Bridal Shower on the island of Java

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The Town of Muntilan
October 3rd, 2009

It was Saturday morning around 11 am. The air was a bit heavier than normal. I looked up in the sky, there were some clouds. I could feel and smell the humidity of the tropical island. My skin loved it. I said to my husband: I never need body lotion after shower whenever I am here, and he'd jokingly say "I never either". I'd try not to laugh. The driver has been patiently waiting for us. Six of us hopped in the white air-conditioned van and headed to the home of the bride's parents in the town of Muntilan, which is right next to Magelang. But because of the road condition it took us over an hour to get to the house. The length of time was easily passed with the panoramic view of the rice fields, tropical fruit trees, and the villages. The journey to the house was very special. How often do you get to drive through rice paddies on the way to a party? So scenic, so serene....... and then here we are, arriving at the beginning of a street in a village. The driver stopped the car and rolled his window down to talk to a man who was walking leisurely, "Mas, ingkang kagungan kerso dalem ingkang pundi nggih?" (Brother, which house is having a bridal celebration?"), the driver asked the man. The man pointed at a direction further up. Driving slowly about 200 meters up, the driver was looking around for a sign. He was about to ask another passer by when I spotted a traditional street decoration that symbolizes "a party is going on". On Java and Bali, the people use young coconut leaves to make decorations for traditional celebrations.

Janur Mlengkung

On the island of Java, when you see "janur mlengkung" it is generally an indication that there is a wedding celebration in the village. The decoration is put on a tall whole bamboo, wrapped with artsy craftsy coconut leaves (janur) with the tip weighted down with a lantern-like woven basket made of young coconut leaves. It is the lantern basket on the tip of the bamboo that shapes the arch, hence the name janur mlengkung (the arching janur). The first time I paid attention to the term janur mlengkung was when I was about 12 years old. My neighbor's son, Giyono, who was a few years older than I, had an eye on a girl of his age. Giyono was like a big brother to me. He would ask me to deliver a note to her, etc. I said to him one day that she already had "someone". Giyono's response was: "It's okay, there's no janur mlengkung yet". That means she is not married yet, though she may already be in a relationship. We arrived at the party house, and all members of my family (the groom's side) are dressed in red kebayas except for us who have been traveling.