Indigenous Religions in Indonesia by Joko Wicoyo

The Religion of Java written by Clifford Geertz describes the religious life of the three main social classes of an east central Javanese town: farmers, tradesmen and aristocrats. The book starts with the religious life of the farmers and contains a fascinating chapter about the slametan, communal feast as a core ritual of Javanese religious system (pp:16-20), the farmers' spirit beliefs: memedis (frightening spirits), lelembuts (possessing spirits), tuyuls (familiar spirits), demits (place spirits) and danjangs (guardian spirits) ,pp 21-34). These spirits represent disorder, the uncivilized, non human. Written with a rare combination of analysis and speculation, this comprehensive study of Javanese religion is one of the few books on the religion of a non-Western people which emphasizes variation and conflict in belief as well as similarity and harmony. The reader becomes aware of the intricacy and depth of Javanese spiritual life and the problems of political and social integration reflected in the religion.

Geertz divides the Javanese society into three "variants," that is Abangan, Santri and Priyayi. With abangan he means those Javanese who are only nominal Muslims, that is the group not performing the five daily prayers prescribed by Islamic law or fasting during the month of Ramadan. The abangan group is the largest variant of religiosity in Java according to Geertz and it is a syncretism of Hindu-, Buddhist-, animistic- and Islamic elements wherein the pre-Islamic elements seem to dominate. The santri, according to Geertz, comprises the Javanese who first and foremost identifies themselves as Muslims (and not Javanese), and they perform according to their abilities the five pillars of Islam (Confession of faith, the five daily prayers, the taxes, fasting during Ramadan, and performing the pilgrimage to Mekkah). According to Geertz, this variant of Javanese religion is very textual oriented and show a great concern with Islamic doctrines, while abangan is more concerned with the ritual aspects of their religious life. The priyayi, according to Geertz, is the Hindu cultural elite which primarily is connected to the bureaucratic parts of the society (in contrast to the abangan who are peasants and the santri who are merchants). In saying this, Geertz is often criticized on the basis that priyayi is not a religious grouping in Javanese society, but rahter a social class. In sum then, Geertz divides the Javanese religious landscape into three different variants: the syncretic abangan, the Islamic santri and the Hindu priyayi.

I think the opinion of Geertz has not reflected the Javanese reality nowadays and will attract a discussion about the differences of opinion that arises between the abangan, santri and priyayi, Geertz’s idea has been already criticized by Mark Woodward. According to Woodward the division between "normative Islam" and "Islam Jawa" (Javanese Islam) is more applicable than what Geertz’s describes. The normative Muslims according to Woodward can be divided into kaum muda, the "young group" influenced by the Middle Eastern reformist movements, and kaum tua, the "old group" who participates in the ritual and mystical aspects of Islam Jawa. In Woodward's view, the Islamic law (shari`ah) together with the Qur'an and the hadith form the core of normative Islam in Java, while the adherents of Islam Jawa confine themselves to perform certain life crisis rituals in accordance with the shari`ah while saying that other aspects of this law-centered piety are optional. Both normative Islam and Islam Jawa are in Woodward's view purely Islamic traditions and this together with his observance that these categories often fade into each other and incorporate space for personal and regional variation are his major contributions to the study of religion in Java. As he says: "Islam is the predominant force in the religious beliefs and rites of central Javanese, and... it shapes the character of social interaction and daily life in all segments of Javanese society."

However, through Geertz’s book, I believe, the readers will be enriched a lot about the cultural life of the Javanese people, their spiritual beliefs and rituals, their attitude towards magic, and a lot more. The book is a perfect example of the western academics needs to label everything and put it into nice interesting little boxes, because in my mind, this book exposes the authors limited understanding of religion, which he sees only the surface.