Javanese Mitoni Ceremony

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Kenduri Ritual

It starts with a kenduri (ritual gathering with meals and religious prayers), attended by neighbors. Its leader sits cross-legged on a wooden pestle for pounding rice, representing the removal of evils and disasters, and the woman have a seat at the side of the gathering.

Among the uba rampe (offerings) served on the occasion are traditional snacks, red and white rice pudding (reflecting physical strength), and two yellow-hulled coconuts bearing the pictures of wayang (shadow puppet) figures, the famous pair Arjuna and Sumbadra.

This pair symbolizes the parents' hope for the appearance and traits of their coming baby: if it is a boy, he should be handsome and chivalrous like Arjuna and if a girl, she should be beautiful and faithful like Sumbadra.

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Java, the heart of the Indonesian Republic. An Orientation to the Culture and Traditions of Java.

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Definitions

  • The Island of Java Java is the fifth-largest island of Indonesia. With a population of 120 million people (65% of the total population in Indonesia) living on an area of 127569 sq. km (7% of the total Indonesian area), it is the most crowded island in the world..
  • Javanese Ceremonies Traditions that are celebrated within the culture of the Indonesian people on Java.
  • Mixed Marriage A mixed marriage is when two people from different cultural backgrounds or different religious traditions or faiths marry.

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