is smeared with vermilion, as a sign of wedding.  A number of small lentil dumplings are placed next to the bride and groom ‘Bori.’ They are the bridesmaid and groomsmen accompanying the couple. Traditionally, the wedding is always held on a specific day. In Mahishadal in East Midnapore district, for instance, the first Thursday in the month of Agrahāyaṇa is fixed for the wedding. 

Why are the ‘Boris’ formally married following all the wedding rituals? The answer to this question is known to the matriarch of the Mallick family, the erstwhile landlords (Raja) of Mahishadal. She was introduced to the system after she got married by her mother-in-law and she has been following the ritual since then. To make the bride and groom “Bori,’ fresh husked pigeon-pea (Biuli dal) lentil is made into a fine paste, then whisked into a light frothy batter and then the task of making ‘bori’ begins. Dumplings from the batter are dropped on a clean stone slab to dry. Agrahāyaṇa ushers in the beginning of various ceremonies like weddings, Nabanna (new harvest festival) etc. So maybe, the ‘Bori’ wedding was introduced as an auspicious way to initiate any venture successfully. 

According to a researcher on folk culture, the tradition of initiating ‘Bori’ with pigeon-pea (Biuli dal) lentil in the month of Agrahāyaṇa is not only practiced in Mahisadal, but is a common ritual followed in the entire East Midnapore district. This district is famous for its unique ‘Goyna Bori” -- lentil batter shaped in intricate jewelry patterns. This ‘Goyna Bori’ is not found anywhere else. Perhaps, a strong family attachment led the women folks of Mahishadal Rajbari to resort to some auspicious ritual and seek blessings for the welfare of the family, and what better way than arranging a wedding? Marriage is meeting of two souls and hence a wedding in the family, even though between ‘Bori’ is thought of as a felicitous occasion to appease the gods and seek blessings for the family. 

Winter in Bengal is short and crisp and the season is favored for all auspicious occasions – be it arranging marriages or making lentil dumplings. There is no substitute for early morning winter frost and bright sunshine which are the perfect natural condiments that add to the taste of the ‘Bori.’ Nowadays, people don’t have the time or patience to develop taste for the best products. Instead, they procure anything from the market that is easily available. Does that mean tasty, authentic ‘Bori’ has become an extinct product? Not really.

However, in addition to Mahishadal, the practice of arranging ‘Bori’ wedding is prevalent in many parts of Bengal. The rituals are different as are the naming of the ‘weddings.’ In some places, the ritual is called ‘Bori-haat’ and elsewhere it is familiar as ‘Buro-burir Biye’ (wedding of an old man with an old woman). This custom is common in Bankura district where married women come together and make lentil dumplings on bronze plates. A Kuber is placed (a kuber is a seer of paddy piled up high) along with a bronze glass filled with mustard oil and another with water are kept next to the dumplings for the next eight days when the last wedding rite is completed with ‘Ashtamangala’ ritual. A lamp is kept burning there constantly for the next eight days.

In Nadia district the ‘Bori’ wedding ritual is followed with a twist. A red chili is placed on the crown of the groom ‘Bori’ and eggplant flower is used to decorate the bride ‘Bori.’ All the elaborate wedding rituals are followed piously. All said and done, the ancient indigenous tradition of ‘Borir Biye’ (wedding of lentil dumplings) lives on with myriad variations in the wedding rituals which differ from place to place. Bori is a multi-functional ingredient used widely in a large number of Bengali dishes to enhance the taste. So there cannot be a better way to show our allegiance to this homely creation than dedicating an entire ritual to the making of ‘Bori’. 

Reference: Bengali Folk Art, Kaberi Das Mohapatra