HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah during the Istiadat Menghantar Tanda Diraja dan Pertunangan Diraja ceremony for His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik who was engaged to Dk Raabi’atul Adawiyyah Pg Hj Bolkiah yesterday

HRH Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah upon arrival at the Royal Engagement

The Royal Engagement reported from The Brunei Times. His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik is officially engaged to Dk Raabi’atul Adawiyah Pg Hj Bolkiah after she accepted the pre-engagement gifts presented to her family’s representative during the Majlis Istiadat Menghantar Tanda Diraja and Pertunangan Diraja.

The royal engagement ceremony took place on the third day of the royal wedding festivities at Istana Nurul Iman, which was attended by HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, head of the ceremony.

The Tanda Diraja ceremony, steeped in royal customs, saw an underaged girl dressed like a bride in red, who was led into the Royal Banquet Hall by a royal court official.

Meanwhile, the Pertunangan Diraja, which is held in tandem with the Tanda Diraja, included an underaged boy and girl dressed like a groom and a bride in yellow led into the Royal Banquet Hall together with gift-bearers.

Gifts for the bride-to-be included a complete set of clothing, a pair of bangles and earstuds, pairs of shoes, a strand of necklace, and a silver vessel used to store four betel nut silver boxes named kaskol langguai.

Other gifts were a letter, surat mahar, describing the groom’s agreement to marry the bride and a list of all the gifts. The mahar or dowry was worth $1,000.

The gift-bearers were accompanied by 16 underaged Awang-awang carrying royal ceremonial candles called the dian enam belas.
Also part of the delegation was a group of 40 male youth walking in pairs and carrying royal regalia items including the sinipit (spear), pedang (sword), perisai (shield) and tombak (shield embellished with gold and silver bands).

The gifts and three underaged children were then brought to Baitur Rahmah, where the bride-to-be’s family representative waited to accept them.

Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Lela Cheteria Sahibun Najabah Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Aziz, Chief of Adat Istiadat

The arrival of the delegation bearing the royal engagement gifts was marked with a 17-cannon salute at the Istana Nurul Iman compound.

A verbal exchange then ensued between YAM Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris Pengiran Maharaja Lela Pengiran Muda Abdul Kahar, head of the gifts delegation, and Pengiran Maharaja Setia Laila Diraja Sahibul Irshad Pengiran Anak Hj Abdul Rahim Pengiran Indera Mahkota Pengiran Anak (Dr) Kemaludin Al-Haj, who accepted the pre-engagement gifts on behalf of the bride-to-be’s father.

Legislative Council member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Kerna Dato Paduka Seri Hj Yaakub Pehin Orang Kaya Maharaja Diraja Dato Paduka Hj Zainal was then appointed to deliver the gifts to Pehin Manteri Bini Hjh Aminah Hj Md Yassin and Pehin Jawatan Bini Hjh Siti Hj Mohd Yusof Khan at the Balai Singgahsana Indra Kenchana.

Pehin Manteri Bini Hjh Aminah and Pehin Jawatan Bini Hjh Siti were responsible for inspecting the gifts.

While YB Pehin Dato Hj Yaakub waited outside with the 16 Awang-Awang carrying the 16 royal ceremonial candles, 16 Dayang-dayang entered Balai Singgahsana Indera Kenchana carrying the same royal regalia.

Another group of Dayang-Dayang also entered the balai to exchange a set of gangsa (brass receptacle), signifying that the bride-to-be has accepted the gifts and is now officially engaged to the groom-to-be.

The delegation led by YAM Pengiran Indera Setia Diraja Sahibul Karib Pengiran Anak Hj Idris returned to the Royal Banquet Hall and delivered the news to HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah that the bride-to-be has accepted the gifts.

A doa selamat was then read out by State Mufti Pehin Datu Seri Maharaja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Dr Ustaz Hj Abdul Aziz Juned to bless the ceremony before HRH Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah gave his approval for the ceremony to conclude. Text courtesy of Waqiuddin Rajak and Ak Khairuddin Pg Harun of The Brunei Times and images by Fazizul Haqimie (@haqimie267) of rano360.com