Kejawèn
Kejawèn or Javanism, also known as Kebatinan, Agama Jawa, and Kepercayaan, is a Javanese cultural tradition, consisting of an amalgam of animistic, Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic aspects. It is rooted in Javanese history and religiosity, syncretizing aspects of different religions and traditions.
Definitions
The term kebatinan is being used interchangeably with kejawèn, Agama Jawa and Kepercayaan, although they are not exactly the same:- Kebatinan: "the science of the inner", "inwardness", derived from the Arabic word batin, meaning "inner" or "hidden".
- Kejawèn: "Javanism", the culture and religious beliefs and practices of the Javanese people of Central Java and East Java. It is "not a religious category, but refers to an ethic and a style of life that is inspired by Javanist thinking".
- Agama Jawa: "The Javanese religion"
- Kepercayaan: "belief", "faith", full term: Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, "Believer in One Mighty God". "Kepercayaan" is an official cover term for various forms of mysticism in Indonesia. According to Caldarola, it "is not an apt characterization of what the mystical groups have in common". It includes kebatinan, kejiwan and kerohanian.
History
Java has been a melting pot of religions and cultures, which has created a broad range of religious beliefs, including animism, spirit cults, and cosmology.Hinduism and Buddhism
influences came firstly in the form of Hinduism, which reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as the first century. By the fourth century, the kingdom of Kutai in East Kalimantan, Tarumanagara in West Java, and Holing in Central Java, were among the early Hindu states established in the region. Several notable ancient Indonesian Hindu kingdoms are: Mataram, famous for the construction of the majestic Prambanan temple, followed by Kediri and Singhasari. Since then, Hinduism, along with Buddhism, spread across the archipelago and reached the peak of its influence in the fourteenth century. The last and largest of the Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires, that of the Majapahit, influenced the entire Indonesian archipelago.Hinduism and Buddhism penetrated deeply into all aspects of society, blending with the indigenous tradition and culture. One conduit for this was the ascetics, called "resi," who taught a variety of mystical practices. A resi lived surrounded by students, who took care of their master's daily needs. Resi's authorities were merely ceremonial. At the courts, Brahmanas clerics and pudjangga legitimized rulers and linked Hindu cosmology to their political needs. Presently, small Hindu enclaves are scattered throughout Java, but there is a large Hindu population along the eastern coast nearest Bali, especially around the town of Banyuwangi.
Islam
Java adopted Islam around 1500 CE. Islam was first accepted by the elites and upper echelons of society, which contributed to its further spread and acceptance. Sufism and other versions of Folk Islam were most easily integrated into the existing folk religion of Java. The learned versions of Sufi Islam and Shari`a-oriented Islam were integrated at the courts, blending with the rituals and myths of the existing Hindu-Buddhist culture. Clifford Geertz described this as abangan and priyayi; "the lower class and elite varieties of Javanese syncretism".The Kyai, the Muslim scholar of the writ, became the new religious elite as Hindu influences receded. Islam recognises no hierarchy of religious leaders nor a formal priesthood, but the Dutch colonial government established an elaborate rank order for the mosque and other Islamic preaching schools. In Javanese pesantren, The Kyai perpetuated the tradition of the resi. Students around him provided his needs, even peasants around the school.
Christianity
Early 16th century, Christianity was brought to Java by Portuguese traders and missionaries, from the Dutch Reformed Church, and in the 20th century, also by Roman Catholics, such as the Jesuits and the Divine Word Missionaries. Nowadays there are Christian communities, mostly Reformed in the larger cities, though some rural areas of south-central Java are strongly Roman Catholic.Theosophy
Kejawèn is also influenced by Theosophy. Theosophy was a very popular religion among Dutch residents in the Dutch East Indies in the early 20th century. Also, many influential Indonesians joined the Theosophical Society. The Theosophical Society "played a role in the growth" of Kejawèn in the early and mid-twentieth century, and several kebatinan groups were founded by Theosophists. The kebatinan Budi Setia group, founded in 1949, considered "its formal transformation into a theosophical lodge".Islam and kebatinan
Although the overwhelming majority of the population of Java is nominally Muslim, kejawen, the syncretic Javanese culture, is a strong undercurrent.Some Javanese texts relate stories about Syekh Siti Jenar who had conflicts with Wali Sanga, the nine Islamic scholars in Java, and the Sultanate of Demak.
With the Islamisation of Java, there emerged a loosely structured society of religious leadership revolving around kyais, Islamic experts possessing various degrees of proficiency in pre-Islamic and Islamic lore, belief, and practice. The Kyais are the principal intermediaries between the village masses and the realm of the supernatural. However, this very looseness of Kyai's leadership structure has promoted schism. There were often sharp divisions between orthodox kyais, who merely instructed in Islamic law, with those who taught mysticism and those who sought reformed Islam with modern scientific concepts.
As a result, the Javanese recognize two broad streams of religious commitment:
- Santri or putihan are those who pray, performing the five obligatory daily ritual prayers. They are more orthodox in their Islamic belief and practice, and oppose the abangan, whom they consider to be heterodox.
- Abangan, "the red ones", who do not strictly observe the Islamic rituals. They have mixed pre-Islamic animistic and Hindu-Buddhist concepts with a superficial acceptance of Islamic belief, and emphasize the importance of the purity of the inner person, the batin.
Ernest Gellner has developed an influential model of Muslim society, in which this dichotomy is central:
Bruinessen finds this too limited and distinguishes three overlapping spheres:
- Shari`a-oriented Islam,
- Sufism,
- The periphery of local rituals, local shrines, local spirit cults, and heterodox beliefs and practices in general.
- The Islamic scholars in Java have been trained in curricula that were geared toward social conditions of two or three centuries ago, lacking the ability to impart the spirit and sense of Islam;
- The inability to summarise the principles of Islam in understandable basic points that can be applied to daily life;
- Kebatinan can be learned and understood without the need to learn Arabic.
Characteristics
Aim
Kebatinan is derived from the Arabic word batin, meaning "inner" or "hidden", or "inner self". It is a metaphysical search for harmony within one's inner self, connection with the universe, and with an Almighty God. Kebatinan believes in a "super-consciousness" that can be contacted through meditation.Beliefs
Kebatinan is a combination of metaphysics, mysticism, and other esoteric doctrines from Animistic, Hinduistic, Buddhist, and Islamic origins. Although the Javanese culture is tolerant and open to new religions, only those qualities accepted and filtered fit into the Javanese culture, character, and personality. Javanese ideals combine human wisdom, psyche, and perfection. Followers must control their passions, eschewing earthly riches and comforts, so they may one day reach enlightened harmony and union with the spirit of the universe.According to Choy, the Kebatinan have no certain prophet, sacred book, nor distinct religious festivals and rituals. Nevertheless, various kebatinan-movements have their foundational writings and founders.
A kebatinan practitioner can identify with one of the six officially recognized religions while still subscribing to the kebatinan belief and way of life.