Palang Pintu Ceremony (Indonesian - Betawinese Culture)

Palang Pintu ceremony is a Betawinese tradition that has been around for ages. In English it literally means "door barrier" or "latch”. The groom must walk through this Palang Pintu first before he can marry the bride. The groom's entourage will be intercepted by the family of the bride. Then, the representative of silat (martial arts of Indonesia) fighter of each party will fight against one another. If the representative of the groom wins, then the groom is allowed to enter the Palang Pintu and marry his bride. This battle is of course <em>fictitious</em> sham and the groom's fighter will always win at the end. This procession symbolizes the effort and seriousness of the groom to be married to the woman he loves. :)

<em>Just about perfect! just the issue with 'fictitious' for which there are so many synonyms...</em>