Ruwatan protects children against misfortune
Ruwatan protects children against misfortune
Text and photos
by Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): The Javanese believe that if you have a single
child, boy or girl, you must be on the alert against possible
dangers.
Your child's life and future may be in jeopardy. Furthermore,
she or he may bring misfortune to your family and the
neighborhood as well.
According to Javanese tradition, this boy or girl is called
sukerto, or ill-fated child. People who have two boys or twins,
four sons and a daughter, or four daughters and a son should also
be watchful because their children belong to the sukerto group.
Five sons (Pandawa Lima) or five daughters in a family are
likewise regarded as "unlucky offspring combinations."
It is believed that these "ill-fated children" will
continually face serious predicaments unless they undergo a
special "rite of passage" to purify them.
No one but the Javanese people are able to comprehend or feel
frightened by this "threat." What can be done to avoid this
danger of an ill-fated future?
Holding a special ceremony called ruwatan, a purification rite
to rid a child of evil spirits, may be the solution.
H. Karkono K. Partokusumo, an expert on Javanology, explained
that ruwatan is regarded as an important ritual for Javanese
people to protect both children and family against harmful
influences, which, in turn, will bring prosperity to all.
Ruwatan is a prerequisite for those who believe in tradition,
he said. "It is a parent's duty to hold this ceremony, otherwise
they will feel unhappy their entire life," Karkono explained.
However, he admitted there is no guarantee that a child who
has undergone a ruwatan ceremony will be free from any hazard.
The ceremony is actually an expression of people's submission to
God in the hope that He will remove any ill-omens from a child's
life.
Mass ceremony
Ruwatan is performed through a series of processions. A large
variety of offerings are needed for the ceremony, with a wayang
kulit performance an obligatory item to complete the rite. It is
obvious that this complicated ceremony requires large amounts of
cash.
Rich people frequently hold lavish ceremonies inviting
hundreds of guests and famous dalang, puppet masters, to perform
the shadow puppet show. On the other hand, the less fortunate
families have to wait for years to realize their plan. Such
financial problems have encouraged many organizations to hold a
mass ruwatan ceremony.
The Yogyakarta stand at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East
Jakarta, for instance, organized such a mass ruwatan ceremony on
the first day of the Islamic and Javanese lunar calendars, which
fell on June 11 this year.
The ceremony involved more than 100 "unlucky children" from 50
families in Jakarta, Bandung and neighboring cities.
It opened with a procession of parents escorting their
"unlucky children" to the ritual site. The 116 children, wrapped
in white robes, or kopohan, then solemnly sat on placemats.
Dalang Ki Timbul Hadiprayitno, who chaired the ceremony, began
the ritual with a shadow puppet show entitled Murwakala,
literally a fight against Batara Kala (the god who brings ill-
fortune, even death).
Batara Kala, the demon, is believed to cause impurity and
illness. He usually occupies such "unholy" places as graveyards,
forests and rivers. The Kala symbolizes malice, failure,
misfortune, sickness and destruction.
It is believed that before the 116 children undergo a
purification ceremony, they are still under the bad influence of
Batara Kala. Every bad and unhappy condition is attributed to the
presence of sukerto children in a family.
The shadow puppet performance is a means to eliminate the
Kala's evil influence on the sukerto children.
The Murwakala puppet show consists of magic spells called
mantra wringin sungsang and rajah kala cakra which are used to
eliminate the Kala's power over the children. The story also
includes moral teachings to guide the children on the right path
in the future.
While the dalang performs the shadow puppet, no sound is
allowed to disturb the event. Both the children and the guests
are required to remain silent as the dalang attempts to throw the
Batara Kala away from the lives of these unlucky children.
Pregnant and menstruating women as well as young children are
prohibited from witnessing the ceremony because they belong to
the group which is very vulnerable to the Kala's attacks.
The ceremony reaches its climax when the puppet master cuts
off part of the children's hair to remove the Kala's control over
their souls. He also pours "holy water" over these sukerto to
free them from evil. After the ceremony, these unfortunate
children symbolically appear as "newborn" babies.
Financial problems
Sudjoko, a father of one of the sukerto children, commented,
"This ceremony has released me from a heavy burden. I really hope
that there will be changes in our family."
He went on to say that he had to wait for years to perform the
ceremony because of financial limitations. Sudjoko said he would
have had to spend between Rp 5 million and Rp 10 million for an
elaborate ceremony.
The mass ceremony alleviated the financial burden since he
only had to shell out Rp 350,000. "The mass ceremony really
helped me and other people as well. Javanese really believe in
this spiritual activity," he added.
Mrs. Muryuadi, head of the Yogyakarta stand, said that the
stand has been organizing the mass ceremony since l987 to help
preserve this important tradition in Javanese society.
"It is very difficult to organize such sacred and complicated
rituals as ruwatan, particularly in big cities like Jakarta.
Moreover, it's very costly," she explained.
However, the need to hold such ceremonies is increasing in
this modern society, she said. In l987, only 30 children took
part in ruwatan. The number increased to 116 this year. The trend
is also similar in other big cities including Yogyakarta,
Surakarta and Surabaya.
There are a large number of other children who will take part
in the next ruwatan mass ceremony on July 31, she added.
"It's amazing that in modern times, people still believe in
this ancient tradition, " she said.
She also commented that ruwatan should not be considered
as a money consuming occasion. "The ceremony can be simplified
without reducing any of its significant values," she said.