Madurese saltmakers give thanks with syncretic rite<\/p>\n
Text and photos by Zoel Mistortoify<\/p>\n
SUMENEP, East Java (JP): In the southern coastal area of
\nMadura island in East Java, a unique traditional way of giving
\nthanks to ancestors and the creator lives on.<\/p>\n
It is peculiar in its marrying of Madurese, Balinese, Javanese
\nand Arabic cultures, all marked by their own respective
\ncontradictions. The Madurese are known as devout Moslems but the
\nNyadar rite -- meaning an expression of gratitude -- has distinct
\nHindu origins.<\/p>\n
It is held in three phases. The first phase in July and the
\nsecond in August take place at the ancestral burial site on the
\nbanks of the Saroka River estuary near Kebon Dadap village,
\nSaronggi.<\/p>\n
The final phase in September is at the former dwelling place
\nof ancestors in Penggir Papas village in Kalianget.<\/p>\n
The rite is conducted at an isolated location on a coastal
\narea surrounded by salt-making pools.<\/p>\n
It takes five hours to travel by bus from Surabaya to Madura's
\neasternmost town of Sumenep. From there it takes 45 minutes in a
\nlocal taxi to reach the location of the rite, which is about 18
\nkm away.<\/p>\n
The dry coastal air reeks of salt. The area is barren and hot
\nwith sandy flat land.<\/p>\n
\"During the night the heat of the land accelerates the salt-
\nmaking,\" said Hoiri, 37, a saltmaker from Kalianget. \"The only
\ncondition to survive here is a strong will to work under the
\nbiting heat of the sun.\"<\/p>\n
Community elder Buwang Hosnawi and Penggir Papas village head
\nMohammad Sadik said Nyadar is age-old and all saltmakers in the
\narea paid great respect to their ancestors.<\/p>\n
\"Our ancestors were not only our religious figures, but also
\nour teachers in salt-making. Nyadar is testimony to our deep
\nrespect for our ancestors and a medium for our request for a
\nbetter life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Who were these ancestors?<\/p>\n
\"The person who set foot here for the first time was a noted
\nMoslem preacher called Syekh Angga Suto, nicknamed Embah
\nAnggasuto. Of Arabic descent, he hailed from Cirebon,\" Hosnawi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"With the permission of the king, Embah Anggasuto spread Islam
\nand occupied a forest surrounded by river and sea water. He
\nturned the coastal forest into a village, which later came to be
\nknown as Penggir Papas, meaning a riverbank that is shaped,\"
\nHosnawi added.<\/p>\n
He said the influence of Balinese culture was a result of the
\npolitical interaction at the time of the subjugation of East
\nJava's Majapahit Kingdom in the 1340s, when Bali and Madura came
\nunder the rule of the Bedahulu Kingdom in Bali.<\/p>\n
In the 16th century, religious conflicts often occurred. The
\nconflict reached its peak when Bali attacked Sumenep Kingdom in
\nMadura. The attack was repelled. But when Balinese soldiers were
\ntrying to escape, their military vessels on the southern coast
\nwere destroyed and they could not return to Bali.<\/p>\n
They were protected by Embah Anggasuto and his followers. They
\nconverted to Islam and assimilated with the local Madurese.<\/p>\n
Rites<\/p>\n
Sadik explained the first Nyadar must be conducted after the
\n\"old water\" -- the main material in salt-making -- was released.
\nThe second rite, which uses a similar procedure, is conducted
\nafter two or three harvests.<\/p>\n
When the process of salt-making is almost completed, the last
\nrite is held. The rite always takes place during a full moon, or
\nto be exact, on a late Friday afternoon from the time of the full
\nmoon.<\/p>\n
Rite participants usually arrive in small boats, sailing
\nthrough a special route to the sacred ancestral burial site.<\/p>\n
One of the rite participants, who wished to remain anonymous,
\nsaid that \"going by boat to the location in fact takes a longer
\ntime than walking there, but tradition requires the former\".<\/p>\n
Many participants come from Gresik and Lamongan in East Java.
\nThey said they were originally from Kalianget but had to migrate
\nto other salt-making areas on the northern coast due to the
\nscarcity of land.<\/p>\n
The final rite begins in earnest when 14 customary elders, all
\nclad in black, enter the gate of the \"inner yard\" of the sacred
\ngraveyard. They place flowers on four graves, each with a small
\ndomed structure and gravestone, belonging to Embah Anggasuto,
\nEmbah Kawoso, Embah Dukon and Embah Bangseng.<\/p>\n
They pray together. Two customary functionaries, brimming with
\ngreat charisma and clad in white, come forward and do the same.
\nFinally they, too, place flowers on the graves.<\/p>\n
When the rite leader has left the yard, the participants, who
\nhad waited outside the yard, simultaneously rush to the dome,
\nwhich is quite small.<\/p>\n
They jostle to be the closest possible to the sacred graves
\nwhen saying their prayers.<\/p>\n
\"Whoever can make it into the area of the sacred dome (with a
\ncapacity for 10 persons) will have greater blessings and will see
\nhis wishes come true,\" Hosnawi said.<\/p>\n
The participants may place flowers only on the graves of those
\ndescended from Embah Anggasuto. They put some money into the box
\nprepared for this purpose and daub yellow powder made of rice
\nflour on their brows and earlobes.<\/p>\n
\"This indicates that we have joined the rite,\" one of the
\nparticipants said. In the old belief this symbolized divine
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
Participants spend the night around their ancestors' graves.
\nThey prepare offerings in large quantities for the next day.<\/p>\n
\"The main offerings consist of betel leaves, kembhang bhabur
\n(flowers), yellow powder, incense and penjhang (a container of
\nrice and some dishes of chicken, eggs and milkfish),\" Hosnawi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The following day participants join together again for a
\nselamatan thanksgiving rite. Each family takes one set of
\nofferings placed in the same container.<\/p>\n
The core part of the rite is held in an open front structure
\nopposite to the four sacred domes. The rite is led by two
\ncustomary functionaries wearing long flowing robes intended only
\nfor ritual purposes and white headgear, just like leaders of
\nrites in Bali.<\/p>\n
A long prayer marks the beginning of the rite. Group leaders
\ntake turns to announce the number of people in their groups,
\nalthough the reason behind this is unclear.<\/p>\n
After the reporting was completed, each group takes turns to
\nsay a prayer while carrying their offerings to the \"inside yard\"
\nof the dome.<\/p>\n
Then the customary functionaries and group leaders gulp some
\nof the remaining liquid. The leader will take the cover off one
\nof the main offerings -- a kind of rice cone -- and eat some of
\nit.<\/p>\n
Other group leaders do likewise with their offerings. This
\ncompletes the rite, and the people return home in their
\nprocession of small boats.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/madurese-saltmakers-give-thanks-with-syncretic-rite-1447893297",
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