A week has passed since Jay and Ameno's wedding night, and today is a special day, as the entire Adam village prepares for their rice harvest.
But Jay finds something different about this day in Adam's village, and at least that's what he experiences firsthand.
The rice harvest in Adam's village differs from other harvests in that there is a special ceremony held the day before the rice harvest.
Every villager in Adam's village dresses neatly and brings food to gather in the rice paddy area near the village hall.
The purpose of this ceremony is inseparable from the culture of Adam's village.
Before the rice harvest, the entire village is required to prepare for a ritual and prayer together, a way to express gratitude to the universe.
"Come on, hurry up, Jay! Have you brought the food I prepared?" His mother asked urgently to Jay, who was currently in the kitchen, putting in the food their family had prepared.
"Wait a minute, Mom, it's almost done," Jay replied again.
"Honey, you should go first with Mom. Let Dad and I come later to carry all this. Because if we're late, the good spots will be gone," Jay told Ameno, who was currently helping him.
"Ahhh... is that so?" Ameno asked hesitantly.
"Don't doubt me, hurry up and go with Mom and Nining," Jay replied urgently.
"Okay then, I'll go first. Be careful carrying all this food, don't spill it and Mom will scold you later!!" Ameno warned.
"Quick... hurry... go!" Jay urged, letting Ameno go with Mom and Nining to the event venue.
Meanwhile, Jay had finally finished all his preparations and was now running towards the back of the house, where he would call his father to hurry.
Jay's father was currently busy picking some mangoes behind their house, to take and eat together at the event.
"Dad... hurry... we're running out of time!!" Jay shouted, calling for his father.
"Okay…dad, I'll be right back," his father replied, carrying a basket of mangoes weighing around 5-10 kg.
"Dad, I think this is enough, so let's go catch up with your mother." His father then showed him the mangoes he had picked and asked Jay to go with him.
"Okay, let's go," Jay replied again.
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In an open field near the village hall, hundreds of Adam villagers were gathered together.
This moment is a special one that every Adam villager always shares as the rice harvest approaches.
The villagers of Adam believe that as they prepare to harvest the rice, it is a time to give thanks and gratitude to nature and the universe.
As a way of expressing gratitude, they perform a communal prayer ritual followed by a large meal shared by the entire village.
Through this process, the entire village hopes that the upcoming rice harvest will be abundant and that their mutual cooperation will bear fruit.
And among the crowd was William's family, also one of the families living in Adam's village.
They were seen mingling with the villagers, where William's extended family, consisting of dozens of people, was now gathered on the east side of the field.
There, Jay's grandmother, along with his aunt and uncle's family, were seen gathered, awaiting the arrival of Jay and his father.
Shortly after, Jay and his father arrived and immediately joined their family.
Having greeted several family members, Jay then gathered with Ameno and his mother.
"Has the event started yet?" Jay asked his mother.
"Not yet, you're lucky you're not late," his mother replied.
Just as Jay was about to ask again, the village chief, along with several village elders, appeared at the front of the crowd.
His grandfather was among the elders accompanying the village chief.
"Good morning, all residents of Adam Village. Today is like any other special day we celebrate several times a year.
Today is the day we prepare for the next day's rice harvest, just as our ancestors did before us.
It's a day when we gather, pray, and give thanks for the blessings bestowed by the Universe, for it is thanks to its blessings that our harvests are always good.
As before, the first event will be a communal prayer, followed by a symbolic rice-cutting ceremony by the village elders.
And finally, there will be a communal event.
will be from the village's large tumpeng which will be distributed to every family in the village.
"Alright, since it's time, let's begin our thanksgiving procession." After a few welcoming remarks, the village head then ordered the event to begin immediately.
Shortly after, a prominent figure with white hair and seemingly the oldest village elder appeared.
Coming to the front of the crowd, the village elder stretched out his arms and faced the sky while reciting several prayers and words Jay didn't understand.
Finally, after reciting the prayers, the elder invited the other elders, led by the village head, to take up the tools for harvesting the rice.
The tool used in the ceremony was a small, hand-held rice harvester called an ani-ani.
Led by the village head, all the elders present then cut several heads of rice ready for harvest and then symbolically placed them in a prepared container.
From there, several middle-aged women took the rice and began placing it in a wooden alung (alung) to be pounded with large wooden sticks.
"Duk" "...Tuk... Tuk..." The pounding sound of pounding rice could be heard throughout the area.
This made the villagers present anxious, as they anticipated what kind of harvest they would receive.
Soon, the rice was removed from the husks, and from there, the yellowish-white, fairly good-looking grains were immediately removed and handed to the village head.
Seeing the husked grains, the village head then distributed them to several elders, who ate the rice directly.
From there, the expressions of the village head and other elders became solemn.
"This rice is quite good," the village head said as he assessed the taste of the rice.
"It's still good, but this time the rice feels drier and seems to lack water," one village elder commented.
"Yes, this rice is a little dry," another replied.
"This is already quite a good harvest, and given the current conditions, we should be grateful."
"So, elders, what do you think?" "Will our harvest exceed the food target set by the sub-district?" the village head finally asked.
Because, ultimately, this was the answer he wanted to hear as village head.
"Don't worry, village head. Even though our current harvest isn't abundant, it's definitely enough to exceed the target," a village elder replied.
"Yes, it's enough, but not much," another replied.
Finally, the village head could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing their target had been met. He immediately made an announcement.
"Tomorrow we'll have a good harvest!!!" the village head's voice was heard making the announcement.
"Wowwwwwww..."
"Good harvest!!!!"
"Great..."
Cheers of joy rang out from the entire village.