Rites of Passage

All our life, we embark on different journeys which take us to different places (duh!). For some people, along the way they encountered some rites which signals that they are ready for the next level, not unlike some video games, mind you. The observance of these rites are either cultural, religious or societal influenced among others, which explains why not all of these rites applies to everybody.

When a child is born, he or she either by religion, law or culture, goes through certain rites to signify the child's arrival into this world. From that moment on, we go through such rites as we grow older and wiser. Going to school has some rites of its own, as with the passage to manhood by circumcision or like the Padaung tribe in Myanmar who adorn the neck of their women with gold band, when they reach puberty.

A person close to me has gone through such rites recently. My youngest brother, apparently, has decided to take the first step towards taking the 'plunge in the sea of responsibility' (thats how he described it, hehehe). So last weekend, my family and I went to Sepang to 'merisik' for my brother.

Merisik

Adat ini juga dipanggil meninjau atau menengok. Tujuan adat ini dilakukan adalah untuk memastikan bahawa gadis yang dihajati oleh seorang lelaki itu masih belum berpunya. Ini penting, kerana dalam Islam seseorang itu dilarang meminang tunangan orang. Di samping itu, adat ini juga bertujuan untuk menyelidik latar belakang si gadis berkaitan kemahiran rumahtangga, adab sopan, tingkah laku, paras rupa serta pengetahuan agamanya. Lazimnya adat ini akan dijalankan oleh saudara mara terdekat pihak lelaki seperti ibu atau bapa saudaranya.

Bagi pihak si gadis pula, terdapat beberapa kriteria yang perlu dipertimbangkan sebelum menerima lamaran pihak lelaki antaranya ialah lelaki tersebut perlulah mempunyai latar belakang agama serta mempunyai pekerjaan yang baik.

Adakalanya semasa merisik, wakil lelaki tersebut akan memberikan sebentuk cincin tanya berupa cincin belah rotan dan jika pihak gadis bersetuju mereka akan menetapkan tarikh untuk peminangan. Walau bagaimanapun adat merisik jarang dilakukan lagi kerana pasangan tersebut telah berkenalan terlebih dahulu, justeru itu mereka akan terus menjalankan adat meminang untuk menjimatkan kos dan masa.

You can read about all other Malay wedding culture from the above link. Anyway, its just generally to investigate whether the girl he's interested in is truly single. Its just a formality, as both of them knows each other. Apparently, both of them had already set the date for the engagement or 'bertunang' on 7th July 2007, or 07.07.07. Cheh, so corny la. Pilih la tarikh lain ke apa ke...

Hahaha, well, my dear brother, GOOD LUCK! Hope you'll be a (more) responsible person in the future.