Rice and Accompanying Dishes for a Selamatan

This is not a recipe, but an account of a traditional ritual feast, a selamatan in a Central Javanese household. At its centre, of course, is rice, and around the rice are many side-dishes, all chosen and made in careful accordance with the event that the family is celebrating or commemorating. The selamatan is always related to a landmark in the life of a member of the family. In Solo and Yogya, the two remaining small sultanates of Central Java, they will tell you that there are only three true and original occasions for a selamatan: birth, marriage and death.