President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo held on Saturday a traditional Javanese mitoni (baby shower) for his daughter-in-law, who is seven months pregnant with his first grandchild.

The modest ceremony, which took place in Jokowi'€™s private residence in Surakarta, Central Java, was attended by close relatives and a small group of guests, including State Secretary Pratikno and Surakarta mayor-elect FX Hadi Rudyatmo.

Dressed in traditional blue Javanese attire, President Jokowi, First Lady Iriana and their three children personally greeted guests who attended the event. Their daughter-in-law, Selvi Ananda, who married their eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka in June, was dressed in a yellow kebaya (a traditional Javanese blouse).

Jokowi said the mitoni ceremony was held to seek blessings for the good health of the mother and her unborn baby.

'€œThis is just a small celebration for [my] expected grandchild. This is mitoni. The celebration is held in its entirety according to the Javanese tradition,'€ he told reporters.

Mitoni, derived from the Javanese word pitu (seven), is an important ritual for the Javanese people. It not only aims to increase the chances of the firstborn'€™s smooth delivery and the mother'€™s good health, but also celebrates the life cycle.

The ritual, held when the pregnancy enters its seventh month, consists of a number of steps, including a prayer reading, a siraman (showering) and the changing of the mother-to-be'€™s outfit seven times.

During Saturday'€™s event, Selvi was asked to try on seven different outfits. Every time she appeared in front of the guests, a master of ceremonies would ask the audience whether the outfit she wore was suitable for her.

The guests answered '€œNot yet!'€ until she changed clothes for the seventh time.

Selvi was later asked to sit on the six outfits she previously modeled, symbolizing that the expectant mother would take care with her pregnancy.

Jokowi and Iriana have three children: Sons Gibran and Kaesang Pangarep and daughter Kahiyang Ayu.

Gibran and Selvi tied the knot on June 11 in Surakarta, the city where his father served as mayor from 2005 to 2012 prior to his victory in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

Before their marriage, the media-shy Gibran kept his relationship with Selvi, who won the 2009 Miss Surakarta pageant, private. They met at the pageant in which Gibran served as a jury member.

His mother Iriana, who crowned Selvi, reportedly whispered to Gibran that she would not object if Selvi became her daughter-in-law.

Apart from participating in the mitoni celebration, President Jokowi was also scheduled to visit Surakarta to attend a gathering of village leaders from across the country on Saturday afternoon.

The President is scheduled to fly to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Sunday to attend Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Christian province.

Meanwhile in Kupang, local law enforcement bodies have beefed up security in the city, including in Kupang'€™s El Tari Airport, prior to the arrival of the President.

On Saturday morning, the NTT Police, for example, arrested three passengers of a Batik Air flight serving the Kupang-Jakarta route for endangering air safety by making a mock bomb threat.

NTT Police spokesperson Adj. Sr. Comr. Jules Abraham Abas said the airport authority had asked the three passengers to leave the cabin after they had detected a suspicious object while X-raying their luggage.

Although the object turned out to be mosquito repellant, the three passengers were still arrested by the police for their non-cooperative attitude.

'€œWhen they were asked to leave the cabin, one of them said that he was carrying a bomb. This made the other passengers panic,'€ Jules said.
_________________________________________

To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News.

For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com

Popular

White House to target banks over alleged discrimination

British, Colombian drug convicts released after receiving amnesty

Two Chinese nationals die in Bali boat accident