Legend leaves legacy of anti-liberalism

By Soetjipto Wirosardjono

JAKARTA (JP): If there is a value worth preserving in a change from traditional to modern society it is the maintenance of harmony with nature.

Traditional belief systems hold that everything has been created by God to build a harmonious life among natural beings. The goal of individual and social life is to have everything set in order, at its proper balance and in due harmony.

A popular legend from East Java, the legend of Panji Laras (Prince of Harmony), goes that the King of Jenggala was once lured away from the balance of his royal wisdom.

He began to look much to emphasizing his own personal interests, pleasure and glory above the interests of his subjects, the Jenggala society.

This tendency led to a royal policy compromising the natural balance of the environment with the King's sphere of influence and personal interests.

At one point, his obsession robbed him of his capacity to make wise decisions, and looking down at his new-born son with the paranoia of the greedy, he feared him as a future rival.

The King submitted to the ill advise from his soothsayers, who, reading the royal fear, suggested the prince be eliminated, which the King duly arranged for along with orders for the Prince's subservient mother to be liquidated for good measure.

Thank God, the baby Prince was saved by a court nurse who laid the lad in a boat and allowed the river to carry him away.

The mother of the Prince was able to slip a chicken egg into the baby's carriage before her execution.

The Prince eventually landed in a thick forest. Where the baby Prince was nurtured not only physically, but socially. The Prince was able to communicate with trees, mammals, insects and spirits.

When the Prince was grown, he crowned himself the Prince of Harmony, because he believed that a human being is but one creature among many in natural and non natural creation.

His companion, the formidable Cock become the symbol of his pride, the mascot of the jungle who sings melodiously every morning.

When the King of Jenggala heard the news of this strange Prince of the forest and his fabulous companion his heart was struck with the fear of old. He had not forgotten the threat his soothsayers had predicted.

The King, being a warrior, confronted his destiny by announcing that a grand festival culminating in a cock fight with the Prince, with the winner to take the throne, would be held.

If the Prince lost, his head would be the price of his folly in challenging the King.

By the grace of God, the Prince of Harmony's cock, which had the luxury of living naturally on the food of the jungle and moving in a free natural environment won the battle.

The prince became the new ruler of Jenggala, but he respectfully recognized the old King as his true father.

This legend shows that the traditional belief system among the rural Javanese considered man a part of nature that needs to live in harmony with it.

The traditional way of life bounds to be in harmony with nature. Everything should follow the existing order and be bound to nature.

In rural and traditional society this way of life is often dramatized in the form of rites and myths. Environmental elements such as big trees, certain animals, fire and water are sometimes treated as sacred objects.

In traditional society, the common interest is of primary importance.

This is one of the most important reasons why in many developing countries, the idea of selling the value of individualism and hence liberalism does not gain currency.

Members of traditional societies tend to suspect any attempt to emphasize individual interests. Because they believed it may pose a threat to the preservation of common interest.

In Indonesia we uphold the gotong royong multi-help principle which is a communal principle based on attitude that common interests come first, and that individual interests should be sacrificed if they go against the common good.

Indonesians constantly try to create harmony between their individual interests and their community's.

Therefore a development paradigm that stresses individual accumulation of wealth and de-emphasizes common interest will be resisted.

The more traditional the society is the more emphasis will be given to the social significance of ownership.

The crucial task of a modernization effort is always to discover how to retain the balance between the prevailing traditional value system and the newly acquired values of modern society.

An agent of change whether it is a government institution, a non-governmental organization or media, should be fully aware of this mission.

Without comprehension of the sense of mission, popular support will be difficult to mobilize.

The writer is rector of the Jakarta-based As-Syafi'iyah Islam University.