ENRICHING LOCAL WISDOM THROUGH THE CULTURE OF TIWAH CEREMONIES OF THE DAYAK NGAJU TRIBE AND AS A SOURCE OF CULTURAL LEARNING FOR LAY COMMUNITIES
Indonesia is a country rich in different customs and cultures. Each region in Indonesia has different customs, from weddings, traditional ceremonies, and funeral customs to daily customs.
Customs and cultures are the identities, ideas, customs, norms, and customary rights that have been upheld over time by people connected within a community. Customs include traditional ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and eating habits. Further, customs can also encompass the system of values and ethics in force in the society. Customs may vary from region to region within the same country. This is influenced by geographical, historical, cultural, and religious factors. Customs are the characteristics that distinguish one society from another.
The Dayak are one of the ethnic groups living in Kalimantan, Indonesia. They have a rich and unique culture, one of which is the Tiwah ritual. The Tiwah Ceremony is a ritual performed in honor of the deceased ancestors of the Dayak people. The Tiwah ceremony has been practiced for centuries and many people keep this tradition to this day.
This article describes how the Tiwah Ceremony is a source of cultural learning for the public and how the role of the Tiwah Ceremony strengthens the identity and harmony of Dayak and his community.
The data collection process was conducted through interview techniques and literature review. Researchers interviewed Dayak Ngaju people involved in performing traditional Tiwa ceremonies to gain more information about this culture. The data collected from the interviews were qualitatively analyzed and presented in the form of narrative descriptions.
‘Kaharingan’ and Tiwah Ceremonies
Kalimantan Island has an ancient belief system that has been passed down from generation to generation with the word ‘Kaharingan’ and many people know that the original religion of the Kalimantan people is the Kaharingan religion. The word “kaharingan” comes from “haring” which means “to exist by itself”. Initially, the ‘Kaharingan’ religion was taught and spoken orally, but the Kaharingan religious leaders codified it at the Kaharingan Religious Leaders Conference, resulting in the ‘Book of Teachings of the Kaharingan Religion’. It came true with the publication of the title book. The Kaharingan religion still exists in Borneo, and this religion is still visibly strong in the Barito River region.
Among the many ceremonies related to human life, one of the most important ceremonies in society is the death ceremony. There is even an opinion that the most important set of rituals in many religions of the world is the ritual of death. The main theme of funerals generally symbolizes the process of separation of the living and the dead. It can be said that the death ritual is the culmination of all the ceremonies performed during one’s lifetime and marks the end of all existing ceremonies.
After a person strikes the soul, there are many regrets, but it is too late, and death still strikes people. Life in the real world switches to the spirit world, the land of spirits. According to this understanding, death is merely a change of the body, and the spirit lives on. And in order to bring the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, people perform a series of funeral ceremonies, or tiwa ceremonies, as seen in Ngaju.
Main Rituals of Hindu Kaharingan of the Dayak Ngaju Tribe
The Tiwah Ceremony is a death ritual or series of Hindu Kaharingan ceremonies held approximately every five years.This ceremony involves digging the graves of deceased ancestors and relatives, cleaning the bones, and performing a process known as ‘sandung’. It is said to be kept in a sacred place. ‘Sandung’ is believed to represent the natural home of the spirits of deceased ancestors and relatives. This Tiwah Ceremony has a deep meaning and contains a deep philosophy of life. This Tiwa ceremony teaches how important to respect each other, both living and dead. Because, in fact, humans are creations of God and humans are social beings, a person who cannot stand alone.
Rituals with Various Traditions and Cultures
The Tiwa ceremony has many different traditions and cultures with deep philosophical implications. Performing the Tiwa ceremony involves not only digging the graves of ancestors and relatives, but also other traditions such as Dayak dancing, traditional Dayak music, and the slaughtering of buffalo as a sign of sacrifice during the Tiwah Ceremony. , in the Tiwah Ceremonies series there are various traditions and cultures that are indirectly introduced to the common people, and in this way the culture and traditions of the Dayak Ngaju people are also introduced along with their professed religion. can be interpreted as , maintain, Tiwah Ceremony.
SUMMARY
Indonesia is a country rich in customs and cultures, including traditional ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and eating habits. The Dayak people in Kalimantan have a unique culture, such as the Tiwah ritual, which has been practiced for centuries and is a source of cultural learning for the public.
Data collection was conducted through interviews and literature review, and the data was qualitatively analyzed and presented in narrative descriptions. The Kaharingan religion is an ancient belief system passed down from generation to generation in Kalimantan Island. It was taught orally and codified at the Kaharingan Religious Leaders Conference, resulting in the ‘Book of Teachings of the Kaharingan Religion’.
The death ceremony is the culmination of all ceremonies performed during one’s lifetime and marks the end of all existing ceremonies. To bring the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, people perform a series of funeral ceremonies, or tiwa ceremonies.
The Tiwah Ceremony is a death ritual of the Dayak Ngaju Tribe that involves digging the graves of deceased ancestors and relatives, cleaning the bones, and performing a process known as’sandung’. It teaches how important it is to respect each other, both living and dead. It also involves Dayak dancing, traditional Dayak music, and the slaughtering of buffalo as a sign of sacrifice.