ÜNt; has but to tUl'll one s back upon the tOWllS built by foreigners on the malaria-strieken coast, and penetrate some little way into the interior of Java, to understand why its ancient inbabi-tants have given the country its name of "the Land of the Riee.
'rhe whole island i one vast rice-field. Rice on the wampy plains, rice on the rising ground, ri ce on the slope l'ice 0 the very ummits of the hms. From the sod UIlder on 's feet to the verge of the horizon, everything has on and the same colour, thc bluish-green of tbe young, or the gold of the ripened
229
li'cwls au(Z Jl'uncie. ahoul JCtcet.
r~ce. T~e natives are all, without excep-tIOn, tlllers of the soil, wbo reckon tbei~ lives by season of planting and
~eapmg, wbose bappiness or misery
IS synonymous with tbe abundance or the dearth of the precious grain. And the great national feast is tbe harvest home, with its rowning ceremony of the Wedding of the Rice.
In order to proximately understand the meaning of this strange rite, it should be borne in mind that a Javanese similar in this respect to the
ancien~
Gt'eek, believe all nature to be endued with a semi-divine H~. To bim a tree is liot a mere v getable, nol' a rock a mere mass of stone, nor tho ea a mere body of water, auy more than he reO'ard a human being a JU r aggreaate of flesh blood, and bone. A hidden
princ ipI~
of life, invi ible, imponderable, and powerful for good or evil animates the eemingly-inert matter. In tbis ense, a Javanese believes in tho soul of a plant Ol' rock ahnost as he believes in
230
PtIh'i Pefl,ga/lt~'n-Th~ Wedding of the RiCil.
the soul ofabuman being. And this80ul he endeavours to propitiate with prayers, libations, and offerings of fruit and flowers. Hence, come the frequent altars under oid waringin-trees, among who se branches the tutelary genius ofthevillage, the Danhjang dessa, is believed to dweIl;
and the solemn sacrifices whicb the searchers af ter edible birds' nests offer to Njai J ... oro Kidoel, the maiden goddess of the southern seas, wbo has ber shrine on tbe rocky soutb coast. Hence, too, arise tbe rites and ceremonies counected with the cultivation of the rice-plant, which they believe is animated by the soul of Dewi ::lri, the Javanese Demeter.
Of these ceremonies, tbi of the Wedding of tbe Rice is the mo t important. J will try to describe tbe way it is cele-brated. As soon a tbe owner of a field se es his rice l'ipening, ho goes to the du-klln-sawab, literally the "medicine-man of the field," and con uIt him a to the day and hour when it wW I e meet to
231
Fact, arril Fancielf MOUt Java.
begin the har vest. 'fhis, to a Javanese, is a most important matter, and one which it requires all the astrological, necromantic, anel cabbalistic knowledge of the dukun-E3wah to settIe ; for tbere are many unlucky day in the Javanese year, and any enterpri e begnn on such a day is doomed to inevitablc fallure.
Af ter long aml intl'icate cal 'ulations, into which the cabbali -tic nllues cor-responding to the year, the month, the week the day, and the hour enter, an acceptable date i at Ja, t llxed upon by the dukun-sawah, on whi'h the selec-tion of the Hice-Bl'ide and Bridegroom is to take plat .
On tbe appoint d day, lmving first s lemnly con~ "'I'Htecl Lh Ij ld by walk-ing rOllnd it \\ith a blind lil f burning rice-straw in his hand, and bl' the planting of tal! glagah- talk tL each of tbe fouL' corner, invokillO' 1) 'wi ,'ri as he does 'o-the dukllO arrives, anel begius to sear'h for two staD, of I'i exact!y e lualinlengthandthi kn ·":R.:llldarowing
232
r",~'i Peng",n~n-TM Wetllling of the Riee.
near eacb otber. Wben these are f~und, four more are bunted for, two paIrs of hsolutely similar ears of riee. The first :ouple are tbe Bride and Bridegroom i tbe fonr otbers the bridesmaids and tbe
"best men," (if tbe term may be used to designate what tbe Frencb caU garç~ns d'honneur.) These couples are no~v tled.
tO<Tether as they stand, with stnps of
°l leaves' and tbe dukun invokes
p a m · . .
011 them the blessing of Dewl . r\. Then 11 n.ddresses the Rice-Bride and t~e
IUce-Bridegroom, asking them, each 10
turn, wbether they accept eacl~ other .no hllsLand and \Vife: and answermg agam. Thc marriage now is concluded: the stalk. are smeared with tbe yellow h l'eh-lInguent, which is made of flower. , d 'orat d with garlands, and shaded rrolll the .'Ull by a tiny awning of [alm leave , whil \, tl1P o·talks round about ltre cut otr.
Now the field and lIi
dukun, 1 he owner of the family, and all those who
233
Faet~ attd Fa.MÎe6 about .Iava,.
have in any way helped in preparing the ceS awa h" , or p antmg the rice, sit down I . to a " Slamettan," arepast which is at the same time, a sacrifice to the a~ds and a further celebration of the
~ar:
riage just contracted, and, at the end of the banquet, the dukun, rising up, solemnly decIare that the hom of the barvest has come.
N ow, it is the kindly custom of Javanese land-owners to invite to tbe harvest-feast all who, during the past month, had taken any part, however slight, in the cultivation of the Sawah.
And, as, lInder so elaborate a system of
~gric~lt~lre as is demanded by the grow-lOg of l'l~e, these are nece sarily many, the Pan Penganten i a feast for the wbole "dessa" a weIl a~ for a inale family. The men leave th ir work"'in tbe shops or the mark et, the women lay down the sal'ong-cloth on which fOI' weeks and week they have been patiently tracing laborate patterns with wax and hlue, red, and hmwll pigment;
234
/:'(wi l!enga1den- '1'/w Weddi1"!1 of the Rice.
and all, in holiday attira and with flowers wreathcd in thei!' bair 01' stuck into a fold of their head-kerchief, repair to the ripe rice-field.
Tbe uukuu-sawall i tbe fil'st to on ter it j and, as he doe- 0, he in this wise greets the spi rits of the field:
"Oh I thou invisible Pertijan Hu-man I do not relldel' va in the labour I have bestowed upon my sawah! Ifthou do t rendel' it vain, I will hack thy head in two ! Mother ri Penganten!
hearken! do thou assembie and eaU to thee all thy children nnd grandchildren ! let them all be present nnd let not one stay away! I wish to reap the ri e. I wil! reap it with a pieee of wh tted iron.
Be not afraid, trembie not, n ither mise thine eye ! All my prayel' implore thy favOtlf and gracious protection. Al 0,
1 propo e to prepare a sacrifi ial repast, and dedicate it to the pirit that pro-tects this my sawah: and to the pirit that protect ihe fom villages nearcst
235
to this our village: and also to Leb-Saluke alld Leh-Mukalana!"
Having pl'onollneed this invoeation, he cuts oft' the ears whieh represent the Riee-Bride and Bridegroom and the.il' four eompanions: alld the l'eapel'S begin their work. The impltunent they use is best describ d a a el'oss-hilted daggel' of bamb o. having a Iittle knife inserted into the bottom of the handle:
the reapel', holding thü hilt 1n the fingers of his ri~ht han} with tht:
thumb, pl'esses tJ1P rice-stalk against the small knife, tltllS severing the ear, whieh he gathers in bi left hand: and tbus he euts off eaell t'ipe al' separately with a gestul'e a d Ii ,,,tl" a. if he were culling a Bowel'. The whole rice-harve t of Java i l'eaped in this manner.
Thelos of time may be imagined. And tbe Government has, again and again, tried to introd uce the u of the siekle and more expeditious methods. But in vain, In all things, the Javanese love to do as their fat hers did before
236
Pwri Penganlen- The Wedding of the Rice.
them: and, in this partieular matter of the reaping of the riee, their attachment to ancestral customs is still further strengthened by a reli!!;ions sentiment.
Tbe Dewi Sri herself, they believe, hav-ing assllroed the shape of a gelatik or riee-bird, that broke off the ripe ears with its bilI, taught mortals the mannel' in whieh it pleased her that her good gift, tbe rice, shollid be gathered. And, aeeordingly, her votaries to the present day do gather it thus, eulling eaeh ear separately, In theh' opinion, to use a siekle would be to show wanton dis-respect to the goddess, and a eon tempt of the precious grain, as if it were not worth gathering in a seemly ronnner: a , aerilego whieh the outraged deity would not fail to punish with famine and pestilenee. On tbe other hand, what would they gain by departing from their ancestors' honoured eustom, and adopting in its stead tbe manners of tbe men from Holland? "Time,"
287
Jlacls anit Fancies ubcnd Jnca.
--
-these men say. But th en that means nothing to a J avanese. He no more wants to " gain time" than he wants to
" gain" fresh air or sunlight. Tt is there: he has it, he wiJl always have it : it seems absolutely absurd to talk of O'aining it. . . The idea of time as an equivalent for a certain amount-the greatest possible-of labour per-formed is essentially occidental. A Javanese not only does not understand it, but he shrugshis shoulders and smile at the notion. He does not see what possible relation there can be between a day, and what these white men caU a day's work. He works, undoubtedly, in a quiet, deliberate fashion-for ju t so long as be thinks pleasant, or fit, or, when the monsoon threatens hi fields, necessary: and then he stop : and, if the task be not quite finished, weil, it may be tinished some future day. There is no cause why any ado should be made about it. Everything in time: and let us remember that
288
Pari Pengfmle'lll-The Wedding of Uw Rice.
haste is of tbe evil one.
At last, ho wever, the barvest is reaped : and the houI' has come for the Rice·
Bride and Bridegroom to repair to theil' new home. The two reapers, on whom the honoUl'able oftice of conducting them thither devolves, don theil' very finest clothes for the occasion, and daub their face with yellow boreh-unguent.
Then to the strains of the gamelan, and followed by all the reaper , men and women, in solemn pl'ocession, they carry.
the garlanded sheaves to the bOl1se ol tbe owner of tb field. Hand his wil' meet th rn in the UOOl'wa.y; and, in answ r to their (jn ti n, infol'm tbem that the hOlls i 'wept and garnish d, andthatall thing ar 'l'eadyfol'the recep-tiOll of tlte Ricc·Brid aml Bl'idcgrool11 Th e al' then taken to thc O'l'anal'y, wherc a . mali . pac " 'urroullded by serenns, allu having a 'Iean n w m~Lt UpOI1 th floor,)' pre 011 " tbe bridal
·hnluher. Thr. Bride nlld BriJ grl 111
2J9
j'(/'cu wad L,'a'/'wis8 Mout JO/ua.
and their " maids and youths of honou1'"
are introduced into th is miniature room' the other sheaves are then brought
int~
the "lumbung i 'I ( store-house) aud when the entire harvest is stored, the dukun-sawah pronounces the prayel' to the goddess Sri: "Mother, ~ri Pengau-ten j do thou sleep in this dark granary, and grant us thy protection. lt is right that thou shouldst pro vide fol' all thy childrell and grandchildrell:'
Then the door of the "lumbung" is lockelt And, during forty dny:;, it ma.)' not be oVelleu again, At tl1e end of that time, the honeymoon of the Rice-Bride aml Hridegroom is suppoiSed to be over.
Th owner of the fielJ come to thc gmnary, unlocks the Joor, and, iu 'et phras6, invites Lhe couplo to an eXClIl'-sion IIVOIl the river, saying that the boat lie' n:ady, aIld thaL the rowers kno\\' huw LO handle the oars. Taking th sheaves, he lays th m in the hollowed-out tree-trunk, which serves as a kind of mortar t'or husking the rice in: and
240
)J(tri Pe1tglmIM- '1'lte Wedlli'l~g uf ihe llice.
t.ltc WOIlIC/l, hl'inging down thcir 1011"
woodelI 1'6sllos ill a rhythllli' 'a.uence, pouw} Lhu graill. ,\IIU this is lhc oJld of Lhe Wedding of tbc Ricc.
In the Hili Country.
.\MONO othel" West 1"11 idea anel in ·titution , th Hollander have illl-purter! into./ ava that of health-re 'ort · Er twhile IUllely hill now I al' hotel' alld "p.:wilion, " IIpon their disan'lre teu ummits: l'icnic' ar hold in glad ' wh ere, a few year ago, the til1lid anto-10pe fed: and trausz' waltze have reduced to ilence the noi. y cicadas.
In th country onth and eal:lt of Batavia, in the Geueh-bills ; and, in the Preallger di tri 't, thore aro everal of these hill- tation '. There thc air i pure anti cool, av' in the month' when the hot 004 t monsooll !!corchc' the plains,
242
in Ihe IIill 0011111,'1/.
There are Tji·Panas Tji-Bodas, ~oeka
boomi, ,iindanglaya, Tjandjoer the ('.O\1n-try 1'011nr1 ahollt Bandon~, anel, ome-w!lat fnrtlter ea t, (faroet, all
("Ir
which place are ea ily acces ible from llatavia.Th hotel are /l;enerally air)', roomy, :l11d clean, if not f'legant; the foon i rairly gon I alld tbe ('!large moderate, ahnl1t fnnr dollar' a clay llH' :1\'ernc;e r"t(' t 1t1'(lugbout .Tava.
Th Preang l' di trict, ill which Garoet, Banrlol1/!, an I Tjaneljopr :tre !!oitl\:lt rtl t hl' .I( ::1I"clen of Ja\'"'' as it i!' fitly ll:Hnrc!
in morf' than onl:' 1'e~pf'd, 1'(,lllind!' the 1I':I,"oll('r
t.r
tbr Italian ilill-l'\llll1f ry.Thorc is thfl :1n1f' learn 'R, in thc pro-filcs of tbc 111 llntnin-ran r ; tlll' _:I111f'
tran pnrency
!Ir
the air, which ':l11~ •di tant obje ts to all,ear quite I1ra1'.
and eveal;; th ir C011tOU1' rat her 1 hall their modcllillg:; UlO ~al\le jewel-like sparkie in tho 'ol min"of'tlto land.rapf', in th cleal'-\'ic\\"r!l gre 1l of \'alle~' and hiJl-side, in 1 he rhangeflll lmes of th/' watpI', anti in tl1P I lil opHI :md
:?4:~
re eate violet of j,he di lan 'e: unde!' :lil
a7.Ure sky. The thill pUl" air is as cool as well-water; in the early mornÏllO', one has to walk bl'i kly in ord l' to keep warm: and walks of several hunr' eau e neither h at 1101' fatignc in I hi~ hl'l1cing elimat , whiel! makI'. CVOII native' quieken thei I' naturally slow mO\'elncllt~
alld whieh tingcs their hrown
COlll-plexions \vith ti fillSh of healtllY red. In the fields, conl i:; tieen in t ad of I'iee
. '
and,1I1 placoç, "old 11 wh '::tt waves. The gard n a re fragrant with llligl10nettes heliotl'opes, and camati\lIls: mo, -roec~
1l01l1'i8h, alld, abo, velvety paIl8ie" O'e1'<1-nillm. , fuelt. ia!", phlox in all its COllnt ie.
variet ie of I l'il!ianL COIOIlI" , and th!' tender fOl'rret-me-not. of nOl'thern I
rook-ides. . tl'awberries, along with 'lu_ters of tlte bllle :tnd \\'hite grape !lltow be-tween the dense foliage of the vines. At
Minin ReR 'ons of the yllar, tlte hillr-: :W' purple with the hlo 'soms of t,ho raso-mala tree,- a magnifi(·ent gl'owth which throws Ollt iti" fll'8t branches at a height
:!44
hl Ihe Hili (·()fInl/·u·
or a Illandl'ed filet, aJld til 'ul11Jl1it of which reaches an altitude of a hun-dred :md eighty feet. Tlle most splendid orchids are found in Llte wood " and, also
mu hroom of exlrannli nal')' dimcnsions om
r
tllr e feet iJl diameter, and of stl'ang and 1 I'illiant eolour. On all ides, toO, thcr i ti "parklof living water as litOpi 1 a th air it. elf, 1 aping down tlte ro(·ky llilkid s in innum -rable catam·t and ~Ilining in broad tranquil lak S tha Illinol' the eneir-ling hill top ann tllc eloud sailing overhead. A' on reaehe higher 1 vc)", from abollt rOl1\' thollsand feet aho\' tlle
" a le\'('1 to ix tholl and ::md u!,ward.
- thc chang':; in the landscape be om more and more marketl. 'rh Flow r of the 1<'ore t, the kambodja, th ehnlllpaka, :\1111 all the ountle. ~ ho t 0(' large
O()W \' d tree, 'haracteristic lil' the tl'()pÎl'f', di. ::Ipprnr. The typ~ of the foli -al!e changes: it is loss fantastic in "hape,
Il'f'S l\lxlIl'iallt, and rlifV rf'ntly tinted
1'1'0111 til leaf:\gp of tlle 10wll\n" ('or . tI'. 245
To the sombre green of the plains, which, unde!' the glaring sunlight, assume
tnn(\~ of :In n11110 t hliwki8h b11\(\, ~ur'
ceed. a vivi(l mera1rl, touched with tender yellow. ThAn come den,e fOl'ests of "tj mara" a camphorous tree, the O'rim gl'eyish foliago of which r
-emblf3s a drift of allt.1I 111 nal mist: and, bye and hy trl'l)c f til' oak and eh t-nut kind nppflfll'. flnd t,llen the mapi!' that halan e!! it. I'anlik leav on bright red stalIc.. \ïol topen thair pnrplo 'halice. in Il1U-" Y hollow : oth r 11011' 'I'S Ilud ,ti !'lOng t 111"' gr:1S . n t h('
\'),Hldy mounLa:n hf>i!::llh;\ of '1'0. ari, onp ma)' gather
n,
W(\I';; llC'1! a grow on th!' .'\lpl". Th s ('ner)' hol' i" grand beyond d!'c'criptlOn- a land~('ape of vasthill-I'an,!l'('~, "ntarnC't'· alld I re ipice :101\
h avinO' -ea
or
·llIu 1. 'file tempera-ture i almost too ,hili: big fires ar kept burnin~ all day in the hotel, throllgh tlle verandahs of which the C'lom1 float pa t. Th one thing that . till rem inri. the travelIer of thetl'O-:H6
L.i I he l1itl Gou1Ltry.
pies is the wonderful splendour of the orchids that "'1' w her . In tbe fourth zone, at an altitude of from even th?u-sand to ten thousand feet, the Ol' 'hlds, too, disappear. A Emopean vegetat.ion cover the summit or tb monntams, alld al 0 th chill' plat au" of tbe.
DjeoCT • wher' fout' wondOloful lakes ol
green. and bluo, and y,l1o\\" and pure white water '1 arkle in thc unlight, and the lli"'hts ure fl'o_ty.
The;e wonu l'S of th' Jamllcbu
hill-\.:oltlltry are weil known from tho cl -cl'ipiion of many able pen ,and f1'OI1l
the nthu iastie I'eports f tnwellcl's.
Bilt here and b l' ,in the fold of the
low~l' hills, ther ' are plea 'ant nooks an ] ('Ol'11er ,all but ignol'ed by tbe ll1ultitude, and hardly inferiol' in beauty to th es I'amou ite, albeit bea.uty of a v l'y
low~l' hills, ther ' are plea 'ant nooks an ] ('Ol'11er ,all but ignol'ed by tbe ll1ultitude, and hardly inferiol' in beauty to th es I'amou ite, albeit bea.uty of a v l'y