Ruwatan, a tradition breaking a bad streak

By Tarko Sudiarno

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The giant, Batara Kala, became angry as he ordered two small children to be killed. The children looked weak and frightened. But the man-eating giant ran after them, no matter where they hid.

The scene of Betara Kala wanting to kill and eat a brother and sister in a wayang shadow puppet show in Bantul, near Yogyakarta, was suspenseful and looked intensely real.

The show, performed by Ki Timbul Hadiprayitno, a famous dalang (puppeteer) hypnotized the audience, especially a boy who was sitting behind the screen.

The boy, almost 10 years old, looked pale and was quietly leaning against a banana tree trunk which was holding the leather puppets.

It wasn't obvious whether he was following the wayang story, but the boy, who was flanked by his parents, was waiting for something.

Soon the show was over. Then dalang Timbul lifted the bottom of the screen and the boy's head was showing. The dalang slowly cut the boy's hair with a pair of scissors while chanting a mantra. The cut hair was put on a piece of cloth with a bunch of flowers meant as an offering for the spirits. The hair and the offering were then wrapped up.

The rite is called ruwatan, a traditional ceremony held by believers of the Javanese tradition. Ruwatan has religious values and is intended to cleanse sins or undesired peculiarities that people carry from their birth.

A member of a Javanese family who has an unwanted peculiarity is called "Sukerto", meaning unclean and they must be spiritually cleansed by ruwatan so that they can be freed from disasters.

Sukerto includes, among others, Anak ontang-anting (the single male child in the family); Anak unting-unting (the single female child); Anak Gedhana-Gedhini (two boys and two girls in the family); Anak Uger-uger Lawang) (two boys in the family); Anak Kembang Sepasang (two girls in the family); Anak Pendawa (five males in the family); Anak Pendawi (five girls in the family); and Anak Ipil-Ipil (four girls and the youngest boy).

Besides the Sukarto, persons requiring ruwatan are those who have made specific "mistakes", such as letting a rice cooker fall when cooking rice; tapping the sap of aren (sugar palm) tree without using a ladder; building a house by installing the roof but forgetting to install the tutup keong (ridge); cutting bamboo not at the joint without breaking the bamboo; peeling coconuts but forgetting to lay down a crowbar; crushing herbal ingredients for making medicines by accidentally breaking the crushing stone; and walking at noon without humming.

Sukerto, according to traditional beliefs, brings about misfortunes and victims become the prey of Betara Kala, the son of Betara Guru, the highest god in heaven. It is said Betara Kala is a child-eating giant, but his father, Betara Guru, told him not to terrify or just eat human beings at will. The people that may be killed are Sukertos only.

With the Ruwatan ceremony, Sukerto people are freed from the power of misfortune.

"Normally, after undergoing the Ruwatan ceremony, families having children of Sukerto will be released from their burdens," said well-known cultural expert Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung (KRT) Suryanto Sastroatmojo.

Lessons

According to Suryanto, the ruwatan ceremony is especially designed for Sukerto people because of the specific mistakes they have made, and contains lessons. The values contained therein are, among other things, used for footholds in daily life so that people may not make errors.

For example, one should not put a crowbar down at will after using it to harvest coconuts, because it could harm people passing by. Likewise, a person is forbidden to leave their kitchen when cooking rice, because the rice cooker can fall off the surface and cause a fire.

These teachings are for the good of people, but they are so wrapped up by our ancestors as to remind people not to make mistakes and eventually inflict harm on others", said Suryanto Sastroatmojo who received a nobility degree from Surakarta the king.

The ruwatan ceremony is a tradition characterized by a series of specific ceremonies and has magical and religious properties. A series of processions is characterized by a leather puppet shadow show, with the story Murwakala, and is continued by the hair cutting ceremony, a bathing ceremony, and the sowing of Udik-udik (coins and flowers).

For this ceremony, various tributes and special conditions during the show are required. The various tributes to be provided are, among other things, different kinds of batik such as Kain Truntum, Kain Gadhung Mlati, Kain Selendang Tuluh Watu, Kain Selendang Dringin, Kain Selendang Sulur Angin, Kain Selendang Semen Mori, Kain Poleng and Bagor Kendheng.

Apart from them, there are pillows and Dutch pillows, various kinds of women's makeup, strong drinks and cigars, seven types of coned rice, several kinds of winged creatures, agricultural equipment, kitchen utensils and various crops.

The process of the ceremony begins by the handing over of a child to the dalang. Then the puppet show follows and at the end of the story a special mantra is uttered.

Thereafter, Ki Dalang cuts the hair of the child who is Sukerto in the midst of the screen and puppets, followed by the bathing of the child with water taken from seven wells. The ceremony ends with the reading of thanksgiving prayers and the sowing of udik-udik as a sign of the release of karma or stains from the child Sukerto.