A King For One Day

In most culture the marriage and the union between two individuals was one of the most important events in life and thus the wedding ceremony was treated with great fanfare. To the Sundanese in West Java, Indonesia, the wedding day was known as Raja Sehari (King Day) when both the bride and the groom will receive the utmost attention and respect, but just for one day.

Custom varies from family to family; and from village to village but the weddings always followed a similar theme. Here was a mock up wedding of a bride and a groom and how they would dress like on this important day ...



The groom would wear a head piece tengkolok which was commonly worn by kings and sultans especially for formal ceremonies even for today. Each village/region had their own style of head wear in many colors and shapes.

A sampin was wrapped around the groom's waist like a half size Sarong as a pocket to tuck away commonly used items and accessories in the wedding.



Then there was the keris (dagger) with the wooden handle worn near the groom's stomach to make him look very macho. It was an heirloom carrying mystical power that was passed on from generation to generation. In futuristic world depicted in the latest "Terminator Salvation" movie, the groom should have opted for a 40-lb double barrel machine gun.

The walking stick was quite mysterious as it was too thin for the groom to use it in any combat except to brush away a snake or to chase after some pigs in the village.

With all the fancy fabric worn by the groom, he was only given a pair of "flip flops" to match his wedding attire.



The beautiful bride had her headwear which looked like an inverted trapezoid. She was wearing a one-piece dress in red with gold trimming. On her right shoulder was a showl that worked like a veil.

The bride had a pair of fashionable shoes, no "flip flops".

In a traditional wedding in Indonesia, some brides had to get up as early as 2AM so the day could be long and stressful. Generally the ceremony would not end until very late in the evening so the new couple would leave and retire early before the end of the party so they could visit their parents the next morning to get their blessings.

Then the real lives began after being "A King For One Day" .....






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