TIME-HONOURED TRADITION: Every detail of the rituals will follow that of the previous sultans
JOHOR BAHRU:THE coronation of Abu Bakar on July 29, 1886, was unique in many ways. It was the first ever coronation in Johor and Malaya.
It was indeed a commendable effort of the people of Johor to organise the event, since there were no precedents.
Sultan Ibrahim insists that every detail of the rituals of his coronation, scheduled to take place in May or June next year, is to follow that of the previous Sultans'.
He was willing to delay his coronation until all preparations, including the restoration of the throne room and the Istana Besar and the refurbishment of the crown jewels are concluded, as he has expressed his desire to make his coronation exclusive.
The coronation is an amalgamation of Malay tradition, Islamic rituals and Western culture. The celebrations will be conducted in four phases -- prayers, bathing ritual, coronation and royal tour of districts.
The Istiadat Meletak Kerja, a revival of an old tradition, will be held a day earlier to mark the commencement of the celebrations.
The state ceremonial flag will be raised at Bukit Timbalan, preceded by a short prayer and accompanied by a seven-gun salute. The flag will be flown until the official conclusion of the celebrations, when it will be lowered to the accompaniment of a three-gun salute.
Sultan Ibrahim will pay his respects to his ancestors interred in the Royal Mausoleum at Mahmoodiah and at Telok Belanga in Singapore. A Majlis Doa Kesyukuran, including the recitation of the tahlil and evening prayers, will be held in the evening at Masjid Abu Bakar and Masjid Jamek in all districts.
A siram tabal (bathing ritual) believed to cleanse the body and soul, and to ward off misfortunes will be held the next afternoon. A nine-tier panca persada (octagonal pavilion) decorated with a plush blue carpet and a canopy of blue and white chiffon will be erected in the grounds of the Istana Besar. Nine is the highest cardinal number symbolic of leadership.
The pavilion will be topped by a crown. The pavilion used during Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim's bathing ritual was decorated with the coils of a dragon from whose mouth flow scented water.
Abu Bakar was crowned alone as Maharani Fatimah did not wish to be crowned. However, he bestowed the title Sultanah on her and had it engraved on all her personal effects and dinner service. Sultanah Khatijah, the other consort of Abu Bakar, was crowned alone at Istana Zahrah and witnessed only by lady guests.
Sultan Ibrahim was crowned together with his consort Tunku Ampuan Maimunah on Nov 2, 1895. His later consort, Sultanah Rugayah, was crowned alone during the twin wedding ceremony of Tunku Mahkota (later Sultan) Tunku Ismail and Tunku Aris bendahara Abu Bakar.
Sultanah Helen and Sultanah Fawziah Marcella respectively were crowned later without the bathing ceremony.
Sultan Ismail and his consort, Sultanah Aminah, were crowned together on 19 Feb, 1960. A coronation for Sultanah Nora Ismail was held on Ismail's birthday celebration on 28 Oct, 1978.
Since Sultan Iskandar did not wish to be crowned, his consort Tunku Zanariah was not crowned. However, he graciously permitted her to use the title Sultanah as a matter of convenience.
Upon arrival at the Istana Besar, Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah will be greeted by the tunku mahkota and escorted to the bilik persemayaman for a reception. Guests will be invited to a tea reception at the marquees.
Their royal highnesses, attired in the traditional Johor baju Melayu Telok Belanga, will be led down the tangga agong of the Istana Besar in a procession headed by the grand marshal and grand master of ceremonies and accompanied by members of the royal family, the menteri besar and members of the executive council, and the president and counsellors of the Royal Court.
Flanking them will be the heralds bearing the full royal insignia. The music of the nobat drums and instruments was played during the procession of Abu Bakar's and that of Ibrahim's coronation. The latter marked the last time the nobat (a ceremonial orchestra with drums of sovereignty used before the founding of the Malacca Sultanate) was played during a Johor royal ceremony. The band of the Johor Military Forces will provide the background music during Sultan Ibrahim's bathing ritual.
Sultan Sir Ibrahim and Tunku Ampuan Maimunah were driven in a two-horse carriage to the pavilion. Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah prefer to walk the short distance.
The state anthem, Lagu Bangsa Johor, will greet Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah upon arrival at the panca persada, followed by a 21-gun salute. The royal couple will then be ushered and seated on special chairs placed on the ninth tier of the pavilion.
Thirty-six young Malay girls, relatives of the ruler and of good family, will act as maids of honour and will be seated on all the steps at the four corners of the pavilion. They will be dressed in the traditional baju kurung Telok Belanga with various hues for each group. Nine tall candles on silver gilt candelabras will be placed at every step of the platform. Paraphernalia used for the ceremony include small silver bowls and saucers, each with a different component, clustered on three broad pedestal silver trays placed at the side of the chairs.
One bowl contains beras kunyit, another beras berteh (parched rice) and a third will be filled with a white watery paste made of tawar leaf.
The bathing ritual will be carried out by female elders of the royal family. A matriarch will take a little yellow rice and parched rice with the fingers of her right hand and scatter a few grains of each from left to right of the Ruler. She will then touch the Ruler's forehead and the back of both hands with a wisp of pandan leaf dipped in the whitish tawar water. The ritual will be repeated for the consort.
The matriarch will then pour scented water sieved through a royal blue cloth held in place by her assistants over the couple. The water will be taken from the sources of rivers of the ten districts of Johor and brought earlier to the palace in special vessels by the various penghulu.
The mufti will recite prayers at the beginning and end of the ceremony. Lagu Bangsa Johor will be played to mark the end of the ceremony.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
JOHOR BAHRU:THE coronation of Abu Bakar on July 29, 1886, was unique in many ways. It was the first ever coronation in Johor and Malaya.
It was indeed a commendable effort of the people of Johor to organise the event, since there were no precedents.
Sultan Ibrahim insists that every detail of the rituals of his coronation, scheduled to take place in May or June next year, is to follow that of the previous Sultans'.
He was willing to delay his coronation until all preparations, including the restoration of the throne room and the Istana Besar and the refurbishment of the crown jewels are concluded, as he has expressed his desire to make his coronation exclusive.
The coronation is an amalgamation of Malay tradition, Islamic rituals and Western culture. The celebrations will be conducted in four phases -- prayers, bathing ritual, coronation and royal tour of districts.
The Istiadat Meletak Kerja, a revival of an old tradition, will be held a day earlier to mark the commencement of the celebrations.
The state ceremonial flag will be raised at Bukit Timbalan, preceded by a short prayer and accompanied by a seven-gun salute. The flag will be flown until the official conclusion of the celebrations, when it will be lowered to the accompaniment of a three-gun salute.
Sultan Ibrahim will pay his respects to his ancestors interred in the Royal Mausoleum at Mahmoodiah and at Telok Belanga in Singapore. A Majlis Doa Kesyukuran, including the recitation of the tahlil and evening prayers, will be held in the evening at Masjid Abu Bakar and Masjid Jamek in all districts.
A siram tabal (bathing ritual) believed to cleanse the body and soul, and to ward off misfortunes will be held the next afternoon. A nine-tier panca persada (octagonal pavilion) decorated with a plush blue carpet and a canopy of blue and white chiffon will be erected in the grounds of the Istana Besar. Nine is the highest cardinal number symbolic of leadership.
The pavilion will be topped by a crown. The pavilion used during Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim's bathing ritual was decorated with the coils of a dragon from whose mouth flow scented water.
Abu Bakar was crowned alone as Maharani Fatimah did not wish to be crowned. However, he bestowed the title Sultanah on her and had it engraved on all her personal effects and dinner service. Sultanah Khatijah, the other consort of Abu Bakar, was crowned alone at Istana Zahrah and witnessed only by lady guests.
Sultan Ibrahim was crowned together with his consort Tunku Ampuan Maimunah on Nov 2, 1895. His later consort, Sultanah Rugayah, was crowned alone during the twin wedding ceremony of Tunku Mahkota (later Sultan) Tunku Ismail and Tunku Aris bendahara Abu Bakar.
Sultanah Helen and Sultanah Fawziah Marcella respectively were crowned later without the bathing ceremony.
Sultan Ismail and his consort, Sultanah Aminah, were crowned together on 19 Feb, 1960. A coronation for Sultanah Nora Ismail was held on Ismail's birthday celebration on 28 Oct, 1978.
Since Sultan Iskandar did not wish to be crowned, his consort Tunku Zanariah was not crowned. However, he graciously permitted her to use the title Sultanah as a matter of convenience.
Upon arrival at the Istana Besar, Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah will be greeted by the tunku mahkota and escorted to the bilik persemayaman for a reception. Guests will be invited to a tea reception at the marquees.
Their royal highnesses, attired in the traditional Johor baju Melayu Telok Belanga, will be led down the tangga agong of the Istana Besar in a procession headed by the grand marshal and grand master of ceremonies and accompanied by members of the royal family, the menteri besar and members of the executive council, and the president and counsellors of the Royal Court.
Flanking them will be the heralds bearing the full royal insignia. The music of the nobat drums and instruments was played during the procession of Abu Bakar's and that of Ibrahim's coronation. The latter marked the last time the nobat (a ceremonial orchestra with drums of sovereignty used before the founding of the Malacca Sultanate) was played during a Johor royal ceremony. The band of the Johor Military Forces will provide the background music during Sultan Ibrahim's bathing ritual.
Sultan Sir Ibrahim and Tunku Ampuan Maimunah were driven in a two-horse carriage to the pavilion. Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah prefer to walk the short distance.
The state anthem, Lagu Bangsa Johor, will greet Sultan Ibrahim and Raja Zarith Sofiah upon arrival at the panca persada, followed by a 21-gun salute. The royal couple will then be ushered and seated on special chairs placed on the ninth tier of the pavilion.
Thirty-six young Malay girls, relatives of the ruler and of good family, will act as maids of honour and will be seated on all the steps at the four corners of the pavilion. They will be dressed in the traditional baju kurung Telok Belanga with various hues for each group. Nine tall candles on silver gilt candelabras will be placed at every step of the platform. Paraphernalia used for the ceremony include small silver bowls and saucers, each with a different component, clustered on three broad pedestal silver trays placed at the side of the chairs.
One bowl contains beras kunyit, another beras berteh (parched rice) and a third will be filled with a white watery paste made of tawar leaf.
The bathing ritual will be carried out by female elders of the royal family. A matriarch will take a little yellow rice and parched rice with the fingers of her right hand and scatter a few grains of each from left to right of the Ruler. She will then touch the Ruler's forehead and the back of both hands with a wisp of pandan leaf dipped in the whitish tawar water. The ritual will be repeated for the consort.
The matriarch will then pour scented water sieved through a royal blue cloth held in place by her assistants over the couple. The water will be taken from the sources of rivers of the ten districts of Johor and brought earlier to the palace in special vessels by the various penghulu.
The mufti will recite prayers at the beginning and end of the ceremony. Lagu Bangsa Johor will be played to mark the end of the ceremony.
Dato' Abdul Rahim Ramli is secretary of the Council of the Royal Court.
