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.