ISSN : P 2720-9938 E 2721-5202

THE SYMBOLIC MEANING STUDY OF JAVA'S PANGGIH WEDDING TRADITIONS IN SURAKARTA

Yustina Denik Risyanti¹, Bonaventura Ngarawula², Junianto³, Ray Octafian⁴

University of Merdeka Malang, Malang, East Java, Indonesia^1,2,3

STIEPARI, Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia⁴

Email: denikrisyanti1@gmail.com, bonaventur4@gmail.com, junianto@unmer.ac.id, octafianray@gmail.com

ARTICLE INFO	ABSTRACT
Received : 01 May 2022 Revision : 12 May 2022 Received : 25 May 2022	Javanese Surakarta wedding customs are a cultural heritage sourced from the palace, with unique procedures. Each stage has a special mechanism that contains values and meanings as a guide when the couple builds a family. This qualitative study with a phenomenological approach aims to reveal the symbolic meaning of the Panggih ceremony in Javanese Surakarta wedding customs in the Surakarta City environment. This qualitative reseach collecting data with participant observation techniques and in-depth interviews obtained from research subjects. Data analysis uses an interactive model. Data analysis is carried out interactively and continuously until complete data is obtained. The informants in this study were two people who lived in Surakarta City by profession as senior make-up artists, both of whom had long-handled the procedures for Javanese Javanese wedding ceremonies in Surakarta. The results of the study found that in the Panggih ritual, Javanese Surakarta wedding customs were included in the core series, which was carried out full of sacredness under the order, before starting with the stage of handing over the banana sanggan, nebus Mayang twins, followed by the main stages consisting of Balangan suruh, and ngidak then. This research is different from previous research. This study examines the reality of the Panggih ceremony, specifically by the rules according to the standard. The conclusion is based on the findings in the field that the Panggih ritual is a core stage carried out according to the rules. Each stage contains symbols with meaningful values as guidelines for couples getting married.
Keywords: Traditions; meanings; Panggih; Javanese weddings; symbols

Introduction

Traditional ceremonies are a form of cultural heritage spread in various regions and are a national asset to be preserved. Traditional ceremonies have the power that adherents believe as a guide in social life. Referring to the opinion (Koentjaraningrat, 2015), adat (tradition) has the role of regulating behavior, controlling and directing human actions. One of the traditional ceremonies that still has prestige is the Javanese Surakarta wedding ceremony. Although time currents are developing rapidly, this ancestral heritage is still being carried out by some Surakarta City people who hold fast to customs (Habibi, 2020). A traditional marriage that cannot be abandoned is a marriage that has become a hereditary culture. Ajrin (2017) marriage is carried out to form a family, which is the smallest human community unit that plays a role in the existence of human life. For the people of Surakarta, marriage is an important event interpreted as an outer and inner bond between a man and a woman as husband and wife to form a happy and eternal family.

Javanese family life in general, when undergoing several events based on ceremonies, spiritually it is a form of prayer and supplication to achieve perfection and peace both physically and mentally. A person performs a ceremony or ritual to fulfill spiritual needs (Purwadi, 2005). Every implementation of community ceremonies uses symbols to communicate the message or meaning expressed in the ceremony (Jazeri & Susanto, 2020). Moreover, the conduct that emerges in society is a result of previous community behavior that is passed down through generations, such as rituals, magical practices, and religious interests (Satrianegara, Juhannis, Lagu, & Alam, 2021). Likewise, in the people of Surakarta City, when holding a traditional wedding, several series of ceremonies are believed to bring blessings to the bride and groom and their families. Javanese-Surakarta wedding ceremonies have a long series of reverence. Each stage is interrelated, starting from preparation, core to plenary.

According to Supadmi (2012), marriage is one of the important events in a person's life cycle. The marriage ceremony is a fundamental religious and social cultural tradition (Muhammad, Zahari, Ramly, & Ahmad, 2013). Furthermore, (Rohmanu, 2016) explains marriage is a sacred event like birth and death. These three cycles are important in people's social life. In this context, it can be understood that marriage is an event that is considered special. Therefore, in general, this important moment is not passed like ordinary days but is celebrated with a series of ceremonies that are passed full of sacredness. This Javanese cultural heritage has its charm that is never timeless with its distinct advantages, including ceremonial processions, values and meanings on the uborampe symbol and the attributes worn.

The Panggih ceremony, one of the forms of local cultural wisdom part of the Javanese Surakarta wedding customs, has a procession with special characteristics that are continued from the previous series. As explained (Dwijonagoro, 2019), the Panggih ceremony is local wisdom or local genius for the Javanese people. As local wisdom, Javanese brides have a special ceremony that distinguishes them from other ethnic wedding ceremonies. Furthermore, it is explained that Panggih is a procession of bringing together the bride and groom, which is usually called the bridal meeting (Rahayu, 2019). In this regard, the researcher examines that the Panggih ceremony is part of the core procession before the bride and groom go to the aisle. Several uborampes have previously been prepared to support the ritual used by the bride and groom. The ceremony begins with the handover stages of sanggan bananas and nebus Mayang twins, followed by a series of mainstays consisting of Balangan suruh and ngidak Tigan stages.

This study has different compared to previous research. In this study, the researcher explores the symbolic meaning stored in the Panggih ceremony through key informants who live in Surakarta City. The selected resource persons who understand the Javanese Surakarta wedding customs are senior make-up artists long been involved in wedding ceremonies. This research was conducted because previous researchers have not widely reviewed it. In this case, the study is not combined with other core ceremonies. Specifically, it only reveals at the stage of the Panggih ceremony the symbolic meaning from the point of view of the procession and the uborampe used. Based on the description above, researchers must carry out this study on the grounds of the importance of socialization to the people of Surakarta City because there is still confusion about an understanding of the Javanese Surakarta wedding customs rules. In addition, to support the local cultural love movement to maintain its existence from generation to generation.

Figure 1. Map of Surakarta City, Central Java Province, Indonesia

Method

The research was conducted in Surakarta City, Central Java Province, one of the Javanese culture centers. The study used a qualitative descriptive method and a phenomenological approach to obtain complete data and reveal the existence of Javanese Surakarta wedding customs. Qualitative research aims to understand the phenomena experienced by research subjects described scientifically (Moleong, 2021). Determination of the informants used in this study with special considerations in choosing the needed key informants, namely two senior make-up artists who are still involved in Javanese Surakarta wedding customs activities. As explained by (Sugiyono, 2016), determining informants by purposive sampling is a sampling technique for data sources by considering certain objectives.

Collecting data to obtain complete information with participant observation and in-depth interviews. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using an interactive model (Miles, B, & A Michael Hubberman, 2014) where data analysis was carried out interactively and continuously until the data obtained were complete, including data condensation, data presentation, and drawing conclusions or verification for obtaining all accurate and valid data.

Results And Discussion

A. Results

The people of Surakarta City are