Jasmine (Jasminum sambac)

Jasminum sambac (Indonesian: melati putih) is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the moon orchid and the giant padma. Although the official adoption were announced only as recent as 1990 during World Environment Day and enforced by law through Presidential Decree No. 4 in 1993, the importance of Jasminum sambac in Indonesian culture long predates its official adoption. Since the formation of Indonesian republic during the reign of Sukarno, melati putih is always unofficially recognized as the national flower of Indonesia. The reverence and its elevated status mostly due to the importance of this flower in Indonesian tradition since ancient times.

It has long been considered a sacred flower in Indonesian tradition, as it symbolizes purity, sacredness, graceful simplicity and sincerity. It also represents the beauty of modesty; a small and simple white flower that can produce such sweet fragrance. It is also the most important flower in wedding ceremonies for ethnic Indonesians, especially in the island of Java. Jasmine flower buds that have not fully opened are usually picked to create strings of jasmine garlands (Javanese: roncen melati ). On wedding days, a traditional Javanese or Sundanese bride's hair is adorned with strings of jasmine garlands arranged as a hairnet to cover the konde (hair bun). The intricately intertwined strings of jasmine garlands are left to hang loose from the bride's head. The groom's kris is also adorned with five jasmine garlands called roncen usus-usus (intestine garlands) to refer its intestine-like form and also linked to the legend of Arya Penangsang. In Makassar and Bugis brides, the hair is also adorned with buds of jasmine that resemble pearls. Jasmine is also used as floral offerings for hyangs, spirits and deities especially among Balinese Hindu, and also often present during funerals.

The jasmine has wide spectrums in Indonesian traditions; it is the flower of life, beauty and festive wedding, yet it is also often associated with spirit and death. In Indonesian patriotic songs and poems, the fallenmelati often hailed as the representation of fallen heroes that sacrificed their life and died for the country, the very similar concept with fallensakura that represent fallen heroes in Japanese tradition. The Ismail Marzuki's patriotic song "Melati di Tapal Batas" (jasmine on the border) (1947) and Guruh Sukarnoputra's "Melati Suci" (sacred jasmine) (1974) clearly refer jasmine as the representation of fallen heroes, the eternally fragrance flower that adorned Ibu Pertiwi (Indonesian national personification). The Iwan Abdurachman's "Melati dari Jayagiri"(jasmine from Jayagiri mountain) refer jasmine as the representation of the pure unspoiled beauty of a girl and also a long lost love. (Wikipedia.org)