Javnese traditions mark Tommy's wedding

Javnese traditions mark Tommy's wedding

JAKARTA (JP): After years of a public guessing game over who
would be his wife, flamboyant businessman Hutomo Mandala Putra
finally tied the knot on Wednesday morning.

The bride chosen by President Soeharto's youngest son was
Raden Ajeng Ardhia Pramesti Regita Cahyani, nicknamed Tata, a
fair-skinned descendant of the Mangkunegaran royal family of
Surakarta, Central Java.

Tommy's selection would no doubt have pleased his mother, the
late Mrs. Tien Soeharto. A member of the Mangkunegaran family
herself, she had reportedly wished for her son to marry a woman
of noble birth.

The wedding of the year at Sasono Langen Budoyo Hall in the
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah park in East Jakarta brought a crowd
of 3,500 dignitaries, including politicians taking time off from
their general election duties.

The couple's siblings and close relatives were on hand for the
three-hour-long ceremony. In attendance were Tommy's brothers
Bambang Trihatmodjo and Sigit Hardjojudanto, and his sisters
Titiek Prabowo and Mamiek Pratikto. His eldest sister Siti
Hardiyanti Rukmana, who is popularly known as Mbak Tutut,
accompanied her father.

Red and green carpets decked the hall. A colorful blanket of
jasmine, roses, orchids and other flowers covered the room.
There was also the traditional janur bouquet of coconut leaves.

The ceremony, a mix of the wedding traditions of the Surakarta
royal court and Islamic tenets, began at 9 a.m. when the groom
recited the ijab kabul wedding vow. Custom prohibits the bride
from attending this ritual. She was represented by her father,
Bambang Adjie Surjosubandoro. Minister of Research and Technology
B.J. Habibie and Minister of National Development Planning
Ginanjar Kartasasmita were witnesses for the groom.

After the recitation of the wedding vow, the bride and the
groom came together to perform a series of wedding rituals rich
in symbolism and philosophical tenets.

The groom was bare-chested but his waist was wrapped in a band
of multiple layers of voluminous gold-trimmed batik, called
kampuhan. He also donned the traditional light-blue tubular hat
and long pantaloons. Befitting her lineage, Tata wore the
Surakarta wedding attire of dodot basahan Solo batik embellished
with the special royal motif.

"Only noble family members may wear these wedding clothes,"
said Tinuk Riefki, the bridal make-up artist. "All the materials
are the collection of the Soeharto family."

The rites were played out against the lilting tones of
traditional Javanese music known as gending Ladrang Wilujeng.
There followed the panggih, the meeting between the bride and the
groom. Tommy and Tata tossed bunches of bethel leaves in an act
symbolizing eternal love.

As the music faded, the bride and the groom performed the
foot-washing ritual. Tommy gently stepped on an egg, which
symbolizes the beginning of a new life together. His wife
proceeded to tenderly wash his dirty foot. This ritual evinces
unconditional love and the loyalty of a wife to her husband and
family.

Other rituals followed. The most moving was the sungkeman, in
which the bride and groom pay their respects to their parents.

President Soeharto could hardly contain his emotion when his
son knelt before him and bowed his head.

"Tata and Tommy, be grateful for this blessing from God," a
proud Soeharto told the couple. "Always be happy together and be
useful to our nation and our religion."

After this emotional event, the guests were entertained with a
special dance, the Puspito Retno, specially choreographed by
Sulistyo Tirtokusumo for Tata. Performed by senior troupe
members, the dance was an homage to the beauty of the bride.

Preparations for the wedding took around one month, beginning
soon after the wedding date was officially announced in early
April.

Mooryati Soedibyo, owner of the Mustika Ratu cosmetics company
and a close relative of the Soeharto family, said many people
were surprised by the announcement of the engagement.

But Tommy's choice of his bride delighted everybody in the
country's first family, their close relatives and friends. "It is
a relief that Tommy finally found a bride from his own lineage,"
said business tycoon Sukamdani Sahid Gitosardjono, who was
related to Mrs. Tien Soeharto.

KGPAA Mangkunegoro IX, the head of the Mangkunegaran royal
palace, was quoted by a local magazine as saying, "Tommy's
marriage to Tata is an effort to reunite the "separated bones"
among the Mangkunegaran royalty."

Tommy, head of the widely diversified Humpuss business group,
has been in the media spotlight since one of his companies, PT
Timor Putra Nasional, was chosen to produce the country's first
national car. His public and private activities have always
provided delicious fodder to gossip mongers.

Rumors

He reportedly romanced a bevy of beautiful women during his
days as Indonesia's most eligible bachelor. These included Maya
Rumantir, model Tamara Blezinsky, MTV veejay Nadya Hutagalung and
actress Nia Zulkarnaen, all of whom denied the gossip linking
them romantically to Tommy.

"Why do people always link me with Tommy?" Tamara once
complained. "I have never met him, let alone had any relationship
with him."

Singer Maya Rumantir, who has now assumed the role of an
educator and goodwill ambassador for a number of charitable
causes, said she hoped the couple would enjoy a happy marriage.
"I will pray for Tommy's happiness," Maya told a weekly magazine.

Unlike the other high-profile women Tommy had been associated
with, virtually nothing was known about Tata when news broke of
the engagement.

Press coverage of the demure but talented Tata has been almost
universally positive. The 1.7-meter Tata seems to conform to all
the desired qualities of an aristocratic Javanese bride,
possessing noble blood, flawless public decorum and honorable
parents.

People have noted a resemblance between Tata's facial features
and Tommy's mother when she was young.

Born in Jakarta 22 years ago, Tata is described as an
independent and sociable young woman. She was raised in
Singapore, where her father worked in a shipping company. She
studied landscape architecture at the University of New South
Wales in Sydney and is now involved in the renovation of a hotel
here.

The couple reportedly met in Australia last year but managed
to keep their whirlwind courtship a secret from the press.

Tommy denied the marriage was arranged and said Tata was the
love of his life. "I adore her in many ways. That is why I chose
her to be my companion forever," Tommy told reporters after a
wedding rehearsal last weekend. Tata was equally enamored of her
new husband. "He is the nicest and gentlest man I have ever met."