KUALA PILAH: It has been 125 years since it first started, and the ‘Ulangan Penghulu Luak Tanah Mengandung Mengadap Menjunjung Duli’, a ceremony steeped in Malay custom and tradition, still continues to be practised to this day.
The ceremony, currently held at Istana Besar Seri Menanti, with the last being held in 2019, is a unique tradition where all penghulu luak (provincial chiefs) will pledge their loyalty to the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir.
They are Penghulu Luak Ulu Muar; Luak Jempol; Luak Terachi; Luak Gunung Pasir and Luak Ineh.
Istana Seri Menanti ceremonial officer, Tunku Datuk Mahmood Fawzy Tunku Muhiyiddin, said that the three-day ceremony, which began yesterday, commenced with the retrieving and displaying of the royal regalia, and continued today with the Adat Bersiram (ceremonial bath). It will culminate with the ‘Istiadat Mengadap’ tomorrow.
He said that in today’s ‘Istiadat Bersiram’, the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir and Tunku Ampuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud, were transported in a special vehicle, called Takhta Rencana, to Panca Persada, a raised platform outside the palace, pulled by 99 officials of the royal court.
“The ‘Adat Bersiram’ ceremony is special because it only occurs three times, firstly, when Tuanku was installed as the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan; secondly the ‘Penghulu Luak Tanah Mengandung Mengadap Menjunjung Duli’ ceremony and thirdly, when the children of the Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan tie the knot,” he told reporters after the ceremony here today.
An eight-gun salute announced that the ceremony had officially begun, and another eight-gun salute accompanied the march back to the palace.
The ceremony began with Datuk Raja Penghulu carrying a Cepu Bedak Limau (a concoction which contains among others, limes) and handing it to Datuk Menti Laksamana to be placed before Tuanku Muhriz and Tuanku Aishah Rohani, before the Orang Empat Istana - Datuk Seri Amar Diraja, Datuk Raja Diwangsa, Datuk Penghulu Dagang and Datuk Akhir Zaman - circled the royal couple seven times.
Each time they stopped for their Royal Highnesses to dip their hands into it, (symbolic of a bath).
The ceremony, which was also attended by the royal family members, is symbolic of cleansing oneself in terms of physical, and spiritual purity.
Also witnessing the unique and centuries-old ceremony were government dignitaries and the surrounding community.
Local resident, Afida Mohd Zain, 62, who witnessed the ceremony for the first time, expressed her excitement, and she described it as unique and not seen in other states.
Nur Aryuni Allysha Hasnan, 22, a student at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Jasin, Melaka, said that the ceremony gave exposure, especially to the younger generation, to learn the unique culture of the state, which practices the Adat Perpatih, taking tribal lineage from the maternal side.
“Ceremonies like this are very interesting to observe and learn (from). In fact, my father, who is a ‘buapak’, also strongly encourages his children to attend traditional ceremonies; every time there is a ceremony involving the palace I will attend,” she said.
The ‘Ulangan Penghulu Luak Tanah Mengandung Mengadap Menjunjung Duli’ ceremony was first held on April 29, 1898, during the reign of the late Tuanku Muhammad, and was ordered to be held every three years. - Bernama
