Cempaka Belanda: A Dream Venue For Javanese Weddings

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.
They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Friday, December 4, 2009

A Dream Venue For Javanese Weddings

The Jakarta Globe, Sylviana Hamdani

The spacious room at the venue, where wedding ceremonies usually take place. (JG Photo)

A wedding can be one of the most complicated events that you will ever have to organize. In Javanese tradition, the big day is a major cause of celebration for both extended families and their neighbors.

“Once in a lifetime” becomes a catchphrase for many future brides and bridegrooms, as they make meticulous arrangements for their wedding day. But the pressure for everything to be perfect can sometimes take away from the newlyweds’ enjoyment of the big day.

Roemah 7a is a wedding venue run by a young couple, Anthon Novianto and Dewi Syarah, who have anticipated this problem by providing a list of wedding organizers, photographers, caterers and decorators.

“Before, the bride- and the groom-to-be would come to us, looking lost about how they should organize their special day,” Dewi said. “Now, they can simply choose from our list of vendors.”

Located in a leafy residential area, Roemah 7a is designed like the home of a traditional Javanese noble family. A magnificent Joglo (traditional wooden Javanese house) stands by the terrace between a pair of stone gupala (mythical creatures that guard the entry of a house) on each side. A delman (traditional horse carriage) stands on the corner of the front lawn, accompanied by a pair of old cars, a three-wheeled Reliant Regal MK1 from 1953 and a Mazda R 360 from 1960.

The parking lot in front of the house can accommodate up to 40 cars. “For large weddings, we usually rent the vacant lot next door for the guests’ cars,” Dewi explained. In total, the venue can accommodate up to 600 people.

In the foyer stands a magnificent teak table topped with Italian marble, adorned with a fresh flower arrangement and old kerosene lamps.

The room also features a collection of old projectors for 8 millimeter, 16 millimeter and 35 millimeter films. “My dad used to play movies for my birthdays with these projectors when I was a little boy,” Anthon said.

On the right side of the foyer stand floor-to-ceiling cupboards featuring Anthon’s collections of Indonesian vintage comic books from the 1950s. Among his collections are “Si Buta dari Gua Hantu” (“The Blind Man from the Haunted Cave”), by Ganes T H, and “Jaka Sembung,” by Djair. The prize of his collection is the original manuscripts for a Medan comic book.

The dining room boasts of a long dining table made entirely of teak. An antique crystal chandelier casts a romantic yellowish light over the room. On a side table is a vintage Victrola phonograph from the 1920s, which Anthon said he “bought from an old man in Japan.”

One side of the wall features a brightly-colored 1950’s enamel signboard for Prijaji cigarettes, featuring a noble Javanese man smoking a cigarette, while the other side of the wall is decorated with dada peksi (long intricately-carved wooden beams often used for hanging crystal chandeliers).

“I salvaged them from ruined Joglo houses in Central Java,” Anthon said.

Wedding ceremonies usually take place in the spacious room at the back of the house. Adorned with an intricate teak panel from Demak, Central Java, and antique hand-crafted Javanese doors with a Loro Blonyo (a Javanese sculpture of a couple) standing in front of them, the room possesses a sacred and solemn ambience.

The homeowner’s collection of traditional weapons, such as kris, daggers and javelins from around the country, is also displayed in this room.

“In this room, the couples usually perform temu [a Javanese ceremony in which the bridegroom and his family meet with the bride and her family], ijab kabul [the marriage ceremony] and sungkeman [where the bride and the bridegroom ask both sets of parents for their blessings at the end of the wedding],” Dewi said.

On one of the walls is a wide teak carving depicting an episode in the Ramayana, an ancient Hindu epic.

Two bedrooms are also provided as dressing rooms for the bride and her bridesmaids. The larger one features Anthon’s collection of handmade Japanese dolls in glass boxes. The smaller one features an intricately hand-crafted daybed from Madura Island, East Java.

“The Chinese influence show in the dragon and phoenix-like patterns on the carvings,” Anthon said.

The room also boasts art deco furniture from the 1920s and jengki furniture from the 1950s.

Wedding receptions usually take place outdoors in the leafy backyard, which boasts bamboo shoots, a giant rambutan tree, frangipanis and a large traveller’s palm tree. A Joglo gazebo from Kudus, Central Java, functions as the center stage where the bride and groom are seated for the reception.

A tandem bicycle from the Netherlands and a pair of becaks (tricycle rickshaws) stand by lagoon pools, as if promising to take the newlyweds safely through their life journey together.

“The becaks are male and female,” Anthon said. Brought from Solo, Central Java, the steps of the becak wadon (female becak) is slightly lower than the becak lanang (male becak) to accommodate women wearing a traditional jarik (tight wraparound batik cloth).

“At Roemah 7a, we provide a unique ambience for your wedding,” Dewi said. “One that is homey and intimate, as well as rich in tradition and history.”

Roemah 7a
Jalan Lebak Bulus 1 no. 7A
Cilandak, South Jakarta
Tel. 021 751 2332