In rural Madura, marriage is a God-given joy

Text and photos by Zoel Mistortoify

MADURA, East Java (JP): In rural Madura a wedding celebration is generally held in a period of prosperity, that is, during harvest time, preferably coinciding with a bulan baik (propitious month) -- which are the months of Are Raja, Molod, Rejeb, Rebba. A joyful celebration, it is customarily an occasion where people flaunt their wealth. Often, poor villagers hold a wedding for their children thanks to a successful tobacco harvest and financial assistance from relatives or neighbors.

Madurese people believe there's a correlation between the dry season, harvest time, a propitious month and a wedding. According to a popular old saying, the nights are cold in the dry season -- an enjoyable time for newlyweds and thus the best season for weddings. There's no scientific confirmation of this, but Madurese villagers take it into consideration when they marry their children.

In a wedding celebration it is the family of the bride who pays for everything, including entertainment. During a wedding party, which usually lasts a day and two nights, the bride's family will offer the guests gamelan saronen (music for the bridal procession), topeng dalang (masked wayang show narrated by a puppeteer), klenengan (Traditional madurese music) and tayuban.

A rich man who wants to throw a great party will engage various groups of artists, or one that is versatile. One such group is the Rukun Karya Baru from Lenteng subdistrict, which plays three times a week during the festive season (harvest time). The group has a repertoire of three types of performance: gamelan saronen; ludruk (East Java popular theater); and tayuban orchestra. They play for customers as far away as eastern Java where part of the local community is from Madura.

A marriage ceremony according to adat (custom) in East Madura villages is marked by the procession of the bridegroom along the village road to the house of the bride. The bridegroom rides a jharan kenca (decorated horse) to the accompaniment of joyful music. Sometimes the bridal procession stretches for several kilometers, making the rounds of the village, so that the whole community knows about the event.

The bridegroom's group is usually accompanied by a spokesman who opens the way for the group's acceptance in the bride's family. Though it is only an adat formality, a heated debate often takes place between the two sides, using figurative language, each side trying to trump the other. As a sign of "acceptance" into the bride's circle, the gamelan saronen is played simultaneously with sarka'an (gebyar) music, a symbolic expression of joy.

To show how serious his intentions are, the bridegroom offers up clothes, foodstuffs and household equipment (cupboards, a settee, a bed, etc.) and cattle. If the marriage is dissolved, the goods are taken back by the husband. In Madurese tradition the bride provides the house and the bridegroom supplies the furniture and is responsible for the family's welfare.

The cultural phenomenon shows that marriage is the most important initiation in a man's life. Its value is sacred and must be considered a God-given joy. No one can taint, let alone destroy, the institution that has been legitimized by custom, religion and law.

The Madurese defend their honor fanatically. One of the consequences of any violation is the carok -- a fight that usually ends with knives drawn. The uncompromising attitude of the Madurese is usually triggered by an insult against a marriage, their most sensitive social institution.

The writer is an observer of Madurese culture. At present he is conducting postgraduate studies at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.