Turun Tanah Ceremony (Malaysia)

Turun Tanah (stepping on the earth) ceremony is also known as Adat Memijak Tanah. This ceremony is performed to express the family‘s happiness because their baby begins to be able to walk. This ceremony is similar to kenduri (feast especially on religious occasion) whereby all relatives, friends and neighbors are invited. This portal explores several aspects of the ceremony in the following explanation:

1. Equipment

Several equipments prepared before the ceremony are a plaited mat and several trays filled with scissor, mirror, watch, sandal, and many other things.   

2. The Way of Performing the Ceremony

The procession of the ceremony is conducted in two phases: the first phase is kenduri, and the second is adat ceremony of turun tanah. In the initial ceremony, foods and drinks are provided simply in which all relatives, friends and neighbors are invited. Afterward, the second ceremony is begun by spreading the plaited mat under a stage as a path where the child walks. Several trays filled with porridge, drinks, mirror, comb, watch, bangle, ring, chain, powder, cloth, sandal, scissor and money are put on the plaited mat. As usual, those equipments should be in an odd number.

In such a traditional ceremony, the procession is conducted in a simple way; the child‘s feet are stepped on the small plates that full of chanted rice, sand and several kinds of leaves, and later stepped on the earth. The ceremony is then closed with prayers.

3. Prayers

This sub title is still in the process of collecting data.

4. Cultural Value

This ceremony clearly has several meanings. A thing taken by the child from the plaited mat, for instance, has a specific meaning that is related to his/her future. If the child takes the scissor, he/she, as the society believed, would work energetically and would have a high skill of making handicrafts.

Sources:

1. http://www.ashtech.com.my/adat
2. http://www.malaysiana.pnm.my
3. Syed Alwi bin Sheikh Al-Hadi, Adat Resam Melayu dan Adat Istiadat, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kepementerian Pelajaran Persekutuan tanah Melayu Kuala Lumpur, 1960.

Credit photo : malaysiana.pnm.my

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