Bagong Dam Purifying Ceremony
May 11th, 2006
It was told that in the mid of XVI Cetury, Menak Sopal was abdolutely concerned sawing farmers’ rice fields that were always on dried condition and failed to harvest. Accordingly, we asked the surrounding people to build Bagong Dam to raise the volume of the Water. However, their hard work used to ail because having the dam done, it was always cillapsed.
He got a divine inspiration that to avoid the ruin of the dam. a white elephant had to be sacrificed. Then,a series of negotiations with an owner of the white elephant had carried out and Menak Sopal won the negotiation. The White elephant Finally managed to be sacrificed.
At the Moment, a buffalo is always sacrificed for the purifying ceremony at Bagong Dam as the substitusi of the white elephant. Having been slaughtered, the buffalo’s head and meat are thrown to the mid of the dam and the people altogether splash into the dam to cather the buffalo’s head or meet.
following the ceremony,a Javanese traditional puppet, telling the story of udan Mintoya, and pilgrimage to Menak Sopal’s tomb are held. trenggalek people commonly visit the cemetery on every “Kliwon” friday (kliwon is name of the one of the five divisions of day in Javanese term)
Entry Filed under: East Java News
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