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Meantime such a taʾliq whether made with or without previous parley between the bridegroom and his parents-in-law, must under Mohammedan law always be a voluntary act on the part of the former, as otherwise it would be invalid. Yet it must be understood that in the large field where the adat prevails of conditional divorce after every marriage, the chance concurrence of the wishes of all married couples cannot be regarded as the cause of this custom. As a matter of fact, where this adat holds good, it is usually compulsion or "persuasion" bordering on compulsion that carries the day.
In olden times in Java, not only in the kingdom of Mataram, but also in such places as Chirbon and Bantěn, the taʾlīq was ordained by the rulers of the country. The tradition of the Javanese that this adat, which extends so far beyond the limits of Java, was an invention of their great sultan (Sultan Agěng) is of course to say the least of it open to doubt. Still this taʾlīq was everywhere known as "the promise ordained of the Prince" (janjining ratu or janji dalěm) and is still so called even outside the Native States. It is indeed customary for the official who concludes the marriage contract to enquire of the bridegroom "do you accept the janjining ratu?", but this question is purely formal, since a reply in the negative is unheard of.
In addition to this main departure from Mohammedan law, another unorthodox custom (which seems formerly to have been universal) still prevails in many districts, viz. that the words of the taʾlīq are only uttered by the official marriage-maker, who of course speaks in the second person[1], and the bridegroom instead of repeating the words in the first person simply answers "yes". According to the law this defect in form renders the whole transaction void, yet the adat regards it as valid.
In the provinces directly subject to the Dutch government there is of course in theory no such thing as compulsion in regard to the taʾlīq. Both this freedom and the increasing study of the Mohammedan law cause the proper legal form for this voluntary declaration to be more largely employed in these provinces; but as a matter of fact the formula is dictated to the bridegroom in such a way that he is left to suppose in his ignorance that it forms an indispensable part of the
- ↑ He ought properly speaking to dictate the words to the bridegroom in the first person. This has of late become customary in most localities owing to the increasing influence of Mekka in such matters.
