Grebeg Tengger, an Expression of Gratitude towards Nature

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Tengger residents and community leaders carry offerings to the Sendang Widodaren spring in the tourism park.

Taking cues from the tale of the goddess Dewi Mudrim, the Tengger people faithfully hold the Grebeg Tengger Tirto Aji customary procession as a form of respect towards nature. As locals protect nature, water springs in Tengger continue to flow and sustain people’s lives.

The early dry season sunshine on April 12 was quite intense. Under a copse of trees, seven female dancers, symbolizing seven angels, approached Malang Deputy Regent M Sanusi who was standing near the Widodaren water spring inside the Wendit Tourism Park in Mangliawan village, Pakis district, Malang regency, East Java.

Sanusi then scooped water with a bailer and poured it into a small terracotta jug, which the dancers had brought. The water was then given to the representatives of seven local villages to take home.

The holy water ritual has always been the culmination of the Grebeg Tengger Tirto Aji procession held by the Tengger people. Around 600 people took part in the procession, most of whom came from Ngadas, Poncokusumo and Pandansari villages in Poncokusumo district. Others came from Pasuruan and Probolinggo.

Like in previous years, the Grebeg Tengger celebration began at the tourism park’s gate. The parade was led by Tengger shamans and cultural leaders Sutomo and Senetram. Also attending were Legen who brought the perapen (incense burner) and Wong Sepuh who brought floor mats.

Behind them came the jempana (offerings), comprising nasi tumpeng (a yellow rice cone) and the gunungan (piles of fruit, vegetables and other crops), carried on an ongkek (a bamboo palanquin). Some of the nasi tumpeng was thrown into Sendang Widodaren while the rest was consumed by locals who also scrambled for the gunungan at the end of the celebration.

“This is an annual ritual for the Tengger people, apart from the Yadnya Kasada ceremony in Bromo and the Karo holiday,” said Ngadas village head Pujianto, 45.

Pujianto uses the water given to him during Grebeg for various purposes, including sprinkling them on potato seeds before planting.

To the Tengger people, water is a source of life and they believe that sprinkling it on seeds will bring about bountiful harvests and keep pests at bay.

Another Ngadas local, Gunarto, 39, agreed with Pujianto. Gunarto and his family attended the Grebeg ritual and took photos of the procession.

In the new millennia, the Grebeg Tengger Tirto Aji ritual reaffirms that, in the face of changing times, the Tengger people still remain loyal to their ancestral traditions.

“Apart from collecting water from Wendit, the Tengger people also take holy water from the Widodaren cave in Bromo. Locals collect the water dripping from stalactites. Usually this is done every Thursday afternoon (on the eve of Jumat Legi on the Javanese calendar), instead of once a year like in Wendit,” Gunarto said. The Tengger people believe that the spring in Wendit has its source in the cave.

Respect water

Gunarto said Grebeg Tengger is a form of gratitude towards The Creator and a form of respect towards nature, especially water.

The life of the Tengger people is inseparable from water. Almost all of their rituals -- including healing, agriculture and ceremonies -- are water-related. “Because water is abundant, nature around Ngadas is relatively protected. Springs flow freely as the water catchment areas are well-maintained,” he added.

The Tengger people live within the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park where customary rules are followed to protect nature. In Ngadas, for instance, whoever is found guilty of cutting down a tree is required to replace it with 1,000 seeds. They have to find the seeds on their own.

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Dancers symbolizing angels perform during the Grebeg Tengger Tirto Aji procession in the Wendit Tourism Park, Pakis district, Malang regency, East Java in mid-April.

Gunarto said three individuals were found were found guilty of cutting down an acacia tree inside the park five months ago and were punished through customary law. The Tengger people deem it to be more effective and it directly benefits the people.

What are the origins of the Grebeg Tengger ritual? Locals believe that it is related to the myth of the goddess Dewi Mudrim who is the sister of Roro Anteng and the wife of Joko Seger. The name Tengger itself is derived from mixing the last names of Roro Anteng and Joko Seger.

Grebeg event organizer Bambang Supomo said Dewi Mudrim was said to unmarried and devoted to her people. Driven by her wish to see the Tengger people prosper, she spent her days meditating in the Widodaren cave in Bromo. During her meditation, Dewi Mudrim continuously wept until one day Sang Hyang Widi (God) asked her to stop meditating.

Sang Hyang Widi then asked Dewi Mudrim to no longer cry and to find her tears that had fallen on the ground. She was then told that the land on which her tears fell would be fertile. Dewi Mudrim then strived to find her tears and she found it in Wendit. “The process of finding the water is known as grebeg,” Bambang said.

The Malang regency administration said the tradition was part of local culture that should be preserved.

Sanusi said the regency administration strived to promote local culture to support tourism.

The Tengger people are famous not only in Indonesia, but also abroad. Since 2013, the Grebeg Tengger procession has been combined with various tourism activities involving the local government. “The Tengger people have a tradition of preserving their culture, supported by beautiful nature. This potential must be preserved to support tourism,” Sanusi said.