JAVANESE 's TRADITIONAL CULTURE : TEDHAK SITEN

  Every tribe has they own culture. In primitive life, culture or ritual is important for the goodness of their daily living.  They believe in every ritual they’ve do influence every single detail in their daily life.  In the present day, some tribe or some people still keep their culture or ritual.

                As an archipelago country, Indonesia has over than 300 tribes.  Indonesia has many island with it’s tribe. Some of two to three hundred ethnic groups with their own languages and dialecsts range in population from the Javanese ( about 70 million ) and Sundanese ( about 30 million ) on Java, to peoples numbering in the thousands on remote islands.

                One of the rituals in Indonesia which is still maintained is tedhak siten ritual. Tedhak siten is Javanese’s  ritual and it still exist until now. Tedhak means go down or foot stepping. Siten comes from the word  siti which means soil or earth. So, tedhal siten means stepping  foot on the earth. Completely, this ritual is for the baby of seven, eight or 7 x 35 days ( 245 days ).  The number of selapan is 35 days according to calculations based on the Java’s market. That Java’s market are Kliwon, Legi, Pahing, Pon and Wage. At the age of 245 days the child must begin a foothold for the irst time on the ground to learn sit and walk. Tedhak siten ritual described the readiness of a child to confront his/her life. This ritual ussualy be held in the morning, in the yard of the baby’s house. Unless the parents and families, some parents are also present to give blessings to the child. I my own experience, some other child invited  to celebrate  the baby’s big day. The necessary offerings/sacrifices  ( called sesajen )should not be forgotten. It symbolizes the demand and pray to God so we can receive blessings and protection from Him.        

                Tedhak siten also as a form of expectation of parents against  his child  so the child later prepared and successful in his/her life, full of obstacle and barriers to the guidance of his parents. This ritual is some manifestation of respect for the siti ( earth ) who gave a lot pf things in human life

A number of fixtures for ritual is jadah ( tetel, a kind of Javanesse traditional cake made from glutinous rice and coconut juice) with seven colors: red , white, black, yellow, blue, orange and purple.  The meaning of jadah is a symbol of life that will traversed by the kid, started at he/she step his/her foot on the ground until he / she grow up to adult. All the colors of jadah means that in his/her life the child will faced by many choice. Seven color of jadah arranged start from the dark in to the bright, its demonstrates that the problem of life ranging into heavy until who is lightweight, supposed to mean that there is a light hope from the heavy problem.

Beside jadah, tumpeng and rooster cage are the most important thing in tedhk siten ritual. Tumpeng is a cone shaped rice with it’s  side dish like urap ( vegetable serve with syeamed or roasted coonut  shaving ) and the ingkung chicken.  Tumpeng means some parents pray  to their child so he/she can grow well dan be usefull child, urap mean a symbol develop and grow so the child’s life will always develop. Vegetable also the symbol of fertility and chicken mean of independently.

Rooster cage are decorates by colorfull paper and janur ( coconut leaves ). In this ritual the child will be entered in there. Rooster cage has decorated the meaning of the real world. The child will be faced with many option of work. A stair whih made of sugar cane of arjuna implying a hope so the child capable to be fight like arjuna ( hero in wayang’s world ), be responsible and always struggle.  In Javanese’s culture sugar cane or tebu  is anonymous of the word “antebing kalbu “  ( mean ambition of heart ) that means a hope so the child can being strong and have a braveheart

A procession of tedhak siten in initiate with guiding the child  tread on seven color’s jadah that has been arranged based on dark color to bright. The the child directed to up the stairs made from arjuna sugar cane then the child entered to rooster cage with office tools, cotton or other stuff like Qoran, comb, mirror etc ( in modern life gadget also can put on it and the child must choose one of the stuff. The stuff are chosen is the image of indulgence and also his/her interest after adult.

The next procession is to spread of yellow rice that has been mixed by coin to the fighting for.  This illustrate that  the cild will be generous child in their surrounding. And the last procession is washing the child with the various type of flower and  dressed with new clothes. It’s mean hope for the child to always healthy, carrying  the kind of his/her family name, have a decent  living, prosperous and usefull for their surrounding.