Slametan
Encyclopedia
The slametan is the communal feast
from Java
, symbolizing the social unity of those participating in it. Clifford Geertz
considered it the core ritual
in Javanese religion, in particular the abangan
variant. The feast is common among the closely related Javanese, Sundanese
and Madurese people.
A slametan can be given to celebrate almost any occurrence, including birth, marriage, death, moving house, and so forth. Depending on the intention, the mood and emphasis may vary somewhat, but the main structure is the same. Geertz categorizes them into four main types:
The ceremony takes its name from the Javanese
word slamet, from Arabic
: salam
, which refers to a peaceful state of equanimity, in which nothing will happen. This is what the host intends for both himself and his guests, by experiencing the egalitarian structure of the slametan and the petitions of supernatural protection from spirits.
In Geertz's fieldwork in Mojokuto in the 1950s, he found that costs of slametans varied from 3 to 5,000 Indonesian rupiah
s, depending on the type and the relative wealth of the host.
is finished. The date is determined either by the occurrence it is celebrating (for births and deaths, for example), or on auspicious days in the Javanese calendar
. The guests, always men, are always close neighbors, and the selection of guests is based entirely on proximity, and not whether they are friends or relatives. They are called by a messenger of the host (usually a child of his) only five or ten minutes before the slametan is to begin, and they must drop whatever they are doing to come.
When they arrive, the guests sit on floor mats around the food which has been placed in the center, while incense fills the room. The ceremony begins with a formal speech (udjub) in high Javanese
. The speech thanks the attendees for coming, presents the reason for the slametan, announces his intentions and petitions the spirits to secure for himself and his guests a state of equanimity (slamet, hence the name of the ritual), and finally apologizes for any errors in his speech and the humble inadequacy of the food. During pauses in the speech, the audience responds with solemn "inggih" ("yes").
Following the speech, somebody present gives an Arabic chant-prayer. Many will not know how, but the host makes sure that someone there had attended a religious school
(usually a kyai
); for special occasions he may even invite the village religious specialist (the modin). Fragments of the Koran, especially the al-Fatiha
, are most commonly used, although special prayers may be used if they are known. At pauses the audience says "amen" (amin). The prayer leader receives a small payment (wadjib).
At last, the food is served. While the ceremony is strictly for men, the food preparation falls upon the women in the family, who for larger ceremonies may draw on kin to assist in the preparation. Each guest receives a cup of tea and a banana-leaf dish containing each sort of food in the center of the room. The food is fancier than average, and each variety has a symbolic meaning, which is sometimes explained in the speech. The host himself does not eat, nor does he serve the food, which one or two of the guests does. When everybody has a dish, the host invites them to eat, which they do quickly without speaking. After a few minutes, and before eating most of the food, the guests excuse themselves, and finish eating the food in their own homes, with their own wives and children. The whole ceremony usually lasts only ten or fifteen minutes.
, there are four major slametans and a number of minor ones. The four major ones are:
The circumcision
slametan (islamam or sunatan, held for boys between the ages of ten and fourteen) and the wedding
slametan (kepanggihan) are similar in their ceremony and foods offered, and can be seen as coming-of-age ceremonies for boys and girls, respectively.
Funeral
s (layatan) generally take place as soon as possible after the death, and inevitably involve the religious specialist (modin) of the village. Slametans are held the day of the death, and then repeated in increasing size (both in number of guests and length of the chant) three, seven, forty, and 100 days after the death, the first and second anniversaries, and 1000 days after the death. The final one is the most elaborate, and is thought to mark the point when the body has completely decayed to dust.
(Muludan, on 12 Rabi' al-awwal
) and near the end of Ramadan
(Maleman). Other notable holidays infrequently have slametans, and Satu Suro
, the New Year's Day (1 Muharram
) is celebrated by those who are self-consciously anti-Muslim. Because these dates are shared by everybody, it is common to attend slametans for many of one's neighbors in succession. For this reason, they tend to be relatively small, and particularly based on the principle of inviting neighbors.
(Sela), the eleventh month, on different days according to village tradition. This slametan is given at the place of burial of the dhanyang
désa, the guardian spirit of the village. In santri
villages, it may take place at a mosque
and consist entirely of Muslim prayers. For this type of slametan, all families in the village are expected to contribute food, with the adult head of each family obliged to attend.
Feast
Feast may refer to:* Banquet, a large meal* A Festival or feria* Ramadan, Muslim's holy month* Nineteen Day Feast, a monthly meeting held in Bahá'í communities to worship, consult, and socialize....
from Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, symbolizing the social unity of those participating in it. Clifford Geertz
Clifford Geertz
Clifford James Geertz was an American anthropologist who is remembered mostly for his strong support for and influence on the practice of symbolic anthropology, and who was considered "for three decades...the single most influential cultural anthropologist in the United States." He served until...
considered it the core ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
in Javanese religion, in particular the abangan
Abangan
Abangan refers to the population of Javanese Muslims who practice a more syncretic version of Islam than the more orthodox santri. The term, apparently derived from the Javanese word for red, was first developed by Clifford Geertz but the meaning has since shifted. Abangan are more inclined to...
variant. The feast is common among the closely related Javanese, Sundanese
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...
and Madurese people.
A slametan can be given to celebrate almost any occurrence, including birth, marriage, death, moving house, and so forth. Depending on the intention, the mood and emphasis may vary somewhat, but the main structure is the same. Geertz categorizes them into four main types:
- Those relating to the crises of life: birth, circumcision, marriage, and death
- Those associated with events of the Islamic calendarIslamic calendarThe Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
- The bersih désa ("cleaning of the village"), concerned with the social integration of the village
- Those held irregularly depending on unusual occurrences: departing for a long trip, moving residence, changing personal names, illness, sorcery, and so on
The ceremony takes its name from the Javanese
Javanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
word slamet, from Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: salam
S-L-M
Shin-Lamedh-Mem is the triconsonantal root of many Semitic words, and many of those words are used as names. The root itself translates as "whole, safe, intact".-Salam "Peace":...
, which refers to a peaceful state of equanimity, in which nothing will happen. This is what the host intends for both himself and his guests, by experiencing the egalitarian structure of the slametan and the petitions of supernatural protection from spirits.
In Geertz's fieldwork in Mojokuto in the 1950s, he found that costs of slametans varied from 3 to 5,000 Indonesian rupiah
Indonesian rupiah
The rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" in referring to rupiah...
s, depending on the type and the relative wealth of the host.
Procedure
Slametans are generally held in the evening, after evening prayerMaghrib
The Maghrib prayer , prayed just after sunset, is the fourth of five formal daily prayers performed by practicing Muslims.The formal daily prayers of Islam comprise different numbers of units, called rak'at. The Maghrib prayer has three obligatory rak'at. The first two fard rak'at are prayed...
is finished. The date is determined either by the occurrence it is celebrating (for births and deaths, for example), or on auspicious days in the Javanese calendar
Javanese calendar
The Javanese calendar is the calendar of the Javanese people. It is used concurrently with two other calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar...
. The guests, always men, are always close neighbors, and the selection of guests is based entirely on proximity, and not whether they are friends or relatives. They are called by a messenger of the host (usually a child of his) only five or ten minutes before the slametan is to begin, and they must drop whatever they are doing to come.
When they arrive, the guests sit on floor mats around the food which has been placed in the center, while incense fills the room. The ceremony begins with a formal speech (udjub) in high Javanese
Javanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
. The speech thanks the attendees for coming, presents the reason for the slametan, announces his intentions and petitions the spirits to secure for himself and his guests a state of equanimity (slamet, hence the name of the ritual), and finally apologizes for any errors in his speech and the humble inadequacy of the food. During pauses in the speech, the audience responds with solemn "inggih" ("yes").
Following the speech, somebody present gives an Arabic chant-prayer. Many will not know how, but the host makes sure that someone there had attended a religious school
Pesantren
Pesantren or Pondok Pesantren are Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. According to one popular tradition, the pesantren education system originated from traditional Javanese pondokan; dormitories; ashram for Hindu or viharas for Buddhists to learn religious philosophies, martial arts and...
(usually a kyai
Kyai
A Kyai is an expert in islam. The word is of Javanese origin, and is sometimes spelled kiai. Traditionally, students of Islam in Indonesia would study in a boarding school known as a pesantren. The leader of the school was called kyai, as a form of respect. The traditional word for a teacher in...
); for special occasions he may even invite the village religious specialist (the modin). Fragments of the Koran, especially the al-Fatiha
Al-Fatiha
Sura Al-Fatiha , is the first chapter of the Qur'an. Its seven verses are a prayer for Allah's guidance, and stress His Lordship and Mercy...
, are most commonly used, although special prayers may be used if they are known. At pauses the audience says "amen" (amin). The prayer leader receives a small payment (wadjib).
At last, the food is served. While the ceremony is strictly for men, the food preparation falls upon the women in the family, who for larger ceremonies may draw on kin to assist in the preparation. Each guest receives a cup of tea and a banana-leaf dish containing each sort of food in the center of the room. The food is fancier than average, and each variety has a symbolic meaning, which is sometimes explained in the speech. The host himself does not eat, nor does he serve the food, which one or two of the guests does. When everybody has a dish, the host invites them to eat, which they do quickly without speaking. After a few minutes, and before eating most of the food, the guests excuse themselves, and finish eating the food in their own homes, with their own wives and children. The whole ceremony usually lasts only ten or fifteen minutes.
Timing and characteristics
Live cycle
Around birthBirth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
, there are four major slametans and a number of minor ones. The four major ones are:
- Tingkeban, at about seven months of pregnancy (held only for the first child of either the mother or father)
- Babaran or brokokan, at the birth itself
- Pasaran, five days after birth, including the naming of the child
- Pitonan, seven "months" after birth (a month being the 35-day cycle of the Javanese calendar)
The circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
slametan (islamam or sunatan, held for boys between the ages of ten and fourteen) and the wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
slametan (kepanggihan) are similar in their ceremony and foods offered, and can be seen as coming-of-age ceremonies for boys and girls, respectively.
Funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
s (layatan) generally take place as soon as possible after the death, and inevitably involve the religious specialist (modin) of the village. Slametans are held the day of the death, and then repeated in increasing size (both in number of guests and length of the chant) three, seven, forty, and 100 days after the death, the first and second anniversaries, and 1000 days after the death. The final one is the most elaborate, and is thought to mark the point when the body has completely decayed to dust.
Islamic feasts
The most important of the calendrical slametans are for the Prophet's birthdayMawlid
Mawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...
(Muludan, on 12 Rabi' al-awwal
Rabi' al-awwal
Rabi' al-awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims around the world celebrate Mawlid - the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believe the exact date of birth of Muhammad to have been on the twelfth of this month, whereas Shi'a Muslims believe...
) and near the end of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
(Maleman). Other notable holidays infrequently have slametans, and Satu Suro
Satu Suro
Satu Suro is the first day of the Javanese calendar year in the month of Sura , corresponding with the Islamic month of Muharram....
, the New Year's Day (1 Muharram
Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited...
) is celebrated by those who are self-consciously anti-Muslim. Because these dates are shared by everybody, it is common to attend slametans for many of one's neighbors in succession. For this reason, they tend to be relatively small, and particularly based on the principle of inviting neighbors.
Communal feasts
The bersih désa is always held in Dhu al-Qi'dahDhu al-Qi'dah
Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu'l-Qadah, or Dhu al-Qi'dah is the eleventh month in the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months in Islam during which warfare is prohibited, hence the name ‘Master of Truce’.- Timing :...
(Sela), the eleventh month, on different days according to village tradition. This slametan is given at the place of burial of the dhanyang
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...
désa, the guardian spirit of the village. In santri
Santri
The Santri are a cultural 'stream' of people within the population of Javanese who practice a more orthodox version of Islam, in contrast to the abangan classes....
villages, it may take place at a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
and consist entirely of Muslim prayers. For this type of slametan, all families in the village are expected to contribute food, with the adult head of each family obliged to attend.
Personal feasts
Geertz's final category of slametans, intermittently occurring and dependent on a specific situation, are somewhat less frequent and tend to be smaller affairs. Reasons for holding these slametans include changing residences, changing names, going on a journey, bad dreams (it can prevent the fearful event), prevention or encouragement of rain, anniversaries of clubs and organizations, sorcery, healing, and others.Further reading
- Andrew Beatty. "Adam and Eve and Vishnu: Syncretism in the Javanese Slametan" The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Jun., 1996), pp. 271-288
- Alexander Hawkins. "Slametan in South Kalimantan" in Creating Indonesian Cultures, Paul Alexander, ed. Sydney: Oceania Publications, 1989.
- Jan Newberry. "Rituals of Rule in the Administered Community: The Javanese Slametan Reconsidered." ModernAsian Studies. Published online January 2007
- Mark R. Woodward. "The "Slametan": Textual Knowledge and Ritual Performance in Central Javanese Islam." History of ReligionsHistory of religionsThe history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago in the Near East. The prehistory of religion relates to a study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the...
, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Aug., 1988), pp. 54-89