Eating in the Mosquito Net

Moslem Community Tradition In West Kalimantan

Baidhillah Riyadhi

1,2

and Nelly Mujahidah

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia

State Polytechnic of Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

State Islamic Institute of Pontianak, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

baidhillahriyadhi@student.upi.edu

Keywords: Mosquito net, tradition, culture, religion.

Abstract: The heresy between religion and culture reinforces the continued existence of the traditions of society. The

cultural diversity preserved by the community is a cultural treasure that needs to be taken care of and gained

the attention of the government and the local community. This article observed “Eating in Mosquito net" that

is one of the traditions preserved by Moslem communities domiciled in the village of Sungai Kupah Kubu

Raya district West Kalimantan. This research employs qualitative research with anthropological approach to

see the life of the Moslem people who preserve unique tradition of eating in the mosquito net. Using

observation, interviews, and documents as the tools of data collection, the research has found that eating in

the mosquito net is a form of local culture tradition that is accepted and preserved by the Moslem people as

combines religious values with cultural values. Furthermore the people also claim that even though such

ceremonial is not a part of theological conviction of Islam, performing it will not impurity their aqida.

1 INTRODUCTION

Every devout follower or adherent of a religion will

bear witness to the truth of their own religious

teachings. Such testimony is obviously natural and

therefore a dogmatic attitude is inevitable, which sees

the teaching of religion as absolute, valid for all time,

unchanging and irreversible, and illustrates ideal

values and rules, particularly when seen from

revelation perception.

On the contrary, from another other point of view,

the nature of diversity itself seems to be "human".

This implies that internalization of the teaching is

completely affected by a variety of factors, either the

background of a person as an individual or as a

member of the social unity somewhere. In this

context, religion is no longer simply a sacred

doctrine, but has been established in such a way that

life institutions as well as belief conception (in the

form of myths), have become socio-cultural

phenomena in certain society. Therefore, there is no

single religion capable of manifesting its followers in

the same characteristics and patterns, though they

essentially claim to be the followers of the same

religion. This type of diversity has been mentioned by

experts as “expression of the teaching”, and while

others view it as “culture”.

Islam as a religion that thrives in Indonesia, is

inseparable from these two views. The Islamic

religion, which is believed to be universal, is in fact

different in its local aspects. In this case, the belief is

local in accordance with the conditions of society,

history, environment, and culture. The fact is

certainly understandable because Islam was not

revealed to a society without culture; indeed it was

introduced to a community that already had its own

beliefs and traditions.

Sungai Kupah Village has approximately 3,174

people who are 95% Moslem, the rest are Christian

and Confucian. The indigenous people of the region

are ethnic Malay, mostly of Bugis descent. In fact,

they have no direct connection with the ethnic Bugis

on the island of Sulawesi. However, according to

local residents, their ancestors originated from the

“Bugis Land”. It could be four or five generations

before them who were the native people from the

province in the eastern part of Indonesia. These

people travelled to many islands and then settled to

assimilate with local people as it happened in many

coastal areas of West Kalimantan. Their “Bugisness”

can be observed from their habit of using the Bugis

language in everyday conversation in addition to the

Malay language.

Riyadhi, B. and Mujahidah, N.

Eating in the Mosquito Net - Moslem Community Tradition In West Kalimantan.

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 131-136

ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2

131

Moslem families in this area have a special

tradition of ritual intended to honor their deceased

ancestors. The tradition, believed to be “imperative”

in its implementation by local residents, is known by

the term “makan dalam kelambu” (eating in the

mosquito net). The ritual ceremony is performed in

the evening attended by all members of the core

family and led by a religious leader or commonly

called a shaman who acts as a prayer leader. In this

ceremony, various forms of processed food consisting

of sticky rice in various colours and side dishes are

provided. After “saying praying” to the food, it is

consumed by each member of the family and

distributed to the relatives or neighbours.

The term “eating in the mosquito net” is because

the ritual is performed in a mosquito net, a kind of

tent made of thin cube shaped cloth with four corners

tied with a rope and hung in four corners of the house.

In addition, some people also call it “eating with

shadows”, this is because the activity is carried out in

the evening in a dimly lit place so that the shadow of

each member of the family will be obvious. Based on

the sources quoted from Sungai Kakap profile, it is

known that the number of households in the village of

Sungai Kupah is about 848 with 90% of them

embracing Islam. The eating ritual inside the

mosquito net is not performed by all Moslems in this

Village. The data obtained from interviews with local

community leaders estimated that approximately 350

households still routinely perform these rituals

annually, and the implementation schedule is not

always the same for every family. For them, there is

a belief that should the ritual be abandoned, it would

disrupt the peacefulness of the life of family members

because they will be disturbed by the “spirits” of dead

family members.

2 METHODOLOGI

This research is essentially qualitative research. The

approach used in this study is the anthropological

approach. To collect qualitative data, this study used

the instruments of observation, interviews, and

documents.

The data were collected through observations,

interviews and documents. Reviews were made using

the process of analysis of data found on the field and

collected data. First, the analysis was carried out in

the field at the start of data collection which consisted

of 1) checking, 2) organizing, and 3) coding. Second,

after the data were collected: 1) meaning, 2)

interpretative, and 3) conclusion.

The family under study reported that they have

performed this ritual of Eating in the Mosquito Net

regularly once in two years since 1992. The head of

the family (Nawawi) and his wife (Fatimah) reported

that before 1992, they never carried out the ceremony.

Nevertheless, in fact, their families had routinely

performed it long before they got married. And now

they have four children, two females and two males.

Initially they never performed the ritual but at the

time of the birth of their third child, an important and

crucial event happened to his wife. It almost took the

lives of his wife and child, which is believed as a sign

of “work” that they have neglected so as to have bad

consequences. And the work in question here is a

ritual associated with the respect for the spirits of their

ancestors. That is the ritual of honour which is carried

out by “feeding” their shadows in the mosquito net.

Therefore, since then as suggested by the elders, the

family has revived the tradition of Eating in the

Mosquito Net and made it a mandatory ritual that

must be routinely implemented. They also believe

that if the ritual is neglected, it will come disastrous

for the family. So they always remind each other of

not forgetting to implement it because the spirits of

their ancestors also need to be given a part in the daily

life of the descendants who are still alive.

3 COMPONENTS OF RELIGIOUS

SYSTEM

Basically, religion can be defined as a set of rules and

regulations that govern man's relationship with the

unseen world, especially with God, regulating human

relationship with other humans, and people with their

environment.

In that definition, religion is seen as a doctrine

manifested as a sacred text. The relation between

religion and human beings, and in particular the

activities of the followers of religion, is not covered

in the above definition. Furthermore, social scientists,

sociologists and anthropologists, whose main concern

is culture and society, have tried to see and study

religion according to a perspective which is consistent

with the patterns of their own sociological or

anthropological fields and approaches. The studies

have been conducted in an effort to understand the

meaning and the nature of religion in the life of

humans as an individual or as a member of the

community (Bonotti & Seglow 2017).

Among the efforts anthropologists have made to

understand the nature of religion in human life,

including Islam as a religion embraced by a society

ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education

132

that had a previous culture, a number of works have

been published. The works, among others, serve to

analyse the diverse religious life of Moslems which is

completely affected by the local culture. For example,

the work of Geertz (1963) on abangan religion, santri

and priyayi. The study shed light the variations of

Islamic beliefs in the life of Javanese society in

accordance with the context of the environment and

culture, rather than the study of Islamic theology.

Similarly, Suparlan (1995) conducted research on the

Javanese Islam in Suriname. In the study, it was

revealed about the variations of the traditional Islamic

beliefs (prayer facing westward) and modern groups

(prayer facing eastward). The study shows the

dynamics of Islam living in Suriname Javanese

society and not about Islam in the holy texts of the

Qur'an and Hadith.

The concept of religion is broken down into five

components each having its own role, but as part of a

system, it is closely related to each other. The five

components are: (1) religious emotion (Rahman &

Shah 2015); (2) belief system; (3) ritual and

ceremonial system; (4) ritual and ceremonial

properties; (5) religious people, as illustrated in the

scheme below in figure 1.

Figure 1: Components of Religious System.

Religious emotion that causes humans to have a

religious attitude is a vibration that moves the human

soul. Religious emotions can sometimes emerge as a

mixed fear of believing in the unseen and sacred,

without giving further explanation. This religious

emotional component is the main component of

religious symptom, which creates a religious system

of all other socio-cultural systems in Indonesian

society.

The belief system in religion is the mind and the

idea of man about human belief and conception of

God's attributes, about the existence of the

supernatural (cosmology), about the occurrence of

nature and the world (cosmogony), of the hereafter

(eschatology), about existence and characteristics of

the supernatural powers, the spirits of the ancestors,

the natural spirits, the gods, the demons, the ghosts,

and other unseen creatures (Mair 2013). In addition,

the belief system is also concerned with the value

system and the system of religious norms, moral

teachings, and the teachings of other religious

doctrines that govern human behavior.

All the components of the religion in their

function are closely related to each other. However,

the framework of these five components is only

useful as an intellectual framework to facilitate the

analysis of religious symptoms in the human society

anthropologically.

4 PROCESS OF EATING IN THE

MOSQUITO NET

Eating in the mosquito net is one of the ritual

traditions routinely performed by some Moslems in

Sungai Kupah Village. This activity can be classified

as a ritual or religious ceremony which is usually

performed in important moments such as marriage,

child birth, after the Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, or

after carrying out rice harvest. In fact, sometimes

there are people who also routinely organize it

without following a certain moment.

They, the Moslem families who still preserve this

cultural tradition, are Bugis descendants (Baharuddin

& Ismail 2015). Even though they are not directly

related to the Bugis people on the island of Sulawesi,

they are “refer to themselves” as Bugis (To Ugie) and

speak the language of the region fluently. Even their

elders do not speak Indonesian fluently but they can

communicate in the Bugis language flawlessly.

This ritual is not performed in the same period.

Some perform it every year; others once in two years.

Some carry it out when there is a big celebration in

the family such as weddings, etc. Thus there is no

standard provision regarding the period of its

implementation or the most appropriate time to

implement it. It depends on the habits of each family

and sometimes depends also on their readiness in

terms of time and funding.

There have been no accurate data on when the

ceremony of eating in the mosquito net was first

carried out. However, it can be concluded that this

ritual is not only performed in Sungai Kupah Village

Ritual &

ceremonial

pro pertities

Religious

people

Religious

emotIon

Ritual and

ceremonial

system

Belief

system

Eating in the Mosquito Net - Moslem Community Tradition In West Kalimantan

133

but also implemented in many areas in West

Kalimantan, especially Kubu Raya and Pontianak

districts, such as Teluk Pakedai, Wajo, Jungkat,

Sungai Kakap, and Sungai Ambawang. This is based

on the information from residents of Sungai Kupah

who reported that their relatives living in the region

also still carry out this tradition. In fact, this tradition

has been passed down from one generation to the

next.

5 THE PROPERTIES

The process of performing the ritual of Eating in

Mosquito net, as well as other rituals still use a variety

of properties. Based on the results of observations

during the implementation of ritual in the house of

one of the residents, the properties used can be

divided into two categories, namely in the form of

food and non-food offering as follows:

 Glutinous rice of four colors. It is a food made

from glutinous rice or commonly called “pulut or

sokko” in the local language. Made in four colors

namely white, black, yellow, and pink. The black

is made from black sticky rice, the white from

white sticky rice, while the yellow and pink come

from the white sticky rice added with food

coloring. The dish is placed in a container of a

rather large plate and arranged next to each other.

So it looks like a round flower with four different

colors. In the middle of the dish is a boiled

chicken egg that has been peeled.

 Local Chicken. Made in the form of a dish ofgulai

or grilled chicken, which must be male chicken

not female, and not other species such as egg-

laying chicken. There is also a requirement of this

chicken dish should be in the form of roasted

whole chicken complete with its internal organs

dressed like sate.

 Berangan Banana. It is not allowed from other

species, and should be a comb, no matter the

quality or quantity as long as it is a comb of

banana.

 Leppe-leppe. This dish is made from glutinous

rice wrapped in long-shaped coconut leaves.

 Ketupat. A rectangular dish made of rice and

wrapped in coconut leaves.

 Tumpe-tumpe. It is a kind of side dish made from

a mixture of shrimp and flour. It could also be

called shrimp nugget, fried and served with the

bale.

 Bale. It is a Bugis language for fish, a side dish

served as a complement and preferably in the form

of marine fish cooked by frying.

 Beras Duduk. It is a term for an amount of rice

inserted in a medium-sized basin then placed on

top of it or placed alongside a comb of nipah

banana and an old coconut that has been removed

from its outer shell but still has its coir.

 Padi duduk. It is the same dish as beras duduk, but

the rice is replaced with padi (rice grain).

 Yellow Rice. Made from yellow-colored rice, can

be derived from turmeric or from artificial

coloring.

 Breteh. This property is made from glutinous rice

dry-fried so that it breaks like popcorn.

 Rectangular mosquito net. It is a tent-like property

made of white or light-colored fabrics, hung using

a rope hooked in the four quarters of the room, as

a place to hold a ritual.

 Umbrella, used to temporarily cover the dish in

the center of the mosquito net before the ritual

begins.

 Tae Bani Candle. It is a candle-like lighting tool

made of a honeycomb.

 Parang Andre Becing. It is one of the prerequisite

properties that must exist; this tool resembles a

knife but in smaller size and not sharp.

 Sok lari or Won Kai’. It is woven thread of three

colors: red, green, and yellow; made for specific

purposes and woven like a hair braid.

 Bamboo; Small bamboo with a diameter of

approximately 5 cm and 30 cm long.

 Fappesse Felleng: a mixture of keminting or

kemori herb with coconut oil.

 Minyak bau, a kind of perfume with the smell of a

typical scent purchased at the Arabian store.

 Sirih pinang (betel and nut): a set of equipment to

chew betel leaf, gambier, lime, and areca nut.

All of the properties and objects used as

mentioned above are required to be provided prior to

the ceremony. The core family members must

perform the ritual, both parents and all the children.

Completeness of properties in this ceremony is

arranged and managed by the handler or leader of the

ritual, but the procurement of raw materials is done

by the host itself. The preparation for all of this

ceremony can take up to three days, depending on the

quantity and quality.

The materials described in points 1-7, are food

ingredients to be consumed. While the materials in

points 8-12 are food not to be consumed. The

materials in points 13-20 are ritual properties in the

form of objects that must be provided. Thus it can be

a family inventory and can be borrowed from

relatives if not already owned. The costs required to

prepare all kinds of properties and materials vary

from family to family. The size depends on the

ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education

134

quality and quantity of materials used. While the

leader or handler who is an elder trusted to lead the

ceremony usually comes from their own relatives so

it is not necessary to pay for his service. The leader

may be a person who is not a close relative and will

be rewarded, not with money but with some food.

usually put on a tray filled with various types of food

that is not much different from the dish in the

ceremony.

6 DISCUSSION

Among academics and social activists in particular,

religion is seen not only as a set of teachings (values),

dogma or something normative, but it is also seen as

a case study, an interesting case study of how religion

is seen as an object of study for investigation. In a

cultural perspective (Goplen & Plant 2015), is seen

as how the Divine becomes historic in the practice of

exegesis and social action . Thus, religion is not

something untouchable, but it can be observed and

analysed because it can be seen and felt. In religious

society such as Indonesia which places religion as

part of an Indonesian identity, there are certainly

many interesting religious issues to reveal. We will

never know the religious secrets of society until we

conduct research, and this is inseparable from

research on the behaviour of religious followers.

Human beings are historic creatures, historical

actors, wisdom-makers of historical values, and not

infrequently victims of history. Various teachings of

Religion in different qualities have emerged in the

community. According to the historical statement,

religion always serves as an absolute statement for

life, both as a motivation and the formation of human

character or morals that cannot be rejected by anyone.

In fact, scientists are often very interested in

conducting research, especially in social, religious

and cultural fields.

Religious study is an academic study of religion

as a social reality in the form of texts, sociological

institutions or social behaviour that is born or as the

embodiment of sacred belief. In other words,

religious research is an academic study of doctrine

and diversity.

Reflections of the “religious” attitude in each

community sometimes cannot be separated from the

history of civilization and local culture. One example

is the procession of eating in the mosquito net which

has long been carried out by some Moslem

communities in the village of Sungai Kupah in Sungai

Kakap Subdistrict of Kubu Raya Regency. Although

there is no basis for the implementation of the ritual,

they remain convinced that it can be done and not

against theological beliefs. It has even become

“mandatory” as a routine ritual to be performed.

Judging from the process and the purpose of its

implementation, the ritual is much related to the

culture of paganism that is usually done in the former

religion of Hinduism and Buddhism. The primitive

religion of Paganism is a behavior of people who do

not use reason and are more dominant in irrational

beliefs. (Arifin, 1998;11).

This is seen in the process of implementation of

the ritual that uses a variety of offerings, both in the

form of foods and special objects. In addition, the

procedure also still requires the fulfilment of various

requirements that are still mythical. In reality it is

difficult to rationalize various activities related to

beliefs. The fact that they are also Moslems who

believe in aqida (creed in Islam) also observe the

teachings of Islam.

The process of implementing this ritual uses a lot

of different materials and properties, both in the form

of food and other tools. This indicates that this ritual

is certainly closely related to the tradition of offerings

commonly found in pagan religions, as well as the

traditional beliefs of Indonesians before the

introduction of Islam such as animism or dynamism.

This can be seen in the research findings. The root of

the culture of the local community might have

encouraged the ritual to be performed, not the

theological conviction because rituals in Islam do not

recognize such intermediaries. However, the

principals act on behalf of it as part of the prayer to

the Creator to ask for salvation and avoid calamities.

This can be seen in the collaboration which is

conducted with the recitation of prayers and rejection

of calamity that always accompany the ritual.

This religious ritual basically evolves according

to the environment or tradition that results from the

process of human creativity. Rituals (religious

ceremonies) are not based on the rules of worship but

on the Muamalah (relationship in Islamic life)

domain, so as to avoid polytheism. The essence of the

ritual is nothing but to know God or the Creator; yet

God does not resemble any form, cannot be sensed by

the human senses, cannot be represented in human,

but God is close and far away and is over everything

and cannot be described with anything.

Rituals are not a primitive behaviour that is

considered incompatible with the development and

rationality of religion, because religion cannot always

be rationalized. Every believer has the right to express

his ritual forms (religious ceremonies) that cultivate

his closeness to God Almighty. Apparently, this is the

reason why a group of Moslems in Sungai Kupah

Eating in the Mosquito Net - Moslem Community Tradition In West Kalimantan

135

Village still preserves the meal ceremony in the

mosquito net, although they also believe that

mandatory worship such as prayer is also a means to

get closer to Allah. It is evident from their opinion

that there are many ways to convey a desire to the

Creator and this ritual also comes with the same

purpose. Thus, it can be said that the construction

produced in the form of ritual of eating in the

mosquito net is the result of the uniqueness and

satisfaction of what has been done, be it the ancestral

heritage or the adoption of local culture, and even it

is believed to provide peace of life for those who

perform it.

7 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of this study either in the form of

field findings and analysis, it can be concluded as

follows:

The ritual of eating in the mosquito net is still

preserved by some of the Moslems in Sungai Kupah

Village in Kubu Raya Regency. This ritual is related

to the respect for the spirits of their ancestors. They

believe that the spirits still need a “meal,” and are

represented by a procession in a mosquito net where

the shadow of each person is clearly visible, and when

they eat, the shadow is also eating.

In the context of cultural science it could be

assumed that the ritual of eating in the mosquito net

is merely a tradition that continues to be preserved by

a particular community, and should not be classified

as a religious ritual. This is certainly acceptable

because as followers of Islam, they still carry out the

required religious rituals such as prayer, fasting, and

other Islamic pillars. From their perspective, the

tradition of eating in the mosquito net is merely to

preserve the ancestral culture and not to add to the

number of required rituals.

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