Upacara Tedak Siten or Upacara Turun Tanah is a traditional Javanese

ceremony performed by a married couple for their first child. The tradition
held when an infant is about to walk or crawl at age 7 selapan245 days
(1 selapan is 35 days, a month in Javanese calendar.)
Tedak siten itself comes from the word meaning tedak set foot or steps,
and siten/siti derived from the word meaning land. So, tedak siten is
down (into) the ground or mudhun lemah. The meaning of this special
ceremony is to introduce a child for the first time to the land (or soil) in
the hope that the child will be able to stand independently through life's
low and high notes.
In general, the ceremony is organized in the morning in the front yard or
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.
In this ceremony, the equipment needed are :
1. Offerings, which consists of
a. Cone shaped rice serming with vegetables
b. Red and white pudding
c. Boro-boro pudding
d. Traditional snacks
2. Juwadah with seven colors: red, white, black, yellow, blue, pink or
orange, and purple.
3. Flowers placed in a big brass contained
4. Ladder made of pink cane sugar
5. Chicken cage decorated with coconut leaves or colored papers
6. Rice, cotton, jasmine, rose, and cananga
7. Various valuables, such as bracelets, necklace, safety pins, etc
8. Useful goods, such as books, stationary, etc. Placed inside the
chicken cage.

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.
Procedures of Ceremony are:
1. The child is taught to walk stepping over juwadah with 7 colors.
Seven colored Juwadah hopes that the baby will be able to
overcome obstacles.This symbolizes the hope that the child will
always remember his fatherland

2. The child is lifted to a ladder made of sugar cane hoping that the
child will be successful and dynamic. Sugar cane ladder means in
Javanese anteping kalbu which means consistent in pursuing
dreams so it will be achieved quickly.

3. The child is then put in the chicken cage, if the child hesitates, and
then the mother or maid accompanies to enter. The audience waits
for the child to pick one of the items to pick in the cage, such as
rice, bracelet, rings, stationary, cotton, leather wayang, or toys. The
first thing the baby picks will symbolize his life in the future.
4. After the child picks one of the items in the cage, for instance gold
bracelet, people interprets its meanings. Chicken cage symbolizes
the hope that the child will be able to enter the society well and
obey all the local rules and tradition. If the child picks gold bracelet,
it is a sign that the baby will be a wealthy person. If he/she picks a
stationary, he will be an office worker or a smart person.
5. After that, The child is bathed with banyu gegewater warm by
the suninside the bath water also contain 7 type of flower, depict
hope that the child in the future could give a good name to the
family.
6. The child is dressed neatly like an adult. Its cute to see a baby
dress with traditional Javanese of blangkonhat, lurikclothes,
and batiksarong :). It depicts that the child should always have
good and prosperous life and make his parents live happily.