“Urang Padang Baralek Gadang” (Padang People Having A Great Wedding Ceremony) is an organized traditional wedding ceremony for 11 couples from 11 subdistricts in Padang, a capital city of west sumatera province. Eventhough the wedding ceremony from each subdistrict has the same outline in general, the decoration for the couples wedding dais – where the couples sit along in the ceremony - and the decoration for the wedding costumes is different. There are different meanings and symbols it carried, so that each subsdistrict hold strictly in using of its distinct decoration. So, there were 11 couples in different wedding costumes held the same procession, sat together in different decorated wedding dais in the hall.

Sitting in my desk after a dreary day, an SMS beeped, “Tari and Yani, would you come to West Sumatra again? There will be Baralek Gadang, Grand Wedding Ceremony, one of a cultural events in Padang.” An SMS from Uda Nofrins. That was an invitation from Indra Cakti, Governor Assistant II, to cover “Baralek Gadang”, A Grand Wedding Ceremony in Padang.

Wow! A west sumatra cultural event? I’ve never attended even a humble Minang wedding ceremony in my life, let alone a cultural event! As one of a Japanese staff from JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) mentioned to me in some gathering, Indonesia is too big for a country. Indonesia has 400 ethnics and 700 traditional languages, so it is understandable if a person of one ethnic has never experienced a traditional event of the other ethnic.

But going back to Padang only after a week coming back from there? Knock it off……! My logical sense (aren’t you going to ask for leave again? ) battled with my “seize the day” principle - reach your dream…never miss the thing you crave for in life. So there I was….sitting in my desk confused, trying to find a way out. But God seemed on my side that day. It was so easy to find a substitute and – with a smile- to ask for leaving from my boss. But I only had 2 days off, so I wouldn’t be able to attend the whole Baralek Gadang in Padang. I would only got 1 day from the whole 3 days of Baralek gadang. Ah, so be it lah….

Enthusiastically, I called my best Minang friend, Ira, who used to poison me with the story of her kampong beauty in Maninjau. “Ira, let’s go to Padang! There will be Baralek Gadang!” Surprisingly, she responded in different way. “Tar, this might be a new experience for you seeing a Minang wedding, but in almost every wedding that I attended, it was Minang wedding!” Oh gosh! Of course it wouldn’t be something new for her……she is from Minang! That’s why the Baralek Gadang is presented as a cultural event – an event intended for other ethnics and tourists to come.

It’s going to be different for me. I am a Javanese in blood who was born and grown up in Jakarta. Even though I am hardly able to speak Javanese nor am I able to perform Javanese dance (even though I joined the course when I was a kid), I have never dealt something different other than my cultural ethnic things : an annual exodus to Malang, East Java; Javanese weddings that I attended, Javanese traditional dance program on TV I always tuned in….So, even though Minang is just a boy next door, I have never paid a visit to his door culturally. In about 2 hours of preparing things in office, I called Uda Nof. Yes, take me to Padang!

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CEREMONIES ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION

“Urang Padang Baralek Gadang” (Padang People Having A Great Wedding Ceremony) is an organized traditional wedding ceremony for 11 couples from 11 subdistricts in Padang, a capital city of west sumatera province. Eventhough the wedding ceremony from each subdistrict has the same outline in general, the decoration for the couples wedding dais – where the couples sit along in the ceremony - and the decoration for the wedding costumes is different. There are different meanings and symbols it carried, so that each subsdistrict hold strictly in using of its distinct decoration. So, there were 11 couples in different wedding costumes held the same procession, sat together in different decorated wedding dais in the hall.

Nowadays, some procession part are hardly held, such as Babako (Bako = a family from father) and Batagak Gala (a bestowal of title from a mother family). To revive the tradition and to remind the Padang youth of their traditional culture as well as to draw culture enthusiasts to Padang, a local government then held “Urang Padang Baralek Gadang” as Padang annual cultural event.

BABAKO

On Tuesday around at 2.00 pm, I, Raiyani and Rahman (the photographers) arrived at the ceremony hall. Old ladies in colourful gowns carrying a tower of decorated “everything” on their head captured our attention. They must be senior citizens from the couple’s family bringing gifts to their son/daughter-in-law family.

It is something new for me. In Java, it is young men who carried the gifts, and they don’t carry it on the head. How can the old ladies manage carrying it without falling? Is it heavy? Are they strong enough? Are they not going to faint? But then I remembered, West Sumatra culture is Matriarchal (woman is a head of a family/tribe) while Javanese culture Patriarchal (man is a head of a family/tribe). I felt like coming to a brand new land in my own country! Then we saw the old ladies were getting on a bus. Not wanting to miss them, we just hopped on the bus too with the camera in our hands. We didn’t even know where the bus is heading to!

In some house full of people in bright colourful traditional costumes, the bus stopped So, this was the hub. The 11 brides and 11 grooms would go out from this house, walking in a procession to their place : the brides would go to a hall for Malam Bainai (An evening for make-up) , and the groom would go to a big house for Batagak Gala ceremony (a bestowal of title). In brides procession, there were boys in costumes bringing flags in front of the procession. Behind the boys, there were old women bringing the towering gifts on their head, and the 11 brides tagging them with their matapulai (escorts). Behind the brides, there were family members walking followed. For the grooms procession, the sequence of the procession members was the same : the boys bringing the flags, the old women bringing the towering gifts walking together with a decorated young bull for a gift, 11 grooms and their “sumandan” (escorts), and the family members behind them.

I saw Rahman with his great Olympus DSLR followed a grooms procession. As I didn’t see any photographer following a brides procession, I decided to follow the brides procession instead. I had a confidence in Rahman to capture the grooms procession alone. In some turning, I had to climb on some gate to catch the right angle. But, ups! I almost touched an open wire poked out from some electric pole. Thank God! If I had touched it, this procession would have changed from a wedding procession into a funeral procession…..On the other side of the street, I saw Raiyani, my partner photographer climbed up stairs in some government building. But her success didn’t last long…..some security guard scolded her. I could see from a far that they were having an argumentation. Being a photographer has never been an easy task, I guess…… Then I remembered Natchwey, a war photographer. I thanked God that I was not in Padang for war assignment…….

Approaching a wedding hall, the First Lady of Padang Regency threw some rice to the brides to welcome them coming into the hall. The inside of the hall was set up for Makan Bajamba, lines of dishes of food on the floor. The members of family would sit along in line on the floor, enjoying the food in informal setting. One line was for men and the other was line for women. The men’s line was led by The Regent, and the women’s line was led by the First Lady of Padang Regency.

There was a buffet outside for every one but I and Raiyani waited for Rahman to come. While waiting, I asked for a press card from the committee. I didn’t want what happened to Raiyani with the security guard happen to me too. Without any further question, the committee staff gave me one, the one and only press card left. Finally Rahman came, but the buffet had gone…..struggled with what was left, we managed to get nice gado2 (vegetables with nut sauce), a piece of Rendang (dried chilli meat) and a glass of water. Then we drove off in a car for Cendol Ice for revenge!

BATAGAK GALA

Back in a hotel room, after some time considering whether we need to take a bath before going to the venue or not, finally we drove off for Batagak Gala (bestowal of a title) – after taking a bath. We felt as if we were the most beautiful photographers among the jounalists who couldn’t go home to take a bath.

There were two events at the same time in different places, one was for grooms : Batagak Gala, and the other one was for brides : Malam Bainai (an evening for make-up). We stopped in Batagak Gala first. I took a strategic place on the top of stairs, higher than the other photographers. After some time, Rahman and Raiyani with their DSLRs had to leave to cover Malam Bainai.

So there I was……alone with my prosumer camera. It was only you and me, I whispered to it. Be good, eventhough you are only a prosumer camera…Work well with me…….

“Ketek basabuik namo gadang baimbauan gala” (while kids were calling by the names, when grown-ups were given cutomary title). A name is given by a father, and a customary title is given based on a mother’s ethnic, as it is practiced in Matriarchal society where kinship is based on mother’s line. Ninik Mamak (male family members from the mother line) held a consensus for a title (“Gala”) bestowed to the groom. “Gala” for a man is an honourable title and a heritage from the ancestors. The “gala” can not be bestowed nor be lent to the other person.

After some proverbs and sayings by the elders, each groom then was asked to stand up holding a bottle filled little with some liquid – the bottle that reminded me with a big distilation flask in my chemistry laboratory, but this time the flask was decorated with flower hand paintings. One of the elder then declared the “Gala”, and after that every person in the ceremony gave some tests to the groom by shouting the “gala”- calling him by his “gala”. The groom then responded everytime he was called by his new title.

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FLYING HOME

At 4.00 o’clock in the morning, I had to pack. My jet was leaving at 8.45. “ I am leaving on a jet planee…..dont know when I’ll be back again……oh Babe, I hate to gooo….” Soon I had to call Rahman waking him up. He must be here at 5.00 o’clock, three of us must capture sunrise in Siti Nubaya bridge as promised.
As we got out of the hotel by the beach and looked up to the sky, we dashed into a car. The sun was about to rise! A bit panicky, Rahman made a wrong turn. But we finally got to the bridge and set our tripods before the sun rose. Looking at the sunrise in the horizon from my camera’s LCD, I was thinking : the jet plane will fly me home in 2 hours from now, from a land where the sky is still blue and the sunrise still can be captured……(*)