Although this important rice ritual is almost extinct, it is still conducted in some rural communities including the Tanjung district of North Lombok.
On the day appointed for the first harvest of rice, the Memutah procession creates a magical atmosphere as the paddy owners (risata) and young local men make their way to the rice fields.
Six little girls, wearing the traditional Lombok-style Kebaya and carrying drinking water containers named ceret, appear and line up neatly behind the owners.
Before the rice is harvested, the owners of the fields must wash to purify themselves. Then one little girl will present to the owners a rombong, a rice container made from woven bamboo.
Within the rombong are duplicates of traditional rice-cutting tools formerly used by Sasak farmers.
The paddy owners must hold the rombong as if they are holding a baby. This signifies the paddy caring for and nurturing the rice.
After cleansing themselves in the manner of Muslims before prayer, the owners proceed towards the fields with traditional ceremonial swords, name kris, sheathed at their waistbands.
In this procession named Mengacep, the owners must not speak and they may not be addressed by anyone they encounter along the way. Instead, the farmers must concentrate and silently pray for an abundant harvest.
Ritual dictates that the first rice stalks to be harvested should be at the main point of entry of water into the rice fields. It was at this place that the first five rows of rice, named Mother of Rice (Inan Pare) and Father of Rice (Aman Pare), were planted.
Before harvesting the Mother of Rice and the Father of Rice, the owners sing a prayer in the ancient Javanese language of Bahasa Kawi. The rice is then cut with the traditional Sasak tools.
About 15 Mother of Rice stalks are cut and tied with a white thread to symbolise purity. About 15 Father of Rice stalks are cut and tied with a black thread to symbolise eternity.
The two tied parcels are placed in a rombong for storage in the rice barn. Before storage, the Mother of Rice and the Father of Rice usually are hung in the field in a berugak – a traditional Lombok open-sided structure with a thatch roof.
According to Datu Artadi, a community leader who has in the past led Tanjung Memutah processions, not one grain should be allowed to fall from the parcels of the Mother and Father of Rice.
“Even if one grain is dropped, then it must be collected to show respect for the newly-harvested rice,” he said, adding that the Mother of Rice and the Father of Rice may not be eaten either.
source:http://www.enchanting-lomboksumbawa.com
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