The Osing Agricultural Spirit-Medium

In the past communities in East Java coordinated their agricultural activities, including fulfilling the people’s ritual obligations to the tutelary spirit charged with maintaining the fertility of the community’s lands. The person in charge of this was the community’s founder or one of his/her descendants, the member of the line that first entered into a relationship of obligations with the spirit-owner of the village’s lands. In the past fifty years political, agricultural, and religious developments have brought about changes in the way that these ritual obligations are fulfilled. Today the entity addressed, if the old ritual obligations are met at all, is often characterized as the rice goddess or God. This is facilitated by the idea that spirit-entities belong together categorially, and the aspect emphasized depends on the needs of the moment.Dans le passé, les communautés de l’Est de Java ont coordonné leurs activités agricoles, y compris le respect des obligations rituelles du peuple à l’esprit tutélaire chargé du maintien de la fertilité des terres de la communauté. La personne en charge de cela était le fondateur de la communauté ou de l’un de ses descendants, le membre de la lignée qui entra le premier dans une relation d’obligations avec l’esprit-propriétaire des terres du village. Au cours des cinquante dernières années, l’évolution politique, agricole et religieuse ont entraîné des changements dans la façon dont ces obligations rituelles sont remplies. Aujourd’hui, l’entité adressée, si les anciennes obligations rituelles sont satisfaites du tout, est souvent caractérisée comme la déesse du riz ou Dieu. Ceci est facilité par l’idée que les entités spirituelles sont indissociables catégoriellement, et l’aspect souligné dépend des besoins du moment

Wearing the Cosmos : Symbolism in Batik Design

42 hal.: 27 c

Nyai Roro Kidul in Puger : Local Applications of a Myth

Robert Wessing This paper explores the position of Nyai Roro Kidul in the local pantheon of ancestral and other spirits in the fishing village of Puger on the south coast of East Java. It notes how the spirit queen serves as an explanation of the perils faced by fishers in the dangerous Indian Ocean currents and her connection with various aspects of their daily lives. The paper also maps specific locations of spirits within Puger, sorting them into those associated with the village and those belonging with Nyai Roro Kidul, defining a boundary across which interaction between these two domains takes place. Finally the offers brought to the spirit queen are looked at in terms of how these return to her some of the prosperity she has given, by symbolically offering her the essence of the community itself.Wessing Robert. Nyai Roro Kidul in Puger : Local Applications of a Myth. In: Archipel, volume 53, 1997. pp. 97-120

The Soul of Ambiguity : The Tiger in Southeast Asia

85 hal.: 27 cm, Bibliograf

Wearing the Cosmos : Symbolism in Batik Design

42 hal.: 27 cm, Bibliograf

The Gunongan in Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Agni's Fire in Allah's Paradise ?

Wessing Robert. The Gunongan in Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Agni's Fire in Allah's Paradise ?. In: Archipel, volume 35, 1988. pp. 157-194

Telling the Landscape: Place and Meaning in Sunda (West Java)

In West Java, hamlets are defined by locally significant spirit entities and the tales associated with them, both positive and negative. Indeed, the places where these spirits are localized bear witness to the truth of the tales, which in turn change what would otherwise be a rock, cave, or grave into a spiritually significant object. Through knowledge of them and participation in rituals associated with them, the people of the hamlets become defined as social persons who, along with others, continue to acknowledge the rules and prescriptions laid down by the ancestors. In the past these spirits, especially the ancestors and the hamlet’s guardian, were seen as intimately involved in the daily lives of the inhabitants of the hamlet. Although these beliefs may seem to be in decline as a result of the influence of modernity, schools, and religious teaching, the inhabitants of these hamlets, when facing crises in their lives, still come to these significant locations to seek relief from their troubles. Over time, the nature of the beliefs and the perception of the spirit entities have changed, leading some to relative disregard while others receive enhanced Islamic emphasis. Even though the people, the place, and the tales have changed, the stories remain local, maintaining their significance for those who live there.Les hameaux de Java occidental sont définis par des entités spirituelles d’importance locale et par les histoires, positives ou négatives, qui leur sont associées. En effet, les lieux où ces esprits sont localisés attestent la véracité des histoires, qui à leur tour transforment ce qui autrement ne serait qu’un rocher, une grotte ou une tombe en un objet à valeur spirituelle. Par la connaissance qu’ils ont de ces lieux et leur participation à des rituels relatifs à ces lieux, les villageois sont définis comme des personnes sociales qui, avec d’autres, continuent à accepter les règles et prescriptions instituées par les ancêtres. Dans le passé, les villageois considéraient que ces esprits, particulièrement les ancêtres et le gardien du hameau, étaient intimement impliqués dans la vie quotidienne du hameau. Si ces croyances peuvent semblent en recul à cause de la vie moderne, de l’école et de l’éducation religieuse, les villageois visitent encore, lors de périodes troublées de leur vie, ces lieux spéciaux pour y chercher un soulagement. Avec le temps, la nature des croyances et la perception des esprits ont changé, certains tombant en relative désuétude tandis que d’autres voient leur dimension islamique amplifiée. Mais si les gens, le hameau et les histoires ont changé, les histoires demeurent locales et de même leur valeur pour ceux qui vivent là

From Cosmogony to Exorcism in a Javanese Genesis. The Spilt Seed, Stephen C. Headley

A cosmology is at basis a description of a perception of order, and one basic idea of the cosmology of the Javanese is that as long as this order is maintained, all will be well, on both the levels of society and the individual. Yet, the Javanese realize that things can and do go awry and that everyone thus may need to have things put right. The ritual used to attempt this is a ruwatan (exorcism), which in its common form involves the presentation of the myth Murwa Kala, the Birth of Kala. Th..