Indonesian TV presenter and social media influencer Nadia Soekarno celebrated a traditional ceremony called Melukat with her family in Bali recently, and the beautiful photos of her precious traditional ceremony caught our attention. We spoke to Nadia about the importance of celebrating cultural traditions and why capturing these moments are really important for her.

1. Can you share with us a little bit about the ceremony that you just attended?

I celebrated the Melukat ceremony for the first time recently with my family. Actually Melukat is a Hindhu traditional ceremony done in Bali, but many tourists who visit Bali would take part in the ceremony as well. Melukat is basically a ritual to cleanse and sanctify our mind, body, and soul from all things evil.

2. As someone from the young generation, what made you interested in these traditional ceremonies?

My family and I have always been interested in learning about Indonesia's vastly diverse culture; the many different rituals, beliefs, ceremonial processes, etc. I don't think it is enough just learning about these through books or internet research, I want to 'jump in' straightaway to experience them, talking and gathering informations from experts and pemangku who could guide us to properly experience the rituals.

I believe that every tradition is unique. Each tradition and religion have their own way to express their faith, and from my early days I have always been thought to respect every form of diversity: whether it is racial background, religion, tradition, or social status, without segregating them. I think this lessons I learned from my family is what made my love for diversity blossoms.

3. What made you choose to capture your traditional ceremony moment with SweetEscape?

Recently, the issue about diversity is taking a lot of spotlight in the media. Sometimes some people use this diversity to divide Indonesia. I hope with SweetEscape capturing my family celebrating Melukat together, a lot of people will get a better understanding about respecting differences and cultural diversity.

4. Please tell us a little bit of your experience with SweetEscape

I am so glad that SweetEscape was there to capture this important moment for my family. Not everything can be captured and documented properly by ourselves–it would be extremely difficult to pray fervently and devoutly while holding a camera! The photo qualities are great too, the angles are perfect, and you can tell that the photographer knew what he was doing... He was especially kind and patient, even when we were late. I would really love to use SweetEscape to capture my special moments again!

SweetEscape is excited to celebrate every tradition and culture of the world, so whenever you're doing a traditional ceremony of any kind, don't forget to book our services! SweetEscape is ready to capture every moment, so book your session today and let's #MakeLifeMemorable!