Tepung Tawar, a traditional ceremony in Sambas

Hello guys! tonight i wanna share about a traditional ceremony in my beautiful hometown, Sambas. Do you know Sambas? It is located in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It consists of three ethnic, they are Dayak, Malay, and Tionghoa. Malay ethnic has a traditional ceremony that called Tepung Tawar. Have you hear that? Tepung tawar is a one of the traditional ceremonies in kabupaten Sambas. This traditional ceremonies also held in the Malay community in Pontianak, Mempawah, Ngabang, Ketapang, Sintang, Sanggau and Kapuas Hulu.

The history or the background of this ceremony is when Islamic preachers who brought Islam to the province first, they want to respect for Hindu culture that has existed first in Aceh. One of them is the cultural peusijuk (tepung tawar). Actually tepung tawar culture is included in the Hindu rituals at that time, even in this age. This is evidenced by the presence of public worship in Bali are using leaves and flowers are dyed water as they worship. Order was not disturbed by the presence of the Islamic religion, the preachers and then replace the spells with the invocation to the Prophet and pray to Allah. They also lead the public to assume that it is only a tepung tawar customs, this is not a ritual anymore.

The purpose and function of tepung tawar is to invoke safety and avoid to Allah from unwanted things. At the end of the ceremony we always pray together and is leaded by the religious leaders.

Nowadays, It is held in a marriage party, when someone move to a new house, first pregnancy mothers who entered the age of seven months and nine months of age, when the baby is 40 days  we also held tepung  tawar for the babies and the parents. If there is a family who occupy the new house. when there is a boy who will be circumcised.

The people who attend this ceremony are families, neighbors, friends and the religious leaders.

Before we do this ceremony, we have to prepare all of the equipment , timing ,labors and the foods. The equipments are ;

•  A bowl to take the rice flour that have been mashed by water starting reinforcements, starting reinforcements is a glass of water that have been prayed. In addition, to meshed the rice flour, the water starting reinforcements are also used for drinking or to watering for the people who held tepung tawar.

• Some lenjuhang violet leaves, mentibar leaves(called leaf ntibar), and ribu-ribu leaves.

• Yellow rice

•   A small tray where lay the bowl

• A ring of gold or silver

Three types of leaves above the following bound into one ring, placed next to a bowl of rice flour water. Yellow rice is inserted into a small glass, placed beside the bowl.

If everything is completely so the ceremony will be held . for example, when a family move to a new house. This event is usually held on Friday morning. On Friday evening is usually reading the letter ya sin by the guests. If it finish , the guests are served some food.  the next morning the guests is asked to attend the ceremony at around 5:30 am or at six in the morning.

A family who move to a new house is asked to straighten legs , hands on knees with palms open. They wear free, neat and clean clothes. then the tukang pappas do their duties. Bowl of rice flour water is held with the left hand, the right hold mentibar leaves, lenjuang leaves and ribu ribu leaves. Bonding leaves dipped in a bowl. then they sprinkle it to the right shoulder and left the old man, then struck on both palms, then, on the second leg. The same is done also to the mother, the eldest, and thus complete the following children. Later, they sprinkle the yellow rice to the family. Finally, they sprinkle the four corners of the house.

I ever do this ceremony when my family move to a new house. I see my family , my friends my neighbors gather, they pray together eat together they care each other, they help each other and sometimes a little fight happened because of different opinion about what food that we want to serve, who will we invite and others but it can be resolved. So I can learn how to fill shortages each other. I learn that we have to grateful for everything that we have and always pray to Allah.

Actually I like this ceremony because I can see everybody gather. I can learn to preserve the culture and traditions of the Malay that is not lost on the development of science and technology  that occurs at this time. But I dislike something, this is a Hindu culture, as a Muslim, I think that our prophet never suggest us to hold this ceremony. It makes me confused.