Cirebon's Animism

This article results from research on animism & dynamism beliefs in Cirebon Muslim society. The results of this research will attract the younger generation's interest to become more familiar with ancestral traditional culture, and be used as a reference/reference source for future researchers studying the same study. The history of this province began with the loss of the port of Cerbon from the Sunda Kingdom due to the influence of the Demak Sultanate.

Cirebon has its own language, but in the Gegesik sub-district, each village has its own dialect. In prehistoric times, long before humans knew writing, humans had beliefs that were animistic & dynamistic. People at that time also believed in dynamism & animism.

What is meant by animism & dynamism? In the An English - Indonesian Dictionary, animism is called animism which means the soul of objects. Meanwhile, according to Mariasusai Dhavamony, animism, as explained by EB Tylor, has two meanings.

First, animism can be understood as the principle of religious human belief, attaching the soul to humans and also to all living creatures and inanimate objects. The second meaning, animism can be viewed according to the theory defended by EB Tylor & his followers, namely as the idea of ​​the human soul as a thought regarding psychic experiences, especially dreams. Mariasusai Dhavamony defines the term animism as the origin of religion.

He also quoted the views of EB Tylor who coined the term animism to refer to all forms of belief in sentient beings. Through the classical sequence comes pre-animism which includes magic & fetishism, animism, then religion. Thus, according to the principles of belief & tradition, this has encouraged the development of animist behavior.

From the description above, the main problem in this research is why does the Cirebon Muslim community believe in the tradition of animism & dynamism? Animism is the belief in spirits that inhabit all objects. The belief that objects, plants, animals, and even humans have spirits is known as animism.

Animism has different meanings but has similar aims & objectives. Animist belief is a system of worship of ancestral spirits. According to animism, spirits live in the spirit world located on top of the mountain.

For the majority of people, these beliefs/rituals of animism & dynamism are at the very core of worship itself. Differently in Cirebon, most of the people believe in animism in a different form, where they feel they are always surrounded by invisible forces, namely spirits, so what they feel encourages them to carry out rituals with the aim of pleasing these spirits, This means that these astral creatures do not hate people and on the other hand get help and assistance from these supernatural creatures. They asked for blessings so that they would not be disturbed by evil spirits.

If you don't do this, the spirits will give you trials that will harm the owner of the house. If you don't do this, it is believed that the spirits will give you trials that will harm the owner of the house. The spirit has supernatural powers called mana.

Apart from belief in ancestral spirits, they also believe in other spirits who occupy spaces that are then sacred, such as in caves, mountains, dense forests, large trees, etc. They also believe that such spirits can control their lives & bring more harm to humans if they are not cared for properly. Because of the belief in the power of stones/trees, around them, worship arose of places/objects that were thought to be inhabited by spirits.

This worship ritual is believed to increase goodness and blessings, some think that the worship is carried out so that the spirit inhabiting the object does not disturb it. Therefore, people believe that this spirit has very powerful and willful power, where when the spirit is angry it can threaten humans, and if it is happy it gives blessings & benefits to humans. Because of the belief in the power of the stones/trees around them, worship arose of places/objects that were thought to be inhabited by spirits.

This worship ritual is believed to increase goodness, some think that worshiping objects is so that the spirits that inhabit them do not disturb them. Apart from that, if you believe in the spirit of a deceased person, people who worship can get healing from illness or avoid disaster. However, if you don't believe in the spirits of your ancestors you will be tempted.

When you don't worship the ancestral spirits, these deceased spirits will disturb those who are still alive. The spirit/soul in humans is called life. However, if a human dies, the spirit leaves the body forever.

Spirits that leave the human body forever are called spirits. Therefore, they are respected, as are our ancestors. Thus, beliefs emerged that worshiped the spirits of ancestors.

For the majority of Cirebon people, these animistic & dynamistic beliefs/rituals are the core of worship itself. Usually, so that the relationship with the spirits of ancestors is well maintained, statues of ancestors are made for worship. At that time, our ancestors were more familiar with the belief in life after death.

For them, pure religion is a belief in their ancestors. Other forms of rituals & beliefs can be found in Cirebon. What was the belief system of pre-literate humans, who were their ancestors?

What is meant by life in an unlimited world here is that they believe that ancestral spirits can see when someone makes offerings. So, when faced with a traditional/cultural event, even if they are asked to bring a cow & its pen, they can do it, especially in the name of their ancestors. This cannot be separated from social strata, where if someone wants to be seen by society, they must be able to sacrifice to the spirits of their ancestors.

There is a strong understanding that if you do not believe in ancestral spirits, it is assumed that your prayers will not be answered. Another tradition that is quite interesting to us is the minority Muslim community in Cirebon who still adhere to their ancestral beliefs. To avoid the threat of these spirits, people hold rituals led by shamans.

The shaman's job is to persuade the spirits by burying animals whose heads were previously cut off and then thrown into the mountain when a volcano erupts. Apart from animism, dynamism also appears. Ismail comes from the Greek word dynamis, meaning strength, power & usefulness.

Likewise, the belief in animism & dynamism in Cirebon society has existed for centuries before the arrival of Hinduism, Buddhism, Protestant Christianity, Catholicism, Islam & Confucianism. Belief in the above spirits which are considered to have a positive impact is in line with Hindu tradition. Where God is believed to be able to give blessings & generosity, to protect oneself from evil spirits and disasters until the ancestral spirits finally become worship.

Even though the majority of the community is Christian, the belief in ancestors before the arrival of Christianity until the arrival of Islam still continues today. When the Catholic and Christian religions arrived, local people did not forbid them from worshiping the spirits of their ancestors. This is understandable because it is a transitional belief from the Protestant/ancestral religion.

When confirmed, Tohir said that around 1996, previously there had been a transition period where 3 groups were fighting for each other's rights, namely struggling to establish power. One village that still adheres to its ancestral beliefs is Astana village, Gunung Jati District, Cirebon Regency. According to Salim, in making contact with spirits, some people can do it themselves, such as praying rituals to spirits/ancestors to get protection.

According to Mujahid Abdul Manaf, people believe that living humans, as well as animals, plants & other objects, are inhabited/controlled by the power of the spirits of dead people/evil spirits of jinn. According to the beliefs of the Cirebon people, it is the God of the Earth & the spirits of the ancestors who are closer to humans. So it can be found that this factor also influences people to continue carrying out rituals of worshiping spirits because this belief has become ingrained in them.

According to Amiruddin, people carry out rituals of worshiping the spirits of their ancestors in their daily lives, so these spirits are believed to have a positive impact in the form of blessings for those who worship them. From the description above, it can be understood that belief in ancestors is ingrained in the people of Cirebon. So it can be found that this factor also influences the people to continue carrying out spirit worship rituals because this belief has become ingrained within them.

Tomb pilgrimage is praying for deceased ancestors, if the bride and groom are still descendants of the Cirebon Palace, usually before the wedding ceremony takes place, the bride and groom will make a pilgrimage to the grave of Sunan Gunung Jati & the ancestors of the King of Cirebon at the Cirebon King's Funeral Complex Astana Gunung Jati to get approval. According to the community, the practice of bathing in 7 wells has been carried out since the time of the ancestors who lived in Astana Village. The pilgrimage ended when it was time for noon prayers.

Likewise, the belief in dynamism, the people of Cirebon believe that spirits not only inhabit living creatures but also inanimate objects, such as rocks, large trees, spears, mountains & rivers. When someone dies, the slametan ceremony / also called tahlilan is carried out sequentially on the third, seventh & fortieth day for mendak Pisan and mendak Pino. Muslim communities continue to perform this ritual because it combines Javanese animism with Islamic religious teachings.

Apart from the village of Astana, we found research results published in the Institutional Repository of the Ministry of Education & Culture, where in Trusmi, the residents adhere to Catholicism, Islam, and Protestantism, but they still adhere closely to spirits. The location of the building components symbolically forms a flow plan leading to the main, most sacred location, namely the tomb of Ki Gede Trusmi & Pangeran Trusmi in the northern courtyard of the site. Based on the symbolic meaning found, as well as the hundreds of tombs scattered throughout the site area, it clearly shows a mixture of Islamic buildings that were influenced by previously existing local culture, namely animism and Hindu Buddhism.

As for the form of belief in dynamism, the people of Cirebon believe that spirits not only inhabit living creatures but also inanimate objects so spirits are found in rocks, large trees, spears, mountains & rivers. In fact, people believe in God, but their habit is to put themselves down by worshiping an ancestral spirit. These various beliefs & rituals are the legacy of ancestors who still rely on and prioritize spirits and do things that are prohibited by Islam to obtain peace and safety.

Many people are Muslim but until now they still believe in animism & dynamism. When ordering prayer, how is it possible if the foundation of the faith is still fragile because there is still a transition period from animism & dynamism? This has been proven by many people who returned home because they were unable to guide them, due to the strong influence of animist and dynamism culture.

However, as the problem above was experienced by a preacher, the process of degradation of the faith that has been experienced so far has experienced a shift, where Muslims in Cirebon still believe in animism, because they follow the flow of that culture. The two basic principles above are in line with the theory of James George Frazer, a devout Protestant Christian from Glasgow Scotland. As a religious figure, at least Tohir has a target if developing Islam is quite difficult because the transitional creed originates from the ancestral itiqad religion which is still strong/believed in by the older generation of Muslims.

It was said that when he arrived in the village he was sick from 10 am until the afternoon prayer call. According to local beliefs, people are given the disease so that they remember their ancestors. Based on his itiqad, stance & belief as a strong Muslim, he ignored other people's advice so that he followed customs, namely worshiping his ancestors, so that the illness he experienced would be healed.

It is also hoped that the cadres will not easily follow the rhythm, that is, fall back into / be suppressed by the original culture of their ancestors, because in this way the interests of society are much stronger than religion itself.