Seren Taun
Encyclopedia
Seren Taun is an annual traditional Sundanese
rice
harvest festival
and ceremony. This festivals originally held to mark the new agriculture year in Sundanese ancient calendar as well as thanks giving for the blessings of the abundance rice harvest, and also to pray for the next successful harvest. Seren taun demonstrated the Sundanese agriculture way of life, and it is held in high importance in Sundanese traditional villages, as the festival draw thousands Sundanese villagers to participate as well as Indonesian or foreign visitors.
There is several traditional Sundanese villages that held this annual festival, the notable villages are:
seren that means "to give" and taun which means "year". Seren taun means the last year has gave way to the new year, which means the transition between agriculture years. In Sundanese agriculture community Seren Taun is the festival to express gratitude and thanks giving to God for the blessing of rice harvest abundance, as well as to pray for the successful rice harvest in next agriculture cycle.
Another specific definition of Seren Taun is to give the rice harvest and present it to community leader to be stored in communal barn There is two kinds of leuit; the main barn and the secondary barn. The main barn is held in high importance and considered sacred, it can be called leuit sijimat, leuit ratna inten, or leuit indung (mother barn). The secondary barns are called leuit pangiring or leuit leutik (small barn). Leuit indung contained the sacred rice seed, the pare ambu or pare indung (mother rice seed) covered in white cloth, and pare bapa or pare abah (father rice seed) covered in black cloth. Leuit pangiring (secondary barns) are rows of barns to store the offering rices when the main barn is already full.
. The ceremony was started as a dedication to Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri
, the goddess of rice in ancient Sundanese beliefs. Ancient Sundanese religion was influenced by animism and dynamism that revered the spirit of karuhun (ancestors) as well as unseen natural power identified as hyang
, and it is also influenced by Hinduism
. Since ancient times Sundanese are agricultural community that revered natural power that give fertility in plants and animals, this natural divine power is identified as Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri, the goddess of rice and fertility. According to Sundanese beliefs her husband is Kuwera, the god of wealth. Both are symbolize in Pare Abah (father rice) and Pare Ambu (mother rice), signify the union of man and woman as the primordial symbol of fertility and family happiness. There is two kind of harvest ceremony in Sunda Kingdom; Seren Taun Guru Bumi that is held annually and Seren Taun Tutug Galur that is held only once every eight years. Seren Taun Guru Bumi held in Pakuan Pajajaran capital and various villages, while the Seren Taun Tutug Galur or also caled Kuwera Bakti only held in Pakuan.
Seren Taun annually held in Sunda Kingdom and ceased after the fall of Sunda Pajajaran kingdom. Several decades later the ceremony revived in Sindang Barang, Kuta Batu and Cipakancilan village, and continue until it ceased in 1970s. After 36 years pause, the ceremony was revived again in 2006 at Sindang Barang cultural village, Pasir Eurih, Sari,Bogor. The Seren Taun Guru Bumi celebrated again to revived cultural identity of Sundanese people.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun is held every 22 Rayagung, the last month of Sundanese calendar. The ceremony is concentrated in pendopo
Paseban Tri Panca Tunggal, the residence of prince Djatikusumah, constructed in 1840. The adherents of native Sunda Wiwitan
belief still celebrate this annual harvest festival, such as Kanekes (Baduy) people, Kasepuhan Banten Kidul, and Cigugur. Today most of Sundanese are muslim, however this tradition is still survived and celebrated although the prayer is now conducted in Islamic way.
In some villages the rituals usually started with the collections of waters from several sacred water springs. Usually the water are collected from seven water springs in small jars to be united in one large water vessel, the water is blessed through prayers and considered sacred. The sacred water is later sprinkled upon people present in the festival, it is considered potent and would bring good luck and good fortunes for the people. The next rituals is sedekah kue, people brought traditional cakes, delicacies and also tumpeng
on wooden palanquin. The cake later is fought among villagers as it is believed to bring good luck, and the tumpeng rice is distributed among the people to be consumed together. The slaughtering of water buffalo might also become the part of rituals, the meat is later distributed to the poor families in the village. Later in the night the wayang golek performance is held in the village main communal building.
The main ritual of seren usually started in 08.00 in the morning, started with ngajayak procession (procession to bring and presenting the rice), continued with three mass performances; buyung dance, angklung baduy and angklung buncis angklung
music performance, usually performed during seren taun in Cigugur. The ritual started with prayer to express gratitude to God for the abundance of harvest. Ngajayak main ritual is the presenting of rice from villagers to community leader to be stored in main barn, the rest is stored in secondary barns. Some of the rice is later rhythmically pounded together by women using wooden mortars and pestles. Some of blessed rice seed is placed in pavilion called Pwah Aci Sanghyang Asri (Pohaci Sanghyang Asri
), and this rice seed is sought and fought by villagers as it is also believed to bring good fortune.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun is started on 18 Rayagung. Several traditional Sundanese cultural performances is also demonstrated, such as pencak silat
, Sundanese dances, nyiblung (water music), suling rando, tarawelet, karinding, and suling kumbang of Baduy people.
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
harvest festival
Harvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
and ceremony. This festivals originally held to mark the new agriculture year in Sundanese ancient calendar as well as thanks giving for the blessings of the abundance rice harvest, and also to pray for the next successful harvest. Seren taun demonstrated the Sundanese agriculture way of life, and it is held in high importance in Sundanese traditional villages, as the festival draw thousands Sundanese villagers to participate as well as Indonesian or foreign visitors.
There is several traditional Sundanese villages that held this annual festival, the notable villages are:
- Cigugur village, KuninganKuningan RegencyKuningan Regency is a regency of West Java, Indonesia. Kuningan is its capital. Kuningan is located in the east of the province.- Pre Historic:...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population... - Kasepuhan Banten KidulKasepuhanThe Kasepuhan or Kasepuhan Banten Kidul are a traditional community of approximately 5,300 people, who live in the southern part of Gunung Halimun National Park, in the Indonesian province of West Java. Gunung Halimun National Park is located within the borders of kabupaten Sukabumi, Bogor and...
, Ciptagelar village, Cisolok, SukabumiSukabumi RegencySukabumi Regency Indonesian: Kabupaten Sukabumi is a regency of West Java, Indonesia. Pelabuhan Ratu is its capital. Sukabumi City is fully encircled by the regency.-Beaches:...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population... - Sindang Barang village, Pasir Eurih, Taman Sari, BogorBogor RegencyBogor Regency Indonesian: Kabupaten Bogor is a regency of West Java, Indonesia, south of DKI Jakarta, and bordered by Tangerang Regency, the City of Depok and the City and Regency of Bekasi to the north, and fully encircling Bogor City. It is considered a bedroom community for Jakarta.The area...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population... - Kanekes village, LebakLebak RegencyLebak Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It has an area of 3,044.72 km² of 19 districts and 320 villages and an official intercensal estimated population of 1,219,033 in 2007 Rangkasbitung is the capital of the regency...
, Banten Province - Kampung NagaKampung NagaKampung Naga administratively located in the area of Neglasari village, Salawu district, Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia.Kampung Naga is a village which is inhabited by a community in a very strong tradition of holding the remainder ancestors. The differences are visible when compared with other...
, TasikmalayaTasikmalaya RegencyTasikmalaya Regency is a regency in the province of West Java, Indonesia. Located in the southeastern region of Priangan , the Regency is by far the biggest and the most important regency in East Preanger . The Regency is administered from Tasikmalaya City, which however is administratively...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
Etymology
"Seren Taun" is derived from Sundanese languageSundanese language
Sundanese is the language of about 27 million people from the western third of Java or about 15% of the Indonesian population....
seren that means "to give" and taun which means "year". Seren taun means the last year has gave way to the new year, which means the transition between agriculture years. In Sundanese agriculture community Seren Taun is the festival to express gratitude and thanks giving to God for the blessing of rice harvest abundance, as well as to pray for the successful rice harvest in next agriculture cycle.
Another specific definition of Seren Taun is to give the rice harvest and present it to community leader to be stored in communal barn There is two kinds of leuit; the main barn and the secondary barn. The main barn is held in high importance and considered sacred, it can be called leuit sijimat, leuit ratna inten, or leuit indung (mother barn). The secondary barns are called leuit pangiring or leuit leutik (small barn). Leuit indung contained the sacred rice seed, the pare ambu or pare indung (mother rice seed) covered in white cloth, and pare bapa or pare abah (father rice seed) covered in black cloth. Leuit pangiring (secondary barns) are rows of barns to store the offering rices when the main barn is already full.
History
According to historical records as well as local traditions, Seren Taun is held annually since the era of Sunda KingdomSunda Kingdom
The Sunda Kingdom was a Hindu kingdom located on the western part of Java from 669 to around 1579, covering areas of present-day Banten, Jakarta, West Java, and the western part of Central Java...
. The ceremony was started as a dedication to Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri
Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri, or Dewi Shri , Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese pre-Hindu and pre-Islam era goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshipped on the islands of Bali and Java...
, the goddess of rice in ancient Sundanese beliefs. Ancient Sundanese religion was influenced by animism and dynamism that revered the spirit of karuhun (ancestors) as well as unseen natural power identified as hyang
Hyang
Hyang is an unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power in ancient Indonesian mythology. This spirit can be either divine or ancestral. The reverence for this spiritual entity can be found in Sunda Wiwitan, Kejawen, and Balinese Hinduism. In modern Indonesian this term tends to be...
, and it is also influenced by Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. Since ancient times Sundanese are agricultural community that revered natural power that give fertility in plants and animals, this natural divine power is identified as Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri, the goddess of rice and fertility. According to Sundanese beliefs her husband is Kuwera, the god of wealth. Both are symbolize in Pare Abah (father rice) and Pare Ambu (mother rice), signify the union of man and woman as the primordial symbol of fertility and family happiness. There is two kind of harvest ceremony in Sunda Kingdom; Seren Taun Guru Bumi that is held annually and Seren Taun Tutug Galur that is held only once every eight years. Seren Taun Guru Bumi held in Pakuan Pajajaran capital and various villages, while the Seren Taun Tutug Galur or also caled Kuwera Bakti only held in Pakuan.
Seren Taun annually held in Sunda Kingdom and ceased after the fall of Sunda Pajajaran kingdom. Several decades later the ceremony revived in Sindang Barang, Kuta Batu and Cipakancilan village, and continue until it ceased in 1970s. After 36 years pause, the ceremony was revived again in 2006 at Sindang Barang cultural village, Pasir Eurih, Sari,Bogor. The Seren Taun Guru Bumi celebrated again to revived cultural identity of Sundanese people.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun is held every 22 Rayagung, the last month of Sundanese calendar. The ceremony is concentrated in pendopo
Pendopo
A Pendopo or Pendapa is a fundamental element of Javanese architecture; a large pavilion-like structure built on columns. Either square or rectangular in plan, it is open on all sides and provides shelter from the sun and rain, but allows breeze and indirect light. The word pendopo is a variant on...
Paseban Tri Panca Tunggal, the residence of prince Djatikusumah, constructed in 1840. The adherents of native Sunda Wiwitan
Sunda Wiwitan
Sunda Wiwitan is a religious belief system of traditional Sundanese. It venerates the power of nature and the spirit of ancestors ....
belief still celebrate this annual harvest festival, such as Kanekes (Baduy) people, Kasepuhan Banten Kidul, and Cigugur. Today most of Sundanese are muslim, however this tradition is still survived and celebrated although the prayer is now conducted in Islamic way.
Rituals
The Seren Taun rituals are different and varied among each villages, however the main ritual is the procession to presenting the rice to community leader. This rice are put into main leuit (rice barn) and secondary rice barns. The community leader later gave indung pare (mother of rice) that already blessed to the villages leaders to be planted in next agriculture cycle.In some villages the rituals usually started with the collections of waters from several sacred water springs. Usually the water are collected from seven water springs in small jars to be united in one large water vessel, the water is blessed through prayers and considered sacred. The sacred water is later sprinkled upon people present in the festival, it is considered potent and would bring good luck and good fortunes for the people. The next rituals is sedekah kue, people brought traditional cakes, delicacies and also tumpeng
Tumpeng
Tumpeng is a cone-shaped rice dish like mountain with its side dishes . Traditionally featured in the slamatan ceremony, the cone shape of rice is made by using cone-shaped weaved bamboo container...
on wooden palanquin. The cake later is fought among villagers as it is believed to bring good luck, and the tumpeng rice is distributed among the people to be consumed together. The slaughtering of water buffalo might also become the part of rituals, the meat is later distributed to the poor families in the village. Later in the night the wayang golek performance is held in the village main communal building.
The main ritual of seren usually started in 08.00 in the morning, started with ngajayak procession (procession to bring and presenting the rice), continued with three mass performances; buyung dance, angklung baduy and angklung buncis angklung
Angklung
The Angklung is a musical instrument made of two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves. The base of the frame is held in one hand, whilst the other hand shakes the instrument rapidly. This causes a repeating note...
music performance, usually performed during seren taun in Cigugur. The ritual started with prayer to express gratitude to God for the abundance of harvest. Ngajayak main ritual is the presenting of rice from villagers to community leader to be stored in main barn, the rest is stored in secondary barns. Some of the rice is later rhythmically pounded together by women using wooden mortars and pestles. Some of blessed rice seed is placed in pavilion called Pwah Aci Sanghyang Asri (Pohaci Sanghyang Asri
Sri
Sri , also transliterated as Shri or Shree or shre is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities .-Etymology:Sri has the root meaning of radiance, or...
), and this rice seed is sought and fought by villagers as it is also believed to bring good fortune.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun is started on 18 Rayagung. Several traditional Sundanese cultural performances is also demonstrated, such as pencak silat
Pencak Silat
Pencak silat is an umbrella term for the indigenous martial arts created in Indonesia. The leading organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is IPSI...
, Sundanese dances, nyiblung (water music), suling rando, tarawelet, karinding, and suling kumbang of Baduy people.