Kapok mattresses taboo in Kasuran hamlets

Kapok mattresses taboo in Kasuran hamlets

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Those headed to two hamlets some 20
kilometers north of here can forget about enjoying a comfortable
night's sleep on a soft kapok mattress.

At first West Kasuran in Margodadi village and East Kasuran in
the village of Margomulya appear no different from other
relatively well developed hamlets in the country.

Both in the district of Seyegan, Sleman regency, they have
good infrastructure, including roads, electricity, schools,
markets and small shops selling basic commodities.

But they do have a unique difference -- no kapok mattresses
are found in the area due to an age-old taboo on their use. It is
especially ironic because "kasuran" comes from kasur, the
Javanese word for mattress.

Cotton mattresses are not a luxury item, and they can be found
in most homes. Expense is not an issue for most Kasuran
villagers, most of whom live in permanent or semipermanent homes.

According to Pudjinem, a grandmother and the owner of a small
shop in East Kasuran, the taboo has been in effect since the
village was founded. "If anyone violates it, she or he will face
disaster in life."

The chief of East Kasuran, M. Noor Shidiq, said the taboo on
the use of kapok mattresses in the hamlet has been around for a
long time, although no one can say exactly when it started.

East Kasuran, whose population of 975 is mostly made up of
farmers and manual laborers, has always adhered to the "rule",
Shidiq said.

"No one here dares to violate it. They are afraid of the
consequences," he said.

The consequences for those who use a kapok mattress include
finding snakes in their bed, he said.

He recounted the story of a deputy at the religious affairs
office who moved to East Kasuran in 1976, bringing with him a
kapok mattress. Every Thursday night, which is sacred on the
Javanese calendar, he would find a snake in his bed. Although he
would drive it away, it would invariably return the following
Thursday.

Locals eventually told him about the taboo. After he got rid
of the mattress, the problem with the snakes stopped.

Another story involves Prawoto, a member of the police's
Mobile Brigade in Jakarta who retired to the village in 1981. He
scoffed at the taboo and brought with him four soft kapok
mattress

"A month later, his wife suddenly got sick and was unable to
walk," Noor said.

At first she did not believe her sickness was caused by the
kapok mattresses. Yet, just before she got sick, she said she saw
a big snake in her house. "Then, all of a sudden, I got a very
high fever," she recalled.

The fever lasted for 40 days. Doctors were unable to help, and
eventually she went to a shaman outside of Yogyakarta. He told
her that her illness was due to the kapok mattresses.

She was told to conduct a special purification ceremony
involving the sacrifice of three white chickens. The chickens
were cooked and wrapped in white cloth and then buried in front
of her house.

"I was also told to no longer use the kapok mattress to sleep
on," she said.

Her strange illness immediately cleared up after she performed
the rite and did away with her mattress.

Practice

Noor traces the taboo back to the time when a husband and
wife, Kyai Kasur and Nyai Kasur, lived in the village. They were
separated under mysterious circumstances several years after they
married, but each promised they would not use a kapok mattress
until they were reunited.

After the separation, Nyai Kasuran lived in East Kasuran and
was considered the founder of the hamlet. Kyai Kasur lived in
West Kasuran and was considered the founder of that hamlet. Other
villagers followed their lead and gave up kapok mattresses, but
the two were never reunited, and so never had the chance to use
kapok mattresses again.

Each was buried in their respective hamlets, and the graves
still exist today.

The head of West Kasuran Wartilah has a different version of
the story.

According to Wartilah, the taboo began when a wali (propagator
of Islam) named Sunan Kalijaga visited the hamlets during his
journey to preach about Islam.

When he wanted to rest in West Kasuran, Sunan Kalijaga asked
Kyai Kasuran to prepare a kapok mattress for him.

"When he left, he told the people of Kasuran not to use kapok
mattresses unless they had mastered as high a supernatural power
as himself."

He said that West Kasuran residents who dared to use a kapok
mattress invariably came down with an illness, such as his
sister, who got a tumor that disappeared when she threw out her
kapok mattress.

Because of the taboo, the 447 villagers of West and East
Kasuran use either sponge or traditional materials such as
plaited coconut fiber for their mattress. "Traditional mattresses
made from plaited coconut fiber are very cheap. They cost only Rp
7,500 per square meter," Noor said.

Anthropologist Hari Poerwanto of Gadjah Mada University said
there must be a practical reason for the taboo.

"Scientific research must be conducted to get to the bottom of
the mystery," he said. (Bambang M.)