Yesterday, I was happy to have the opportunity to attend the wedding ceremony of one of the staff members at my workplace. I was particularly excited because both the bride and groom are Javanese, and this was my first experience witnessing the uniqueness of a Javanese wedding ceremony here in Sumatra.
For the record, this was the fifth wedding ceremony I have attended since I came to Indonesia. Indonesia, with its incredible richness in culture and traditions, is certainly a destination that should not be missed by anyone who enjoys exploring the world—especially from the perspectives of customs, culture and history.
What made it even more interesting was that, among the five wedding ceremonies I have attended, I have experienced the traditions of Malay, Batak and Javanese communities, which are among the dominant ethnic groups living in the Riau region. I have not forgotten the Minangkabau community either, but until today, I have yet to experience the atmosphere and traditions of a Minang wedding ceremony.
Because I have always been interested in exploring culture and history, every element of a wedding ceremony and its rituals is enough to excite me. I took the opportunity to capture photographs and videos as records and references for the future. These moments may seem ordinary today, but they could become valuable memories as time goes by.
In Islam, Rasulullah SAW once said:
“When one of you is invited to a wedding feast, let him attend it.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim)
As much as possible, I will always try to attend a wedding invitation unless there are significant constraints preventing me from doing so.
However, there have been many wedding ceremonies of my nieces and nephews back in my hometown that I could not attend because I was living far away as a migrant. That has always made me genuinely sad.
A wedding ceremony is a major occasion for two families as they come together to celebrate happiness. Whenever there is no obstacle preventing us from attending, I believe such an invitation should be honoured.
The same applies when there is a death in the family of someone we know. Visiting the bereaved family, offering our condolences and helping them in whatever way we can are also important. Our presence may seem small, but to a family experiencing grief, it can be a meaningful form of support.
If I cannot attend the ceremonies in my hometown, perhaps these wedding ceremonies here have become a kind of replacement for them.
From time to time, there will be a young staff member getting married, or the child of a staff member having a wedding ceremony. It reminds me of a similar atmosphere when I was living and working on plantations.
Because plantation areas are often quite remote and the camp community is relatively small, every celebration or ceremony becomes something that people genuinely look forward to.
These occasions were also one of the most effective ways to socialise with the local community, which mainly consisted of plantation and palm oil mill staff and workers.
As members of management, our presence at their wedding ceremonies could strengthen the respect and relationship between management and staff. Sometimes, we would even be invited to become the guests of honour at such ceremonies.
The same was true for events at local primary schools.
I once received an invitation to attend a Parent-Teacher Association meeting at a primary school and was invited to officiate the programme. I also took the opportunity to recite a poem entitled Guru Oh Guru as a small tribute to the teachers who dedicate themselves to educating the next generation.
It was a simple ceremony, but it gave me another beautiful experience in exploring the richness and diversity of culture, traditions and history in the land of Sumatra.
May the newly married couple be blessed with mawaddah and rahmah, as prayed for throughout their wedding ceremony.
Thank you for the invitation!
That is my story today.
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