Language and Culture Notes

1. Femina magazine’s advice column, Dari Hati ke Hati, is devoted to discussions of personal problems. Dari hati ke hati means ‘from heart to heart’ or to talk openly. Although the word hati literally means liver, it is best translated as heart since hati is considered the seat of emotions.
2. A lamaran is a man’s proposal to marry a woman. The proposal is formally presented by the man’s parents to the woman’s parents at a ritual event at the woman’s home. At this ritual, the man’s family presents gifts to the woman’s family and asks for permission for their son to marry the daughter of the host. Following this formal request, the two families share a meal together and have an opportunity to get to know each other.
3. In Java it was customary that a younger sister would not marry before her older sister had married. If there was a situation where the younger sister wanted to marry first, a ritual called langkahan would be performed before the marriage occurred. In this ritual, the younger sibling offers a gift to her older sister and requests forgiveness and blessings from her. Nowadays ‘melangkahi kakak’ (literally, skipping over one’s elder sister) is generally not considered taboo and, thus, the ritual is rarely performed.