THE CHILD’S FIRST STEPS - INDONESIAN WAY.
“TEDAK SITEN” – THE SEVEN COLOURS OF WISDOM
~ Magdalena
Gigova ~
Part of book Indonesia in eyes of Bulgarians
he rituals of the more than 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia
entangle the multiform and colorful culture of the exotic country. At the
residence of Ambassador Bunyan Saptomo two girls made their first steps with
the help of a Javanese ritual.
In difference with the
Bulgarian first steps here more important from whether the child will take the
coin or the earphones, is the message for successful life with the advices of
the parents and respect to the earth, feeding us. The ceremony passed through
several symbolic phases and in each one was coded a deep sense. The parents,
dressed in Javanese national costumes have
found it rather difficult to supply the necessary for the ritual cage
made out of bamboo sticks, and the whole female staff of the Embassy
participated in the decoration.
According to the laws of the ritual “tedaksiten”
before the child makes her/his choice, the parents accompany him/her to step on
seven bowls, filled with rice in different color. Each one of them is a symbol
of a human characteristic, which the little one has to learn to control or
develop during his/her future life.
The dish of white rice shows that the
conscience of the baby is still a blanc piece of paper and he/she is sinless.
The red dish is a symbol of rage, which can be subdued. The yellow bowl
presents the wisdom, which is being piled during the years. The green one
is the generosity, which must be shown by the person in the future. The blue
one is the patience which has to be learned. The last, purple tray
symbolizes perfection.
After touching with their bare feet each different
color, the little girls waited for the fathers to raise a small ladder, and
they, accompanied by their mothers had to climb it. This symbolizes the
parents’ support, which will accompany the children during their whole life.
The last trial is a tray with sand, in which the children have to make a few
steps. The imitation of a dance has also a hidden meaning – the future diligent
work, which will ensure their living.
In the adorned with flowers and ribbons bamboo cage
the relatives have already arranged CAREFULLY SELECTED OBJECTS - money, jewels,
electronics, earphones, books, rice, cotton. The same as in the Bulgarian
custom, of great importance for the future of the child is what he or she will
choose. If the child grabs a book, its whole life will be dedicated to
accumulating knowledge and if takes a jewel or a banknote it will become rich
and very successful person. The bamboo construction, which is a copy of an
Indonesian cage for cocks, symbolizes entering into life.
One of the girls did not want to choose anything of
the scattered lustrous objects and started crying in the arms of her mother.
After waiting awhile the guests decided that this is a sign the she will become
a singer. But the other one showed character and liked a banknote and later a
calculator. The ritual “tedaksiten” requires the fathers to sprinkle over the
guests rose petals and small coins, in order their child to make a career and
to become a generous person, ready to help the others. Each one of the guests
bent and took a coin for luck.
And the girls in unison with the tradition were
clad in completely new dresses and shoes. The hidden sense of changing the
clothes is to make their parents be proud with them and their successes in
life. In order the ceremony to be effective is necessary the good energy of
those present, their blessing and benevolence of Gods.
The culmination of the ritual is cutting of
something like a rice cake with intricate architecture. It turned out that
“tumpeng” as is the name of the dish, is saturated with symbolism. It is an
invariable part of every occasion, notwithstanding the case. It is in a form of
a cone, and the dishes with which it is served also have coded message. The
cone expresses the hopes for prosperity and capturing peaks, therefore exactly
this form is obligatory. During the ages “tumpeng” has been made with white
rice, but in the recent years the yellow rice is preferred as more attractive,
because the color is considered to be more impressive and grandeur. It is
boiled with cocoa milk and contains a lot of spices – carnation, cardamom,
lemon grass. It is obligatory to be served on beautifully arranged green
leaves.
The cone is the Indonesian synonym of “the horn of
plenty”. And the philosophy of the rice is that in a certain moment of life,
everything goes to God. The base of the dish is round – meaning the circle of
life, but from the point of view of continuity. At more solemn occasion the
dish has several stories – as the phases in life and stairs of success. The
rice is accompanied with several kinds of food, also saturated with lot of
symbolism. The chicken meat is a sign of zealous work, but if a whole cock is
cooked, the message is changed towards annihilation of the human arrogance.
Eggs are an obligatory addition to the “tumpeng” as an endless circle of life.
Each one of the vegetables also has a hidden meaning. The spinach is peace,
bean sprites – growth, green beans – long life. The bright colorful vegetables
symbolize happiness, but the most positive is the combination of all of them.
It is called “urab” and symbolizes the unity in diversity, of which Indonesia
is proud.
Ambassador
Bunyan Saptomo together with his wife Aprilia cut “tumpeng” and the first bites
were given to the little participants in the ceremony. And the guests enjoyed
the traditional Indonesian specialties, including the strange fruit “snake
skin”, the cover of which reminds reptile.
“NYABUTAN”
The first touch with the
mother Earth
On the island of Bali for the first step of the
baby on the Mother Earth is invited the family priest (the religion there is a
more special it is a more liberal kind of Hinduism) and present gifts to the
God Sun and to the Five elements. “Nyabutan” is something like baptism, because
according to the local religion until its sixth month the child is god. In the
family temple the altar is filled with gifts – traditional roasted small pigs,
corn, fruits, wheat, water, flowers, banknotes, and boiled duck. The priest is
adorned with so many necklaces as he manages to bear on his skinny neck, and on
his head is a golden crown – hybrid between turban, cylinder and tiara.The
atmosphere at the ceremony has nothing to do with the tense restriction at the
churches. The priest mumbles his blessings the guests are sitting with their
newest clothes, exchanging gossips, laughing.
The only one, who is taking the ritual seriously,
is a sweet little girl of nearly six months. She DOES NOT STOP SMILING IN THE
HANDS OF HER MOTHER and father, who hand her over to each other as a priceless
bundle. The ceremony, of course, is not a baptism, but a blessing of a baby,
who has become half a year old and already, can touch the earth with feet. The
Balinese consider the children below 6 months old for gods, messengers of the
heaven, who must not touch the floor. Therefore the babies are cradled and are
object of a tender respect. If, while in this blessed condition, the baby, God
forbid, dies, a solemn cremation is organized, because it has never been a
human being, but something more superior. But when the baby becomes over six
months, it comes down from the pedestal and enters the bosom of the human kind.
The priest blesses with holy water first the nut
and then the girl. The “wooden baby” is rolled on the floor exactly on the
spot, where the real one must touch the ground for the first time. This is done
in order to distract the evil demons. Thus they will attack the doll and avoid
the real child. The parents of the baby rotate her THREE TIMES OVER AN UTENSIL
WITH WATE repeating the circle – birth, life, death.
The priest is saying blessings as if in trans, he
brings a huge golden bell, sprinkles with water the forehead of the little girl
and she is smiling to him. Her brothers and sisters crowd around her. The main
body of the family places the gifts in front of the altar. Meanwhile the
courtyard of the temple starts resembling a picnic - distributing snacks,
water, commenting their new clothes, talking.
After this all the relatives leave for the sea
side. They gather around fires, say prayers for long and happy life and later
drop on the wave’s boats made from leaves and flowers to swim towards eternity.
