Der Kroef - Folklore and Tradition in Javanese Society

8/6/2019 Der Kroef - Folklore and Tradition in Javanese Society

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Folklore and Tradition in Javanese SocietyAuthor(s): Justus M. van der KroefSource: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 68, No. 267 (Jan. - Mar., 1955), pp. 25-33Published by: American Folklore SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/537108 .

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FOLKLOREAND TRADITION INJAVANESE SOCIETY

BY JUSTUS M. VAN DER KROEF

HTHE Javanese, the largest ethnic subdivision of Indonesia, have perhaps beenmore influenced by Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity,and other outside cul-tural forces than any other Indonesians. Hindu and Buddhist literature andsymbolism, Muslim law and Western technology and culture traits have left perma-nent reminders. Hinduism especially was once believed to have been the chief intel-lectual force in early Java and responsiblefor the high civilization reached there be-fore the Westerners came and the colonial era began. Recent investigations indicatehowever that the Javanesehad an autochthonousculture older than Hinduism; manyof its unique conceptsof social organization and of the individual'splace in it are stillretained.1Pre-Hindu traditions survive in the dance, the theater, music, and sculp-ture.

Traditional Javanese society is paternal, aristocratic,and stratified,with most ofthe people living in villages which supportedthe courts and nobility. Hereditary vil-lage elders, governing by common consent, and aristocracy,which representedroyalcontrol, held political authority beyond the courts. Kings, aristocrats,and peasantslived in a highly integrated order, in which the dominant cultural ideals were thecustoms and traditions of the villagers and the code of chivalry and etiquette of theJavaneseknights. The peasant'ssocial horizon was limited by the traditions and un-written legal preceptsof his community, but he regardedthe aristocrat'smode of liv-ing as the epitome of refinement and chivalry. Knowledge of classicalJavanese itera-ture and the theater was regardedas indispensableto a well-developedpersonality,toa satisfactoryeducation and to the art of refined and restrainedliving. In many ways,the Javaneseknight's culture was also part of the peasant's life, for the shadow andpuppet play, wayang, and the dance taught the properfacial expressions,correctpos-ture, and modes of address of the cultural ideal, the Javanesenoble whom the villagerendered service.2

The identification of the knightly culture with music, the theater, and the danceis a measure of the integration of the traditionalJavaneseworld view, which is alsoevident in the fivefold division of society, in which each division was believed to beclosely connected with a higher cosmic unity and identified with a tradeor profession,a lucky day of the five-day week, a color, and a personalitytrait. Every peasant,mer-chant, or wine tapper had a color, a metal, and a direction of the wind, which were1See J. C. van Leur,Eenige beschouwingenetreffende en ouden AziatischenHandel

(diss. Leyden;Middelburg,1934), pp. II4-I36; J. M. van der Kroef, "The Hinduizationof Indo-nesiaReconsidered," arEasternQuarterly,XI (1951), I7-30.2 D. H. Burger,"Structuurveranderingenn de Javaanseamenleving,"ndonesie,II (1949),I-6; Th. Pigeaud, JavaanseVolksvertoningen Batavia, I938); G. P. Rouffaerand H. H. Juynboll,De Batikkunst n Nederlandsch-lndie n haargeschiedenis(The Hague, 1932), I, 307, 503.25


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Journalof AmericanFolklorebelieved to be completely merged with his being. Each of the five social divisions hasits magical and mystical representationswhich determine the future of an individualin that division. The following table gives the divisions and their associations:3

I II III IV VWind Directions East South West North CenterColor white red yellow black multicoloredMetal silver brass gold iron mixtureDays Legi Pahing Pon Wage KliwonPersonality under- avaricious boastful serious, eloquentstanding calmProfession peasant trader palm wine butcher king, noble

makerAttributes food money alcohol meatgarden god Gana weak broken goddessShrihouse mosque kitchen stable housewind mountain misfortune fire earthwatercool speedy sickly flame steadyfavorable changeThe various attributes are regarded not only as symbolic but as completely identi-fied with each division.4 Thus the Javanese says, "A peasant is white," "South is atrader,""Eloquence is a king," etc. A wind direction is believed to be sacredand pro-pitious if it correspondsto a specific profession; hence a southerlywind is interpretedas conducive to trade. A day is lucky for any activity identified with a specificprofes-sion; hence the best time to tap palm wine is Pon; to be coronated, Kliwon; to plant,Legi. The particularattributesof each division play a primaryrole in divination andfortune telling. For example, if a missing object is believed to be stolen and the medi-cine man or medicine woman, dukun, finds something black when it was last seen,this indicates that the thief is probablya butcheror meat dealer,has a calm or seriousdisposition, is fond of fire and of iron, and probably has a stable of livestock. Theaccuracy of this system of determining theft depends upon the normative force ofenvironment.That is, not all butcherswear black, use iron and own a stable,but mostbutchers and meat dealerstraditionallyseek to acquirethese characteristics o identifythemselves with their social division. When a household object is lost, a Javaneseusedto count the inner abutmentsof his roof on the basisof the attributesof each division:garden, Gana, weak, broken, Shri. If the last abutment coincides with "weak," thedivision in which this word occurs determines the locale, in this case the kitchen,where the lost object must be sought.5

3 J. Ph. Duyvendak,Inleiding tot de Ethnologievan de IndischeArchipel,3d ed. (Groningen,Djakarta, I946), p. 117.4W. H. Rassers,"Kebajan,"Bijdragentot de Taal-Land-enVolkenkundevan Nederlandsch-Indie, C (1938), 387-389.5See W. H. Rassers,De Pandji Roman (diss. Leyden; Antwerp, 1922) and his "Overdenoorsprongvan het JavaanscheToneel," Bijdragentot de Taal-Land-enVolkenkundevan Neder-landsch-lndiie,LXXXVIII I93I), 43Iff.; also Th. Pigeaud, "Javaanschewichelarijen classificatie,"

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Folkloreand Traditionn Javanese ocietyIn addition o this fivefolddivision heJavanese ave a dualsocialorder,whichisespeciallyevident n the wayang,andin which Eastand Southaregrouped ogetheroppositeWestand North.Of the two conflicting artiesportrayed,he Kaurawas e-

long to the firsthalf,the Pandawas o the other.The puppetsrepresentinghe Kau-rawas,who are avaricious, regenerallypaintedwhite and red; thosedepicting hePandawas,who are"serious,"almandphlegmatic, redark,usuallyblack.The dualsocialdivision s probably remnantof the old tribalorganization revalentn Indo-nesia,6 n which a tribe is divided nto exogamoushalves,eachdivided n turn intotwo clansor moietieswhich establish n asymmetriconnumbium,ertainaspectsofwhich areagainevident n thewayang. In Minangkabaun WesternSumatra ndonAmboyna n Eastern ndonesia he traditionof such divisions s stillpreserved.)Thefifth socialdivision,which includedthe king and the aristocracy,he goddessShri,eloquence,multicolored,nd so on, were the "third" lement,which unitedthe dualdivisionsand gave them meaning.Socialstabilityand love for peaceand orderinharmony, ototentrem,werethusrepresentedy thehighborn,who were"divine"nthat theystoodforthe highercosmicunitywhichearthly ociety eflected.n thefive-fold order,East and Southbelongas one unit to the underworld,while West andNorth,the secondunit,belong o theupperworld.Thisconcept ecursn thewayang,for the Kaurawasbelongto the netherregions, he divinePandawas o the heavenlyrealm.Animaland plantlife also have theirplace.Mostvegetables nd varietiesofmeatbelongeither n the first (peasant)or fourth(butcher)division.Althoughdi-vergentdatamakeconstructionf theclassificationf theanimalandplantkingdomsimpossible, completeorderingprobably xisted.Such"systems f correspondences,"of which the Chineseyangand yin principle epresenting male"and "female"s agood example,areof coursewidespread.A male-female ualismalso exists in manyareas n Indonesia.7In theJavaneseworldview,an irrationalomponentwhichthepeoplebelieveup-sets the ordered ntegrationof society s animism.8Everythingn naturehas a soulwhichcan leaveits habitat o roamat will and influencemen's lives.Animismanddynamismare not often carefullyseparatedn this view. Connectedwith animismare forms of fetishism(the worshipof certainconcretematerialobjectsbelieved opossess xtraordinaryowers),spiritism the invocation f the soulsof thedead),andshamanism the ritualof attemptingo possessanotherpersonby a spirit).Javanesespiritsarecalledhyangoryang'deity,' ermswhichare reflectedn the dailyMuslimprayer alledsembahyangfromsembah,reverence'). he most mportant mong heinnumerable ang arethe danyangdesa, the village gods and guardian pirits,whomayreside n a large,shady reeoverlookinghevillage, n a hugeorcuriouslyhapedrock nearit, or, lessfrequently, ven in the royaljewelsof a king or an aristocrat tthe court or administrativeenter.Periodically he village spirits requirea feast,Feestbundelvan het BataviaschGenootschapvan Kunsten en Wetenschappen, I (Batavia,I929)I2-20; and Duyvendak, p. I 8.6See my "StructuralChange in IndonesianSociety,"Economic Development and CulturalChange,I (I952), 216-228, and literaturecited therein.7See also R. Van Dijk, Samenlevingen Adatrechtsvormingdiss., Leyden;The Hague, 1948),pp. 39ff.8For data in this and subsequentparagraphs, have relied on H. A. van Hien, De JavaanscheGeestenwereld Samarang,1897), Pt. I.

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Journal of American Folkloreselametan, for all fortune or misfortune in a community depends on their disposition.Any important building, large house, or market also possessesa deity; even the culti-vation of rice, the staple crop, is surrounded by intricate fetishism and ritual.9Mis-fortunes and upheavals which destroy the smooth functioning of society are ascribedto evil spirits.War and dacoity, personalambition and greed to advancebeyond one'sstation in life, and all illnesses are caused by bad village spirits,some of whom havespecial names and are prominent in mythology and the wayang. Old spiritsfamiliar tothe Javanese are sewan and serap, who cause convulsions and children's diseases;lampor, the noisy, who causes floods and dropsy; butas or giants, who create ambitionand devour heavenly bodies during eclipses.Certainheroes,like Pandji, who inventedthe kris, and Nyai Loro Kidul, "the Queen of the Southern Ocean,"are still reveredeven among nominal Muslims, for they too have powers to assist or to inflict theirwrath on society. Hinduism and Islam have added severalsupernaturalbeings to theJavanese spirit world, or have merged their spirits with those of the Javanese.TheHindu celestial nymphs, widadari, and the Islamic spiritsand devils, jin or setan, areeasily identified in the popular mind with indigenous deities.The worship of the dead is connected primarily with the annual memorial ritualfor the original founder of the village, chakal bakal desa,who first clearedthe land onwhich the community came into being, and secondly with the veneration of sacredgraves, kramat. A festive meal is often served simultaneouslyto the village guardianspirit, danyang desa, and the founder of the village, chakal desa. The most importantgraves worshipped are those of the first apostles of Islam in Java, notably Sjeh IbnMaulana in Cheribon,West Java,and the first Sultan of Demak in CentralJava.Thegreater the power of the deceased during his lifetime, the greaterthe fear and respectfor him. Other souls which inspire particularreverenceand awe are those of womenwho have died in childbirth, and have been robbed of motherhood. Jealous and re-vengeful, they are believed ready to attack women in labor to make them share theirlot. The name of these spirits,kunti anak, is probablyderived from mati anak, mean-ing death from childbirth. A kunti anak is portrayed as a beautiful, long-hairedwoman, with a huge opening in her back which goes through her body, and whoconstantly bursts into shrill laughter.As she fears brooms and cannot stand onions orknives, they are often placed near the bed of a woman in labor to drive this spiritaway.Other Javanese spirits include the gendruwo, a monstrous figure with bulgingeyes, who frightens children by shaking trees in which he dwells and by throwingsand. The wewe, a tall witchlike woman, also lives in the woods and steals children,whom she hides under her breasts. The phosphorescentghosts, hantu, include thehouse spirit, hantu omah, the forest spirit,hantu alas, the ghost of the seas,hantu laut,and the wood spirit, hantu kaju.The influence of the spirit world is reflectedin various traditional weapons, espe-cially the kris. Many of the numerous legends about the kris originated during theHindu-Javaneseperiod, a few previously.Raden Pandji, a popular mythological hero,and King Sakutram of the Hindu epoch are generally revered as inventors of thekris, which originally was part of any warrior'sequipment and indispensableto any-one when en grand tenue. Court etiquette, the dance, and the wayang, give the kris

9 J. de Jong, Het Geestesleven der volken van ndonesii (Groningen, Djakarta,1948), pp.35-43.

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Folkloreand Traditionn Javanese ociety 29an important, sometimes symbolic, place.10Every kris is believed to possess a specialpower, emanating from a spirit,which goes with a transferredkris for good or evil, atthe spirit'sdiscretion. Some krisses are said to bring good fortune, others to be espe-cially effective against robbers or wild animals. Makers of the kris, called empu, re-quire long calculations,abstinence,and meditation before fashioning a new kris, andare held in almost religious esteem. The purification,tapa, is close to yoga. Amongthe aristocracy oday, as in the past, the kris is frequently an heirloom,pusaka, identi-fied with the divine guidance of the cosmos, in which the family sharedthrough thekris. To lose or sell such an heirloom invited chaos and death, for with it left divineprotection.In this fearful spirit world, which so decisively interferes with ordered creationand social stabilitythe Javanesebelieves he has discoveredngelmu, the knowledge ofhow to communicate with and control the spirit world. ngelmu, which consists ofan archaic mixture of philosophical and theological concepts, formulas and incanta-tions of Indonesian,Hindu, or Arabian origin, enables life to be prolonged, an enemydefeated, or a son conceived. One magic formula, rapal, in the ngelmu is called balasrewu (bala, 'army';srewu, archaic for sewu, 'thousand') and loosens a magical armyof "a thousand spirits" upon one's opponent in battle and thus insuresvictory.An un-faithful wife may be brought back by the formula of puter geling 'to turn around.'A recalcitrantheart can be won through the ngelmu with the assistanceof a medicineman or woman who casts a spell, guna, and bewitches the loved one. The medicineman can also lift the spell. Incurablediseases,especially epilepsy, are attributedto thetukang tenung or controllerof spirits,who unleashesthe disease,for a small fee. An-other controllermust be called in to drive the disease away. Persons, usually women,who behave insanely, and are said to be possessedby spirits,are generallyreveredandcalled kesurupan or kerangingan. They act as mediums or assist medicinemen whorequire much magic and many incantations. The feebleminded and insane are re-garded as permanently under the control of spirits, not always evil.Fetishism, particularly in connection with amulets, is still widespread in Java.Musical instruments especially the gamelan, certain precious stones, mustika, andmeteorites, untuh 'teeth of lightning,' have special power and are inhabited or con-trolled by spirits.In a separateclass is the jimat, a written amulet in corruptArabic,which is made and sold usually by hadjis. Its potency determinesthe price.By his magic and exorcism, the medicine man or woman, of which most villageshave at least one, performs an indispensablefunction in Javanese society. Medicine-men with special powers attract a nation-wide clientele. Most Javanese dukuns arewomen, of whom the more popular are more self-denying practitionerswho help insickness and in birth, provide amulets, interpret dreams, detect thieves, and predictthe future. They practicethe ancient art of massage, pidjet and urut, to dispel mus-cular weariness. They classify maladies as either "hot" or "cold" and are said to beparticularly adept in treating festering wounds with a poultice of copper sulphate,troesi, and in alleviating a patient of gas, masoek angin. Their specialstones for grind-ing herbs-a long rectangularstone, pipisan, and a short cylindricalone, gandik-areburied with them. Though these practitionersare usually revered,magic and sorcerydo not, however, meet with open social approval,for they interfere with the divinely10On the origin and mythology of the kris see W. H. Rassers, "On the JavaneseKris,'"Bijdragentot de Taal-Land-enVolkenkunde van Nederlandsch-lndie,XCIX (1940), 503ff.


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Journalof American Folkloreplannednaturalcourseof events.Javaneseolerate he passionate nd ambitiousper-son, who seeks to controlanother'sife or wishes for riches,butmakehim awareofthe final reckoningwith the higherunityof which all living creatures repartandwhich doesnot long toleratewillful interferencewith its laws.The influence f thespiritworld on societys alsoevident n theJavanesexplana-tion aboutsuch extra-socialatternsof behavioras amok,which s commonlyunder-stood to be the berserk ury whichseizesan individualand leadshim to fight anddestroyeverythingandeveryonen sight untilhe is exhausted r killed. He is some-times believed o have been seizedby an evil spirit,perhapsa buta.Psychologicallyamok has beenexplainedasresultingrom shameoverthe lossof face,maloe,or overan unworthydeed which the communityhas punished.l1This berserkbehavior,old in Java, s oneof the few ways n which an individual an break hrough hetightboundsof his stratified nvironment.Apparently n inflexible, onfinedand unper-missiveenvironments the essenceof amok, or whenan individual indsunbearablethe bondsof his communityand therigiddivisionsandprescriptionsf hisclasscon-scioussociety,his frustration annotfind an outletand amok is the result.Javaneseviewhimas a genuinely ragic igure, orwhomsocietyhasbecomeanobject f hatredrather hanreverence ndadherence.The elementof tragedys amplifiedby thefactthat amok is a transgressionf the traditional nightlyidealof utmostself-control,kaprawiran.2Sudden loss of self-controleads to death.There is latentsympathyfor the amok maker,but no approval.The phenomenonhas recentlyoccurred nthoseareaswith a strongcounter-acculturalorce such as Westernizationndvillagereorganization. mok was rife in PasarMinggu,a villagenearDjakartawheredis-integration f village ife andthe disappearancef tradition,olklore,andthewayangundermodernurban nfluences ave created raumatic isturbances.mok,it shouldbe emphasized, equires ocialparticipation:heremust be thoseon whomtheamokmaker can inflicthis wrath.Perhaps or this reason, t has had, as an institution,aconnection with the traditionaland ancientorganizeddacoity13 and gangsterismwhich werepotentin the nihilisticnationalistupsurgeduringthe revolution.How-ever thismustremainas yet a supposition.Animismand the fourfoldclandivisionwith its classdistinctions ndsocialhier-archyconstitute he basisof most of Javanese olkloreand social tradition.A thirdfactor s the influenceof the worldreligions,notablyHinduismand Islam.The for-mer is no longera powerfulculturalorce n Java,although ome of its concepts ndsymbolswereclosely nterwovenwith thebasicmotifsof Javaneseifelongbefore hecoming of the first Muslimsand Europeans. slam retains ts hold, however,andmany aspectsof Javaneseethos are understandablenly againstan Islamicback-ground.As the sociologicalmportance f Islamhas alreadybeen analyzed,'4 nlycertain olkloristic spects f Islam n Javawill herebenoted.

11P. M. van WulfftenPalthe,"Geestesstoornisn Gemeenschapsstructuur,"eesingsHistorischArchief,CCLXXII(5 Sept. 1936), 2438.12 W. F. Stutterheim,"Iets over de cultuurbasisonzer leerlingen,"Publicatiesvan het Bureauvan de Onderwijsraad, MededeelingenVI, 12 (Batavia,1931), 22-30.13 On the sociologicalfunction of the Javanesedacoit band and its role in recent yearsseeD. H. Meyer,Japanwint den oorlog. Documenten over Java (Maastricht, 946), pp. I9-27, 96-To5;and the same author's"Overhet bendewezen op Java," ndonesie,III (1949), I78ff.14 See W. F. Wertheim, Effects of Western Civilizationon IndonesianSociety (New York,1950), pp. 50-67.

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Folkloreand Traditionn Javanese ociety 3IThe Javaneseis not so much a Muslim as Muslim minded. Though nominally aShafiite, the intricacies of tradition,hadith, and doctrine of duty, fikh, the differencesbetween fikh schools, madhabs, and even the major passages of the Koran may be

unfamiliar to him. Nevertheless,many Javaneseregularlyattend their mosque, submitat least overtly to the five fundamental requirementsof the faith and to Islamic lawsof marriage and inheritance,and revere mosque officialsand hadjis. But for the rest,Islam has been adaptedto existing traditionsand its doctrinalrequirementshave beenstrangely applied. Animism, Hinduism, and ancient class distinctions have blendedtheir preceptswith Islam.The average Indonesian Muslim reverences not only Allah and the Prophet, butalso traditional deities and spirits, many of Hindu origin. Animism and the spiritworld have not lost their influence through Islam. During the period of venerationofthe dead, which is usually in the eighth month of the Islamic year, Ruwah, ritualmeals are dedicated not only to ancestorsbut to the Islamic prophets-offerings aremade to Joseph,Jusup,for beautiful children,to Solomon, Suleman, for a rise in rank,and to Moses,Musa, for renown in courageand wisdom. Prayersto Allah are made attraditional sacred places-graves of Hindu kings or under big banyan trees wherevillage spirits reside. In some areas the ashes of a burned Koran are eaten, because,so it is said, the godhead (Allah or the Hindu Batara Guru?) thus enters one. Thewayang and the gamelan which are to some extent cultural products of the Hindu-Javaneseperiods are incorporated nto Islamic feasts.Early Muslim leadersapparentlydeliberatelyintroduced gamelans (because of their past popularity) at the sacred feastof the Prophet's birth, Sekaten, in order to draw people. Hindu influence in Indo-nesian Islam is also apparentin the mystic Islamic schools such as the Sjatariah,theQuadariah, and the Nagsjabandiah which were influenced by Hindu mysticism.Hindu-Indian influence extends even to the architectureof some Indonesian mosques,the roofs of which resemble the layered stone on the roof of the Hindu temple,tjandi.l Thus the Javanese's dentification with Islam is not so much in its religiousdoctrines but in a demonstrativeparticipationin such cultural aspects which blendanimism, Hinduism, and Islam, such as various feastdaysmost of which are Muslimin origin. Because his realization that he is a Muslim is then perhapsmost acute, hisobservanceof them will be noted. The chief feast days in the Islamic calendar are:

x. 29 Ruwah. Ruwah, the Javanesename for the Arabic month Sjaban,the eighthmonth of the Islamic year is derived from the Arabic arwah, plural of ruh, or soul.During this Mohammedan "All souls" month of 29 days, the graves of parents andancestors are visited and cleaned. Because on the day before the fasting and religiousretreat, Puasa, begins, everyone, but especially the Muslim, bathes, the Javanesecallit bathing day, padusan. According to Javanesetradition the month of Puasa bringsforgiveness more or less for all law violations. During the five holy nights (kadarnights or "the descent of the revelation") religious meals or maleman (from theJavanese malem or night) are served in all villages. In the evening lights are litin the front yard, so that the revelationmay descend.2. LebaranPuasa. At the end of the thirty day Puasa month comes LebaranPuasa,also known as Hari Rajah, Hari Besar (literally 'great day') or GarebegPuasa. This15Noto Soeroto, "Wat is Sekaten?," Indonesi, V (I95I), 244-250; M. M. Daroesman andM. Djalal, "De Islam in Indonesie"in IndonesiersSpreken, eds. W. J. Ford and M. Ford-vanLennep (The Hague, I947), pp. 56-57.


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Journalof AmericanFolklorefeast day falls on the first of Sawal, the ninth month of the Arabian year; it is some-times erroneouslycalled "Javanesenew year." Early in the morning, in villages andcities people pray in mosques or at local sacredplaces, and in specialfestive garmentsvisit parents, friends, and superiorsto ask forgiveness for offenses committed. Feastsare held; pawned articles are redeemed if only for this day and much money is bor-rowed for the festivities. Those who have not as yet distributedtheir obligatorychar-ity gifts, pitrah, do so now. Becauseparticipationin Lebaran Puasa is a religious obli-gation for which money must be obtained,Javaneseunions have called strikes to forceemployers to pay special Lebaran premiums.3. Lebaran Hadji. This falls on the tenth day of the month Zulhijjah, the twelfthmonth of the Islamic year, and combines feast and sacrifice.Small cattle are sacrificedaccordingto Muslim law. According to Muslim belief, the sacrificedanimals serve thesacrificer as mount on "the plain of resurrection,"where all gather for the last judg-ment. Because Javanesegenerally believe the month Zulhijjah to be a period of goodfortune, family rites, particularlymarriageand circumcision or a pilgrimage to Meccaare, as far as possible,begun or held on this day.

4. Asjurah o1 Muharram. The tenth Muharramor Sura is a day for the commem-oration of Husin, the grandson of the Prophet who, as the legitimate head of theMuslim congregation,imam, revolted against the Omiyah Caliphs and becamea mar-tyr on this day. Feasts are modest, consisting of rice porridge with side dishes, bubursura.

5. 12 Maulud. In the third month, Rabi'ul-awal,the birthdayof the Prophet is cele-brated. This day gained slow recognition in Islamic countries, but its popularity isgrowing. All villages hold feasts, and Surakartaand Djokjakarta have a more elab-orate commemoration. Seven days before the birthday a fair is held in the greatsquare of each city. The sacred gamelans sekati, relics of the Hindu-Javaneseepoch,are played on platforms erected in front of the great mosque, masjid ageng. Becauseof the gamelans the feast is called Sekaten. Government officials as well as Javaneseprinces participateor attend special ceremonies held at court where a huge feast isgiven.6. 27 Rajab. The holy night of the month Rajab, the seventh of the Muslim year,which falls on the twenty-seventh,commemorates the ascension of the Prophet andis called Lailat al Mi'raj,the night of the ascensionor vision. According to tradition,on this night, Mohammed, accompaniedby the Angel Gabriel on the winged horse,Burak, visited Jerusalemand thence proceededdirectly to heaven. In memory of thisoccasion recitations are given at the mosques and pious legends about the ascensionare widely told.

Although schoolmen and religious leaders have a profound understanding ofIslam, the participation of most Javanese in the precepts of the faith is limited tothese few outward aspectsof ritual, law, and commemoration.They do not, however,take Islam lightly, for through the centuries their Islam has become identified withtheir unique way of life. Islam has become a matterof nationality,a folk characteristicthat distinguishesthem from other ethnic groups in the islands.16Yet it is abundantlyclear that Islam in Indonesia has meaning primarily for the masses in terms of itsadaptation to ancient pre-Islamicfolkways, as is clear, for example, from the persist-

16 H. Bouman, Enige Beschouwingenover de ontwikkeling van het IndonesischNationalismeop Sumatra'sWestkust(Groningen,I949), p. 43.

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Folkloreand Traditionn Javanese ociety 33ence of ancestor eneration ixedwiththeworship f Islam"saints."'7slamhasprofoundlynfluencedhedevelopmentf anti-Dutchationalismn Java.Since he advent f colonialimes,particularlyince henineteenthentury,hetraditionalavanese orldviewhasbeensubjectedo variousWesternnfluences.l8The static ubordinateharacterf societyhaspartlybeenreplacedy a dynamicmodernizationndby bourgeoisndividualism hichare in parttheresultof na-tionalism. Many areasin Java appearto be in a state of flux. Past traditionshave beenimposed yWestern ationalistrinciplesf political emocracynd"socialustice."But in theinteriormuchof theoldorder till ives; here s acculturationhichuti-lizestraditionalulture onceptso expressmodernnfluences. striking xampleis thedevelopmentf thewayang,lways uniquendexof thetraditionsfJavanesesociety.n Central ndEasternava odaya formof wayang,alledwayanguluh,hasrecently eveloped,n which heplotandthepuppets olonger epresentradi-tional vents ndheroes f theJavaneserama, utcontemporaryersonsndoccur-ences, uchasrevolutionaryoldiers,irplanettacks, residentoekarno,heDutchLieutenantGovernor-Generalan Mook,the negotiationsnd strugglewith theDutchand so on.Thepuppets esemblehoseof thewayangkulitof thepast,ex-cept hat heyareclothednmodern ress.l9 lsewherenJava, village evivalwhichhasbeenapparentf late s designedostrengthenural ocial conomynd ncreaseproduction.ignificantly,raditionalooperationndsociallyntegrativeehavior,whichhavecharacterizedavaneseillage ocietyincepre-Hinduimesarestressed.Thegoal s harmoniousocialdevelopmentccordingopronouncedollectivistat-ternsof economicehaviorndsanctionedyfamily iesandconceptsfmutual s-sistance. ppeals avebeenmade o traditionalubordinationf individualnteresttostate nd ociety,nd elf-disciplinend ocial ohesion avebecomeolitical ogmain the newIndonesia.Contemporaryavamaywellcontinueo exhibit stablishedsocial echniquesndpatternsf behaviororsome imeto come.MichigantateCollegeEastLansing,Michigan

17 See R. L. Mellema,De Islam in Indonesie,in het bijzonderop Java (Amsterdam,1947),PP.44-47.18 See my "Patternsof WesternInfluence in Indonesia,"AmericanSociologicalReview, XVII(1952), 421-430.19Burger, "Structuurveranderingen..., p. I o.

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Der Kroef - Folklore and Tradition in Javanese Society