The Indonesian
government requires its citizens to carry a national identity card, the Kartu Tanda Penduduk, or KTP.
When applying for the card, each citizen must indicate (along with quite a bit
of other data) what religion they embrace. An example is the Javanese Muslim
who yet firmly believes in the existence of Indian deities and indigenous folk
heroes portrayed the popular wayang kulit shadow play, as well as in a host of goddesses,
ghosts, spirits, demons and genies said to inhabit his world. Yet almost
anywhere you go in Java, you will hear the call to prayer amplified by what is
left of the loudspeakers at the top of nearby mosques.
Since everyone in
Java feels the omnipresence of Islamic rhetoric and imagery, and is well aware
of the religion embraced by their neighbors, in order to maintain rukun (social harmony), many people who do not observe the
religious obligations of Islam nor have received any religious instruction will
indicate Islam as their religion. This gives rise to the notion of the most
nominal of Javanese Muslims, the "Islam KTP" or "Islam statistik'. But while the statistics claim that Java and
the nation of Indonesia is well over 95% Muslim, it begs the question of what
variation of religious belief exists within that large category. In fact, there
is no verifiable single source of Javanese Islam, or a single Javanese
interpretation, style or practice of Islam.
As is generally known
following the four caliphs or successors to Muhammed, in 661 A.D. the governor
of Syria challenged Ali for the caliphate. As first Ali and then his son Husayn were assassinated, control of the caliphate passed
from the hands of Muhammed's followers in Medina. The Persian segment of Ali's
supporters reacted to his murder by renouncing the main body of Islam to become
Shi'ites. Here, the privileging of the state of martyrdom was instilled early
on, and a doctrine of divine right developed which invested the person of the imam
or religious leader of a mosque with divinely sanctioned authority and power;
in addition to being the guide to the community-- their religious leaders were
also seen as heirs and interpreters of religious knowledge into the distinct
Shi'ist law and theology. Thus the more orthodox Sunnis claimed to follow the
way of the Prophet and to majority of Indonesian Muslims belong exept that many have also been influenced by Sufism.As is known, Sufi’s used to believe that they
can attain enlightenment and knowledge of or ultimately union with God through
concentration on mystical practice one that we still find in Java today. This
includes Dzikir chanting, trance dancing, and
asceticism to bring on a state of ecstatic spiritual meditation that they
believe will produce a relationship (and a blurring of the boundaries) between
the individual self and God not unlike certain ideas of Gnosticism exept in this case inspired by philosphy’s
deriving from what is now called India and whereby Sufi’s observe the five pillars of Islam.
A discussion of Islam
in Indonesia usually begins with speculation on how it arrived in the
archipelago, and why it was embraced by such a majority of the population. And
where some historians and anthropologists claim that Islam came to Indonesia
through ordinary Muslim sailors and traders, and that through commerce that
commenced in port and coastal cities, conversion followed contact—others think
it was brought by wandering Sufi artisans, scholars and teachers, who brought
various mystical and cultural elements of Southern India. Obviously
The second
explanation is favored by those who focus on mystical aspects. Fact is there
are few if any reliable historical sources from the period that document any
details of how Islam came to Java and how it spread. Most likely however it was
introduced to Java around the 14th century, and that transition to Islam was a
gradual process. (Woodward 1989:54 and 1996; Hefner 1987). Today in turn, most
practicing Indonesian Muslims are considered to be part of two organized
movements that started in the early 20th century. The organizations
Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (N.U.) early on
attracted the comparatively well-to-do urban, educated, middle class.
Muhammadiyah doctrine
argues the necessity of a return to the original fundamentals of the religion
as laid down in the AI Qur' an and the hadith,
stripped of the embellishment of culture and „corrupt" syncretic practice,
using the original texts to guide orthodox praxis in today's modern world. They
seek to interpret Allah's commandments, translating the original into something
that is faithful to the original intent of the commandments, but is meaningful
to the time and circumstances of their life. (For example, calculating into
modem currency the cost of a fine for sinning, which may consist of a camel, or
freeing a slave. For more on this, see Noer 1973:303)
They will quote the hadith about the fellow that was constantly praying in the
mosque in two different versions: Muhammed asks the nuin,
when he brags about his fervency, who is taking care of his family while he. is
worrying about his own afterlife, and reminds him of his obligations in this
world; or he asks the man's friends who provides him with food and water, and
when they answer that they do, declares that they are more pious than he. They
are also quick to remind you about the hadith which describes those things you
can take with you into the afterlife, or the things that. truly count for
religious merit: the useful things you teach to others; the useful things that
you help build for the community (such as mosques, schools, or roads), and the
good works and intentions of a good and faithful child. They defend the Islamic
tradition as it has developed in Java, which includes Javanese (arguably
pantheistic) traditional cultural practice and values, and they endorse the
legitimacy of Javanese traditional rituals such as selamatan,
and rites such as mini-pilgrimages to Javanese keramat
graves.
Nahdlatul Ulama in turn, tend to believe in the saintliness of
kyai religious leaders, and accept the kyai's word as unquestioned law. They
direct their attention to achievement of personal perfection as preparation for
the afterlife. N.U. members will focus on doing the right thing-which means how
things. have "always" been done in Java, without interference from
the West- guarding their personal life t~ insure staying on the right path, and
maintaining a fierce loyalty to their kyai. "Despite wide variations in
practice and belief, there is no organized schism, such as between
traditionalist and modernist camps. To the contrary...the unifying factor is a
willingness to make concessions in order to maintain social harmony in the
neighborhood" (Beatty 1999:156).
In fact in East
Javanese, many Muslims do not identify themselves as staunch members of either
Muhammadiyah or Nahdlatul Ulama, and only
occasionally find themselves in the midst of a controversy based on the
conflicting teachings of these two schools of thought. Differences in ideas
about proper death rites, burial practice or the way to calculate the beginning
or ending of the fasting month will occasionally cause a bit of friction within
a family or a neighbourhood, but usually the Javanese
Muslim, in good Javanese tradition, will seek the path of rukun,
and go along with whatever the majority in his area considers to be good
praxis. Distinctness of character of their belief or difference in styles of
their praxis however, does not in any way indicate physical separation of
individuals. Those nominal 'identity card' Muslims, have selected Islam as the
least contentious of the five major religions that are options on the national
identity card, KTP. This style may not include observation of the pillars of
Islam, but as a friendly and sympathetic Javanese seeking rukun,
congenial praxis will demand participation in any form of community Islamic
activity: praying in public on big Islamic holidays, visiting and asking
forgiveness of friends and neighbors at the end of Ramadan, participation in
community mutual building or helping activities, and attendance at selamatan when invited, with a bowing of heads and
muttering under the breath as if praying along when Islamic prayers are chanted
in Arabic.
The close quarters of
the physical conditions in which they live in villages or urban low-income
kampung make community a force in every family and the life of every
individual, and in order to maintain rukun, the
semblance of an Islamic stance or the barest observation of Islamic social
responsibilities and religious practice are adopted. Like the Madurese
villagers described by Beatty, congenial praxis takes care to cause no offence,
and to conscientiously participate in openly Islamic events: Indeed, many would
find a conscious hostility to Islam both socially embarrassing and personally
disturbing, therefore unconducive to slamet"
(Beatty 1999:120).
Woodward found that
in Central Java "(m)any kejawen Muslims who do
not attend the Friday prayer or fast during Ramadan, will do so if they happen
to live near a mosque" (Woodward 1989:8). I did not find this to be the
case in Malang. Congenial praxis does not require fasting during the month of
Ramadan: fasting is seen to yield "Javanese (rather than specifically
Islamic) benefits, such as tranquility, security, and self-mastery. These
benefits are sufficient justification for ritual observance: there is no need
to delve deeper into the nature of scriptural authority" (Beatty
1999:120). However, congenial praxis requires an abstention of eating in public
during the fasting month so as not to disturb those who are fasting, and
although it does not require daily prayer, this style of conformity and
conflict avoidance will require quiet during the daily times for prayer, and
avoidance of activities that might otherwise disturb people who are praying.The giving of zakat might be encouraged, but
usually those of this orientation are poor enough that they are eligible to
receive it.
Congenial praxis does
not include a harboring .. a desire to go on the haj. Ritual observances of
circumcision, marriage and mortuary rites in this orientation may combine
Javanese tradition with Islamic flair. Congenial praxis presents no set ideas
about the nature of pahala (religious merit), may
even include skepticism about the afterlife, or the need for prayer, as so
clearly stated by Beatty's informants (Beatty 1999: 153-154). Typically the
context of congenial praxis results in education and experience limited to the
daily life of the village or kampung low-income neighborhood. Thus, those who
espouse this style of Islam might own a copy of the AI Qur'
an, but if they do it was probably a traditional gift at circumcision or
marriage; they did not read it. Yet the central principle of this style of
praxis is orthodoxy which is ironic. In fact they are driven by a sense of duty
and fear of sin; sure, unswerving and obedient to what they are taught about
religion by parents, schools, and especially kyai. Coriscientious
praxis is intolerant of unbelievers or people who sully the faith, and demands
a rejection of what is said to or suspected to be syirik
(polytheistic or animistic)-kaffir, sin, or sacrilegious. For example, Chinese
restaurants. Or hotels are anathema because there may be pork in the food and
certainly are places for sinful assignation. This manner of praxis Produces
piety, and as Beatty observed "(f)or the pious.. .Islam is a system of
ritual prescriptions rather . than a coherent and explicit system of beliefs,
an ethical code or a cosmology. Among the few who are willing to discuss
doctrine, one quickly comes to a bedrock of unquestionable axioms and
idiosyncratic speculation"(1999:121). A number of very small splinter
groups exist that practice forms of Islam that may be following tradition or
custom from other country‘s, tend to be more
conservative, and are more active in missionizing. For example, Ikwanul Mulsimin, whose women
wear full Arab hijab veils and black gloves; or Al Irsyad,
which attracts mostly ethnic Arab Javanese.
Regular performance
of prayers, keeping the fast, well, religiously, and strict observance of other
(sometimes apocryphal) tenets define conscientious praxis. This orientation is
common in the kauman, the area near the central mosque
of the town, near the "Arab Quarter" in for example Malang (E.Java), where traditionally the orang alim, the Islamic
faithful, have lived for generations, going to the same mosque for most of
their lives. This style of Islam encourages the wearing of obviously Muslim
clothing, but the women who adopt this style won't necessarily cover their head
outside the home unless they have gone on the haj. Conscientious' praxis
encourages very generous and regular giving of zakat-not public, showy,
organized charitable activity, but quiet personal acts of private generosity.
However some families with'this orientation may be
poor enough to receive zakat. Conscientious praxis strongly promotes the haj,
both in terms of the performance of religious duty and the prestige it will
bring the in individual believer in their community. Within the community,
being seen to perform this vital and traditionally dangerous duty generates
respect for the status of hajji or hajjah. It is an
important rite of passage: before the pilgrims depart on the haj, friends arid
family take leave of them ritually, and they are feted upon their return. This
mode of belief finds value in a death in Mecca; if someone dies while on the
haj, and especially in the holy city of Mecca, they are considered particularly
blessed. Ritual observances of circumcision, marriage and mortuary rites may
also combine Javanese tradition with Islamic flair, as do trips to the graves
of the wali sanga or nine „
apostles of Islam" who some say brought Islam to Java. Conscientious
praxis condones a relentless pursuit of pahala.
Typically the context
of conscientious praxis results in extensive religious learning. With more
education, more money and more opportunity for experience outside the kampung
or village than those who embrace congenial praxis, conscientious praxis is
self-limmiting in what its practitioners experience
or read, and relies on kyai to set standards for thought and behavior. Custom
this context encourages frequent quotes from the Al Qur'
an or other religious utterings in daily secular speech, and veneration of
books, especially books on religion. Families who adhere to this style of Islam
read the Al Qur'an frequently, but didn't usually understand Arabic-they may
have learned the meaning of the surahs in Indonesian, but they chanted their
prayers and read from the Al Qu'ran in Arabic. They
usually had an old Al Qur' an handed down from their
parents, or brought home from the haj by a close friend or family member.
Although convivial praxis is requires the serious observation of all the five
pillars of Islam, it also allows finding fun in being a Muslim and in Muslim
fashion (elaborate busana Muslim outfits, hats and
embroidered clothing), including little Muslim- electronic gadgets, like a
watch or cell phone that beeps five times a day when it is time for prayer and
includes a compass set to indicate the direction of the Ka'bah.
Convivial praxis does not demand that women cover their heads, but custom in
this context would make it likely that a head covering would be worn if they
have made the haj, and an infinite variety of headscarves-plain, patterned,
embroidered, emblazoned with sequins and small glittery stones-are usually made
ready for every outfit or occasion. Convivial praxis promotes an enthusiastic
payment of zakat; and also often involves the organization of the distribution
of zakat for their local mosque or neighborhood. In fact the active
participation in consumer culture and an awareness of patterns of local culture
and tradition were also readily observable. And supports a tendency to read and
own popular books on religion, (as well as some secular fiction and possibly
non-fiction) or owned several AI Qu'ran selected for
their beauty or convenient size (such as little travel-size volumes with
zippered covers that would fit in a purse).
Kyai: The Muslim
Advisor (interpretar of the H.writings
to lay people).
Most kyai are
available for consultation throughout the day and into the late evening hours,with the exception of during the times set aside for
the five daily prayers, and during the traditional afternoon rest period.
Whereby the Kyai from East Java we observed, had a tendency to use the less
formal, more intimate lower levels of the Javanese language with their local
clientele. While the client almost always begins by addressing the kyai in high
Javanese as a sign of respect and deference, the conversation tends to drift
into the lower register that the East Javanese use on a daily basis, especially
when the client is discussing him- or herself and her family. Yet, the words
used to express agreement with what the kyai says and to take leave again, are
always from the high Javanese krama lexicon.
The kyai's word. is
treated as gospel; his interpretation of doctrine is considered unassailable;
and his advice rarely elicits debate. The client may express doubt about
whether or not they possess the strength of will or batin
to perform what the kyai prescribes; they may discuss their inability to accept
what the kyai assures them is God's will. But actual argument almost never
erupts, as the kyai tells the Muslim client what she or he knows in their heart
to be true, and reiterates reassuringly familiar doctrine in a powerfully
persuasive language. The style of the kyai varies, but a kind yet firm
paternalism is the commonest tone, wherein the kyai can condemn the sins that
may have led to (social and/ or physical) disorder or disease and commend the
client to a course of action-usually prayer and ritual seeking of
forgiveness-that (God willing) will dispel dis-ease. The kyai furthermore can
also prescribe folk medicines.
Jordaan quotes a joke he says is popular among doctors, about
the ignorance of Madurese villagers: the villager goes to see a doctor, who
gives him a prescription for some medicine. Several days later the man returns
to the doctor, and says the prescription really worked...but the punch line
comes when the doctor realizes that the man did not exchange the written
prescription for medicine at a pharmacy, but instead soaked the paper in water
and drank the water, a practice the doctor (and the modem interlocutor) sees as
suspect, a superstitious, amusingly ignorant technique predicated on the power
of suggestion (and frequently used by kyai). You can see his version of the joke
in Jordaan 1985:175. And incidently,
kyai’s do occassionaly give a written rajah amulet to
dip in water for a patient to drink the amulet water of. However, the clientele
of the kyai is not limited to the isolated, uneducated villager, easily duped
by anything that smells of the sacred. Those who resort to a kyai however, will
also include many of the urban faithful who simply believe in the potency of
prayer and the efficacy of the iconography of Islam.
As the ‚clinical‘
encounter in this case begins, small talk with the kyai sets a relaxed tone, as
the kyai is reassuringly welcoming, friendly and understanding. His manner is
soothing, and even before treatment begins his clients are visibly less
anxious. The move from the secular world of questions about relatives and jobs
and residences, and what seems to be bothering the patient is gradually made
when the kyai begins to comment on the problems and offer his advice, again,
often based in sacred scripture. Mansurnoor found
that the main treatment offered by kyai on the island of Madura Oust off the
east coast of Java) are prayers and amulets (1990:222). Today kyai’s frequently
will forbid people certain foods or activities, and recommend certain kinds of
food or drink, fasting, or ritual observance or sacrifice. And yes one still
also sees kyai‘s give patients amulets, to place in water to drink, to place on
their body or to post on the home.27 but above all they will pray. The kyai may
pray over the patient, and others may join him in that prayer. He may prescribe
specific prayers to be performed at particular times of the day, or for a
certain number of repetitions. It seemed to me that cures requiring prayer that
involved the laying on of hands became less and less popular since the early
1990s, when a couple of kyai were accused of sexual harassment of young female
clients. Thus unlike the dukun who frequently massages, pokes, grasps, even
licks his or her patients, the curing techniques of a kyai rarely involve touch
today.
Sometimes the kyai
will give extensive advice in addition to curative prayers, amulets and
spiritual prescriptions. Whether he chooses to instruct through indirect
anecdote or references stories from the Hadith or the AI Qur'
an, the advice is often very practical, specific, and comprehensive, and can
take quite a while to transmit. In fact a curing sessions with a kyai can be
lengthy, requiring an hour or more with each client. Very popular kyai and ones
that hold large-group consultations or curing sessions place more emphasis on
serving clients more quickly.
While few
kyai‘s specialize in mental illness following phrases tend to
repeated (translated from the Arabic, Javanese or Indonesian):
o Everything is in the hands of God
o Give up your burden and turn it over to God . Pray with me (by
announcing" AI Fatihah")
o We are all just human, none of us is perfect
o We are all sinners, just human
o God is merciful and compassionate
o God does not give us any burdens that are too much for us to
bear
Yet the kyai
prescribe differing cures. Examples; in case, of a child who had been having
bad dreams, while awake shrieking, losing weight and hair, had no
desire to eat, and had developed red spots-hives or a rash-on her torso.The kia asked the child what her dreams were. He
asked her about her bedroom (she slept with her parents) and about any
conflicts that might have happened with anyone at her preschool. He asked if
she had done anything bad, such as stealing anything, or hurting anyone. He
asked if she had urinated anywhere in the house where people prayed, or in a
mosque (somewhere other than the bathroom). He asked if she had cursed God, or
her parents. The child was mostly quiet, and like Javanese parents do, the
parents answered most of the questions put to the child, and answered, them
negatively. The kyai finally began to ask the parents questions about what had
been done with the placenta when she was born, and what kinds of ritual
obligations had been performed to appease the "siblings" that had
been born with their daughter. rrus referred to the
belief that a person is created in the womb with one or more (typically four)
siblings, manifested in/the physical world in the placenta, amniotic fluid,
blood, vernix and/ or umbilical cord. The placenta is buried by the entrance of
the baby's home and covered with a basket, and some kind of lantern or electric
bulb is rigged to light the area for forty days or so after it is buried, to
alert someone if an animal attempts to dig it up. From conception until after
death a person is believed to be in the company of these siblings or
companions, and these siblings will protect if treated well; if not, they may
create a variety of problems. The kya determined that
the parents had neglected the siblings of this little girl: the baby was born
in the least expensive, most crowded ward of a large general hospital during
one of the extremely busy "baby seasons". that follow nine months
after the two auspicious months for marriage, and the placenta was misplaced.
The siblings were angry, he said, and making the little girl sick. He laid his
hands on the patient's head, praying to Allah to protect the girl from any
further harm, gave the parents a rajah written amulet to hang in their bedroom
over the bed, and told them to ask forgiveness of the siblings, and ask them to
be kind to the little girl. They must chant dzikir
every night in their house with neighbors for one month, to pray for the
siblings and the little girl, and must feed some orphans in the name of the
siblings. They must also plant a black bamboo in the comer of the yard where
the siblings could dwell happily outside the house, and to protect from further
disturbance. The family left, still looking very serious, after the parents
kissed the kyai's hand, and the patient appeared unchanged.
The next case
involved a dirty, dishevelled, stinking patient in
his early thirties who was silent, escorted by his distraught young wife. After
some brief introductory small talk, the wife recounted the patient's
three-month downward spiral of despair and physical deterioration. The man had
stopped communicating with others and would not go back to work; he would cry,
but would or could not explain to his wife why he was crying; he did not eat or
sleep well, and would not bathe regularly as had been his custom. The kyai
prayed over the patient immediately, and the man raised his head and began to
cry. As the kyai asked him questions in low Javanese, he would respond briefly,
quietly, in the same. His wife looked on in fascination, and repeated several tUnes to the kyai that she had not been able to elicit a
verbal response from him for more than a week. She began to cry as well. The
kyai coaxed from the man an explanation: on the construction site where he
worked he and another worker had fallen from the bamboo scaffolding on the
second story of the building they were plastering; his friend died, and he just
had the wind knocked out of him. He felt an enormous sense of guilt and somehow
felt responsible for the accident. He came home' as quickly as possible from
the other island where he was a contract worker, and was afraid and ashamed to
return to work. The kyai assured the man that everything was in God's hands,
that as humans we cannot understand the mystery of God's works, and it was a
form of hubris to think that he was responsible when only God determines when
we are born, when and who we marry, cind when we die.
The man cried harder, and said that his friend was drinking alcohol, and so was
he- in fact he encouraged his friend to drink, and he felt that the alcohol
contributed to the fall that caused his death. The kyai asked if the bamboo
broke. No, the patient said. How did he fall?, the kyai asked. He was handing his
friend a bucket, and his friend's flip-flop broke when he leaned over to accept
the bucket, and so he slipped, and the patient tried to catch - grabbed him for
a moment, and fell too. The kyai told him he was very brave, and that we have
to continue to be brave and go on, because God expects us to. That he needed to
forgive himself, since God certainly forgave him. He explained to the wife that
the patient had had a shock, but was just fine; he was just a quiet person like
the kyai, and had become serious with the adult knowledge that comes with
understanding of the world and the responsibility of being a good person. He
told the man to try to find his friend's widow or parents, and tell them all
the good things he could remember about his friend, see how they were accepting
the death, and learn from their example. He told him to bathe and eat to keep
up his strength and health, and to remember his responsibility to his own
family. He should seek work closer to home, and return to work as soon as he
could, and if he didn't want to do the same kind of work anymore, find some
other honest work. And above all he should pray - for
the strength to accept, for forgiveness, for the will to go on, to give thanks
that he is alive and that he can keep his friend alive in his memory.The patient and the wife left. After only
thirty-five minutes with the kyai, the patient looked visibly more animated,
made eye contact, spoke and shook hands while taking leave, and even smiled.
The wife kissed the kyai's hand, and gave him an envelope as she took her
leave, and found to contain 20,000 rupiah.
The third case was a
woman who had recently lost her baby of just over seven months of age in a bus
accident. She pulled at her clothes restlessly, smiled incessantly, and keened
heartbreakingly when 'the subject of her baby was broached. After a couple
minutes of small talk and fifteen minutes or so of intensive questioning of the
patient and the family members who brought in the woman (sister,
brother-in-law, husband, and mother) in various levels of Javanese, the kyai
determined the patient was possessed since she had spent too long with her mind
idle, daydreaming of the baby. Because of her obvious distress and
unwillingness to let the baby go, the baby was still with her, trying to make
her feel better, and not moving on as he should. He instructed the mother to
burn all the baby's things-toys, bedding, clothin and
feeding utensils-and then to bathe, while praying and ordering the baby to go
with God. She needed to do good works, to keep her mind busy all the time, to
pray extra prayers, in addition to performing her regular five daily prayers.
She was instructed to make packets of five-colored jenang
rice cakes, pray a particular prayer over them and distribute them to her
friends and neighbours. The kyai also told. her that
after the selamatan ritual feast held forty days
after the baby's death, she had to take food from that selamatan
to the baby's grave, along with some water and dirt from her home to leave at
baby's grave so baby would kerasan, or feel
comfortable there... but at the same time he told her to keep telling the baby
to move on, to let him go, to help him give up this earthly existence. The
woman grew increasingly agitated, until, despite the stern injunctions of her
family members, she began to wail and tear at her hair. At this point the kyai
stood over the woman, firmly grasped her right hand in his, and in laud,
ringing tones cast out the spirits he felt were inside her. "No, no,
no!," she screamed, in low Javanese, and thrashed in her chair. The kyai
continued his imprecations, invoking the help and mercy of God. As he began
loudly chanting prayers in Arabic from the AI Qur'
an, the family members joined him; the noise drew some of the kyai's household,
who drifted in from behind the living room, and some people waiting' on the
porch began peering through the windows, and soon all were praying. The woman
stiffened, fell to the floor, and exhibited pronounced trembling and jerking of
the limbs, as her tongue lashed her lips and her teeth snapped. Everyone prayed
on, while asking her husband if she had ever had seizures before, and he shook
his head no. He crouched beside her, and held her ankles, to keep her bare feet
from drumming on the concrete floor. Suddenly she arched her back, stiffened
all over, and then relaxed, sweating, into unconsciousness. For several minutes
the kyai kneeled and prayed over her, as she lay apparently senseless. Then he
stood, and asked someone to bring water and a cool cloth for the woman, and as
her mother bathed her face and neck, the kia sat back in his chair and
talked about good mothers from the AI Qur' an and
hadith, about how heaven is to be found at the feet of mothers, and how God is
forgiving. The kyai declared her cured: the bad spirits were gone, he said, but
he said she would be weak and vulnerable for a while and they must mind what he
said about keeping her mind busy and helping her to dwell on restful good
works. He gave her some water in a plastic water bottle and a paper filled with
Arabic characters, and he instructed her family to feed her the water in sips
over the next two days and to post the paper above her bed. He asked the family
to bring her back in three days, to let him see how she was doing. The woman
eventually was helped to sit up, and slowly stand, and leave; she appeared
dazed, and uncommunicative, but no longer smiling vacantly or pulling on her
clothing, and she left behind the child's toy she had been clutching throughout
the introductions and the first part of the interview. The kyai picked it up
when they were gone, and called his wife in, instructing her to burn it
immediately in their garbage pile. The entire session lasted an hour and
fifteen minutes, and the kyai was not paid, although everyone kissed his hand
as they took his leave, and the husband apologised,
saying he didn’t know how they were ever going to repay him.
Clearly the
relationship with a kyai is more patriarchal or patronage rather than purely
commercial. The kyai usually will refer mentally ill patients whom they are
unable to help to mental hospitals; although few psychiatrist or doctor talk
about referrals from dukun. Thus it seems that the emphasis on personal
efficacy and individual potency that is key to building the reputation of the
dukun makes it harder to admit that they are unable to help a family, and the
lack of the kind of long-term ties with a family that often are developed with
a kyai makes it easier for families to simply seek out another curer on their
own if they do not find a good fit (and thus a cure) from a particular dukun.
Further there are
ties with Western psychotherapy in Indonesia, like (in their own way)
discussion of causes of illness symptoms, encouraging expression of feelings,
providing support, and discussing actions that would promote reconciliation.
Less holy than wise, more secular than sacred, the kyai can counsel and help
inform the clients about the power of prayer, but his role as a mediator in the
production of ritual and rajah amulets is not a mark of individual prowess, but
more a function of technical religious knowledge that he has absorbed. Unlike
the dukun who works to return order to the disorderly world of supernatural
forces, the kyai will treat, what is considered the inner and outer person, as
it exists within the social order, and will prescribe that which will return
the mental patient or the otherwise-troubled patient or family to the orderly
coexistence with their local community. Thus Kyai are seen by their clients as
mediators between the ordinary Javanese and Allah, conduits for a kind of
sacred power. But unlike dukun, kyai do not appear to try to control that
power.
Psychiatry and Beliefs in Indonesia P.1
Psychiatry and Beliefs in Indonesia P.2
Psychiatry and Beliefs in Indonesia P.4:
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