Tedhak Siten

The traditional ceremony in Java that is

still preserved today is the Tedhak Siten.
It comes from the word Tedhak which
means “down” or to set foot and Siten or
siti which means “land”. Tedhak siten is
a tradition of setting foot on the ground
for a child for the first time when the
child is 7 eight Javanese calendar months
or 8 months of calendar. The community has the notion that land has magical powers.

The Tedhak Siten tradition with all its features has a symbol that children need parental
guidance. Uba Rampe or equipment needed in Tedhak Siten is jadah or a kind of cake made
of glutinous rice, ladders made of sugar cane, cages (usually used are chicken cages) filled
with writing instruments, toys of various shapes. Water for washing and bathing children,
grilled chicken, plantains, Udhik-udhik, market snacks, various types of jenang and
tumpeng complete with ware and yellow rice.

The series of activities that need to be carried out at Tedhak Siten are cleaning the feet. The
process is carried out by the parents by holding the child and washing his feet thoroughly. It
means, when a child starts to step on the ground, he needs to do it with a pure heart. The
second process is to go through the seven jadah with the colors red, white, green, yellow,
blue, pink, and purple to represent the various difficulties. The hope is that later the child
will be able to overcome life’s difficulties and get help from God. In the next procession,
which is climbing the steps made of sugar cane, the child is expected to be able to face his
life’s journey to the top with the support of his parents.
After that, there is a procession of putting the child in a cage that contains various kinds of
objects, it is depicted that later the items taken by the child will describe the profession that
will be undertaken. There is also a procession of bathing the child using water taken by the
parents at night around 10-24 p.m., then letting it sit or condensing it until it is exposed to
the sun. When bathing, water is given flowers in the hope that the child can make the
family proud. The next stage is to give the udhik-udhik or coins mixed with various flowers
and then distribute them to children and adults with the hope that when the child grows up
and gets a fortune, he will share it.

The traditional ceremony of Tedhak Siten in one region to another may be different. For
example in terms of the procession or the tools used. However, the goal remains the same
and does not eliminate the intention of implementing adat.
 Forest Fires

A forest is a large area that is overgrown

with various types of plants so that it has a
high absorption of carbon dioxide. Forests
are also the largest producer of oxygen on
earth. The oxygen produced by the forest
is very useful for humans and animals to
breathe. That is why forests are
nicknamed "the lungs of the world. The
world's forest area is decreasing day by day.

One of them is caused by the human factor, which destroys forests without thinking about
the consequences. The human need to open agricultural land and plantations requires high
costs for land preparation. Then, they take a shortcut by burning the forest because it is
cheap in terms of cost and effective in terms of time. Many people do illegal logging and
burn forests to grow crops. After the soil is no longer fertile, they will move to find new
land by burning the forest again. There are so many impacts of forest fires on humans.
Burnt forests will be as difficult to restore as before. The loss of vegetation causes the land
to open up, making it prone to erosion and unable to withstand flooding.

Tropical rainforest trees take years to grow back. Humans must help each other preserve
nature. The forest given by the Creator must be maintained and utilized without destroying
it. Forests that are preserved will be useful for human survival.
 Poverty

Poverty is the level of society with low

income. With low incomes, people are
unable to meet basic needs such as food,
drink, clothing, shelter and education.

Usually, the poor tend to live on

riverbanks, under bridges, and other
places that are not proper places to
construct buildings. Sometimes they actually build residences on state-owned land.

Many factors cause poverty or a person becomes poor. Factors limiting educational
equipment and fulfilling daily needs. In addition, such as bankruptcy, disaster, personal
behavior, slavery, and social structure. Behavioral factors and social structure dominate
more global poverty.

Consumptive human behavior, prioritizing prestige over needs, and using finances that are
not in accordance with the income received The number of families can also be affected if
the income is not proportional to the needs of all families. Social structural factors are more
directed at the heredity of poverty itself. The prestige factor is a factor that is also included
in the personal behavior factor. People tend to prioritize wants rather than basic needs.

Supposedly, poverty does not need to be a big phenomenon in Indonesia and the rest of the
world. If we personally want to accept and be grateful for what we have without
comparing, there is a feeling of contentment in it.