Explaining Indonesia's supernatural obsession - Part 2
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Read part 1 - Understanding Indonesia’s supernatural obsession
Despite technological advancement and scientific findings, some of the customs in Indonesia are deeply rooted in superstitious beliefs - knocking before entering a place or not taking shower during Magrib prayer. Highway to Bandung from Jakarta, for instance, has its own myth. Apparently, accidents are prone to happen on kilometre 97, so drivers are highly advised to ask for permission when they drive past the spots.
In Yogyakarta, there is Ratu Kidul or Queen of the Southern Sea residing in Parangtritis beach. There is a sign at Parangtritis beach prohibiting visitors from wearing green outfits. Green is Ratu Kidul’s favourite colour, and the locals believe that visitors who wear green will be washed up by the sea, taken to her supernatural kingdom.
Bali is also widely known for its mystical landscape, yet it becomes the ultimate destination for cultural tourism. The Dayak tribe in Kalimantan is highly regarded for their powerful magic. Believers of Aluk Todolo, the belief and teaching of the indigenous Toraja tribe from South Sulawesi, believe that they were descended from heaven.
Spiritual values have been instilled and passed down for generations. According to intellectual Mohamad Sobary, in the past, before heavenly religions take hold in the society, there were local religions. “Almost every ethnic group practice local religion faithfully. The bond between humans and the supernatural, the earthlings and the celestial; they were really close.”
In present days, the practice of local religions/beliefs, such as Kejawen, animism, or Sunda Wiwitan, has diminished and mainly replaced by the heavenly religions we are familiar with - Islam, Christian, Buddhism, Hinduism and Catholic. Kejawen used to be widely practiced in Java. Sunda Wiwitan is the religious belief of traditional Sundanese-most of the current practitioners reside in Banten and Kuningan.
Image: One of Sunda Wiwitan ceremonies in Kuningan via Shutterstock/Toto Santiko Budi
Religion has a tight-knit relationship with myth. “Before history exists, myth does the talking; talking to the universe and about the stairway to heaven. For the believers of local religions, the stairway to heaven is myth. Myth is the bridge between the earthly and the supernatural. This is evident in the mythology of a country that ruled the world through philosophy: The Gods in Greek mythology,” said Sobary.
“During the era of local religions, the celestials were explained through mythology. Mythology fulfills the needs of human to know the heaven. Religion is the path to God. We always had a special relationship with religion,” he continued.
Indeed. Indonesia is one of the most religious countries in the world. 98% of Indonesians deem that religion, God and prayers are important. As to why religion is important, Sadhguru, an Indian philanthropist, spiritual leader and author, on his book stated that people seek spirituality because one day they will die. Religion – to a certain extent - provides an explanation to life after death, although there is no definitive answer to the debacle.
In addition, supernatural is an alternative path for humans to pursue their own agenda. “At the end of the day, what we call mystical can be divided into two types of relationships: human and God and human and worldly needs. When talking about spirituality, don’t assume that it is all about our relationship with the supernatural. Spirituality also means praying for job promotion, rice, salaries and facilities. Those are parts of human’s spiritual requests,” Sobary explained.
However, there is also another type of spirituality that Indonesians are accustomed to: black magic. “From anthropological perspective, black magic falls into the spiritual realm, utilised to harm others. Fundamentally, spirituality is pure, but people utilising it for horrible things turns spirituality dark,” he said.
In the age of self-driving cars, it is fascinating that black magic and paranormal phenomenon are still relevant in the country. In fact, the topic is often adapted to films. “Ratu Ilmu Hitam” (Queen of Black Magic) tells a story of a woman who practiced black magic to get her revenge on a guy who sexually assaulted her.
Horror genre is the crown jewel of the Indonesian film industry. As mentioned in the first part of this series, people are seeking for tension and excitement through horror films. Ghost-hunting is a regular programme on TV. Mass media frequently features fortune teller to predict the future-from natural disaster to celebrities’ personal lives.
Many find abilities to see, feel and communicate with supernatural beings and read people intriguing, hence why seeking spiritual consultation to find out what the future holds and avoid mischief or bad luck is a common practice.
Based on a survey TFR conducted, 85% of respondents believe in people who are spiritually gifted or commonly referred as indigo kids. When asked about the reason, one respondent answered, “Because there is another world apart from the world we live in and there are certainly people who are expert in that.” Several respondents believe that such ability is a gift from God.
“Culture, urban legend and many unsolved mysteries that cannot be described by science,” said a 31-year-old respondent. Several responses claim that events predicted by those who are spiritually gifted always happen in real life.
“I have known people who are spiritually gifted since 2009. One of their common traits is they are wise beyond their age and have unique skills. The skills consist of clairvoyance, exorcism, healing and divination. Their missions are to help people upgrade their spiritual awareness because most people on earth are stuck in worldly logic and dogma,” said a respondent.
To put this fascination into a bigger perspective, IndigoTalk Festival (@indigo.talk), an event created by film director Billy Christian, in October garnered more than 3,000 participants. Supernatural content on YouTube is also popular among Indonesian viewers - Kisah Tanah Jawa, Jurnal Risa and Misteri Diari Sara, to name a few.
Indigo kids are at the centre of supernatural content on social media platforms. Plenty of them revolve around visiting mystical places, spotting ghost, communicating with ghost, reading people and projecting the future. On the other hand, there are content creators like Diary Cewek Indigo who venture out to angels, fairies and human souls, although those types of content receive less traction.
For most Indonesians, supernatural is closely associated with ghosts, black magic and indigo kids - forgetting the fact that supernatural, by definition, means a realm that transcends nature, beyond scientific understanding and the laws of nature. Magic, pre-recognition, miracle and spirituality are part of supernatural. Several mystical figures in the supernatural realm are angels, fairies, demons and ghosts.
“Most media portray indigo from ghost perspective, as shallow as being able to see ghost and be possessed. On top of that, most content creators are only aware of those kinds of indigo,” said Billy. “The supernatural world is not always about ghost or being possessed. It is very broad and can serve as a useful inspiration for all of us.”
