We have seen a lot of 'I do's, and still be very astounded by wedding rituals, especially behind cultures; because there are always something more than mere wedding rituals. They are mysterious and sacred, yet unexplainably beautiful at the same time. Here today, we are putting a lot of our interests in Javanese Siraman.
Javanese Siraman
Siraman simply means "to bathe", carried by Indonesian tribes to prepare their sons and daughters on the sacred journey of marriage. This internal ceremony is done among family to wish the couple moral support and blessing to enter the marriage phase.
There are a few main purposes of Siraman. First, is to ask for blessings from The Almighty God for the couple to be cleansed from any temptation and bad influence so that the whole wedding ceremony goes safe and smooth. Second is, to wish for the couple to safely build their household and reach the wedding purpose. Aside from that, this ceremony is done to cleanse every "dirt" (rereged in Javanese) to reach a clean body and soul (resik jiwa, resik raga). This symbolically means that the couple commits to be clean in words, mind, heart, and action. Lastly, siraman is also meant to physically freshen the bride-to-be. Symbolically talking, so that the couple is ready enough to harmonize to each other in embarking on a new phase of life.
Today, we would like to raise our glasses to celebrate this wedding. Captured by our talented Terralogical Photography, the wedding of Chris and Sarah was indeed, sacred and rich in culture.
