Kerinci's Animism

Radiocarbon dating shows the activity of the modern Kerinci tribe around 15,000 years ago. Evidence of their presence is found at the Bukit Arat & Koto Pekih sites, where Neolithic tools and red slip pottery were found. Paleoecological evidence around Lake Bento also shows Austronesian presence there as indications of rice farming & buffalo grazing activities.

The central position is in Renah Salambuku. In the 14th century AD, Maharaja Dharmasraya from the Malayu Kingdom in Hulu Batanghari bestowed the Book of Constitution on the Dipatis in Silunjur Bhumi Kurinci. It is written using the Incung script which is part of the Rencong script group along with other local scripts in Sumatra such as the Ulu letter, Rejang & had Lampung.

Their population system is based on a group of peruts originating from a common ancestor called the kelbu. This means that the tribe/clan is determined from the mother's lineage to the first female ancestor. The luhah consists of an association of clans due to ancestral kinship ties.

For example, Siulak Mukai Hamlet is inhabited by 3 luhah, namely Depati Intan, Singado & Paduko Rajo. Loose findings in the form of bronze statues of Awalokisterwara & Dipalaksmi in the Colonial era indicate the existence of Hindu-Buddhist influence in this region. At that time, the people of Kerinci still adhered to animism & dynamism beliefs.

According to Hafiful, animism is an ideology that contains belief in ancestral spirits. Kaltsum et al revealed that animism is a system of worship of ancestral spirits. The grave of the ancestral founder of the village called jihat ninek, is still frequently visited to place offerings and kill sacrificial animals.

Apart from that, Kerinci people also believe in the existence of a spirit called spirit & safety which influences a person's health and safety. They believe in ancestral spirits, supernatural things & mystical objects. They often perform rituals to summon these spirits.

Also expressed by tradition are beliefs known as animism & dynamism. In traditional societies, ancestral relics/inheritance are considered very valuable heirlooms. In animism, humans are associated with animate creatures, especially supernatural beings/spirits who are believed to have supernatural powers compared to humans as a category.

Apart from that, Kerinci people also believe in the existence of a spirit that influences a person's health and safety. They believe in ancestral spirits, supernatural things & mystical objects. They often perform rituals to summon these spirits.

Also expressed by tradition are beliefs known as animism & dynamism. In traditional societies, ancestral relics/inheritance are considered very valuable heirlooms. In animism, humans are associated with animate creatures, especially supernatural beings/spirits who are believed to have supernatural powers compared to humans as a category.

For example, Siulak Mukai Hamlet is inhabited by 3 luhah, namely Depati Intan, Singado & Paduko Rajo. Loose findings in the form of bronze statues of Awalokisterwara & Dipalaksmi in the Colonial era indicate the existence of Hindu-Buddhist influence in this region. At that time, the people of Kerinci still adhered to animism & dynamism beliefs.

According to Hafiful, animism is an ideology that contains belief in ancestral spirits. Kaltsum et al revealed that animism is a system of worship of ancestral spirits. The grave of the ancestral founder of the village called jihat ninek, is still frequently visited to place offerings and kill sacrificial animals.

Apart from that, Kerinci people also believe in the existence of a spirit called spirit & safety which influences a person's health and safety. They believe in ancestral spirits, supernatural things & mystical objects. They often perform rituals to summon these spirits.

Also expressed by tradition are beliefs known as animism & dynamism. In traditional societies, ancestral relics/inheritance are considered very valuable heirlooms. In animism, humans are associated with animate creatures, especially supernatural beings/spirits who are believed to have supernatural powers compared to humans as a category.

For example, ancestral spirits, spirits who are believed to control nature, rivers, water sources, mountains, etc. The essence of the understanding of animism that has been explained is the belief that every object on the face of the earth such as mountains, lakes, caves, oceans, and graves has a soul that must be respected & upheld so that the soul does not disturb humans, even in life. This can help them in living their daily lives. Apart from that, people believe in sacred places and inanimate objects such as ancestral graves, necklaces, and so on.

As seen in the asyeik ceremonies, pelaho & ceremonies at the graves of ancestors. The Kerinci tribe performs aseik & pelaho rituals related to relationships both with ancestral spirits and with these supernatural creatures. Asyeik, asyek / tarei asyeik is a traditional ceremony to summon the spirits of ancestors in the Kerinci ethnic group, Jambi.

This ceremony has existed since prehistoric times & the Kerinci people at that time still adhered to animist and dynamism beliefs. This ceremony consists of many ritual stages that can last for days, even a week. However, since the 1950s, this ritual has been carried out shorter, namely from sunset to sunrise.

At the peak of the ritual, a dance will be performed accompanied by mantra poetry and traditional instruments until one of the dancers is possessed by an ancestral spirit. Sometimes, uhang jadoi can be directly possessed by ancestral spirits. The community believes that possession occurs as a sign of the presence of ancestors and as a moment of communication with the unseen world.

They are believed to have been appointed by their ancestors through dreams to guide their people. In 2016, the fun ceremony was designated as one of Indonesia's intangible cultural heritage. In the period before the arrival of Islam in Kerinci, the ancestors of the Kerinci people adhered to animism.

Before the arrival of Islam, they believed that it was the spirits of their ancestors who gave people help if they performed certain rituals to make wishes. In an interview with source Buya Maher Toni, he said that before the arrival of Islam, the ancestors of the Kerinci people were friends with supernatural beings in the form of genies, they often performed rituals to summon the genies & spirits they believed in. Before the arrival of Islamic teachings in Kerinci, the community adhered to animism & dynamism beliefs.

The spread of Islam was carried out by preachers from Minangkabau. After the development of Islam in Kerinci society, slowly the Kerinci people, who at that time still believed in the spirits of their ancestors, were reformed by the Islamic faith. The struggle of the ulama who at that time tried hard to change the habits of the Kerinci people who were used to dealing with spirits & genies.

Even though they are devout followers of Islam, the Kerinci tribe still adheres to their belief in ancestral spirits. Even though Islam has now become the religion and belief of almost all Kerinci people, the culture that is derived from previous predecessors can still be clearly seen in every traditional ceremony, such as the summoning of spirits which are believed to be the spirits of ancestors, belief in heirloom objects which are can give blessings etc. Instead, this ritual was held in the month of Muharram / Safar, in the Hijri calendar.

This article examines the traditions of animism & dynamism in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung community. This article attempts to explore elements of the tradition of animism & dynamism found in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung community. Based on the research carried out, we found that the people of Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung still believe in & practice the teachings of their religion and the traditions of animism and dynasty.

What we found, animism which includes asyeik, pelaho ngambik aman, ngayun luci, connecting letters, janem, mutik smen, nahan ayi ujan, while the dynamism is tangkan & place ninek. There is the same research as ours, only we don't discuss the pelaho tradition in depth, apart from that we also focus more on what traditions/beliefs of animism & dynamism exist in Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung. Sodri, for example regarding kenduhi sko, kenduhi sko, that is, after an abundant rice harvest in Central Lempur, a traditional ceremony is held called kenduhi sko.

Considering that the people of Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung adhere to Islam, rituals/ceremonies related to animism & dynamism are still carried out through traditions that developed in Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung. Such a reality is certainly very interesting to study scientifically in order to reveal the traditions of animism & dynamism that still exist in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung community. Furthermore, the object of this research is the tradition of animism & dynamism that still exists in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung community.

The Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung people believe in ancestral spirits & things related to dynamism, animism, and megalithic traditions. Hafiful explained that the people of Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung still practice dynamic traditions, such as rituals for the menhirs of their ancestors, they go to sacred locations called jihat / ninek places. It is known that the people in Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung adhere to Islam, but still believe in supernatural powers other than humans and even still practice the traditions of animism & dynamism in some communities in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung area.

Based on the description presented above, it can be concluded that some of the people of Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung to this day still maintain traditions that are contrary to the teachings of the Islamic religion, such as the asyeik of worshiping the spirits of ancestors using several offerings & also their daily lives are colored by beliefs. mythical. The majority of people in the Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung customary jurisdiction area adhere to Islam, however, despite this, the traditions of animism & dynamism mentioned above are still carried out by some people, which of course is in conflict with the Islamic religion that the community adheres to. Even so, there are some people in Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung who have begun to abandon things that smell of animism & dynamism, because this is strictly prohibited in the Islamic religion.

In this case, Islam as a religion prohibits such things & the ulama who understand Islamic teachings play a very important role in changing the Kerinci people who previously believed in spirits, genies & heirlooms to become Muslims and practice Islamic teachings. As time goes by, traditions/rituals related to animism & dynamism are now starting to be abandoned. This has also received criticism from religious leaders that traditions must be abandoned because they conflict with the teachings of the Islamic religion, but some people have abandoned many traditions related to animism & dynamism.

To eradicate the notion of animism & dynamism to the stage of purifying the local community's beliefs. With the development of today's sophisticated era, there are some people in Tigo Luhah Tanah Sekudung who are starting to abandon things related to animism & dynamism.