Keeping up with the Jones' at the Hajjah's place ...

After months of being absent, Rizka -- my wife -- received an invitation to attend a regular Koran reading at our neighbor's house just a few doors away.

The next day, she eagerly left for the Koran reading after giving some instructions to our three-year-old son.

Upon arriving at my neighbor's house, however, her confidence was shaken and she felt ill at ease. To her surprise, all of the 20 women there were wearing blue Muslim attire and a white headscarf.

For a moment she thought that she was in the wrong place. The last time she attended the Koran reading, the mothers wore different clothes -- no weird uniforms.

Nervously, she greeted the ladies assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (peace be upon you) and sat on the floor like the others. She sat solemnly.

A woman, one of our neighbors, broke the silence. She complimented all the women for their new blue attire and the white headscarf (except my wife who was wearing a brown outfit).

"I feel very happy this afternoon because you are wearing those nice blue costumes. Believe me ladies, with your new costumes you look more beautiful," said the woman, who is a teacher at a nearby elementary school.

Observing the way the woman flattered the forum, my wife suspected the woman was the person behind "the costume project". Well, that makes sense.

(From the domestic helper who works at our house, we found out that the blue "uniforms" costs Rp 200,000 (US$20). It can be paid in four monthly installments.)

After joking and laughing for a while, the house owner Ibu Puji got up and welcomed the last guest to arrive.

An older woman, whom my wife said looked like my mother (her mother-in-law) arrived. She wore a red dress with a pink headscarf. She also had a matching pink bag.

After paying the ojek (motorbike taxi) driver, she went to the verandah -- where the Koran reading was being held.

The woman, who is known as hajjah (for having been to Mecca), put her bag in front of her. She sat on the floor with her arms folded -- showing off her bracelet.

She observed the Koran reading.

Afterward, she quietly took a small bottle from her pocket. She dripped the liquid onto her index finger and with her finger, she wiped her teeth deep inside her mouth. (Possibly, she had a toothache).

While the other women recited verses from the Koran solemnly, the woman was busy with her teeth and her small bottle. She did it again and again. Dripping liquid onto her finger, wiping her teeth and ... sniffing her finger.

With great curiosity, my wife glanced at the woman so that she could see what she was doing.

My wife sought permission to leave early. She was the earliest to leave the venue.

"I have left my son alone," she told the house owner, excusing herself.

My wife left early because she knew that the women would line up and kiss the hand of the hajjah to bid farewell.

Of course, my wife was not about to kiss her hand after observing her teeth-cleaning ritual.

While sipping a cup of tea that night, my wife told me how the so-called religious gathering had turned into a forum of gossip and showing off bracelets and necklaces.

Spontaneously, I questioned my wife what she would do if the women asked her to buy the "costume".

My wife thought for a moment and then said, "I will always pray to God that they will not offer me the costume. Never."

-- Kurniawan Hari