The peutron — literally “causing to descend,” referring to the child’s being brought out of the house — is the Achehnese ceremony of an infant’s first formal contact with the earth. As C. Snouck Hurgronje explains, “throughout the whole of the Indian Archipelago it is regarded as a momentous epoch in the life of the child when he first comes into contact with his mother earth. All who have not entirely abjured the old ideas, are careful not to let the child lie or sit upon the ground until such contact has been duly prepared for by a number of ceremonies, of which a religious feast forms an important part; for the earth, which contains so many blessings, holds within it also much that is evil.” The ceremony is called in Java nungkurakun (Sund.) or nuduh lemah (Jav.); in Acheh, peutron. “Owing to the fact that the Achehnese houses stand high off the ground, the word for entering the house is e’ = to climb up, and for going out of doors, trôn = to descend.”
The peutron may take place “a couple of months after its birth, but preference is given to a month of uneven number, as for example the 3rd, 5th or 7th month of the child’s age. Up to this time the child must on no account be brought outside the house.” The Achehnese preference for uneven numbers is, as Hurgronje elsewhere observes, a reflection of the wider Mohammedan belief that Allah is specially favourable to odd numbers; the same preference governs the Achehnese calendar of keunongs and many other features of Achehnese ritual life. “In Acheh, however, not nearly so much is made of this or other important epochs in life, as in ceremony-loving Java. In the former country such events are chiefly marked by the giving of a big kanduri in the house, a goat or buffalo being slaughtered and the occasion sanctified by the prayer of the official teungku. This last indeed holds good of all feasts of any importance; no leube and few ulamas of consideration would venture to appear at such a feast and honour it with their prayer except on the special invitation of the teungku of the meunasah.”
When the kanduri is over, “some women, including the midwife, who is always invited on such occasions, fetch the child from the house and take it to the tomb of a saint (kubu kramat). Such tombs are to be found in the neighbourhood of almost every gampong. They take with them as an offering for the dead some flowers and incense, and a piece of white cloth to renew or add to the coverings of the tombstones (salob batèë). At the grave the child’s head is solemnly washed (srah ulèë) either by the keeper of the tomb or by the women themselves, and thus the ceremony is brought to a close.” The kanduri may also be embellished by a Rapa’i representation, when the givers are persons of means.
All such events in the family life form occasions for vows (kaoy). These are sometimes made without any special motive, but particularly in cases of sickness or misfortune, in the hope of furthering the well-being of the child in whose behalf the feast is given. The Rapa’i representations may form the subject of such a vow. “It is also a common custom for the father or mother to vow at the sickbed of a child which has not yet been ‘brought down,’ that in the event of its recovery they will not merely bring it to the nearest holy tomb to inaugurate its first contact with the earth, but will take it on a pilgrimage to the resting-place of one of the great saints of Acheh, such as the renowned Teungku di Kuala Abdora’oh, the saint of Singkel, or the holy Teungku Anjong buried in Gampong Java. In such cases the child is escorted to the sacred spot by a great procession of men and women, and cattle are slaughtered and a feast given at the tomb.” Where the vow includes the expression of an intention to head the procession with geundrang, the two drums or geundrang and the flute (srune) are marched in front. The non-fulfilment of a vow is regarded as apt to be attended by disastrous consequences: a child suffering from persistent ulcers, slow recovery, or unusual length in recovering from circumcision is said to have a biinaran — a vow that has been made in its behalf and remains unfulfilled.
See Also
- Peusunat (Circumcision)
- Peusijuk (cooling)
- Kanduri (general)
- Teungku di Kuala
- Sayyid Teungku Anjong
- Gampong Jawa
- Pula batee
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. I, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.