DOCSLIB.ORG

Release from Batara Kala's Grip: a Biblical Approach to Ruwatan From

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Release from Batara Kala's Grip: a Biblical Approach to Ruwatan From ERT (2019) 43:2, 126-137 Release from Batara Kala’s Grip: A Biblical Approach to Ruwatan from the Perspective of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians Pancha W. Yahya Ruwatan is a ritual that has been Ruwatan is derived from a Hindu practiced by the Javanese people (the - largest ethnic group in Indonesia) for cation or liberation of gods who had centuries.1 The word ruwatan comes traditionbeen cursed and for is makingrelated mistakesto the purifi and from ruwat, which means ‘to free’ or changed into other beings (either hu- ‘to liberate’. Ruwatan is ‘a ritual to lib- mans or animals). erate certain people because it is be- Because of the widespread practice lieved that they will experience bad of ruwatan, a biblical perspective on luck.’2 These people are considered - donesian Christians, especially those Batara Kala, an evil god of gigantic thisfrom ritual a Javanese would cultural be beneficial background. to In uncleanproportions and firmlyin Javanese under mythology.the grip of Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians pro- The ritual is practised by every stra- vides such a perspective, as it directly tum of the Javanese society—wealthy addresses the evil powers and their and poor, educated and illiterate.3 ability to bind people.4 Ephesus was known as the centre of magic in the Graeco-Roman world.5 1 - I will begin by describing the prac- tral Java and East Java and also the Yogyakar- tice and implicit worldview of ruwa- ta special The Javanese region, live all onin thethe provincesisland of Java, of Cen In- tan. I will then consider this practice donesia. According to the 2010 census, there from the perspective of Ephesians.5 are 95.2 million Javanese, which is 40 per- cent of the total of Indonesia’s population. See Hendri Akhsin Naim, Sensus Penduduk 2010 (2010 Population Census) (Jakarta: (Symbolism and Mysticism of Wayang: A Badan Pusat Statistik, 2010). Philosophical Review) (Jakarta: Gunung 2 Ruwatan: Tinjauan Agung, 1979), 33. Alkitabiah’ (Ruwatan: A Biblical Review), 4 Powers of Dark- Studia A. PhilosophicaHari Kustono, et ‘Theologica 6, no. 1 ness: Principalities and Powers in Paul’s Let- (March 2006): 71. ters See (Downers Clinton Grove, E. Arnold, IL: InterVarsity Press, 3 Simbolisme dan Mistikisme 1992), 115. dalam Wayang: Sebuah Tinjauan Filosofis 5 Sri Mulyono, Pancha W. Yahya (MTh in Systematic Theology and Missiology, Bruce Southeast M. Metzger Asia hasBible pointed Seminary, out, Indonesia; ‘Of all MTh in New Testament, Calvin Theological Seminary) is a New Testament lecturer at Southeast Asia Bible Seminary, Indonesia. Currently, he is completing PhD studies in New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA. Release from Batara Kala’s Grip 127 I. Ruwatan and Its way to heaven. Batari Uma rejected his advances because she thought Foundational Worldview that it was not a proper time or place Ruwatan consists of three primary 6 to make love. Nonetheless, Batara elements: a shadow puppet play en- Guru could not control his sexual titled Murwakala (from the words for desire for his wife. In his lust, Bata- ‘ancient time’), which recounts the ra Guru ejaculated, and some of his story of the origins of the god Batara sperm went down into the ocean and Kala; the sukerta people who are be- created the gigantic Batara Kala, who lieved to be unclean; and the need to subsequently created chaos by eating be freed from bondage via the cer- emony of ruwatan, which is accompa- another god, Batara Gangga, asked nied by ritual offerings. all the fish in the ocean. In response, Batara Kala himself had been derived 1. The Origin of Batara Kala7 fromBatara the Kala ocean. not 7to eat those fish, since The myth of the origin of Batara Kala Batara Kala then asked Batara begins with the epic story of Batara Guru for permission to eat all the Guru, the supreme god in Javanese creatures living on the land. Batara mythology. One afternoon, Batara Guru permitted him to eat certain Guru wanted to have sexual inter- people who were deemed sukerta course with his wife, the beautiful (unclean). But because Batara Narada goddess Batari Uma, while they were (yet another god) feared that Batara riding an ox 6named Andini on their Kala would devour far too many peo- ple, Batara Guru sent Batara Narada together with two colleagues, Batara ancient Graeco-Roman cities, Ephesus, the Wisnu and Batara Brahma, to free the third largest city in the Empire, was by far sukerta from his grip. the most hospitable to magicians, sorcerers, There are different opinions in and charlatans of all sorts’ (‘St. Paul and the Javanese tradition as to who quali- Magicians’, Princeton Seminary Bulletin 38 Various listings iden- (June 1994): 27. Some commentators have sukerta. argued that Ephesians was a circular letter tify twenty, sixty, 136, or 147 kinds of sent to multiple churches in southern Asia peoplefies as who are considered unclean, Minor, but if so, the church at Ephesus was but basically there are two general was the communication and transportation hubstill probablyof Asia Minor.the first See recipient Clinton since E. Arnold,the city pets), wayang karucil (made of wood but in Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in thin pieces and used as shadow puppets), Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), 13. and wayang beber (scroll-painted presen- 6 tations of the stories being told). Among puppet play is called wayang kulit (pup- these kinds of wayang, wayang kulit is the pet Inskin) the because Javanese the tradition, puppet isthis made shadow from most popular form. The tradition of wayang goat skin and supported by carefully shaped originated among the Javanese people in the buffalo horn handles and control rods. At tenth century AD and the stories are taken least four additional forms of wayang can from well-known Hindu epics, namely Rama- be found in Javanese culture: wayang orang yana and the Mahabharata. (human wayang; actually this is not a pup- 7 pet play but a dance theatrical performance), summarized from Mulyono, Simbolisme dan wayang golek (made of wooden dolls/pup- Mistikisme The story, 43–46. of the origin of Batara Kala is 128 Pancha W. Yahya - pans and spoons; (4) animals such tain family conditions such as being as cows, buffalos, geese, ducks and categories.an only child, The a twin,first a containschild born cer at chickens; (5) fabric; (6) sheets, pil- dawn or dusk, or an albino child. The lows and bolsters; and (7) food. second category consists of people After the procession, the dalang who have done inappropriate things (a person who performs as the nar- from the perspective of the Javanese rator, puppeteer and leader of the worldview: sleeping on a mattress ritual) 9 receives the sukerta and be- without a sheet, standing in the mid- shadow puppet play. Once the pup- without throwing away all the waste, petgins play the hasfirst ended, act of the Murwakala, dalang reads the dlesleeping of a doorway,at dawn, sweeping midday theor dusk,floor magical spells to liberate the sukerta dropping the rice cooker when boil- from Batara Kala’s grip. Afterwards, ing rice, breaking a gandik (a cooking the dalang cuts some strands of each tool made from stone and used in pre- sukerta’s hair. Then the second act of paring jamu, or traditional Javanese Murwakala is performed. To conclude herbal medicine), and cooking rice in the ritual of ruwatan, the dalang cer- a location other than one’s home. emonially washes the sukerta with water taken from seven springs and 2. The Practice of Ruwatan The ritual of ruwatan can be divided with flowers. into seven sequential events. First, 3. The Worldview Underlying the sukerta people show respect to Ruwatan their parents by kneeling and press- For the Javanese people, wayang rep- ing their faces to their parents’ knees resents the depth of their worldview. (sungkem) to ask their blessing so According to Eka Darmaputera, ‘Wa- that the ritual may be successful. Sec- yang can be stated to be the one thing ond, a procession occurs as the suker- that conveys to the Javanese people ta along with their parents and other an understanding about “the real- family members bring their offerings. ity behind all realities”, about them- The purpose of giving offerings is to selves, both as an individuals and as worship the Creator, ancestor spir- a society, and their ensuing place in its and local spirits (in their houses, the universe.’10 Wayang communi- villages and country) and to ask for 8 cates many Javanese myths includ- their protection, peace and salvation. ing Murwakala, the story of Batara There are seven main types of ritual Kala’s desire to devour the sukerta. As offerings: (1) agricultural products such as rice, corn, coconuts, water- melons, and cassavas; (2) agricultural 9 dalang, see George Otis Jr., The devices such as a farmer’s cap and Twilight Labyrinth: Why Does Spiritual Dark- crowbars; (3) utensils such as pots, ness On Linger the Where It Does? (Grand Rapids: Chosen Books, 1997), 169–70. 10 Pancasila: Identitas 8 Ruwa- dan Modernitas Tinjauan Etis dan Budaya tan Murwakala: Sebuah Pedoman (Ruwatan (Pancasila: Eka Darmaputera, Identity and Modernity, An Ethi- Murwakala: H. Karkono Guidance) Kamajaya (Yogyakarta: et al., eds., Duta cal and Cultural Review) (Jakarta: Gunung Wacana University Press, 1992), 5, 48. Mulia, 1991), 66. Release from Batara Kala’s Grip 129 Paul Ricoeur asserts, myths ‘are not regarded as being a vast network fables but a particular way in which of interrelated spiritual forces in man places himself in relation to the which every being and everything fundamental reality’.11 The myth of is related to every other spiritual Batara Kala and the ritual of ruwatan force.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • S G Rip R Itual U Ses of Shadow P Lays in Java and Bali Ward Keeler
    R e l e a s e f r o m K a l a ' s G r ip R it u a l U ses o f S h a d o w P l a y s in J a v a a n d B a l i Ward Keeler Comparative work in anthropology sometimes appears to be as perilous as it is unfash­ ionable. That it is unfashionable is evident in the relative dearth of explicitly comparative studies published in anthropology over the past forty or so years. A few exceptions aside, the closest one usually comes is an edited volume in which each essay deals with a single society but an introductory essay by the editors hazards some broader comparative re­ marks. The reasons for such reticence seem clear: not only is it difficult for a single anthro­ pologist to acquire enough expertise in more than one society to make comparative remarks with any authority, it also goes against the grain of much contemporary anthropology to try to make data from diverse societies fit the analytic categories—any analytic categories— upon which comparison might be based. This fear of reductionism, which defines the peril in comparative work, is well-founded: the disrepute into which so much earlier anthropology has fallen stems in large part from the brazenly reductive manner in which cross-cultural comparisons were made. Even com- parativists as scrupulous and sophisticated as Boas and Levi-Strauss still seem to lose too much of what matters about the societies they study when they embark on comparisons of ritual, myth, or social organization.
    [Show full text]
  • J. Hooykaas the Rainbow in Ancient Indonesian Religion In
    J. Hooykaas The rainbow in ancient Indonesian religion In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 112 (1956), no: 3, Leiden, 291-322 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 02:58:39PM via free access THE RAINBOW IN ANCIENT INDONESIAN RELIGION Still seems, as to my childhood's sight A midway station given For happy spirits to alight Betwixt the earth and heaven. THOMASCAMPBELL, TO the Rainbow st. 2 Introductwn. earth is not without a bond with heaven. The Bible tells US that in a fine passage, where the rainbow appeared as a token of Ethis bond, Gen. IX.13: I do set My bow in the cloud and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. The Greeks also knew, that, however easy-going their gods might be, there was a link between them and mortal men. That link was represented by Homer as the fleet-footed Iris, who with later poets became the personification of the rainbow. A beautiful picture of the Lord in a 12th century English psalter 1 shows that the rainbow also in Christian conception keeps its place as 'a token of a covenant', for Christ, in that picture, is seated on a rain- bow, with His feet nesting on a smaller bow. Thus we Europeans are acquainted with the rainbow as the bond between heaven and earth through both sources of culture which still nourish our civilisation. It hardly needs emphasizing, that each religion has its own view ofthe rainbow.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sinophone Roots of Javanese Nini Towong
    Margaret Chan Singapore Management University The Sinophone Roots of Javanese Nini Towong This article proposes that Nini Towong, a Javanese game involving a pos- sessed doll, is an involution of fifth-century Chinese spirit-basket divination. The investigation is less concerned with originist theories than it is a discus- sion of the Chinese in Indonesia. The Chinese have been in Southeast Asia from at least as early as the Ming era, yet Chinese contributions to Indonesian culture is an understudied area. The problem begins with the asymmetrical privileging of Indic over Sinic influences in early European scholarship, a sit- uation which in turn reveals the prejudices that the Europeans brought to bear in their dealings with the Chinese of Southeast Asia in the seventeenth to nineteenth century. Europeans introduced the Chinese-Jew analogy to the region. Their disdain contributed to indigenous hostility toward the Chinese. Racialism is a sensitive topic but a reminder of past injustices provides a timely warning in this moment of tense world geopolitics. keywords: Nini Towong—jelangkung—spirit-basket divination— Sinophone—Sinophobia Asian Ethnology Volume 76, Number 1 • 2017, 95–115 © Nanzan University Anthropological Institute ini Towong is a Javanese rain ritual that involves a female effigy made with Na coconut-shell ladle head mounted upon a basket body.* The soul of a dead person possesses the doll when it self-animates to answer questions put to it by rapping, nodding, and pointing. There is a second Indonesian spirit-basket game, jelangkung, from the Chinese cai lan gong (菜篮公), meaning “vegetable basket deity.” Two people hold onto a basket which moves to write using a pen stuck into its reeds.
    [Show full text]
  • Did the Solar Eclipse of 9 March 2016 Attract Tourist to Come to Indonesia?
    Asia Tourism Forum 2016 – The 12th Biennial Conference of Hospitality and Tourism Industry in Asia (ATF-16) Did the Solar Eclipse of 9 March 2016 Attract Tourist to Come to Indonesia? Nuria Haristiani1, Ani Siti Wiryani2, Arvina Rusli2, Asep Bayu Dani Nandiyanto2*, Novie Permatasari2, Transmissia Noviska Sucahya2, Anisa Purnamasari2, Desri Sofiani2, Isma Widiaty3, Ade Gafar Abdullah4, Ana3, Ratih Hurriyati5 1Departemen Pendidikan Bahasa Jepang, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia 2Departemen Kimia, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia 3Departemen Pendidikan Kesejahteraan Keluarga, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia 4Departemen Pendidikan Teknik Elektro, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia 5Departemen Manajemen dan Bisnis, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudi 229, Bandung 40154, Indonesia ABSTRACT- Solar eclipse phenomenon is one 1. INTRODUCTION of the spectacular events in nature. On 9 March 2016, the solar eclipse happened in several Solar eclipse phenomenon is a rare event regions in Indonesia. This event attracted tourists to visit Indonesia. The tourists came for that happens in the universe. This phenomenon not only seeing the beautiful solar eclipse scene occurs when the Sun and the Moon are in a but also getting sensation of myths and cultures line in a few minutes, so that sunlight is in Indonesia during the solar eclipse. Here, the covered by the Moon, resulting the darkening aim of this study was to discuss about the effects sky. (Fabian, Winterhalter, & et al, 2001; of solar eclipse event on the increases in the Foken, Wichura, & et al, 2001; Nishanth, Ojha, number of tourists to Indonesia and influence of & et al, 2011) This eclipse takes place in foreign exchange in Indonesia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Panji Story: from Version to Version *) by Triyono
    The Panji Story: From Version to Version *) by Triyono Bramantyo Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta, Indonesia Introduction A monument that was erected during the reign of King Dyah Balitung of Central Java dating from approximately 907 CE (Ministry of Education and Culture 1983-1984, 2) provides the oldest written record of a wayang performance, which was based on the Mahabharata epic tale. The Ramayana was also an important source in the development of the performing arts in the early civilization of Java. The history of the Ramayana dates back to approximately the 5th-4th century BCE. It is believed that the original version of the story is Valmiki’s Ramayana. Some cultural evidence suggests that the Ramayana predates the Mahabharata. Regardless of which tale appeared first, these two important Indian literary works have been adapted to many forms in Javanese performing arts and in those of the rest of Southeast Asia: the Javanese Ramayana, the Javanese Mahabharata (in various forms of puppetry), the Balinese Ramayana, the Phra Lak Phra Lam of Laos, the Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, the Ramakien of Thailand, the Yama Zatdaw of Myanmar, etc. Alongside the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, there is a local Javanese cycle called the Story of Panji, which, according to C.C. Berg’s work Inleiding tot de Studie van het Oud-Javaansch (1928), was disseminated in the year of Pamalayu (1277 CE). Purbatjaraka, an expert on the Panji cycles, writes: “[…] the writing of the early Panji story was during the supremacy of the Majapahit Kingdom” (Purbatjaraka 1968, 404). The Story of Panji subsequently spread throughout the Southeast Asian region, including present-day Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, and has been adapted to a variety of performing arts.
    [Show full text]
  • TO 1 SMP - Bahasa Inggris.Pdf
    Bahasa SOAL PERSIAPAN inggris UJIAN NASIONAL 2020 SMP 1. What does the caution mean? A. it is hazardous if we create dust from the asbestos B. asbestos can create dust when we dispose it C. it is dangerous for our health to breath asbestos D. disposing asbestos is bad for our health 2. Why does school issue this notice? A. to see the student for professional help B. to inform the students to attend a test C. to tell the student when the English speaking test is held D. to invite the students to speak during the test 3. What must the student do in regard to the notice? A. pay attention to the notice B. fill all the requirements C. bring the test card D. go into their own class room 4. Why does the school publish the announcement? A. to inform about school holiday B. to ask students participations C. to present the English Club D. to contact their art teacher 5. What can students get by joining the club? A. free registration B. better skill C. new members D. better place 6. “Join us and improve your English!” The underline word has similar meaning with… A. enhance B. envelope C. ending D. entertain 7. What is the announcement about? A. tournament schedule change and coach vacancy B. sports program and vacancy in twitter account C. some school activities on a new facebook page D. a conflict in basketball championship schedule 8. Why was the basketball championship reschedule? A. Merauke High School was looking for a coach B.
    [Show full text]
  • J. Ras the Panji Romance and WH Rassers Analysis of Its Theme In
    J. Ras The Panji Romance and W.H. Rassers analysis of its theme In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 129 (1973), no: 4, Leiden, 411-456 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 12:56:07PM via free access J. J. RAS l THE PANJI ROMANCE 1 AND W. H. RASSERS' ANALYSIS li OF ITS THEME \-., i 9 Rasser? work. Some early and more recent judgements. In June 1972 it was exactly 50 years since W. H. Rassen (deceased recently, on 16th May, 1973) presented his book 'De Pandji-roman' to i the Senate Committee of the University of Leiden, which Comrnittee, ) after the traditional discussion on the merits of this study and of the theses accompanying it, conferred on the author the degree of Doctor of Philmphy. - After the completion of his dissertation Rassers proceeded with his research and wrote a number of further studies, the most important of which were later collected and republished in English translation under / the title Pañji, the Culture Hero.' It is through this latter collection , / of essays that Rassen' views have become most widely known outside the Netherlands. The title of this book is not altogether fortunate, in the first place because some of the essays contained in it do not touch on the Panji theme at dl, while in the second place it has caused the book to be mistaken for Rassers' dissertation of 1922, which it definitely is not. -/ The dissertation was never made accessible to the English-reading public.
    [Show full text]
  • Sufism and the Sacred Feminine in Lombok, Indonesia
    religions Article Sufism and the Sacred Feminine in Lombok, Indonesia: Situating Spirit Queen Dewi Anjani and Female Saints in Nahdlatul Wathan Bianca J. Smith Centre for Islamic Culture and Society, University of Mataram, Mataram 83125, Indonesia; [email protected] Abstract: This article is a feminist ethnographic exploration of how ‘indigenous’ notions of a ‘sacred feminine’ shape Sufi praxis on the island of Lombok in the eastern part of Indonesia in Southeast Asia. I demonstrate through long-term immersive anthropological fieldwork how in her indigenous form as Dewi Anjani ‘Spirit Queen of Jinn’ and as ‘Holy Saint of Allah’ who rules Lombok from Mount Rinjani, together with a living female saint and Murshida with whom she shares sacred kinship, these feminine beings shape the kind of Sufi praxis that has formed in the largest local Islamic organization in Lombok, Nahdlatul Wathan, and its Sufi order, Hizib Nahdlatul Wathan. Arguments are situated in a Sufi feminist standpoint, revealing how an active integration of indigeneity into understandings of mystical experience gives meaning to the sacred feminine in aspects of Sufi praxis in both complementary and hierarchical ways without challenging Islamic gender constructs that reproduce patriarchal expressions of Sufism and Islam. Keywords: sacred feminine; divine feminine in Sufism; Sufi orders; female saints; female leadership Citation: Smith, Bianca J. 2021. Sufism and the Sacred Feminine in in Sufism; Dewi Anjani; Nahdlatul Wathan; Lombok; Indonesia; indigenous feminine Lombok, Indonesia: Situating Spirit Queen Dewi Anjani and Female Saints in Nahdlatul Wathan. Religions 12: 563. https://doi.org/10.3390/ 1. Introduction rel12080563 The ‘sacred (also read as divine) feminine’ as cultural praxis is an under-researched area in the anthropology of Sufism in Indonesia, mostly because normative Sufism as Academic Editors: Milad Milani, organized through the tariqa, like Islam, is structurally and ideologically patriarchal and Zahra Taheri and Aydogan Kars formally speaks to a male audience.
    [Show full text]
  • A Claim Against Destiny As Criticism of Javanese Philosophy in Indonesian Novel
    A Claim against Destiny as Criticism of Javanese Philosophy in Indonesian Novel Andry Setiawan 1 and Joesana Tjahjani 2 {[email protected] 1, [email protected] 2} 1,2 Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok. Indonesia Abstract. The Javanese believe destiny as God's provision that must be obeyed. This article is a textual study that demonstrates how fate is claimed in a manner of textual criticizing the Javanese philosophy. We use a methodological foundation as the structural approach to the theory put forward by Tzevetan Todorov to examine aspects of the Fugitive Wisanggeni text narrative and the semiotic Roland Barthes to read the symbols present as marks in the text. The result of the study shows that the construction of Wisanggeni’s character, as main character of the story, contradicts the concept of narima and rila in the Javanese philosophy. Meanwhile, from the results of semiotic analysis, it was found that, as a sign, narima carries an attitude that will lead to a simple life that does not impose personal will. The rila sign carries a meaning that people who submit to this attitude are of good morals. This is the sign of a person that he as individuals has the freedom to regulate his life. Keywords: Javanese philosophy, destiny, symbol 1. INTRODUCTION For a long time, the art of Purwa wayang has grown and developed in the archipelago. In the development, its function has changed, first with its function as a ceremonial tool that deals with the belief (religious magic), to a didactic educational tool, next regional art form, and finally a scientific object [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Education As Cultural Strategy: Character Educational in Dewi Sri's
    Education as Cultural Strategy: Character Educational in Dewi Sri’s Folklore* Haryo Kunto Wibisono, S.AP, Linda Novi Trianita, Sri Widagdo, P.A, S.AP* Faculty of Administrative Science, Brawijaya University Malang, Indonesia, 2011 Discourse of education equals with concept of transfer knowledge, culture negotiate, dialectic of value and idea or relationship between educator-learner. Even so,variabel of character and human knowledge can’t be separated from education concept as process of human building who begins to see, know, understand, and believing. In this aspect, culture plays an important role to building construction of think, act, and speak. Later, thought developing from myth, mythological, and functional period to achieve their cultural strategic. Meanwhile, folklore working area to build mythology idea upon the fact which is represented by local-knowledge production/indigenous knowledge. Dewi Sri’s Folklore is based on the context of agricultural society and culture chart that surrounding whole character and attitude of society. The story tells about concept of Dewi Sri as symbol of fertility and food security guards through symbolism of ritual and tradition. It symbolises the beginning of thought about the progress of agriculture which is characterised by life-cycle or fertility. The story says that everyone has a responsibility to protecting the staple food, humans have an obligation to maintain mankind welfare. In addition, Dewi Sri’s Folklore with many variations is also expressed in agrarian society such as ritual, spells for cycle rice planting, character and manners educate to children, these all interrelated promoted by ancestor belief from generation to generation, especially Javanese people.
    [Show full text]
  • Südostasien Working Papers Band 1 Helmut Lukas
    Südostasien Working Papers Band 1 ISSN 1810-7354 Helmut Lukas Kommission für Sozialanthropologie Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Theories of Indianization Exemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia (Insular Southeast Asia) This is a slightly revised version of a paper that appeared in: Proceedings of Papers. "Sanskrit in Southeast Asia: The Harmonizing Factor of Cultures", International Sanskrit Conference, May 21-23, 2001. Sanskrit Studies Centre and Department of Oriental Languages, Silpakorn University (Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Press): Bangkok 2003: 82-107 DOI 10.1553/soawp1 Redaktion: Stefan Khittel c/o Kommission für Sozialanthropologie Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Schwindgasse 14/6 - 1040 Wien Fax: 01/ 503 68 73/ 6680 E-Mail: [email protected] THEORIES OF INDIANIZATION Exemplified by Selected Case Studies from Indonesia (Insular Southeast Asia) by Associate Prof. Dr. Helmut Lukas (Vienna, Austria) Austrian Academy of Sciences, Commission for Social Anthropology University of Vienna, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology Ludwig Boltzmann Association, Institute for China and Southeast Asia Research, Vienna This is a slightly revised version of a paper that appeared in: Proceedings of Papers. "Sanskrit in Southeast Asia: The Harmonizing Factor of Cultures", International Sanskrit Conference, May 21-23, 2001. Sanskrit Studies Centre and Department of Oriental Languages, Silpakorn University (Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya Press): Bangkok 2003: 82-107 1. ABSTRACT Too preoccupied with illustrating the influence of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Sanskrit in Southeast Asia most theories of „indianization“ seem to undervalue the „recipient“ cultures and societies. On account of a more or less marked „high culture-centrism“ Southeast Asian cultures and religions are measured with the classical expressions of Indian religions available in written records such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Purânas, Samhitas etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Ngahudang Carita Anu Baheula
    NGAHUDANG CARITA ANU BAHEULA (To Awaken An Ancient Story) An Introduction to the Stories of Pantun Sunda Andrew N. Weintraub Southeast Asia Paper No. 34 Center for Southeast Asian Studies School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa 1991 ACKNOWLEDGENffiNTS I am indebted to all the people who have helped me in my studies of pantun Sunda. I would like to mention a few individuals here who generously contributed their time and energy to the work contained in this volume. Yoseph Iskandar, Ajip Rosidi, Epih Wirahadikusumah and Amalia Firman collaborated closely with me on the translations of the Sundanese epics and helped me understand the stories within the context of Sundanese culture. Alice Dewey, Hardja Susilo and Ricardo D. Trimillos made valuable comments and suggestions on the writing of the synopses. Truong Buu Lam, Jim Collins, and Flo Lamoureux at the University of Hawaii Center for Southeast Asian Studies were very helpful in getting this volume to press. I am also grateful to the Institute of Culture and Communication at the East-West Center for supporting my research in West Java. Most importantly, I would like to dedicate this volume to the pantun bard, Ki Enjum, who willingly shared his time and knowledge with me. Ki Enjum begins the performance of every pantun Sunda with the invocatory song, "Rajah," which functions as an apology in the event that the performer makes a mistake during the performance. It seems appropriate that I begin this volume by quoting the opening lines from the song "Rajah".
    [Show full text]