Tying the knot after cruising the Citarik on a raft

Text and photos by Mulkan Salmona

SUKABUMI, West Java (JP): Rafters Lody Karua and Amalia Yunita celebrated their wedding in a different way -- cruising along the Citarik River in Sukabumi on a rafting boat.

They tied the knot last Sunday on a yellow rubber boat, which bobbed on the densely green banks of the Citarik River in Cikidang village.

Lody, 39, in a light brown suit sat in the boat, holding onto two oars. The bride, Amalia, 29, wearing a white bridal gown and a multicolored tiara on her head, sat up in front.

The boat, decked in flowers and ribbons, moved slowly to the ceremonial place, about 50 meters away. The audience at Cikidang, who had been waiting since the morning, applauded and whistled at the approaching couple.

Lody only had to row a few times to bring the wedding boat to the place of ceremony. There, they were met by screaming visitors who were mostly young outdoor enthusiasts, such as mountain climbers, rafters, cave explorers and hang gliding enthusiasts.

The couple were aided ashore by several committee members of the wedding. When they stepped on land, they rearranged their wedding attire, which got crumpled on the trip. They then stepped slowly through the festive wedding gate covered with jasmine flowers, accompanied by 10 oar-wielding escorts, handsome marines in yellow attire. The couple proceeded to the place of ceremony, at an approximate distance of 10 meters.

When they were on the same level of the escorts, the marines positioned their oars with a neat and swift motion as a shield above the wedding couple. When the couple passed the escort line, the marines fell in behind to accompany them to the place of ceremony.

There the couple stood facing each other, encircled by the escorts, who kept their oars over the couple's heads. They were presented with a traditional oar, ornately carved, by a member of the escorting line. Tightly holding onto this traditional paddle, they exchanged their wedding vows. The groom presented the bride with a bouquet after the ceremony, after which he held and kissed her. The act carried the approval of the guests, who expressed it with a choir of shrieks and howls.

"Let it last, Lody," said a friend of the couple in a teasing tone.

After the ceremony, known as Dayung Pora, the couple stepped onto a podium to welcome congratulations from the guests. This was followed with a regale specially prepared for the occasion.

At around 1 p.m., guests who would join in a rafting spree were urged to change their clothes for more suitable attire. It did not take long before the first boats floated down the Citarik stream and assembled with other dinghies at the edge of the rapids.

The newly wedded couple were accompanied right to the end by their marine friends, who floated and negotiated the wild rapids with them as they usually did together. They passed all of them without any difficulty. From the beginning of the rapids, through the Jumping Jack Flash, long rapids, the pyramid and right through the last rapids, they sailed through easily until the finish at Cikadu village, also in Sukabumi.

Rafting guests, however, experienced many pitfalls. Some keeled over, others were thrown out from their rubber boats. But they all had a good time. They did not complain, despite the rocky tumbles in the river. Most of the participants arriving at the finish, around 5 p.m., climbed straight ashore and proceeded to the Queen restaurant by the only means of transportation in the village. Together with a festive gathering, a press conference was held at the restaurant.

Lody Karua and Amalia Yunita met several years ago on the Alas river in Aceh, where they were on a rafting expedition with friends. Their courtship with the rapids of the Alas stream brought them together in love as well.

And now, surrounded by nature's green environment, accompanied by the gushing sound of the Citarik River, and witnessed by thousands of nature lovers, they pledged to be united forever, for better and for worse.