Betawi's Animism

The Salakanegara Kingdom adheres to the religion left behind by its ancestors, so it is inevitable that the Betawi people also adhere to & believe in the faith of their ancestors. In prehistoric times, the religious culture that was adhered to was animism/dynamism, where they adhered to animism/dynamism beliefs. The beliefs of our ancestors teach about power, which is, above all, power in this world.

At the end of the 5th century, the Hindu Kingdom of Tarumanagara was established on the banks of the Citarum River. Precisely, the location of the Kingdom's capital was on the banks of the Candrabhaga River, which Poerbatjaraka identified with the Bekasi River. The presence of Indians in Betawi land destroyed the animist belief system - the dynamism of the ancestors & replaced it with Hindu Buddhism which slowly became the new belief of the Betawi people.

Dewi Sri, according to Hindu mythology, is the Goddess of Prosperity. During that time trade with China had advanced. In the 7th century, the Tarumanagara Kingdom was conquered by the Buddhist Sriwijaya Kingdom.

During Sriwijaya's rule, the Malay population arrived from Sumatra. Malay was initially only used in coastal areas, then spread to the foot of Mount Salak & Gede. Around the 10th century.

Peace was achieved, and control of the sea was divided into 2, the west starting from Cimanuk was controlled by Sriwijaya, and the east starting from Kediri was controlled by the Kediri Kingdom. The religious roots of the Betawi Malay community until the 12th century AD adhere to animist/dynamism beliefs. Starting from the 13th century AD, they began to abandon animist beliefs and convert to Islam which was spread by preachers who came to Bandar Kalapa.

The VOC bought many slaves from the Balinese rulers because at that time the practice of slavery was still going on in Bali. In everyday interactions, they more often refer to themselves based on the locality where they live, such as Kemayoran, Senen / Rawabelong people. Farmers & planters are also commonly practiced by Kemanggisan residents.

The village which is now better known as Kuningan is a place for dairy farmers. Apart from that, there is also the Kampung Sawah community. However, gradually this community split into 3 in 1895.

However, there are still many regional and river names that are still maintained in Sundanese, such as the words Ancol, Pancoran, Cilandak, Ciliwung, Cideng, etc. which still correspond to the names described in the ancient Bujangga Manik manuscript which is currently kept in the Bodleian library. , Oxford, England. A student at the Quro Islamic Boarding School named Nyai Subang Larang was married to Prabu Siliwangi. From their marriage, Kian Santang was born, who later spread the religion of Islam.

The shift from animism/dynamism to Islam was possible because the intensity of the preaching delivered by its preachers reached all corners of the Betawi Malay community's settlements. It is admitted that there are remnants of animistic/dynamistic religious culture that are still inherent in the Betawi community in carrying out certain activities. Even though there are still elements of animism/dynamism religious culture in Betawi society, such as burning incense, this does not essentially lead to supernatural powers.

The remaining cultural elements of animism/dynamism in thought patterns, and non-principled ritual practices, are the result of the cessation of the religious learning process, even though religious learning in Islam is determined from the mother's cradle to the grave, especially learning about monotheism. However, they still often perform animist rituals, especially when they enter places that are considered haunted. On the other hand, the Betawi people still have a legacy of animism which can still be seen today in Betawi weddings, every time a wedding celebration is held, usually, those who have the intention first hold a ritual accompanied by giving offerings, so offerings are always placed in the 4 corners of their house's yard.

Likewise, the roof of the house is believed to provide food for other spirits who inhabit the village / the spirits of their ancestors.