Kasenian RΓ©ak: the Sundanese horse dance between artistic performance and ceremonial possession (II)

Luigi Monteanni spent a year in Indonesia to study Kasenian RΓ©ak, the traditional Sundanese horse dance, during which the participants in the ritual are possessed by spirits. What we propose in two episodes is a full-bodied extract from his master's degree thesis born from this experience.


text of Luigi Monteanni
picture Marco Maculotti

(Part II - continue from part I)

(In the first part of the reportage we analyzed the RΓ©ak ceremony in its more technical and general aspects. In this continuation we will focus on the possession that the ritual constitutes the most significant event, analyzing in particular by which types of spirits the bystanders can be possessed and how this happens.)


Karuhun and Jurig Jarian

The entities that take possession of bodies can be divided into two categories with boundaries that are not always defined; that of Karuhun or ancestors and that of the jurig jarian (whose literal meaning is completely unknown to me). While the former category is used to denote both deceased relatives as well as local prominent figures from Sundanese history and mythology, who help form the identity of the people (Hellman 2013: 179), the latter are a genre of spirits typical of the kuda lumping and debus [120], defined by my interlocutors as entities residing in dirty places (such as the back of their home) or reincarnations of people who do not haveΒ have known how to follow the right path and are therefore suffering from their own bad karma.

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All the photos in this report are to be considered the property of AXIS mundi.

Generally viewed negatively although not radically evil, Kasmana et al for their part define i jurig jarian like spirits living in the garbage. Typical traits: the stench and the horrifying aspect. An element that will then be useful for the purposes of our analyzes is that this type of entity, again according to the authors, were probably used as a bugbear so that children did not play near waste. As for the Karuhun, as abah K says, "they should be united in a bloodline (blood group) Β»With the bodies of the possessed. This second category is for obvious reasons regarded unambiguously as positive, kind and benevolent. In summary, as explained by D, musician of the Sinar Pusaka group [121], in his interview:

Β« Jarian jurigs are people who have lived badly and done a lot of bad things but Karuhun are more like our relatives and parents. (orang tua), who lived before us but share the family tree with us (punya garis keturunan). "

Although both factions can announce themselves through animal behaviors and can perform very similar stunts, there are still some differences that, at least on a theoretical level, divide them into two separate and distinct groups, based on their inclinations and preferences towards certain objects and foods. peculiar. In general, only the Karuhun show together with any animal traits, the human ones. In this sense they prefer food, or objects of human use - such as tea, coffee and cigarettes or kujang and iket [122]. Likewise their aptitude for dancing and performing pencak combinations helps us immediately to place the spirit on their plane. On the contrary, with regard to the jurig jarian, another more varied series of requests and attitudes allows us to understand what entity we are dealing with between the otter, the horse, the buffalo, the snake, the tiger, the monkey or the monstrous being of the Buta [123].

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In this regard An of Juarta Putra comments as follows:

Β«If they eat meat it is due to the nature of the animals (kebiasaan hewan) but the Karuhun… It is clearly their order that of cigarettes and coffee. "

An attitude considered frequent and typical of the Karuhun is also that of delivering messages to relatives present at the ceremony. These messages consist of simple greetings and reassurance that the departed ancestor is well and happy to have been invited to participate in the hajat. [124]. I jurig jarian on the contrary they are recognizable by their behavior which is both funny, disrespectful and radically inhuman (sub / superhuman). In general, the propensity for chaos and uncontrolled doing are characteristics considered exclusively belonging to the nature of jurig jarian. Actions considered taboo by some groups rΓ©ak, such as biting live chickens or eating glass, are unique to this second group.

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Having made these clarifications, distinguish the Karuhun from jurig jarian it is always a complex affair. In fact, according to my interviews, while on the taxonomic level the Karuhun are human beings and jurig jarian non-human entities and if always and only the latter disturb and joke, destroy objects or eat items that are not edible by ordinary human beings, in practice some classification aporias immediately arise. First, the Karuhun can be in unity with an animal when it is theirs kukutan: term translated by my interviewees as "pet" or "pet" and comparable to a guiding spirit; one familiar spirit specific that each of us has within us. Here too D by Sinar Pusaka explains:

β€œThe tiger is a pet (kukutan) but the pet is in unity with the Karuhun and I don't know how (nggak tahu ada janji apa). After they die they become united (setelah meninggal mereka menyatu). Because the monkey can also smoke. If the monkey smokes it is because of his unity [with the ancestors]. "

In this way a Karuhun can present himself in the form of a monkey or a tiger but still demonstrate, through some traits, his own human nature and the union with his kukutan [125]. In addition, during possession a spirit can leave the body of the possessed and, even without an exorcism being performed first, be replaced by another. A body cannot in fact contain two spirits at the same time [126] and therefore a sudden change in the way of a possessed person is interpreted as a substitution of spirits within him. Regarding this question abah Ag of Sinar Pusaka [127] he explains:

β€œWhen the bodies are loaned by the possessed, the spirits will come from our family line or they will be ours anyway (aya anu ti warisan aya anu ti abah didieu) and it can also be both but it will be done in turn. For example in jaipongan or bajidoran, when there is someone who wants to do kaul and the first type has finished dancing, he will tell the second that it is his turn to dance. [When after the possession healing process] They are still possessed afterwards but people think that [the pawang] cannot really cure them (nyageurkeun). In that case there is not only one spirit but two [one after the other]. It is not accidental. "

If it is however true that spirits show mostly recognizable characteristics, which allow an expert observer an approximate classification, theΒ complete certainty is always the prerogative of a few. Although my interlocutors have always shown some confidence in distinguishing and identifying entities during the course of a possession, I cannot be sure that all of them really were; Asked for further clarification as to what helped them to judge without any doubt, many replied: β€œOnly the ma'alim he knows for sure Β».


How does possession happen?

But how is the taking of possession by a Karuhun or a jurig jarian? While the Karuhun, as we have explained, enter into their descendants and relatives, or at least into people belonging to their blood lineage, the jurig jarian they are simply taken from the ma'alim and placed in the bodies. The latter therefore has the responsibility of understanding what the right body is for the right spirit; in the same way that, as Gigi once told me, "you have to choose the right case for a dagger." If the ma'alim chooses a body that is too weak or unsuitable for a particular spirit, the entity could cause serious harm to the individual who hosts it.

A wrong decision in this sense could also culminate in madness for the host individual or on the contrary in the refusal of the spirit to enter the chosen body. In the event that the opposite is the case ma'alim if he chooses a body that is too strong and powerful, this could cause serious damage to the group and to the participants, releasing an energy that is difficult to control in the place of the event. Therefore, for ethical and safety reasons, not all groups allow jurig jarian to participate and instead prefer to invite only the Karuhun. However, even these statements have unfortunately never found complete confirmation, often resulting in theoretical directives widely contradicted by the performances. During the shows of many of the groups that said they were opposed to this type of practice and entity, I was able to witness more than one behavior explicitly ascribable to jurig jarian.

When the spirits or the ma'alim decide it's time to end the possession and go home (go home [128]), the ma'alim practice exorcism by curing possession (treatment/ngajampean). Among the reasons for interrupting it, in addition to the request to leave coming from the same spirit, there are on the one hand the possibility that, according to the ma'alim, the host body has at some point suffered enough damage from the entity, as a result of all the tests of strength to which it was subjected and on the other the official end of the rΓ©ak at the end of the second and last dogcing, which usually takes place around half past three in the afternoon after thearak-arakan. More generally, one moreΒ time, only the ma'alim he knows when and why it is time to end a possession.

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The exorcist practice is a second and clearer method that viewers can use to understand if the spirit that is returning home is a jurig jarian or a Karuhun. In the first case, the behavior of the ma'alim is quite similar to the one that he has already adopted for adoration at first: hand on the nape, arm around the neck and use of ajian-ajian. This done, the exorcised individual falls prey to paralysis, from which the officiant together with some assistants "unblock" him making him sit on the ground and then bringing his hands to his face. At the same time the ma'alim and his assistants run their hands over the exorcised head, arms, belly, chest, back, and legs as if to shake something off him. These last gestures serve to cleanse the body of what remains of the spirit, in order to be sure that the exorcism is completed successfully. After this process the individual slowly returns to himself, visibly appearing exhausted. From some members he usually comes to himΒ water for refreshment.Β [...]

It should be added that during the exorcism process, i jurig jarian rarelyΒ they agree to get out of the body at the first attempt, opposing the commands of the ma'alim as much as possible. In the event that the spirit implements a strenuous and problematic resistance, a third exorcist practice, dedicated to the most difficult possessions, is that of ngabura [129]. To conduct this rarer type of exorcism the ma'alim collects some water in his mouth [130] from a glass or bottle and spits it on the possessed or possessed, causing the spirits to exit immediately, resulting in paralysis.

As for the exorcism dedicated to the Karuhun, it is important that the process takes place through a medium [131]. The mediums in question are objects that belonged to the Karuhun or members of their bloodline in which these entities reside. After the request to leave the body by the Karuhun or the ma'alim, these iconic objects such as musical instruments, iket, sarong [132] and kujang are approached to the forehead of the possessed, who upon contact falls paralyzed to the ground. The procedure takes place from this moment on as in the above cases. Another important medium to add to those indicated are one's relatives; frequently the Karuhun may ask to see and speak with one of them - if the rΓ©ak be held for a circumcision, it is usually the circumcised - when this happens, after delivering a greeting or a message, the foreheads of the two individuals touch, causing the immediate end of the possession. In all cases, during the possessions and before leaving, the spirits can ask for food, cigarettes, a song or to speed up the music.

That said, not all possessions are believed to be genuine and true. Although no one doubts that they are generally real, my interlocutors have often firmly asserted that a large part of them are fake. According to the opinions of the various people involved, a possession is true in fifty or seventy percent of the cases. Reasons that induce some individuals to pretend possession would be the desire to freely show off their strength through certain behaviorsΒ normally unacceptable, an emotional mismanagement with an attached erroneous belief of being possessed and not least a psychophysical state altered by alcohol.

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In this regard, although the rΓ©ak and celebration are completely peaceful contexts where there is never any shadow of conflict, many people carry with them flasks and hidden bottles, filled with homemade liqueurs. In some cases, even if very rarely, alcohol abuse leads men and boys to generate real fights, resulting in the immediate interruption of the event by the police. Task of the ma'alim in any case it is to be able to discern between real and fake possessed in order to provide the appropriate assistance to each of them in the most appropriate way.


Note:

[120] Il whistle is a genre of mystical entertainment typical of the Banten area, but widespread throughout West Java, in which performers led by a handler they practice self-mutilation of parts of the body in an extreme and conspicuous way. With mystical powers and faith in Allah they then obtain complete cure of all that they have inflicted on themselves, thanks to the mediation of the handler. The practices of mortification can include mutilation of the tongue, fingers and toes, opening the belly with consequent extraction of the intestines and stomach or even beheading. To date, I have never had the opportunity to observe anything like this. Unfortunately, I was able to witness only a few more mild and fakyrian versions that were also widespread in the rest of Java. An interesting note in this regard is that, according to bapak P of the Dangiang Mitra Pasundan group, today's macabre drifts of many rΓ©ak, such as eating live chickens, either collaborate obtained by introducing elements taken from this art. However, it should be noted that this type of practice is already present in the oldest versions of the jaranan.

[121] S. and F. Interview dated 17/1/2018.

[122] Headdress of distinctive fabric of the ethnic groups of Java and Bali, obtained by tying a cloth made with the batik technique.

[123] It is described as a giant, furry, ape-like monster with fangs. An interviewee of mine placed the Buta outside the category of jurig jarian, giving it a separate position.

[124] I am quite sure of the fact that among these messages there are some of a more intimate and personal nature if not some precise instructions, requests and recommendations. Unfortunately, even if my hypotheses are correct, they are delivered directly from the ancestor to the individual concerned and often when they are in close physical contact. For reasons of delicacy and difficulty in approaching such a situation, I have never been able to ascertain the accuracy of these assumptions.

[125] A similar thing happens among the wana of Sulawesi, where the shaman shows union with his spirit by asking for his favorite food (Atkinson 1989: 99).

[126] However, some of my interlocutors stated that the ma'alim or witch doctor can. This remains an idea that not everyone shares and that I have not been able to fully clarify.

[127] S. and F. Interview dated 17/1/2018.

[128] Go home, which literally means "to go home", does not specify whether to end the possession is the will of the spirit or of the ma'alim, indicating only that the entity "comes home".

[129] Although I don't know the translation of this term, it has affinities with Sundanese ngubaran: "cure".

[130] Although I can't be sure which one used in the ngabura water is always very common (after all, this element is also contained in the nyiru during the rite of sasajen), I have repeatedly seen a ma'alim ask the assistants for water and be given glasses and bottles not treated in the initial ritual. It is still possible that the ma'alim can perform invisible practices for water treatment, but during the performances and discussions with my interlocutors I never noticed anything that could make me think in this direction.

[131] The interviewees themselves refer to this series of objects as mediums.

[132] A square cloth that is tied at the waist. This typical Indonesian garment is worn especially for religious functions, to enter the mosque to pray and for ceremonies in general (it is also common among the Balinese).


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