Javanese mark New Year with unique rituals

Javanese mark New Year with unique rituals

Slamet Susanto and Mimin Dwi Hartono, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

The clock was just about to strike nine on Wednesday night as
hundreds of people gathered in the Alun-alun Utara Square in
front of the Yogyakarta Palace, led by seven men in complete
Javanese costumes carrying white flags with Javanese writing on
them.

When the clock struck nine, the crowd began to move slowly and
solemnly around the palace. The people walked in silence, only
their lips moving as they said silent prayers. Not a word was
heard during the procession.

They were performing what is traditionally called here the
Tapa Bisu Mubeng Beteng, or silent walking meditation around the
fortress, to celebrate the Javanese New Year, or Suro 1, 1938
Wawu, according to the Javanese calendar, which fell on Feb. 10.

As the night grew late more people joined the procession.
Nearing midnight, the line of people stretched for nearly one
kilometer. After marching for over two hours, covering a distance
of some five kilometers around the palace, they returned to Alun-
Alun Utara and gathered in front of the gate of the
Palace's Pagelaran Hall. Still silent, they sat on the ground
with their legs crossed.

The leader of the ritual came forward, following a woman
carrying incense, and led a prayer. He ended the ritual by
singing a traditional song called Dhandanggula Kidung Sunya
Kawilenggeng. Some people were so moved that they began to cry
while singing.

"This ritual functions as a means of reflection for the
community. While reflecting, we also pray and hope for a better
future," the leader of the ritual, Tri Atmadja, 57, told The
Jakarta Post.

"This is a tradition that we inherited from our ancestors, who
have been performing it for hundreds of years. And we will
maintain the ritual for the sake of our future," he said.

The ritual itself is rich with symbols. The seven flags
bearing Javanese writing carried during the ritual, for example,
symbolize pitulungan, or help from God. The word pitu in Javanese
literally means seven. The white color of the flags symbolizes
the purity and sincerity of the people in believing in God and
expecting help from Him.

The ritual also features the ngalap berkah procession in which
participants vie to get their hands on the items used in the
ritual, including the flags and the bamboo sticks that carry the
flags.

Locals believe that if they succeed in getting even only a
small piece of a flag they can expect better things from the
coming year.

The same Topo Bisu ritual was also conducted in the nearby
Pakualaman principality. Only, the ritual at the palace ended
exactly at midnight, while the one in Pakualaman began at
midnight. Some 120 elementary school students were among the
participants of the ritual, which covered a distance
of some four kilometers.

Most Javanese here still consider Suro 1 a sacred day, during
which they perform various rituals such as washing their sacred
belongings, performing thanksgiving ceremonies or making
offerings.

It is also during the Javanese New Year celebration that
people flock to local holiday resorts, especially Kaliurang on
the slopes of Mountain Merapi, and the beaches along the southern
coast of Yogyakarta.

This year, however, the celebrations in Yogyakarta looked a
bit different. Many people seemed to prefer to tone down their
celebrations, joining traditional rituals or simply staying at
home. This could have been because the provincial government
earlier warned a tropical cyclone could hit the province's
coastal areas on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10.

This could also explain why Yogyakarta's renowned beaches such
as Parangtritis, Parangkusumo and Samas were nearly empty of
holiday makers.

Meanwhile, members of the Paguyuban Tritunggal religious
association performed a Ruwat Pathok Negara cleansing ritual by
walking around Yogyakarta city, passing those places considered
to be sacred while carrying sacred belongings.

At Ngobaran Beach in Gunung Kidul, dozens of royal servants
from Yogyakarta Palace performed a labuhan ritual on the
Javanese New Year's Eve.

A group of some 40 elderly men and women from the religious
association Perkumpulan Pangesti Jawi conducted the traditional
Javanese ritual Metri Bumi at an old house at the Kaliurang
resort to celebrate the Javanese New Year.

All were dressed in complete Javanese costumes for the event.
The ritual began when one of the old men poured water from seven
different bottles into an earthenware jug known as a kendi, and
then said prayers in front of the jug. The smell of flowers and
burning incense wafted through the room.

After saying a silent prayer, the man gave the jug to the
participants who took turns taking water from the jug and rubbing
it on their faces and bodies while saying a prayer.

According to Sumarno, 67, the seven bottles contained water
taken from seven different springs around Kaliurang. They were
the springs of Umbul Wadon, Umbul Kembang, Umbul Muncar, Umbul
Tlogo Putri, Umbul Candi, Umbul Kletak and Umbul Madohan.

Taking water from the seven springs, according to him, was
meant as an expression of gratitude and honor toward God for His
generosity in giving them these seven springs that had for
hundreds of years been the main sources of water for the
surrounding people.

The Metri Bumi ritual was then continued with a
laku topo bisu (speechless walking ritual), covering a distance
of some four kilometers around the Kaliurang resort.

It was during this particular ritual that other people,
including holiday makers and locals, joined in. Like other
similar rituals, the one in Kaliurang was meant to give people
the opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to
the next.

The whole procession, which started at about 8 p.m., ended
after midnight.

"We plan to perform this ritual every year to maintain this
Javanese tradition that expresses respect for the environment,"
Sumarno said.