Superstitions of Indonesia

In this article we present a collection of local "superstitions" in Indonesia regarding everyday life and the meanings of the omens of Nature.

Avoid sweeping the house at night as this would make it difficult to attract luck.

Avoid sewing a button on your shirt while wearing it as this would cause a serious illness not long after that would last for about a month and you woud always fail in your efforts in making a living.

Avoid combimg your hair while walking as you will find youself in an embarassing situation.

Avoid being in the bathroom too long as this would make your face appear old.

Avoid taking a bath or shower during afternoon hours as this would accelerate the aging process.

An unmarried woman should avoid washing her hair on a Saturday as this would cause her to marry a man difficult to please.

If you come across a piece of cayene chili in a pan for no apparent reason, this is a sign that a disaster is about to occur.

If someone cooks a meal that is too salty, this is a sign that the person is in love and wishes to marry.

Avoid eating rice from a small plate as this would cause your close relations to spurn you.

Avoid eating from the corner of a table as this would cause problems with the in-laws and your marriage will be in a wreck.

Avoid eating in front of the door as this would cause one difficulty in finding a marriage partner.

Children should avoid moving places at the table during a meal as this would cause them to have a step-father or mother.

Children should eat alot of chicken wings if they wish to eventually visit overseas.

If you have a bad feeling when you are about to leave the house--then don't! As this is a sign that something disastrous might occur while out.

Avoid building a house facing north as this would cause the owner to fail to acquire riches.

Avoid building a house facing an open field as this would cause the owner to become spendrift.

Avoid building a kitchen facing the front door as this would cause sorrows and sufferings because of money.

Avoid building a garage at the back of the house as this would always cause unfortunate circumstances.

Avoid building a wall fence as high as 2-3 meters around the home as this would cause bankrupcy and to be stranded by one's business partners.

Avoid building a pool inside the house as this would cause bad luck and the members of the family will alternately be stricken with illnesses.

Avoid building a house with no back door as the dwellers will always be physically ill.

While moving house it is advisable to take along some soil from the garden of the old home and sprinkle it in the vicinity of the new so as to perpetuate the harmony established.

Avoid scratching one's head while being sexually intimate as this would result in bad luck and slander from people.

Avoid looking at the sexual organs of your spouse while intercourse as this would result in bad luck for a week.

Avoid intercourse commencing from the seventh-month pregnency as this would cause the child to be unfaithful and disrespectful towards the parents.

Avoid slaughtering an animal when your wife is pregnent as this would cause the child to be born with a scar on its neck.

Avoid hunting or torturing an animal when your wife is pregnent as this would cause your child to resemble the animal.

Avoid disliking someone intensely while pregnent as this would cause your child to adopt the features of the disliked person.

Avoid mocking at a handicapped person during pregnency as this would cause your child to be born disabled.

Avoid keeping a spoon with the salt container during pregnency as this would cause difficulties during labor.

Avoid standing at the front door in the evenings during pregnancy as this would cause negative spirits to attack the fetus.

Avoid wearing earings commencing from the third month of pregnency as this would cause you to dream of being intimate with your husband whereas in reality it is an incubus impersonating him.

A man should avoid eating while lying down as this would cause his wife to have difficulties during labor.

It is unfortunate if a guest suddenly gives birth in your home as this causes bad luck. It is advisable to move house quickly.

It is advisable to open the doors and windows of your home so that your wife will give birth without complications.

It is advisable to bury the placenta of the new-born child somwhere in the ground at the backdoor of the house so that the child will never be in want.

It is advisable to drink coconut water during the latter stage of pregnancy so that the child will be born fair of face.

It is advisable not to look at a coffin when it is being lowered into the ground as this could result in a serious illness.

It is advisable not to look at a coffin being closed and nailed as this could cause bad luck for a year.

It isa advisable to wash one's face after escorting a coffin to its grave so as to avoid being followed by the ghost of the deceased.

If a lamp goes off in a room where the deceased is kept prior to burial, indicates that another member of the family will soon face death.

It isa advisable for a pregnant mother to look at beautiful pictures so that her baby would be born beautiful as well.

It is advisable for a pregnant mother not to be sad during pregnancy as this would cause the child to be born to become a whiner.

Avoid habitually biting the lower lip as this causes bad luck.

Avoid habitually biting the upper lip as this would cause lots of monetary debts in life.

Avoid pretending to cry as this would cause one's parents to be quickly deceased.

Avoid mistreating one's daughter as this would cause her to be mistreated later on by her husband.

Avoid singing or whistling while at a meal as this causes failures in one's endeavours.

Avoid beating one's daughter at her buttocks as this would cause her later on to become sexually hyperactive and would cause much domestic problems.

Avoid making payments at night as this would result in bad luck and bankrupcy.

Women should avoid pulling the hairs of their eyebrows as this would result in frgidity and difficulty in acquiring sexual satisfaction.

Avoid cleaning the ears at night as this would result in bad luck.

One should avoid whistling often in one's home as this would attract negative entities.

One should avoid giving handkerchiefs to one's lover as this would result in a break in the relationship.

Avoid taking pictures with odd-numbers of people present as this would result in the quick death of one of them.

Avoid opening umbrellas in the home as this would result in difficulties in life.

Avoid wiping one's face with a shirt as this would result in the indifference of others towards oneself.

Avoid looking at onseself in the mirror too often as this would result in others being bored and repulsed with one.

Avoid peeping at others bathing as this would cause one's eyes to swell.

Avoid eating a meal before the elders have done so as this would result in bad luck.

Avoid cutting one's hair in one's home at night as this would attract negative entities that would appear in one's dreams.

Avoid wearing red or green swimwear at beaches as this would result in the wearer becoming a bride or bridegroom to spirit entities (incubus, succubus).

Avoid shouting or using vulgar words while in the woods or wilderness as this would cause oneself to be possessed by negative entities.

If you begin menstruating on a Sunday you will meet an old friend.

If you begin menstruating on a Monday you will soon acquire luck.

If you begin menstruating on a Tuesday you will soon be enjoying yourself in the following days.

If you begin menstruating on a Wednesday you will soon clash with someone.

If you begin menstruating on a Thursday you will soon experience unfortunate incidents and be in much sorrow.

If you begin menstruating on a Friday you will soon have fun.

If you begin menstruating on a Saturday you will soon have a pleasant surprise.

If a dog howls at midnight signifies a visit from ancestral spirits.

If a dog howls as though weeping at midnight signifies death in the family

If a dog howls past midnight signifies a wandering earthbound spirit in the premises.

It is said that the blood of a black dog is capable of exorcising possessing spirits.

It is advisable for pregnant women to place a pair of scissors underneath the pillow while sleeping to protect against psychic attack and black magick.

Avoid urinating at the foot of big trees as this would inflame the tree-spirits and cause them to possess oneself.

Avoid keeping the dust or soil from a grave as this would cause the spirit related to the grave to haunt the place where the soil is kept.

Placing red onions, chillis and turmeric in a bag and hung above the front door protects the house and family against black magick and negative entities.

If a cat licks one's foot signifies that someone close to us will acquire a windfall within one month.
If a sparrow finds its way in one's home signifies a marriage in one's family.

If a butterfly finds its way in one'shome signifies a visit from an important visitor.

Avoid giving a cat a bath as this would result in storms and hurricanes.

Carry the rare hollowless piece of bamboo to ward-off black magick.

It is advisable to state one's wishes during a falling star so that it would come true.

It is advisable to swim in a lake during full moon as this would cause one to become highly attractive.

It is advisable to sleep beyond midnight to avoid psychic attacks.

It is advisable to sleep on the floor to avoid psychic attacks.

It is advisable to keep sacred objects in the home to protect one's family.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Legend of the Dewadaru Tree

The Dewadaru tree is mostly found to the north of the island of Java, among the Sunda islands of Karimunjava, in the Java Sea, bearing the coordinates of Latitude 5° 52' S, and Longitude 110° 26' E. It has a human population of approximately 20,000 people. The Dewadaru tree had been sanctified by the local inhabitants of the island for countless generations as a result of a myth perpetuated by the elders of the society. In one of the local dialects, "daru" means "blessing from heaven," while "dewa," (derived from Sanskrit) is the Indonesian term for "god." "Dewadaru" is thus interpreted as the "gift of the gods," implying that this tree genus is a tangible symbolic gift from the gods/esses to the islanders. To the local inhabitants, the Dewadaru represents the wisdom of the gods in maintaining the harmony, stability, and peacefulness of Nature. The Dewadaru is believed to be the protective guardian of the living souls on the Karimunjava islands.

According to the legend, there was once a man living on the island of Java who was furious with his son for constant disobedience. The man, although he loved his son dearly, strove to inculcate in him a certain hard lesson. So one day he drove his son away from home with the warning that he was not to set foot on Java again.

Not willing to disobey his father again, he prepared himself for the journey. In sadness, the son left Mt. Muria where they dwelt and moved on to the open seas to the north. He sailed on a boat for many days through stormy weather and amidst huge waves, not really knowing his destination and perhaps with little will to survive. Then one day, his boat landed on the shores of a small, uninhabited island.

Meanwhile, from the peak of Mt. Muria in Java, the boy's father was secretly watching over his son clairvoyantly. But for some reason his vision was vague and unclear, and thus lost track of the whereabouts of the boy on that island. In the old Javanese language, the word "vague" is translated as kerimun. Thus the island became known as "Karimun-java."

The boy continued his journey inland bearing two wooden staffs as walking sticks to assist his journey. He retrieved these from the shore. These two short poles wounded him while his boat was capsized to shore by the sheer power of the waves. In the middle of the forest he poked the two staffs to the ground and started to rest from the tiresome journey. Miraculously, in that very instant the two staffs grew into magnificent trees. In awe of the incident, he named them "Dewadaru." In the present day, the place where he rested now stands the village of Nyamplungan.

Nowadays, although not too numerous, there is a substantial amount of Dewadaru trees growing on the islands-the descendants of the very first two. The remains of the original, fabulous Dewadaru trees may still be seen. The humps are there as if to substantiate the truth of the legend. The descendants of the magickal trees grow in hill-slopes of the islands and are not easily accessible.

In proximity to the once glorious trees is a grave that until now is still being sanctified by the locals. On certain nights-such as Jumat Kliwon (a Thursday night occurring once in 35 days) of the Javanese calendar, the grave would be visited by pilgrims desiring the blessings of the spiritual adept to whom the grave belongs. The adept was known as Sunan Nyamplungan from whence the village received its name.

For centuries, the Dewadaru tree or wood is believed by the inhabitants of Karimunjava to possess magickal powers. Tested through time, the wood is said to heal poisonous bites, and aches or illnesses in the abdominal region. Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet for personal protection against evil persons as well as a weapon against evil spirits. It is said that unlike other types of wood, the Dewadaru, even a small piece of it, sinks when placed in water.

Seventy-five kilometers away, as the crow flies, from the town of Jepara in Java, the Karimunjava islands has a scary myth related to the Dewadaru. There is supposed to be a warning by the regional spirits that the sacred Dewadaru wood or tree is not to be taken out of the islands without the concession of the spiritual guardians of the area. Whosoever violates this, even by taking a small piece of the wood, incurs the wrath of Nature and calamity befalls him or her not long after. The usual mishap is the sinking or the immobility of the vessel that the person travels on to journey back to the mainland. Sometimes it could be a fatal illness after the trip. Often the person dies a tragic death in a freak "accident." At first this myth was regarded as a superstition, but several instances of this have been recorded.

In regards to the sinking of unfortunate vessels transporting the wood, some observers have noted of unusual events beforehand. Signs and warnings are given from the invisible world. Tales of these spirit communications and unheeded warnings abound. One story in particular relates of an old woman appearing to the captain of a vessel warning that the boat or ship was carrying the sacred wood and that this was taken from the region without permission and the required ceremony. Before disappearing, she warned the captain to unload the illicitly gained item. The captain did not heed her request and as a result, the vessel that he commanded en route to the Java mainland sank to the watery depths. Before the ship sailed even the villagers of the island were given omens that the vessel was doomed. Many of them heard blasting sounds on the nearby Nyamplungan hill. Careful investigations revealed nothing that could have produced those noises. It is said that to this day these sounds still occur whenever a ship or a boat is destined to plunge into Davy Jones' locker. In 1981 a mishap was prevented from occurring. There was a ship on its way to Java from the Karimunjava islands. Somewhere in the middle of the sea its engine stalled and it became immobile. Moments later everyone on board, passengers and crew, panicked. Out of the calm sea, huge waves suddenly appeared, threatening to capsize the vessel. The captain realizing what was wrong in haste called upon the passengers to throw into the sea any Dewadaru wood that they were carrying. One person confessed that he had some of the wood in his possession. This was quickly cast into the sea with apologies to the spirit guardians of Karimunjava. Amazingly, minutes later the waves subsided.

There are always two sides to a coin. The above myth also has a different aspect: if by any chance the Dewadaru wood finds its way outside of the Karimunjava islands, the wood would double its potency and act as a powerful catalyst to awaken the dormant occult faculties within its possessor or user. The energy of the wood itself is a potent amulet against all forms of black magick and it also wards off negative entities, as mentioned previously. Dewadaru is also worn as protective amulets against the jettatore, the evil eye. From the metaphysical viewpoint, the dryads or spirits of the trees are especially empowered and their power or virtues are occultly inherent within the wood. The energy of the Dewadaru wood has a beneficent influence upon the psychosomatic system of man. The village shamans say that the Dewadaru is an exclusive gift to the people on the island, one reason why the spiritual guardians of the region do not permit the wood to be exported unless with special concession.

There are numerous strange stories related to the magickal Dewadaru tree or its wood. To the local inhabitants these are no longer a matter of belief but knowledge and conviction gained from day to day experience. Being sacred, the Dewadaru is used only for devotional and protective purposes. One hardly finds the villagers using this wood for the fashioning of furniture or as a building material; and only the courageous would use it in their spiritual activities. The trees are not too numerous on the islands nowadays and therefore they are forcefully preserved. The Dewadaru is esteemed highly for their traditional and cultural value, and regarded as the totem guardians of the island. Because the occult power of the Dewadaru is well known, many disrespectful outsiders plunder the wood seeking to possess and misuse the power within it for egoic purposes. But it is also believed that Sunan Nyamplungan, the guardian of the island, or his proxy, plays a role in protecting the place from pilferers. Some say that the Adept sometimes appear as a gigantic bat to those who carry-out their negative intentions.

In 1992, the faculty of biology of the University of Gajah Mada conducted some research on the Dewadaru and the report of their analysis states that this tree is quite rare and not easily propagated. There are two strains to be found in the Karimunjava islands: the first strain is Dewadaru Baccaurea Sumatrana from the Euphorbiaceae family. The second, Fagraea Elliptica from the Loganiaceae family.

The Dewadaru is supposed to be found solely in the Karimunjava islands. Although almost unheard of, there is at least one Dewadaru tree to be found in Java in the area of Mt. Kawi in the region of Malang, East Java. Strangely enough, those living in this area sanctify the leaves rather than the wood.

Mt. Kawi is well-known for its pilgrimage site for those seeking wealth. The tree grows nearby a grave of someone who was known as Eyang Jugo, a metaphysical practitioner of royal descent. It is said that those sitting underneath the Dewadaru tree and is fortunate enough to have a leave or two fall on their heads out of their own accord, then this is a sign that great financial blessings or wealth will be bestowed upon them. It is thus not surprising to find people sitting or even spending the night 'neath the shade of the tree hoping to catch a leaf-fall. People come from all over Java hoping to transform their fate with a simple sitting. However, even with strong winds, seldom does a leaf detach itself from the branches with the hope and expectation of the sitters. Many return to their normal lives in disappointment. At times those standing quite a distance from the tree are often blessed with a falling leaf, often blown by a non-existing wind. There are tales of those who disbelieved in the sacredness of the tree and mockingly place a leaf upon their own heads. The result was that on their way home from the mountain they encountered tragic mishaps.

The origin of the Dewadaru tree at this particular site of pilgrimage has a similar tale as the one of Karimunjava. Both were the result of the insertions of walking staffs into the grounds. According to the legend, Eyang Jugo once journeyed with a companion to his close friend R.M. Imam Soejono, who lived on Mt. Kawi. Along the way he rested in a shady area. It was there that he received intuitively from the spirit planes that his life was drawing to a close. He advised his travel companion that where he died, it was there that he was to be buried. Further along the way Eyang Jugo suddenly stabbed the ground with his staff and expired. The staff filled with the power of Eyang Jugo, suddenly grew into a tree. The Chinese people living in the precincts of Eyang Jugo's gravesite called the tree "Shian Toho," and this was translated into Javanese as "Dewadaru."

As mentioned above, the Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet. Those able to acquire a rosary fashioned from it for spiritual or devotional purposes is indeed fortunate, for it is rare that anyone is given the permission to secure this wood from the islands and to tap into its inherent magickal virtues.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

Kujang - the Talismanic Sickle

There is a unique weapon that originates in Western Java, in the Pasundan (Sundanese) region. This weapon is called "kujang," (pron. "koo-jaang.") Lacking the proper English equivalent for this we have used the term, "sickle," eventhough its form somewhat deviates from the true shape of a sickle. Neither does it resemble the "scimitar" which curves convexly. In Indonesian a sickle is actually called "chelurit."

The Javanese living in the eastern half of the Java island refers to the kujang as "kudi." To those who are uninformed, the indigenous people of the island of Java are not all "Javanese." The western part of the island is populated by a major ethnic group called "Sundanese." The kujang is the sole monument of the city of Bogor here in Indonesia.

The kujang is filled with mysteries. It is said that it carries within its form a magickal force with a mystical purpose. Embodied within its original figure lied the philosophy of the ancient Sundanese with its Hindu heritage. It is evident from the foregoing that this mystic blade was created to be more of a talisman, a symbolical objet d'art, rather than a weapon. This is especially so regarded in contemporary times.

The original creation of the kujang was actually inspired by a utensil used in farming. This utensil was widely used in the 4th to 7th centuries AD. The newly created kujang differed slightly from the tilling implements fashioned by the famed blacksmiths, Mpu Windusarpo, Mpu Ramayadi, and Mpu Mercukundo, as can be seen in the local museums. It was only in the 9th to 12th century that the form of the kujang took the shape that we are so familiar with today. In the year 1170 there was a change in the kujang. Its value as an amulet or talisman was gradually being recognized by the rulers and nobilities of the Pajajaran Makukuhan kingdom, especially during the reign of Prabu Kudo Lalean. During one of his spiritual retreats, Kudo Lalean was instructed through a psychic vision to re-design the form of the kujang to conform to the shape of the island of "Djawa Dwipa," as Java was called in those days. Immediately the sovereign king commissioned the royal blacksmith, Mpu Windu Supo, to fashion the blade seen in his vision. It was to become a weapon embodying mystical qualities and a spiritual philosophy; a magickal object, unique in its design, one that future generations would always associate with the Pajajaran Makukuhan kingdom.

After a period of meditation, Mpu Windu Supo confirmed the vision of Kudo Lalean and commenced with the fashioning of a prototype of the Kujang. It was to have two prominent characteristics: the shape of the island of Java and three holes or round notches somewhere in the blade.

Constructing the kujang blade into the shape of Java was interpreted to mean the ideal of unification of all the petty kingdoms of Java into a single empire, headed by the Makukuhan king. The three holes or round notches was to represent the Trimurti, or the three aspects of the godhead of the Hindu religion, of which Kudo Lalean was a devoted votary. The three aspects or gods referred to are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. The Hindu trinity was also represented by the three major kingdoms of that era, respectively, the kingdom of Pengging Wiraradya, located in the east of Java; the kingdom of Kambang Putih, located north-east of the island; and the kingdom of Pajajaran Makukuhan, located in the west.

The shape of the kunjang evolved further in later generations. Different models appeared. When the influence of Islam grew upon the masses, the kujang was re-shaped to resemble the Arabic letter "Syin." This was largely the stratagem of the sovereign of the Pasundan region, Prabu Kian Santang, who was anxious to convert the populace to Islam.

Knowing that the kujang embodied the Hindu philosophy and religion of the existing culture, the muslim rulers, imams and teachers, anxious to propagate Islam and dessiminate its doctrines, re-modeled the kujang to represent the basis of their religion. Syin is the first letter of the syahadat verse of which one testifies to the witnessing of the sole God and the Prophet Muhammad (blessed in his name) as the messenger. By reciting the syahadat verse, one is automatically converted to Islam. The modification of the kujang broadened the area of the blade which geographically corresponds to the Pasundan or western region of Java to conform to the shape of the letter Syin. The newly-designed kujang was supposed to remind the possessor of the object of his allegiance to Islam and to the obedience of its teachings. Five holes or round notches in the kujang replaced the three of the Trimurti. They represented the five pillars of Islam.

With the influence of the Islamic religion, some kujang models portray the inter-blending of the two basic styles as designed by Prabu Kudo Lalean and Prabu Kian Santang.

Nowadays, the kujang is often decorated in homes as it is believed to bring about luck, protection, honor, etc. They are displayed in pairs on walls with the inner edge facing each other. There is a taboo, however--no one is to be photographed standing in-between them as this would somehow cause the death of that person within a year. I have been assured by a senior practitioner of Kejawen the truth of this, as he had witnessed this himself. Why this occurs is not known for certain, we might shrug it off as superstition, coincidence or synchronicity but behind every phenomenon cosmic laws and intelligences are at work; we just need to discover what those laws are and the mind-set of those metaphysical intelligences directing those laws to know the reason for the anomaly.

From the occult side, like the keris, another weapon used by the indo-malayan natives, the kujang was often consecrated with magickal power and familiar spirits attached for specific purposes, such as the protection against psychic attack. Because of the inherent power of the kujang in conjunction with the presence of its spirit guardians, the well-informed natives revere them as sacred objects.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore