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Indonesia:
Three Months of Honey Moon on Groom’s House
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In
Indonesia, it is very strange. After asking about the girl’s
family, the young man takes a scholar and goes to the bride’s
father to propose to her. It is the scholar who makes the
initiative and talks on behalf of the groom.
Shamsoury Phono Jam`aan from Jawa tells us about the practices
of the residents of Indonesia and says: “ The Indonesian
families pay due respect to a learned man specially the one with
religious education and make it easy for him with regard to
marriage. I myself was asked by my bride to recite Surat
Al-Anfal as a dower. Later, I gave her the best present in Jawa;
that is a Mushaf (Copy of the Glorious Qur’an) and prayer mat.
I prepared one room, that is our residence, along with a bed, a
wardrobe and some cooking ware.
Two days before the wedding party, my mum called all those
people around to pay “Nokuut”; it is a present offered to
the newly weds as a form of helping them to face their new
family life. On the wedding party, all people gather together to
eat and celebrate. Four hours later, the celebration is over and
the groom takes his bride and go to her family house for four
days and then move to the groom’s family house for other four
days. At the end of these four days, the family members gather
to decide the issue of the honey moon that lasts for three
months in which the groom stays in the house of his in-laws.
During
that period, he does nothing but trying his best to make his
bride happy. The three months mark the end of the previous life
and the beginning of a new life full of joy and happiness with
his life-long partner.
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