Serawai's Animism

Based on the stories of the elders, the Serawai tribe originates from an ancestor named Serunting Sakti with the title Si Pahit Lidah. Apart from that, there are also those who think that Serunting Sakti is the child of an illicit relationship between Puyang Chief Jurai and Putri Tenggang. Putri Senggang is the daughter of Rajo Megat, who has 2 children, namely Rajo Mawang & Putri Senggang.

After that, Putri Tenggang gave birth to a daughter who was named Putri Tolak Merindu. After Putri Tenggang gave birth to a daughter who was named Putri Tolak Merindu, a marriage took place between Putri Tenggang and Puyang Chief Jurai, and this was done after Putri Tolak Merindu was able to walk and speak. In Majapahit, Serunting Sakti asked for an area/territory to live in.

It is said that Puyang Serunting Sakti exploded/fired a small cannon, the size of an adult's calf towards the west whose bullets were made from gold chains. The bullet hit a banyan tree near the Tais River. Ajisman also expressed the same thing, he said that according to information from the local community, the history of the Serawai tribe originates from an ancestor called Serunting / Sepahit Lidah.

Then there is also the saying that Serunting Sakti is the child of an illicit relationship between Puyang Chief Jurai and Putri Tenggang. Although according to other sources, the two husband and wife are possibly named Rio Taun & Putri Jinar Anum who live and reside in Suka Negri & berpetulai Jurukalang. Because if it is said that it came from the daughter of Senggang/Tenggang, it is not possible like the story above, because it is known that Princess Senggang, daughter of Rajo Megat, married Biku Bermano.

That means that the original inhabitants of the Serawai community must have had their ancestors from Rejang, namely Rejang Lebong. However, based on our interview with the chairman of the Seluma Regency Traditional Institution, namely Mr. H Bustan Dali, he said that the Serawai tribe came from Pagar Alam, from Plang Kanidai Pagar Alam, South Sumatra, their ancestors came from Lubuk Spang before entering Lahat in the 13th century. That was the beginning of the ancestors of the Serawai people from there to immigrate here, there were 10 people who were the first to immigrate here.

There we found that Prince Dayok was a descendant of Raden Tiangalam from his father's line. Meanwhile, Prince Dayok's mother's lineage is a descendant of Raden Bangsawan. Prince is the oldest of five siblings, namely Prince Dayok, Dinuk, Tamok, Dinyok & Nazariah.

There are also the Sacred Puyang Kuat, Wajau, Gerinsing Besi, Depati Wujudan, Maraden Dewa, Sebakas / Dusun Tinggi. Ujung Tanjung is in the current Gerincing Talang Durian Village. The basis for implementing character education in schools is implicitly stated in the 2005 - 2025 RPJPN.

Like here there are people from Java, but they still follow the customs here, we know that where the earth is stepped on, there the sky is upheld. In general, the Serawai people are Muslims, but their daily lives are still heavily influenced by animist beliefs. This can be seen from several types of animist ceremonies that they still carry out, such as the mendangkat & nuruni ceremonies.

Thus, the spirits of the rice plants did not leave their fields & crop failure occurred. Evidence of Islam in this tribe is that there is a writing found in the ancestral grave of Semidang 4 Dusun which is located in Maras, Talo. The writing was written on bark using letters that resemble ancient Arabic letters.

This native Indonesian nation takes an oath referring to a testimony / confirming the truth of something in an official forum, such as witness testimony in court & an oath of office which is taken with the determination to carry out their duties well. As a violation of the oath, for people who are unable to carry out one of the 3 provisions above, they are obliged to fast for 3 days. This event was set when the Najran Christians rejected the truth of the story of Jesus Christ told by Muhammad, precisely in the year 10 AH.

According to the 27th night of Ramadan, it is based on the explanations & experiences of previous scholars that they often find the night of Lailatul Qadar on the night of Nujuh Likur. As for the specifics, the tradition of Malam Nujuh Likur in the Serawai tribal community was brought by ancestors who came from the Malacca Strait, Malaysia & moved to Serawai. Burning starts at 19.00 WIB & this provision is mandatory.

And this is a common thing for this tribal community in Ulak village, Bandung. According to Mr. H Bustan Dali as Chairman of the Traditional Institution in Seluma district, in the past, the ancestors were Hindus, and even now there are still people who make & give offerings. The offerings are closely related to animist beliefs.

Animist belief is a people's belief in the spirits of their ancestors. People believe in the presence of ancestors in this world who always supervise human life & to respect the existence of their ancestors. The implementation of the first Nujuh Likur night brings offerings of meaning as a form of respect for the ancestors which aims to seek blessings, safety & so that the village is safe, the second stage is installing a lamp, the lamp contains the meaning of symbolizing a bright soul and in general view the tradition of installing lamps is also for lighting, while According to belief, it is used to provide light for spirits/people who have died to return home.