With thousands of ethnicity, it is no doubt that the Indonesian traditional wedding is filled with diverse cultures and customs. The meanings and symbols in each of cultural wedding have never stopped to amaze us, we truly have a rich heritage that one should look up to. For that, we collected some Indonesian wedding traditions especially for you, here.
Yogyakarta Wedding
Yogyakarta's customs are a part of Javanese wedding traditions. The processional starts with Lamaran, asking the bride's family for her hand in marriage. This is then followed by Jodang, an occasion where the groom brings goods and traditional food to the bride's house. The food is mostly made with sticky rice, the gluten is used as a symbol for the couple to be always together. After that is Peningsetan, a symbolic ritual where the groom's parents give out things like batik, gold jewelry, or money as a sign of bonding to the bride. Lastly, the ceremony continues withSiraman, Midodareni, and Panggih.
Sundanese Wedding
In comparison to other cultural weddings, the Sundanese wedding is considerably a simpler one. The West Javanese rituals start with Siraman, which then continueswithSungkeman, Nincak Endog (the egg steppingritual), Meupeuskeun Kendi (breaking of clay jar), Sawer, and Ngaleupaskeun Kanjut Kunang (releasing clay jars filled with money). The entire procession seems complicated, but it's actually quite fun for those who take part. You can feel a sense of family closeness with respect for their cultural inheritance. Another thing in the heartwarming ceremony is called Huap Lingklung and Huap Deudeuh; symbolic rituals where the couple's parents feed the couple for the last time as a sign of their love and affection.
Betawi Wedding
The first four ceremonies in Betawi weddings are called Mak Comblang, Lamaran, Pingitan, and Siraman. Some of the processes might be similar to other Javaneseweddings in as Betawi is also located in Java island. Another interesting ceremony is Potong Cantung and Malam Pacar, where the couple does manicure and pedicure together. Lastly, there's one thing that also has to be present at the wedding, which is Roti Buaya, crocodile-shaped bread, and it is used as a symbol of faithfulness.
Bataknese Wedding
In the North Sumatran tradition, weddings symbolise a sacrifice made by Parboru (bride) as her family has to give up one 'life' to the Paranak (groom). For that, there's a ceremony called Ulaon Unjuk, a symbolic procession of slaughtering a cow which then will be cooked in a traditional way to be eaten together. Because of this sacrifice custom, the groom has to really highly honor the bride.
Minangkabau Wedding
For Minangkabau wedding, it starts with Maresek, a ceremony before the wedding. The groom will visit the bride's house to askfor her hand in marriage which is also known as Lamaran. At this time, all the bride's family will join to prepare the wedding and the couple will wear fascinating traditional wedding attires designed with gorgeous colors.
Balinese Wedding
While other wedding ceremonial processions are done mostly in the bride's house, in a Balinese wedding, the entire procession is mostly done at the groom's place. The first ritual is Ngekeb, an event of preparation for the bride to be a wife and a mother. At this time, the bride has to stay in her room until the groom comes to pick her up. Next is Mungkah Lawang and Mesegehagung, an open gate ceremony where the bride comes to the groom's house. In order to sanctify the marriage, there's another procession called Madengen-dengen lead by an elder called Balian. And there's also Mewidhi Widadana, a ceremony where the couple wears their royal attire to ask blessing from God. This is also done by an elder called Pemangku Marejan.
Minahasa Wedding
In Minahasa, before the wedding day, the bride has to do Posanan, similar to Pingitan, where the bride is forbidden to meet the groom for the night. The next procession is Lumele' which is similar toSiraman,which thencontinues with Bacoho. For the people in Minahasa, it can be done either at the groom's or the bride's house; it's decided according to which family pays for the wedding.
