Indonesia has so many custom cultures including the pre-marriage ritual that should follow by every Indonesian. Such as other regions, Javanese also has its uniques pre-marriage ritual. The ritual comes in a different step if you comparing with other cultures such as the fact of a wedding ceremony in the Batak tribe.
Every pre-marriage rituals in Javanese culture have a deep meaning behind. There are not only about the marriage process, but also deep Javanese philosophy as the reflection on their life such as the rituals that you can find in some facts of a wedding ceremony in the Minang tribe.
This time, we will give you the list of pre-marriage rituals in Javanese culture that you should know. Every step should be done by the wedding couple so that they will have good luck in their marriage life.
1. Pasang Tratag
Pasang Tratag mean tide the tent or the Tratag right in front of the house. Install Tratags or tent decorations and Tarub or natural leaf decorations used as decorations at the entrance. This installation is used as a sign that the family is celebrating in-laws.
Commonly, Javanese using the curved coconut in yellow color as the sign that the family hopes for blessing and prosperity for the wedding couple. In other words, it just likes asking for gratitude from their greatest God.
2. Kembar Mayang
The Kembar Mayang is an ornament that comes by a handy craft that is made for weddings only. The Kembar Mayang is usually made from roots, stems, leaves, fruit, and flowers. Javanese believe that Kembar Mayang is a sign of motivation and wisdom.
Commonly, the twin leaves of the Mayang are bent and inserted into a banana stem so that they resemble mountains, whips, umbrellas, kris, birds, and grasshoppers. This means as the motivation and wisdom for the new couple after a wedding ritual. You can find the Kembar Mayang in some traditional markets such as at the famous market in Jakarta.
3. Pasang Tuwuhan
Pasang Tuwuhan means as the wedding couple gives some fruits and plants around the Siraman area. This means as their hopes to get children immediately after the wedding.
Pasang Tuwuhan rituals commonly use the banana as the popular fruit in the wedding ceremony. Banana has great wisdom for the bride and groom in the steadier of marriage life.
4. Sungkeman
The Sungkeman is the Javanese tradition that means the aksing for a grant for the blessing marriage from parents. Commonly the couple will do the Sungkemanas the sign of their gratitude for rising them before marriage.
Not only say thank full to the parents but also the couple should give their love to their parents. Besides, they should do the apologizing ritual for all the mistakes that have been done so far. Javanese believe that the couple should be asking their forgiveness so that they will grant the parent blessing.
5. Siraman
The Siraman means bathing before marriage that commonly doing for the wedding couple. The Siraman rituals should be done in complete traditional clothes with the water that fulfills with some flowers.
In the Siraman ritual, the bride and groom will be bathed by seven people who will pour the water on the body of them. Commonly there are some spell that they should say to the water by the wedding shaman.
In the last of the Siraman should be done by the father of the bride. He should bring the bride to the bride’s room before the marriage happen.
6. Adol Dawet
After the Siraman ritual, the next step in Javanese pre-marriage is Adol Dawet. In this case, the parents of the bride and groom make an event to sell the Dawet as the traditional drinks from Java as part of the characteristic of Indonesian cuisine. They have to sell it to the guests who attend the ritual.
The wedding couple will not pay using money but using the Kreweng as the traditional clays. The meaning behind the payment is about the essentials of life originate from the earth. Besides, it has shown their work in life marriage after the wedding.
7. Cut the Tumpeng and Dulang Pungkasan
The wedding couple should cut the Nasi Tumpeng as the sign of their gratitude to God. After that, the Dulang Pungkasan or feeding the wedding couple that doing by their parents. The will feed by the Tumpeng that they cut before complete with the Indonesian famous main dish.
8. Tanam Rambut and Lepas Ayam
In this ritual, the hair of the bride and groom will plant to keep bad things away from the household. After that, the event continues with the release of the black rooster (Lepas Ayam ritual), which indicates that the parents had sincerely let go of their child to the marriage life.
9. Midodareni
Midodareni is a ritual where the single period of the woman is released. At this ritual, the bride does not allow her to meet her future husband. They should not meet each other between 6 pm up to midnight.
Instead of meeting each other, the bride and groom will be given so much advice from their parents at their house. Commonly, they will talk about marriage life in the future right after the wedding.
10. Srah-Srahan
This process is the handover of goods from the prospective groom to the prospective bride, who accept the parents of the woman because this process is carried out on the night of Midodareni.
Srah-Srahan rituals are the sign that the groom already receive the bride to be his wife and he is ready for living a married life with her.
So, there are 10 pre-marriage rituals in Javanese cultures that you should know. Most of them are about wisdom and provision for the wedding couple so that they will get a blessing and grateful marriage life.
