A few month to go, my nephew will born. My sister in law was pregnant. Age of pregnancy was 7 month. It was excited moment to prepared everything before the baby born. In Javanese culture, pregnant mother always treated special, specially from habits and daily activities. 

One of the highlight, when age pregnancy is seventh month, Javanese had a ritual called "Mitoni" or also known "Piton-Piton" that means seventh. Javanese also named seventh age pregnancy with "Sapta Kawasa Jati" (Sapta : seven, Kawasa : Power, Jati : Real), this expression from conviction, if God wills, the baby can born in seventh month with healthy and perfect condition.

Baby who born in seventh month of age pregnancy considered mature and not premature. But if the baby not born in seventh months, baby parents will be make a ritual called "Mitoni" or "Piton-Piton". The ritual for mother and the baby given healthy and safety by The God.

The Ritual

Siraman (Bath)

First Session : Bathe the mother. Intended for cleaning and purify the mother and the baby both of physically and inner. Regulation in this ritual, the mother can not wearing jewelry, only wearing a traditional fabric (batik). The water taken from seven different water springs that accommodated in big terracotta bowl or brass bowl. The water dusted with some flowers "Setaman Flowers" (Setaman Flowers Group : Rose, Jasmine, Magnolia and Ylang). Seven adult males and seven adult females selected to flush the mother baby. The water flush with a coconut that peeled and halved. At the end of session, the mother flush by water from a jug, and then the jug slammed to the floor.

Brojolan

Second Session : The mother wearing "Jarit" or "Jarik" (a javanese traditional fabric) which loosely bound with "Lentrek" (a kind of thread which red, white and black color). Grandmother of the baby insert the loom or egg through fabric loops until the loom or egg fell to the floor. Next, two ivory coconuts which tattooed with traditional Javanese puppet picture through fabric loops. After that, the father of the baby cut "lentrek" with "Keris". At the end of session the father splitting coconuts which tattooed with traditional puppet picture.

Wearing Traditional Dress

Last Session : The mother wearing batik (a javanese traditional fabric) with various motives, (motives : sido luhur, sido asih, sido mukti, gondo suli, semen raja, babon angrem and lasem). The seven batiks used interchangeably until the last batik (lasem) and used the six previous batiks for pedestal. And the ritual completed.

Honorable mention about tattooed coconuts, that was my responsibilities. I tattooed two ivory coconuts with traditional puppet figures. The puppet figures usually used, "Kamajaya and Ratih" or "Janaka and Sembadra" or "Panji Asmara Bangun and Galuh Candra Kirana", They are puppet figures that symbolizes "Beauty and Handsomenes". Coconuts which tattooed symbolizes of hope if the baby is born, have character and appearance with puppet figures. In the image above, I tattooed coconuts with Janaka and Sembadra.