'Congkokan', a Javanese centenarian ceremony
'Congkokan', a Javanese centenarian ceremony
By Bambang M
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Javanese people were once known to
strongly hold their centuries-old traditions. Yet, in the modern
era, many think such traditions irrational with traditional
ceremonies a waste of time and money.
As a result, not many young people understand the importance
and the philosophy behind the traditions of their ancestors.
One of the rare traditional ceremonies is congkokan. This
ceremony is performed to honor someone reaching 100 years of age.
The ceremony is rarely held because only a few people reach
their 100th birthday. Sugiyah, who was born on April 19, l900, is
very lucky. She is still healthy and happy and celebrated her
100th birthday last Saturday (April 22). Her large family --
children, grandchildren and great children -- held a congkokan
ceremony in their residence in Demangan area.
"We conduct this ceremony to express our gratitude to God for
giving health and long life to our mother," said Rakimas,
Sugiyah's fifth son, adding that his mother has six children, 88
grandchildren and several great grandchildren from her two
marriages.
The main procession of the ceremony is angon putu (herding of
grandchildren). This was done by taking all her grandchildren to
the nearest market. Grandmother Sugiyah then took her 88
grandchildren to the formal area of Demangan, 500 meters from her
house.
Sugiyah carried a whip and struck it onto the ground to mark
the beginning of the procession. Her grandchildren followed her
to the market. The convoy was like a carnival attracting a large
crowd from the neighborhood. All family members were dressed in
lavish Javanese traditional costumes.
"This must be part of the Kartini Day ceremony, " said an
onlooker. Kartini Day was commemorated by Indonesians on April 21
to honor Kartini, the national heroine and one of the pioneers in
women's emancipation movement.
At the market, she gave Rp 1,000 to each grandchild to buy
traditional cakes and snacks such as lumpia (pancake), ager-ager
(jelly) and dawet (traditional beverage made of colored rice and
coconut milk).
"They had to eat the food at the market. They were not allowed
to bring food to their house," explained Gatot Marsono, a
Javanese cultural observer. The procession symbolized the unity
and togetherness of the family.
The market event lasted for about 30 minutes. Sugiyah
announced the conclusion by striking her whip three times, then
led the procession home.
After the angon putu procession, all family members gathered
at home to kneel (sungkeman) to the birthday grandmother.
Sugiyah sat at the center of the room and the members of the
family paid their respects one by one to their beloved mother and
grandmother.
After sungkeman, she then poured water from an earthenware
water jug, known as a kendi, over the head of the eldest son,
Sarbini, 60. This was done as a symbol that good fortune will
always flow smoothly as the flow of the water from the pitcher.
Sugiyah then broke the jug by throwing it onto the ground. The
broken pieces were wrapped into six small bags and given to her
six children. The presentation of the kendi shards represents her
hope that all of her children will be blessed with happiness and
prosperity.
Four different kinds of tumpeng (ceremonial dish of rice
served in a cone shape) were presented during prayers. They
included a tumpeng robyong, a tumpeng kencono, and two tumpeng
suci or sacred tumpeng.
The ceremony took almost the whole day. In the evening,
Sugiyah's family held a Koran recital to complete the Javanese
centenarian ceremony.