1. baby Mia Zara Ariana walking back and forth on the daun gelenggang (Cassia Senna)
Steep in tradition and superstition, the Rawa (Rao) community performs a ritual called “berjojak” (berjejak tanah in standard Bahasa Malaysia) for babies before they are allowed to step on the ground.
2. the items to be used are neatly arranged in a try
This age-old ceremony dates back to the time of the royals in Rawa, West Sumatra, Indonesia where story has it that in a child of a princess was kidnapped by the people of Pagar Ruyung and forced to ascend the throne of their deceased Sultan.
3. dotting the baby’s joints with three items: cooling rice powder (bedak sejuk), yellow clay and black clay
The princess, angered, placed a curse on the decedents of the royals. To break this curse, staunch believers put their babies through this ritual before they are allowed to step foot on the ground. It is believed that if the curse wasn’t broken, ill-fate would befall the family.
4. baby is shielded with an umbrella and carried to the bathing spot
If a family has a string of children, every one of them has to go through the same ritual, and the subsequent children following the first child have to have their ceremonies performed when they were not older then when the first child had his/hers.
5. bathing the baby with specially prepared water
Conducted by an experienced shaman of the community, he/she would continuously chant mantras, whilst the baby, under a yellow strip of cloth of signify the sky, has cooling rice powder (bedak sejuk) applied onto her joints, and then made to walk to and fro the ground that has been laid with a particular type of leaf, daun gelenggang (Cassia Senna).
6. drying the baby
This is repeated with yellow clay applied on the baby’s joints. After walking on the leaves, black clay is applied instead, and then she has to take a final walk on the leaves before being carried to have a symbolic bath, shielded by an umbrella under the yellow “sky”.
7. carrying the back into the house, shielded by an umbrella, under the yellow sky
Fire crackers are let off at three different junctures of this ritual, a way to inform villagers near and far that the baby has already undergone the ceremony, and was now “of age”.
8. baby has popcorn and rice thrown over her as she enters the house
After her bath, and with rice and popcorn thrown over her head before entering her house, the baby is dressed in her resplendent yellow-coloured frock, and fed with a meal especially prepared for the event, consisting of a plate of yellow glutinous rice and half a chicken cooked with turmeric. The other half of the chicken dish was presented to the family of the shaman.
9. baby gets dressed
Yellow was the colour of the day, the colour of royals, as they were believed to be descendants of the Rawa royal family.
10. glutinous rice and chicken cooked with turmeric for the yellow colour to be fed to the baby
Still, even after undergoing the ceremony, the baby is still not allowed to walk on the ground until three more days have passed.
11. baby is symbolically fed with the specially prepared yellow-coloured food
Those interested in the ethnic culture and tradition of the Rawa people and would like to witness first hand this cultural presentation of Adat Berjojak (sans the mantra chanting) may do so at Homestay Gopeng, which has the largest Rawa community in Malaysia. 99% of the Malays in Gopeng are said to be Rawas.
This homestay is well-known for its adventurous and outdoor programmes, such as white water rafting, caving and water abseiling.
For further information on Homestay Gopeng and/or Adat Berjojak Melayu Rawa, contact:
Pn. Noradidah Hj. Mokhtar
(Chairperson Homestay Perak / EXCO Homestay Malaysia)
Mobile: +6012-5060700
Email: didah65@yahoo.com.my
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