Lake Djonge cleansing ritual brings farmers together

Lake Djonge cleansing ritual brings farmers together

It was a hot and sweltering noon of a Legi Friday according to
the Javanese calendar. Yet villagers living in the vicinity of
Lake Djonge in Pacarejo village, Semanu, Wonosari, some 50
kilometers southeast of here, seemed oblivious to the searing
heat.

Thousands of villagers were flocking to a prepared site
located to the south of the lake that measures four hectares in
diameter, bringing tenongan, large containers made of bamboo
filled with a variety of dishes. Each family brought its own
tenongan carried by the head of the family.

That Legi Friday was indeed not ordinary. It fell prior to
this year's wet season, the beginning of the planting season for
farmers. It meant that the ritual cleansing of Lake Djonge, a
Javanese traditional ritual considered very important for the
prosperity and protection of people living in the villages around
the lake, was to be carried out that day.

"We're afraid that something calamitous will befall us if we
do not perform the ritual," said Mujiono, Pacarejo's chief clerk,
explaining why the ritual is still held annually every Legi
Friday ahead of the planting season.

The ritual, according to Mujiono, is dedicated to the guardian
spirit of Kyai (cleric) Djonge who once lived in Pacarejo hamlet
of Wangen and whose grave is said to be at the bottom of the
lake.

Described as one of seven advisors of the Majapahit Kingdom
who escaped the troops of the Demak Kingdom following Majapahit's
defeat in a war against Demak in the late 14th century, Kyai
Djonge is believed to have possessed mighty supernatural powers.

So powerful was Kyai Djonge that he was believed to be able to
delay the setting of the sun to give his men more time to finish
their work, no matter how difficult it may be, before sunset.

Kyai Djonge, or Kyai Sidik Wacono as he was previously known
before changing his name into Kyai Djonge (which literally means
boat, referring to the vehicle he used to escape), died in the
village on a Legi Friday, after leaving a message that the
villagers could still ask him for help although he was no longer
alive.

Buried in his own residence, his grave was eventually covered
with rain water and turned into a lake. Locals consider the lake
sacred. Villagers then began conducting the annual cleansing
ritual at the lake every Legi Friday prior to the beginning of
wet season, in the hope that the spirit of Kyai Djonge would
protect them from harm and grant them their wishes.

"People wanting to become a village leader also come here to
ask for help from Kyai Djonge. And once their wishes are
fulfilled, they are obliged to present a small offering by
slaughtering a chicken on a Legi Friday," Mujiono said.

According to the Javanese calendar, a Legi Friday comes every
35 days.

And that is not all. Pacarejo villagers wishing to hold a
party, whether a wedding, a circumcision ritual, or other
festivities, are also required to take a portion of water from
the lake to be mixed with the water used to cook or to drink for
the party. Otherwise, something unexpected might occur during the
party, Mujiono said.

So important is the ritual that the villagers start
preparations, including collecting money and cleaning the lake
surroundings, weeks ahead of the day.

Last Friday's ritual, which cost Rp 7 million, began in the
morning with the slaughter of three big, healthy goats by a
caretaker of the lake, Krisnoto. He then threw the heads of the
goats into the lake and gave the meat to other villagers to be
cooked into a delicious curry for the villagers' meal at the
ceremony.

"The slaughter of the goats is a requirement that must be
fulfilled," Mujiono said.

The main ritual was held at an open veranda built at the south
end of the lake. Hundreds of tenongan consisting of various
dishes were placed near the ritual site.

Another caretaker of the lake, Notosuwito, led the prayer held
in front of a substitute gravestone of Kyai Djonge, which was
built intentionally on the banks west of the veranda to make it
easy for visitors wanting to express their wishes to the spirit
of the Kyai. Holding a burning incense stick, Notosuwito guided
visitors in their prayers.

At the same time, caretaker Krisnoto was busy picking out
small portions of food from each of the tenongan. He then put
them into five panjang ilang (a container for offerings) to be
placed around the lake.

To make sure that every villager received the blessing of Kyai
Djonge, Krisnoto also distributed to all the villagers portions
of the goat curry made from the slaughtered goats.

The peak of the ceremony was when the villagers ate all the
prepared dishes and offerings together. Some of them took some of
the dishes home for their family members who were unable to come
to the ritual site.

"Each member of the family must eat the dishes in order to
receive the blessings from Kyai Djonge," Krisnoto said.

Was Kyai Djonge real or a just myth? Head of Pacarejo village
Sardio revealed that in 1997, when the lake was dredged, they
found a coffin made of teak wood.

"It was still intact and we thought it must have been Kyai
Djonge's," Sardio said.

Regardless of the authenticity of the story, Lake Djonge
cleansing rite has become a venue for locals to meet. Most of the
villagers of Pacarejo, including those who have left the village
to make a living in other towns, return home to attend the sacred
rite.

The rite, therefore, has strengthened the villagers'
collective identity and invariably links them to their home
village.

-- Bambang M