Mas Prio Subud: Cultural Education Can be Passed Down from Generation to Generation
Writter: Dr. Prio Hartono
Wonoroto, Purworejo 1960……
After going down a long, tree shaded road, one feels elated upon entering this village.
The wide open landscape of padifields gives a sense of relief and happiness. Scattered hamlets resembling little islands in the sun, the tall coco- nut trees waving in the sky, all extend a warm homecoming welcome.
…….Wonoroto……
I was born in Jakarta, the capital of the Republic of Indonesia, on the 24th of June, 1930. Jakarta is located on the northern coast of West Java.
My par- ents, however, originally came from Central Java. My father was born in Jogjakarta, and my mother came from Purworejo, a town about 40 miles west of Jogjakarta.
My parents moved to Jakarta when my father took up a job as a government official with the Department of Home Affairs.
Although I was raised and educated in Jakarta, on long school holidays, we children were sent on vacation to my mother’s parents’ home in Central Java. In this way our contact with our original home and its culture was main- tained.
My grandparent’s house was located in a small and rather remote village called Wonoroto which is about three miles outside of Purworejo.
After going down a long, tree shaded road, one feels elated upon entering this village. The wide open landscape of padifields gives a sense of relief and happiness. Scat- tered hamlets resembling little islands in the sun, the tall coconut trees waving in the sky, all extend a warm homecoming welcome.
I always enjoyed being in my grandparent’s village. It was to me a tropical paradise. At dawn, I would be awakened by the crowing of the cocks. A beautiful sunrise would be smiling at me when I opened the window.
Nature was peaceful and quiet. Over the padifields squadron upon squad- ron of dragonflies, all sizes and colors, swarmed in the air, swiftly diving at times to catch their prey of tiny insects.
When the sun was high above my head, a fresh and gentle breeze would caress me. Sunsets were colorful with flocks of birds flying home enriching the evening scenery.
On moonlight nights, a little stroll with relatives and friends was a treat all its own. When no moon was shin- ing, thousands upon thousands of fireflies sparkled more brightly in the dark night.
Rain was always welcome on a hot sunny day. And at night, the sound of the rain and the cool air always made me feel cozy sitting on a long bamboo bench by the flickering kerosene light or sleeping under my sarong in bed.
I enjoyed bathing in the clear and shallow water of the river which flowed over a bed of volcanic stones. Sometimes, I joined the village boys herding their sheep just for fun, but my favorite pastime was riding on a buffalo’s back while the animal was grazing.
People in the village were bound together as one big family. Social events were plentiful. The village had its own gamelan (a five scale musical instrument) orchestra. At a very young age, village children started to practice on these.
They also learned the Javanese classical dances. As they grew older, they might also join the wayang wong group, which is a classical drama depicting the old Ramayana and Mahabharata legends simultaneously in music, song, story tell- ing, dancing and acting. Colorful costumes add to the glory of these perfor- mances.
The more sa- cred events were the selamatans. Selamatan is de- rived from the word selamat, meaning safe. A selamatan is a gathering where the host invites people to come for dinner and prayers.
This is a community affair. Relatives, neighbors and friends come to share in the prepa- ration of the food. When everyone ar- rives, usually about seven o’clock in the evening, and is seated cross-legged on mats on the floor, the leader of the cer- emony (usually an elderly man, learned in religious teach- ings as well as tradi- tional customs) con- ducts the prayers which are for the safety, well-being, happiness and pros- perity of the person
for whom the selamatan is being given.
After the prayers, there is an intermis- sion during which the younger generation bring in the food for the festivity.
Then the leader of the ceremony explains the meaning of the dishes which symbolize many different things.
A selamatan is given when a child is born, when the wound of the baby’s navel is healed, and yet another on the thirty-fifth day after birth, which is the cycle when a day in the seven-day week meets a day in the five-day week of the Javanese Calendar.
Besides the week which consists of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednes- day, Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays, as in the West, the Javanese have the five-day week of their Lunar Calendar, whose days are called Legi, Pahing, Pon, Wage and Kliwon.
If a person was born on Tuesday–Pon, this is considered the person’s real birthday which determines their astrological character, fate and cosmic influences. The Tuesday–Pon birthday returns every thirty-five days.
The Javanese do not celebrate the date of their birth, but their “wetonan” or “wiyosan” (in High Javanese), meaning the day when they emerged from the womb.
The thirty-fifth day selamatan is also dedicated as the selamatan for the mother of the new born baby. After this selamatan, she is allowed to resume intimate relations with her husband.
When a baby touches the earth for the first time, that is, when he or she starts to crawl, a selamatan is given. Another selamatan is given when the child is circumcised at the coming of age.
The most elaborate of all is the series of selamatans given for a wedding, which last for several days. There is also a selamatan when the bride is seven months preg- nant, expecting the birth of her first child.
Besides private selamatans, there are also public selamatans. For instance, a selamatan for the birth of the Prophet Mohammed. A selamatan in the month of Suro, a sacred month when the family heirlooms should be cleaned, bathed and oiled.
And the Lebaran or Idulfitri celebration at the end of the Ramadhan fasting.
Selamatans are not only given for the living. They are also given for the souls of the deceased. There is a selamatan before the funeral procession, and later in the evening after the funeral.
Following these, selamatans are held on the third, on the seventh, on the fortieth, and on the hundredth day after death. There is a selamatan on the first anniversary after death. the second anniver- sary after death, and a last selamatan is given on the thousandth day after death.
The month preceding Ramadhan or fasting month is called Ruwah. Ruwah is derived from the word arwah, meaning the souls, who now live in the hereaf- ter. It is known in Java that the souls of relatives, parents and ancestors come to visit during this month.
Therefore people in Java give a selamatan called ruwahan which is a selamatan to greet and welcome the visiting souls. A further selamatan for the deceased is given towards the end of the fasting month.
This is called punggahan derived from the word munggah, meaning going up. It is given to wish the visiting souls a safe and good journey back up to heaven.
A selamatan is also given before the planting of rice. And of course, the selamatan at harvest time is a very happy occasion.
People in Wonoroto are materially poor by Western standards. But they
do not feel poor amongst themselves. They are happy, content, generous, so- ciable, hospitable, honest, and have a sense of humor as well. Most of them are the descendants of the followers of Prince Diponegoro, who fought against the Dutch colonial rulers.
Many heirlooms in the form of krises (sacred daggers), spears and other objects are still to be found in the Purworejo area which was the last stronghold of Prince Diponegoro.
Failing to crush Prince Diponegoro after four years of fighting (1826-1830), the Dutch finally succeeded in luring him to come to Magelang (a town about 30 miles north of Purworejo) for a truce negotiation. His troops were not allowed to enter the city, so he came to the negotiating table alone.
As a noble prince, raised and educated to observe a strict code of chivalry, honoring ideals of brav- ery and honesty, he did not suspect that it was a trap. Instead of respecting him as a guest, who came to negotiate peace, the Dutch captured and exiled him to Sulawesi, an island north of Java, where the prince died of old age and grief.
During the Dutch colonial rule, the Indonesian people were suppressed and enslaved. They were even deprived of the opportunity to obtain adequate education.
Under Dutch colonial rule, only six and a half-percent of the Indone- sian people could read and write. The rest were kept illiterate.
Fortunately, cultural education could be passed from generation to gen- eration by word of mouth and through music, song, dance, acting, storytelling and oral poetry.
The most important cultural and moral education passed on was in the form of the wayang kulit, a shadow puppet play.
Vietnam, 1962
The people’s hopes were kept alive by legends and prophecies. One leg- end tells of the eccentric wali, Sheikh Siti Djenar, who lived during the time of the Nine Walis in the fifteenth century. (A wali is a true and enlightened saint.)
After receiving the contact with the Light of God, Sheikh Siti Djenar no longer wanted to observe the ritual religious obligations or the shari’at. He only cared about the inner truth, the absolute truth or the hakekat, which is the union between man and God through the contact with His Light.
He considered all else rubbish.
The other walis were very concerned about this situation. While it is true that those who receive enlightenment are able to receive direct guidance from God, few people are fortunate enough to receive this.
The masses needed to be taught religious teachings and rituals to give them a moral education and a code of conduct in society. If people followed the example of Sheikh Siti Djenar, the other walis thought there would be chaos.
The council of walis tried to solve the problem by inviting Sheikh Siti Djenar for a meeting. But Sheikh Siti Djenar would never come. Finally the council of walis decided to kill him in order to keep peace and order in the Islamic community and to avoid chaos and confusion.
After he was killed, they heard a voice saying: “I accept my death. But my vengeance will come with the arrival of an albino buffalo, who will enslave you and your descendants for three and a half centuries.” The “albino buffalo” came
in the form of the Dutch, who enslaved the Indonesian people for three hundred and fifty years. This explains why a relatively small number of Dutch people could colonize more than a hundred million Indonesian people.
No matter how hard the Indonesian people tried, they could not chase the Dutch away from their homeland.
When the spell resulting from the curse of Sheikh Siti Djenar was over, without any effort by the Indonesian people, the Dutch were thrown out of Indo- nesia by the Japanese in 1942. The Dutch surrendered to the Japanese almost without a fight.
About the coming of the Japanese, King Joyoboyo prophesied as follows: “Java will be ruled by yellow midgets for a corn’s lifetime.” The yellow midgets were the Japanese who ruled Indonesia for three and a half years.
Source: Book Mystical of Java, California
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