Ritual of Stepping Foot on Earth (Turun Tanah)

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« Tedak » means to step, to set foot and « Siten (Siti) » means soil, earth.
« Tedak Siten » means to set foot on earth.
This ritual illustrates that the little child is ready to start a successful life, with God’s blessing and with the guidance from his or her parents.
This traditional ceremony is performed when a child is 7 Selapan which is 245 days (Selapan is 35 days). There are 5 Pasaran (Market) days in one Selapan: Kliwon, Legi, Pahing, Pon, and Wage. Every day is therefore named differently in one Selapan period:

Sunday Kliwon Monday Legi Tuesday Pahing Wednesday Pon Thursday Wage Friday Kliwon Saturday Legi	Sunday Wage Monday Kliwon Tuesday Legi Wednesday Pahing Thursday Pon Friday Wage Saturday Kliwon	Sunday Pon Monday Wage Tuesday Kliwon Wednesday Legi Thursday Pahing Friday Pon Saturday Wage
Sunday Pahing Monday Pon Tuesday Wage Wednesday Kliwon Thursday Legi Friday Pahing Saturday Pon	Sunday Legi Monday Pahing Tuesday Pon Wednesday Wage Thursday Kliwon Friday Legi Saturday Pahing

One period from Sunday Legi to Sunday Legi is 35 days. That’s named « Weton » in Javanese. For a Javanese to know his/her weton day is important.
Usually the ritual is organized in the morning in the front yard of the house. Except the parents and the family, some elderly people also present to give their blessing to the child. The required sajen / offering symbolizes a prayer to God to receive His blessing and protection, to receive blessings from the ancestors, to get protection from evil and to ensure that the ritual ceremony can be held in a good and safe atmosphere.
After the preparations have been done, the family (the parent, the child, and the relatives) and invitees gather together at the place of the ceremony.