"Nasi Jodang" an Expression of Gratitude on the Slopes of Mt. Muria

Kompas/Winarto Herusansono

Teenage girls from the Creative Arts Community participate in the sedekah bumi (earthly offering) parade at Gunungsari village in Tlogowungu district, Pati regency, Central Java, on Thursday (10/8/2017). During the annual tradition, residents share meals with each other, and watch tayub dances and ketoprak theater performances. They also sacrifice a buffalo, whose meat is distributed among the villagers.

Four tayub folk dancers swayed their bodies to the sound of traditional gamelan music at the Rakatarup solitary retreat on the slopes of Mt. Muria in Central Java. Around them, a variety of local dishes and earthly produces were displayed on several jodang (teak containers), signifying their gratitude for the Creator, and a prayer to drive away bad luck and disasters.

Tayub is both an obligatory ritual and an art performance. It is said to have been requested by the danyang (ancestral spirits). Other than the tayub performance, there is also the ketoprak theatrical performance and a village carnival parade. The sedekah bumi (earthly offerings) is a tradition in Gunungsari village, Tlogowungu district, Pati regency, that has been preserved for hundreds of years.

“Through the sedekah bumi, residents of Gunungsari express their gratitude to the danyang and the earth that has housed them. It is also a prayer for our safety and to drive away perils,” Karjani, 70, a Gunungsari village elder, said on Thursday (10/8/2017).

Residents were enthusiastically participating in the sedekah bumi rituals. When the traditional folk song “Pecel Lele Kembang Kemangi” was played, eight farmers danced joyfully with the four tayub dancers. The dancers did not look tired at all, despite having entertained locals at the village hall the night before.

Edy Prayitno, 34, a resident of Gunungsari’s Pangonan hamlet, and hundreds of others patiently awaited their turn to dance with the tayub dancers. They each took their turns while waiting for village officials to arrive.

Joy was in the air. Residents collectively donated between Rp 50 million (US$3,748.13) and Rp 70 million. Traditional dishes nasi jodang and nasi ancak were donated by the more financially stable residents. The village administration funded the tayub and ketoprak performances.

At the courtyard of the solitary retreat stood six man-made trees adorned with hundreds of sticks with colorful paper. On the tree branches, various earthly produces are attached. Traditional nasi bancakan (sega ancak) dishes surround the trees.

The colorful trees, called pucak, signify the residents’ joy of having a safe village and abundant earthly produces. The harvest of fruits, coffee and vegetables continue to increase.

Vegetables and side dishes included buffalo curry, fried fish, grilled shrimp, stir-fried bean sprouts and fried tempeh and tofu. There were also ketan dodol (a fudge-like sweet made from glutinous rice) and bunches of locally harvested bananas.

“All the dishes served during sedekah bumi have meaning. The colorful trees, called pucak, signify the residents’ joy of having a safe village and abundant earthly produces. The harvest of fruits, coffee and vegetables continue to increase,” said Rakatarup solitary retreat caretaker Karjani.

Scrambling for jodang

Despite the sedekah bumi ritual reaching its peak on Thursday, the event started on Wednesday morning. Locals began by eating together and sharing the nasi ancak with others. In the afternoon, the tayub dance was held and it went on until the evening.

On Thursday morning, there was the carnival parade and, afterwards, a ritual in which locals scrambled for nasi jodang and various meals at the Rakatarup solitary retreat.

The tradition is also a way for locals to share with their neighbors, believing that they will be blessed if they manage to nab a portion during the scramble for nasi jodang.

Rahmadi, 56, from nearby Jepara, participated in the scramble.

“I will not eat the rice. Instead, I will scatter it across my fishpond, where I have bandeng [milkfish]. Hopefully, I will have a good harvest like last year,” he said.

As morning turns into noon, the peak of the sedekah bumi ritual began. Village elders and officials donned the traditional Javanese beskap dress and belangkon headwear, and they joined with the locals at Rakatarup. With their wives and family members, they stood in front and took turns in dancing with the tayub dancers.

Just outside the arena, impatient residents began to take the ornaments from the pucak trees, such as the bananas or the nasi jodang. After the modin [mosque caretaker] finished leading the prayer, hundreds of locals scrambled for the offerings.

Gunungsari hamlet head Sudadi, 58, said that this year’s sedekah bumi was livelier as there has been a larger harvest. Many locals planted coffee and mangosteen. In Pati, the village is known as the village of thousands of mangosteen.

According to Sudadi, the village saw a good harvest of Robusta coffee this year. Coffee is priced at Rp 6,500 (48 US cents) per kilogram, while the coffee beans cost between Rp 25,000 and Rp 26,500 per kilogram.

Sudadi said that he harvested more than 3.5 tons of coffee beans this year.

“We hope the coffee harvest will keep getting better,” said Sudadi, who also heads the Forest and Village People Organization, which comprises 400 farmers who work the land belonging to state forestry company Perhutani.

KOMPAS/WINARTO HERUSANSONO

Residents participate in a parade at Gunungsari village in Pati regency, Central Java, on Thursday (10/8/2017) as part of the sedekah bumi (earthly offering) ritual taking place at the Rakatarup solitary retreat in Pangonan hamlet, Tlogowungu district. As part of the tradition, participants scramble to grab souvenirs from a pucak (man-made tree adorned with colorful decoration). Successfully grabbing the souvenirs is believed to bring a good and profitable harvest.

Driving away bad luck

Other than signifying gratitude, sedekah bumi also serves as a prayer to drive away bad luck and danger from the village. Situated on the slope of Mt. Muria, the village has a steep topography. Many parts of the village are situated right below a steep slope that can slide at any moment.

Gunungsari has been declared a landslide-prone area in Pati. In the past, two or three landslides have occurred. However, in the last five years, the scale of such disasters has decreased.

“Lately, landslides only occur near the village road. Residents have made efforts to reforest landslide-prone areas. We also believe that the sedekah bumi ritual is an important part of driving away bad luck, including landslides,” Karjani said.

Gunungsari acting village head Luki Pratugas Narimo said that the village focused on efforts to tackle landslides. Many homes are located below cliffs between four meters and six meters high and are yet to be reinforced with concrete walls. During heavy rains, there is still a huge possibility that a landslide will occur and bury the houses beneath the cliffs.

“We have fewer landslides on farmlands now. This is thanks to residents’ awareness on working the land. They plant perennials, such as mahogany, sengon [legume] and kapok trees to prevent landslides,” Luki said.

Harmony between people and the environment on the slopes of Mt. Muria is implemented through the local initiative to preserve the environment. The Rakatarup solitary retreat, for instance, is a prioritized preservation effort as the site has an underground spring that can fulfill the residents’ daily needs.