Jaggo

The Jaggo originates in Punjabi village custom, where the maternal side of the family (the nankay) plays a prominent role in the wedding festivities. The decorated gaggar, a brass or copper pot adorned and topped with flickering diyas, is the centerpiece of the celebration and is balanced on the head of a dancing relative.

The procession moves through the house and historically through the neighborhood, with participants carrying decorated sticks (often fitted with bells or lights) and singing traditional jaggo boliyan, teasing and celebratory folk verses. Drumming, particularly the dhol, and energetic bhangra and gidda dancing characterize the night, which is meant to keep everyone awake and joyful as the wedding approaches.

The Jaggo serves both a celebratory and an announcing function, historically rousing the village to share in the family's happiness. In contemporary weddings it is often folded into the sangeet or held as its own lively event, retaining its distinctive imagery of the lamp-topped gaggar and the festive late-night dancing. It is a hallmark of Punjabi weddings specifically.