Man In the Twighlight City

Seven Month Ritual

Even so, Derriyant still knows and understands his cultural roots because in general there are still many who use them. Because they still use offerings or offerings.

For Derriyant, there is no trace of sacred values in it because everything only ends in material things.

***

The gestational age in Javanese society is highly considered. Various Javanese customs or unique traditions are carried out, especially during the seventh month of pregnancy or serung is called Mitoni.

Even so, this custom has often been abandoned, especially by young Javanese today. The seven-month event is interpreted as a request for safety and help from the Almighty

Mitoni, tingkeban, or Seven monthly is a traditional Javanese procession aimed at women who have entered the seventh month of pregnancy. Mitoni itself comes from the word "pitu" which means the number seven.

Even so, pitu can also be interpreted as pitulungan which means help, where this event is a prayer so that help comes to the mother who is pregnant. Apart from asking for prayers for a smooth birth, this mitoni event also includes prayers so that in the future the child will become a good and devoted person.

The event began with a siraman procession carried out by 7 closest relatives with the aim of asking for safety for the baby

The siraman event is carried out as a purification procession for the mother and child. As the name of the procession suggests, the water used is taken from seven springs. Those carrying out the shower were seven exemplary fathers and mothers from both sides, with the baby's grandmother and grandfather taking priority. Siraman is usually done in a setting called krobongan (a chicken cage made of woven bamboo) or it can also be in the bathroom.

Mitoni is followed by a brojolan procession so that the baby is born into the world safely

The siraman event is followed by a brojolan event which is usually led by the baby's grandmother. After the shower, the mother-to-be only wears a jarik cloth accompanied by a piece of rope called a letrek. The grandmother-to-be will then insert the chicken egg from the top of the jarik cloth until it falls from the bottom. After that, the brojolan continued with two ivory coconuts which were also brojoled from the radius. The grandmother is obliged to receive or catch the ivory coconut from under the finger and then hand it over to the father.

Finally, the father-to-be cut the letrek rope (the rope that comes from the wick of the oil stove) with the keris as a sign that the husband can cut the hurdles.

It's the same as the culture that Amanda, his wife, has.

Derriyant is also quite familiar with his wife's culture and in terms of his literacy level he is not one of those people who ignores something. Precisely inversely proportional to Amanda, the wife who did not know about this at all, even more strangely, the wife's parents did not know this either. Even carrying out their own cultural traditions is just following what neighbors say or people who already have businesses in that field.

Betawi culture – Nuju Bulan. The Betawi people are very important and glorify pregnant women. Pregnant women are the gateway for the creation of reliable next generations. How come? It is hoped that from women who are on the margins, a healthy next generation will be born and in writing the position of the older generation will be passed down.

It is on the shoulders of the next generation that life and the future are bestowed. Even though we are aware that a change is a sunnatullah that will definitely happen to a people or nation. Whether creating a generation is better or worse depends on the seriousness in preparing the cadres for the next generation. If prepared well and truly, God willing, it will produce a better generation.

There are several do's and don'ts to keep in mind when maintaining travel. Pregnant women must make dhikr and recite shalawat as often as possible and read the Koran, especially the letter of Yusuf.

Meanwhile, the taboos include not killing animals, not physically insulting other people, and not talking about people or other bad things. He is also prohibited from eating the meat of chickens affected by the plague, fish that swim sideways, pork plantains, Ambon bananas, pineapples, jackfruit and the stomach contents of livestock. If the taboo is violated unknowingly, it will have bad consequences for the child being born.

It could be that the child is physically disabled. Meanwhile, it is forbidden to eat chicken, fish and meat for pregnant women as mentioned above so that the child born does not suffer from epilepsy. Many incidents related to this case.

At the beginning of pregnancy, pregnant women usually experience something unique called cravings. Ngidam comes from ngidam and is the basic Betawi word for ngidam. Craving means the desire to eat various kinds or the desire to get something unusual. If this wish is not fulfilled, the child that will be born will continue to drool.

Once upon a time there was a woman who longed to eat fruit that was very rare or indeed out of season . Another wanted to see a tram train because the pregnant woman lived in the suburbs and had never seen a tram train. The husband of a pregnant woman inevitably has to comply with this wish to avoid unexpected things.

Another habit that pregnant women also do is using small sharp objects. These items included a small knife in his clothes, small scissors, nail clippers, and so on.

Often pregnant women also carry broom sticks when they want to shop at the store or want to urinate. According to tradition, these small objects function as a deterrent against evil spirits (jinn, devils, devils, other spirits). However, this habit has now been abandoned because Islamic teachings have become more dominant, so that more emphasis is placed on faith in Allah.

The next stage of preparation is to go to the moon. In the Marunda area this ceremony is called kekeba. This ceremony is carried out because babies in the womb at that age are considered perfect, already formed, and given a spirit by God, so they must be thanked in the form of a ceremony.

This also aims to provide a sense of security to the family of the pregnant mother so that disaster does not happen to her and her family.

This month's ceremony is held for the first child. The implementation date is usually between the 7th, 17th, or 27th of the Hijri month. Betawi people usually choose the 7th or 17th, because the 27th is considered to have entered the eighth month.

The nuju month ceremony is carried out in three stages, namely salametan (tahlilan) by reading Yusuf's letter in the room, bathing in flower water in the bathroom, and ngirag in the bedroom. Ngirag in other areas is also called gedog. It can be done the other way around, starting from ngirag and so on.

Once upon a time a legend was the beginning of the creation of this procession.

Mr Mugeni's wife, Mrs Aisyah, is pregnant or pregnant. Within a week, her pregnancy reached seven months. According to the custom of the Betawi people, if a woman is pregnant for seven months, it must be carried out in the month of Ramadan.

However, Mr. Mugeni still does not understand the procedures for carrying out the rescue to the moon. Understand that this is your first pregnancy. He thought he should come to his mother's house in Pedurenan village to ask for advice.

During his stay at his parents' house, Mugeni, who was complaining like a firecracker with cayenne pepper, could not stand the purpose of his arrival.

“Ooh… that's an easy problem…” the mother said calmly.

"Easy to play, mother?" Mugeni asked while grinning but serious.

"The important thing now is that you have prepared the money. Do you have any money?" the mother asked again.

“Yes… a penny or two, mother”

"Hey, that's certainly not enough. One or two cents. Was that the age of monkeys, the age of horses biting iron? Now we don't use cents, but millions!"

"Yes mother, God willing there is ...!"

"answer honestly do you have and if you don't mind I'll be happy to add some for you?"

"There is mother, but what other things do I have to follow the terms of this process..."

"Okay, I'll explain the steps. what you need is a safety procession. First, you come to the Al-Muttaqien mosque and meet Guru Minan and ask him to lead the tahlilan.

Ask to find three students to read Joseph's letter. You asked for help from Ustaz Nurali who had read the birthday. "Later, mother will ask Mrs. Aji Fat to take care of your wife's birthing process," said the mother. Mrs. Aji Fatmah is known as a birth attendant. "What, you understand, right?"

“Yes, got it. Is there anything else, mother?"

"Yes. I almost forgot. You bought seven kinds of flowers to bathe your wife. Also bought fruit to make salad.

Search until you find a pomegranate or orange, don't worry. Later, I will ask Miss Gaye to help you. wife makes salad.

I also want to ask you to buy a long cloth for your brother, who trades at the Tanah Abang market."

"Okay mom!"

"Uh, what are you going to do by the way?"

"This meeting, mother. Held Sunday, after that, if possible."

"Why is it Sunday... mother wants to go to Kwitang... Besides!"

"First off I went to Kwitang mother. Attended my wife for seven months, not every Sunday... It's been a long time, but it starts at 8 in the morning." Mugeni explained, the mother nodded in agreement.

**

"What are you eating? Isn't it sour?" Mugeni asked while feeling his wife's stomach.

"You haven't eaten yet?" Aisha asked back.

"Not yet, my wife. Your Aisyah looks lethargic. I'm sorry I told you to cook.

I think I'm craving I mean, this child in the womb.

Don't be a boy, OK? So, yesterday, let's buy packaged rice at a Padang stall." Half chattering Aisyah muttered and then her words ended with Mugeni.

" You go to the kitchen. Find it yourself. I have prepared it for you."

Mugeni enters the kitchen. He opened the nightstand and looked for food.

While eating Mugeni mother said to him. The requirements that must be prepared are:

Contact the cleric who leads the tahlilan.

Contact the reader of Yusuf's letter

Contacting Rawi Readers (Mawlid Nabi)

Contact the dukun for ngirag

Seven kinds of flowers to bathe the wife

the benefits of seven kinds of fruit (one of which is pomegranate) to make salad

no new long cloth

What is more important, of course, is to invite family and neighbors to come as safe as the moon. Mugeni started calculating how much it would cost.

In his mind he already imagined that consumption costs were one of the largest. At least he had to slaughter a goat to make kebuli rice. Not to mention if you need to prepare tangtang vegetables. Or make uduk rice with side dishes using empal and beef stew. Betawi cakes (prawn tray, kelen, andepite, sengkulun, alie begente, abug, etc.) must also be purchased. Mugi frowned. Too heavy, he thought.

The short story is until Mugeni's wife Aisyah's month of salvation. Early in the morning, around 9 to 20 minutes, Mrs. Aji Fat came and greeted him. Mrs. Aji Fat is around 56 years old. Mugeni's mother hurriedly greeted and welcomed the midwife.

"Eee... Mrs. Aji! Come on in here, did you come alone? Usually accompanied by Si Midah, his granddaughter."

"Yes, madam I just came alone. Si Midah didn't come home for her morning run to Senayan. I was waiting for the bell to go home, so I just went." Mak Aji Fat answered while fixing his support. "How about it, are you all ready?" Asked Mrs. Aji Fat again.

“Already. Sit down first! Ise, Ise….” A short call for Aisha

"Provide tea and food for Mrs. Aji Fat." Asked the mother for her guest named Mrs. Aji Fatma

"Thank you madam, I already ate nasi uduk at home." replied the old woman.

"But Mrs. Aji Fatma, just arrived at this place, Masaya immediately grabbed Ise's stomach. Drink first, while waiting for Si Gaye ame Si Ise to finish making the rujak."

"Make fruit salad, spicy and sour?" Asked Mak Aji Fat

“Cut fruit salad. After making duck salad, there was no lumpangnye. Well, Mugeni has just come home looking for pomegranates. It's a bit difficult to get pomegranates now, unlike before, every house grew pomegranates."

“You don't have to use pomegranate, you can also use grapefruit. Rujak is not mandatory. It's just a habit. Even city people don't use it like that. The main one we call pomegranate. kyai for tahlilan and read Surah Yusuf.”

"Drink the tea first, Aji's mother." Aisyah put down her tea and invited Mak Aji Fat to drink while shaking Mak Aji Fat's hand and kissing Mak Aji Fat's hand. Then they chatted wildly, waiting for everything to be ready.

At 9 am the ngirag event begins. Ngirag means massaging the body of a pregnant woman and correcting the position of the baby in the mother's stomach. In other areas it is also called gedog. A midwife will know exactly where the baby is in the stomach.

In the past, there were many cases of unresponsive babies being born because mothers never checked their baby's position with the dukun. Now his name is on the ultrasound.

One of the dukun's skills is to correct the position of the baby's limbs in the abdomen, so that the baby does not wobble.

If the position is not right, when giving birth to branches from the baby first, then you have to undergo a caesarean section or major surgery.

The order of implementation of the ngirag is:

1. Pregnant women (only wearing a new long cloth) have their entire body massaged using coconut oil made by a midwife . Of course there are special readings that only the shaman himself knows. 2. The position of a pregnant woman is like prostrating and her stomach will be rubbed and rocked left and right with the long cloth she is wearing.

3. Sorted again.

4. Bathe in the flower water (seven forms) provided.

This bath will remove the coconut oil from the previous sequence and will create a pleasant smell on the pregnant woman's body. When bathing, a special place is provided, but currently it is done in the bathroom.

After ngirag, the cloth used by the pregnant woman will be given to the midwife. This is an expression of gratitude for pregnant women and a symbol of the inner attachment of pregnant women to traditional birth attendants. Of course what was given was not only used cloth, but also new cloth and other gifts.

The ngirag ceremony is usually attended by mothers (friends of arisan or taklim assembly). They can also pour flower water while taking a bath while reading as much as possible of Surah Al-Ikhlas.

After that, Betawi-style consumption is provided which is eaten together while eating. Fruit salad made by pregnant women is also provided.

This salad can usually be used as a joke among the invited mothers. If the salad tastes too sweet, it is said that the child to be born will be a girl.

If it's not sweet, it's said to be a boy. When making duck salad, of course, the taste is very spicy with the four children, and vice versa if it is not spicy.

In contrast to the celebration of the happy month which is usually held at 4 pm after Asr or 19:30 for the Isha prayer. At present it is dominated by men and mothers usually have the consumption burden. The order of events is as follows:

The opening is the reading of Surah Al-Fatihah

Thank you from sohibul hajat (host)

Reading Surah Yusuf and sometimes continued by reading Surah Muhammad. Reading these two surahs is an opportunity for Allah SWT so that the child who will be born will have a personality and good looks like the faces and behavior of Prophet Yusuf and Prophet Muhammad SAW.

This reading was carried out by three people who each read 3 sheets. This is intended to shorten reading time, because reading it only takes 20 minutes.

In fact, it is better to read the husband of a pregnant woman, because he is the one who is most interested in the child who will be born.

However, because Sohibul Hajat invited many people, he first welcomed and respected the invitation, so that day he did not read. But he gets better every night.

Recitation and Tahlil Reading of the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. The birthdays that are read are generally Syarafal Anam and Maulid Diba. Also read the story of Sheikh Saman.

Prayer and closing. After the event continued with eating together and praying together.