Gold dominates traditional royal wedding costumes

JAKARTA (JP): Gold seems to be the preferred color for the traditional bridal costumes of many ethnic groups in Indonesia. At least that was the impression instilled by the splendid Indonesian Royal Palaces' Traditional Wedding Costumes show.

The show, on Wednesday at the Shangri-La hotel in Jakarta, was held in conjunction with the first Indonesian Royal Palace Festival from July 1 to July 7 in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java.

The showing from the Kesultanan Palembang, or the Palembang royal palace of South Sumatra, featured the Aes gede garb which was very eye-catching because gold dominated the wedding costumes of both the bride and groom. The couple glowed from head to foot with the yellow metal. They were adorned with jewelry made from pure gold and decorated with diamonds. Even the bridesmaids were clad in colorful dresses decorated with golden coins and thread.

The wedding costumes presented by the other participants in the show were also embellished with gold ornamentation.

The show included wedding garb from the Kingdom of Pagaruyung in West Sumatra, the Keraton (palace) Deli of North Sumatra, Keraton Surakarta of Central Java, Keraton Yogyakarta, Keraton Kasepuhan of Cirebon, West Java, the Negara Dipa Banjar Kingdom of South Kalimantan, the Gowa Kingdom of South Sulawesi, Puri (Castle) Ubud of Bali and the Sultanate of Ternate in Maluku.

In Indonesian language, the bride price is called emas kawin.Emas is gold and kawin is marriage. But that does not mean that emas kawin is always in the form of gold. The name simply reflects the importance of gold in relation to wedding ceremonies among all of the ethnic groups in Indonesia. Gold is chosen because it is considered the most perfect among metals. In other words, gold is a symbol of perfection.

It is interesting to see, for instance, that the decorated umbrella used for the West Sumatran ceremony is made of yellow material, which looks like gold. And the batik worn by Javanese royal families, either from Surakarta or Yogyakarta, is adorned with gold.

But, wedding finery was not the only attraction at the show. Each royal palace participating demonstrated the complexity and elegance of their traditional wedding ceremonies.

Some wedding ceremonies were opened with dances, such as that of Kasepuhan Palace of Cirebon. A kuda lumping dance marked the arrival of a procession of the bridegroom's family at the house of the bride.

In Sumatran ceremonies, the brides and the bridegrooms were required to make some dance-like movements, while the bridesmaids danced surrounding them.

The procession played a great role in the various ceremonies featured at the show. Most of the traditions require that the bridegroom not be alone when he goes to pick up his bride at her house on their wedding day. He must be accompanied by a large number of people: both family and friends, who take an active part in the wedding ceremony as well.

Each step in each segment of all of the wedding ceremonies symbolized the hope for a long lasting and happy marriage. These ceremonies demonstrated the marriage philosophies of the various ethnic groups participating in the show.

Breaking an egg, which is an essential part of the tradition of Surakarta, Yogyakarta and Cirebon, for example, symbolizes that starting on their wedding day the bride and the groom are not longer virgins and are leaving that part of their life behind. The breaking of the egg, which is done by the groom who steps on it, also represents the hope that the married couple will soon have children. This ceremony is usually followed by the washing of the groom's feet by the bride to symbolize the faithfulness of a wife to her husband.

In the Cirebon ceremony, the bride and groom are required to eat a couple of roasted pigeons from the same plate. This implies that the married couple is required to follow the example of the male pigeon, which only mates with one female pigeon during its lifespan.

The traditional wedding garb show, which was meant to raise funds, provided an excellent introduction to the National Royal Palace Festival, which is participated in by 15 sultanates and kingdoms from all over the country. However, more professional management of the time schedule was badly needed. The show was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m. after a buffet diner, but it was not until 9:30 p.m. that the event was opened by the organizing committee.

Even though the show was interesting, most of the guests left before it finished, following Mrs. Try Sutrisno, the wife of the Vice President Try Sutrisno, who left at 11 o'clock.

This event was held by the Directorate General of Tourism of the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, in cooperation with PT Mustika Ratu, a herbal cosmetic and medicine company, and PT Arjuna Impresindo Perkasa, a promoter. (als)