Maithil Kohbar

A room or a bed room converted during a Maithil wedding for rituals and customs is called "Kohbar". (कोहबर)। It is decorated before the wedding and is the most important part or place of Maithil's marriage. It has a great significance during the wedding. For four five days maximum time of bride and bride groom is spent in the kohbar, doing rituals. The rituals of wedding starts from the kohbar and ends in the kohbar.


The walls are decorated by the women. In previous days the kohbar walls were painted by the women and by home made natural colors. A kind of stick and cotton was used as a brush for that painting. Now a days the painting is painted on paper sheets and by the colors available in the market and is put on the walls. It is easy to paint and can be kept and used afterward. The decoration and painted walls of the kohbar was also kept for at least one year.


One side of the wall where most of the rituals and the customs are performed is well decorated and painted. The aripan (rangoli) is made on the floor. An elephant, two pots called ahibat purhar, made up of clay is also kept there. A mat is spread there and the bride and bride groom sits on it while performing the customs and rituals. But the actual wedding with vedic mantras is performed on the vedi which is genarally made in the courtyard , only chaturthi's wedding is performed in the kohbar .


For four or five days(for chhandog it is four days and for vachasnai it is five days) that is till chaturthi the bride and bride groom has to sleep in the kohbar. On the fourth or fifth day early in the morning the whole wedding process, except the pheras is repeated in the kohbar. After this the wedding is complete. So, the role of the kohbar is obviously very important in Maithil marriage.


The painting which is painted on the walls of a kohbar is also called"Kohbar" and this is one of the style of the famous Madhubani Painting.