Javanism

Javanism
The Birat Sengkolo ritual of Kejawèn Javanism.
Type	Folk/ethnic religion
Region	Worldwide
Language	Old Javanese (used in rituals) and Javanese (with various dialects)
Headquarters	Central–southern Java
Origin	c. 300,000 BCE Java
Recognition	Officially recognized as one of the folk religions in Indonesia and Suriname
Separations	Kapitayan (monotheistic Javanism) Kejawèn (polytheistic Javanism)

Javanism, or Javanese folk religion is an umbrella term referring to the main native Javan folk or ethnic religion, traditionally adhered by the main Javan ethnic (the Javanese), invented and originally practiced in the central–southern (to the eastern) hemisphere regions of the Indonesian island of Java. The Javanism has two main religious denomination, namely Kapitayan and Kejawèn. Javanism is one of the legal recognized folk religions in its own origin country (Indonesia), as well as another countries with significant Javanese diaspora population, such as Suriname in South America. Javanism has complex religious virtues and values deeply rooted from the ancient Javanese cultural traditions and philosophy. Adherents of Javanism are identified as ‘Javanists’ (in English).

Javanists believe that human race was evolved from the single ancestral source who were sent down to earth from the sky above. In Javanism belief, the word "jawa(h)" (ꦗꦮꦃ) itself, which is the endonym term commonly used as an ethnonym could be roughly translated as "descended [from the sky]", simply because the Javanese believes that their ancestor descended from the sky above; apart from ethnonym and designated as their native island's name, it is also still used (in Modern Javanese) to describe anything that comes from the sky (such as rain, meteors, etc.).

According to the Javanism religious belief, the Java Island back then was not located in its exact location as it is today, it is believed that Java was adrift on the ocean until it hits to another stable and wider landmass. That is also how mountainous regions were formed in Javanism belief, as recorded in various ancient Javanese manuscripts. This is the reason why the Javanists usually would held a huge charity of harvest annually, as a form gratitude because the Java Island finally landed safely and produce abundant of natural resources due to its fertile volcanic soil. Interestingly, these Javanism religious belief is in-line with the modern Pangaea theory.

Nomenclature

The term Javanism reconstructed from "Javan" (lit. 'relating to Java') + "-ism" (lit. 'suffix'), it is originally a direct translation of Kejawèn or Kajawèn (ꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀), a native Javanese word referring to one of the religious denominations of Javanism. With its wide range of complexity and intricacy, Kejawèn is arguably the most popular denomination of Javanism adhered by the Javanese people (and its diaspora abroad), thus the term became popularly used.

Kapitayan

Main article: Kapitayan

According to the local Javan folk belief, Javanism of Kapitayan denomination considered as the original form of Javanism before the foreign influences came into contact with the native Javanese society. These denomination focused on its monotheism value, although its complexity may be varied to one another regions. The main deity of Kapitayan Javanism is known as Hyang of Taya (), a genderless and invisible deity, worshipped by the Javanese people since ancient times. In orthodoxy sense, the Kapitayan Javanism might be considered as a form of Orthodox Javanism, although in reality there is no such thing as "Orthodox Javanism", simply because the Javanese people see both denomination as generally equal (although critism does occur within society).

Kejawèn

Main article: Kejawèn

Unlike the Kapitayan Javanism, these denomination has more complexity and intricacy due to influences that drawn by various foreign religious movements, such as Dharmic (Hinduism and Buddhism) and Abrahamic (Islamism and Christianity). In Kejawèn Javanism, one might possessed completely different religious values, but still unified under the same cultural Javanese traditional phylosophy values. The one that unites the adherents of this denomination is, the similarity in utilizing or preserving Javanese cultural elements, which may contradict to the religious standards of each affiliated religions (either it is Dharmic or Abrahamic). For instance, although the Abrahamic religion of Islam considered the practice of polytheism as haram (lit. 'forbidden'), however, the Kejawèn Javanism religious practice might exhibits the normalization of polytheistic worship.

Subgroups or denomination branches

Specifically, the Kejawèn Javanism has various denomination branches or subgroups, which evolved from the diverse religious and spiritualism values adhered by the Javanese society. The Javanists believes that one's head bear different perceptions and interpretations, but all should not break the unity spirit of Javanism religion itself.

Abangan and Putihan

Main articles: Abangan and Putihan

Collectively, Abangan–Putihan were under the same group, the nomenclature of these denomination branch historically derived from the flag color of Majapahit Empire (which eventually also adopted as the national bicolor flag of Indonesia), indicating its source-origin era in eastern Java when Javanism started to be syncretized with Islamism. Abangan (ꦲꦧꦔꦤ꧀) is a native Javanese term literally means "reddish" or "[the] red one", meanwhile Putihan (ꦥꦸꦠꦶꦲꦤ꧀) means "whitish" or "[the] white one". These Kejawèn Javanism branch drew its influence mainly from Islamism (and Christianity) religious values, but amalgamated with Hindu-Buddhist teachings. It was not until c. 1855 to 1880s when the Dutch colonizers in Java started to polarize these group into two seperate entity; the Abangan were labelled as 'the abusive one', meanwhile the Putihan were considered as 'the spotless one' due to the political rebellion movement done by the Abangan Javanists against the Dutch colonizers in those era.

Kebatinan

Main article: Kebatinan

The Kebatinan (ꦏꦺꦧꦛꦶꦤꦤ꧀) branch drew its religious value from Islamism (which might be influenced by the Sufism), the nomenclature of those branch itself has an Arabic-origin root word, bāṭin (بَاطِن‎), which means "inner", "internal", or "within", referring to the exclusiveness of Kebatinan branch which considered by the Javanese people as esoteric in nature. According to the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Kebatinan religious branch of Kejawèn denomination was officially held its first congress in 1955, attended by 618 Javanese nativists from 47 organizations and gathered at the Ashoka Building in Semarang, they were mainly discussing about the mysticism or Kebatinan religious movement, to define its notion and understand it in the context of the principles contained in Pancasila as the ultimate national ideology of Indonesia. The congress resulting the Kebatinan to be officially and lawfully declared as one of the branches of Kejawen denomination, which known natively as aliran Kebatinan (lit. 'Kebatinan branch'). In Suriname, the adherents of Javanism mostly identified as Kebatinan Javanists.

Sanyata

One of the prayer processions of Sanyata Kejawèn Javanism at the Ngadas village of Malang Regency in East Java.

The Sanyata (ꦱꦚꦠ) is one of the Kejawèn Javanism branches which syncretize Javanism with Buddhism. Unlike the mainstream Buddhists who did not pratice worship to any Buddhas, the Sanyata Javanists perform the worship to a specific Buddha. Although the Sanyata categorized under the Kejawèn denomination, however, the Kapitayan Javanism also play its influence in Sanyata; for instance, the Sanyata Javanists believes that the worshipped deity should be monotheistic in nature, continuing the religious principals of their Javanese ancestors (who originally adhered to Kapitayan Javanism). According to the official national Javanism census data of Indonesia, the Sanyata Javanists are predominantly Tengger Javans, who natively and originally inhabited the sacred region of Tengger mountainous complex in eastern Java.

Divinity and worship

The ultimate deity in Javanism is known as Hyang, rooted from the three sacred mountainous complex on the island of Java, from eastern to western Java, namely the Iyang (in East Java), Dihyang (in Central Java), and Parahyangan (in West Java). For Javanists, the Hyang is considered as the creator of universe who later resided on those respective mountains, which believed to maintain the stability of the island of Java for the native Javan people.

Imagery of Hyang by Kejawèn Javanists in human-like form in native Javan puppetry art of Wayang kulit (this picture generated from the digitization collection of Native Indonesian cultural objects at the Tropenmuseum).

In Kapitayan Javanism, the Hyang has no absolute appearance or form, the Kapitayan Javanists believes that the Hyang should be mainly characterized by His benevolent and has no gender-specific, and another associations to Hyang are considered as a form of religious heresy. Meanwhile in Kejawèn Javanism, Hyang could be interpreted and manifested in any kind of form, either it is in creatures-like form or even in any mounted form, which corresponds to its spiritual origin (the three Javan sacred mountainous complex). However, in western Java specifically, the Parahyangan mountain complex are now commonly associated to the Javan-Sundanese spiritualism, which is mixed with another Javan folk religion, the Sundanism.

Gamelan

Main article: Gamelan

Gamelan musicians depiction on reliefs of ancient Borobudur temple, dated back to 8th century era, Central Java.

Depiction of Gong (one of the Gamelan instruments) on reliefs of ancient Panataran temple complex, dated back to 12th century era, East Java.

Gamelan is a native Java-origin musical instrument set which was originally invented by the native Javanese as a spiritual tool or medium of Javanism. In Javanism, trance during rituals seen as a sacred spiritual experience, the Javanists believe that the mystical Gamelan instrument sounds could be used as a medium to reconnect with Hyang and their Javanese ancestors. Gamelan is widely used by the Javans in any kind of spiritual processions, and its mystical spiritualism values are highly and deeply valued by the Javanists or Javan people in general.

Sacred prayers and dances

Sanghyang Dedari spiritual performance.

Sanghyang Jaran spiritual performance.

In Javanism, worship can take various forms, one of which is by performing native performances which equipped with prayer recitation and religious offerings-serving. One of the well-known spiritual sacred performances is Sanghyang, which has multiple form of styles, either it is Sanghyang Dedari, Sanghyang Jaran, etc.

Impacts

The Balinese depiction of Hyang derived from the Kejawèn Javanism-style, mainly worshipped by the Javanese-descents in Bali.

As the result of continous social contacts that occured for thousands of years between Javanese and non-Javanese, the Javanism has affected the belief system of non-Javanese people. For instance, the Kaharingan folk religious movement in central–southern Kalimantan might drew its influence from Javanism, which follows its predecessor in Bali, who have almagamated their Indic-based Hinduism and Buddhism beliefs with Eastern Javanese Majapahit-based Javanism earlier, which later resulting a new syncretism religious identity commonly known as the Balinese Hinduism.

Bibliography

• Andrew Beatty (1999), "Varieties of Javanese Religion: An Anthropological Account", Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Javanism (Chapter 6), Cambridge University Press: 158–186, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511612497, ISBN 9780511612497
• Falsafah dan Pandangan Hidup Orang Jawa [Javan Philosophy and Way of Life] (in Indonesian), Yogyakarta Absolut, 2010
• Frank Steven Jabini (2012), Christianity in Suriname: An Overview of Its History, Theologians and Sources, Langham Monographs, p. 416, ISBN 9781907713439

See also

• Javanese mythology – the mythology in Javanese culture
• Kaharingan – the native Dayak folk religion of central–southern Kalimantan-origin
• Balinese Hinduism – a form of Hinduism adhered by the native Balinese

Further reading

• Finding balance in the mountains: Inside the spiritual word of "Javanism" – The Washington Post