Seren taun facts for kids
Seren Taun is a special yearly festival and ceremony from the Sundanese in West Java, Indonesia. It's a celebration of the rice harvest. People hold this festival to thank nature for a good harvest and to ask for another successful one next year.
Seren Taun shows how important farming is to the Sundanese way of life. Thousands of villagers and visitors come together for this big event.
Many traditional Sundanese villages celebrate Seren Taun every year. Some well-known places include:
- Cigugur village, Kuningan Regency, West Java
- Kasepuhan Banten Kidul, Ciptagelar village, Cisolok, Sukabumi, West Java
- Sindang Barang village, Pasir Eurih, Taman Sari, Bogor, West Java
- Kanekes village, Lebak, Banten Province
- Kampung Naga, Tasikmalaya, West Java
What Does "Seren Taun" Mean?
The name "Seren Taun" comes from the Sundanese language. Seren means "to give," and taun means "year." So, "Seren Taun" means that the old year has given way to the new year. It marks the change from one farming year to the next.
For Sundanese farmers, Seren Taun is a time to thank God for the many rice harvests. They also pray for a good harvest in the next farming season.
Another meaning of Seren Taun is to give the harvested rice to the community leader. This rice is then stored in a special shared barn called a leuit. There are two types of leuit:
- The main barn, which is very important and considered sacred. It can be called leuit sijimat, leuit ratna inten, or leuit indung (mother barn).
- The secondary barns, called leuit pangiring or leuit leutik (small barn). These are used to store extra rice when the main barn is full.
The leuit indung holds special sacred rice seeds. These are called pare ambu or pare indung (mother rice seed), wrapped in white cloth. There's also pare bapa or pare abah (father rice seed), wrapped in black cloth.
How Did Seren Taun Start?
Seren Taun has been celebrated every year since the time of the Sunda Kingdom. This was a long time ago! The ceremony first honored Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri. She was the goddess of rice and fertility in ancient Sundanese beliefs.
Old Sundanese beliefs included respecting the spirits of ancestors (karuhun) and unseen natural powers called hyang. These beliefs were also mixed with Hinduism. Since ancient times, Sundanese people have been farmers. They honored the natural power that made plants and animals grow well. This power was Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Asri, the goddess of rice and fertility.
In Sundanese stories, her husband is Kuwera, the god of wealth. They are shown by Pare Abah (father rice) and Pare Ambu (mother rice). These symbolize the joining of man and woman, which represents fertility and family happiness.
There were two kinds of harvest ceremonies in the Sunda Kingdom:
- Seren Taun Guru Bumi: Held every year in the capital city of Pakuan Pajajaran and in many villages.
- Seren Taun Tutug Galur (also called Kuwera Bakti): Held only once every eight years, and only in Pakuan.
Seren Taun was celebrated yearly in the Sunda Kingdom. It stopped when the Sunda Pajajaran kingdom fell. But after some decades, the ceremony was brought back in villages like Sindang Barang. It continued until the 1970s. Then, after a 36-year break, it was started again in 2006. This happened in the Sindang Barang cultural village in Bogor. Seren Taun Guru Bumi was revived to help Sundanese people remember their cultural identity.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun is celebrated on the 22nd of Rayagung. This is the last month of the Sundanese calendar. The ceremony takes place at the pendopo Paseban Tri Panca Tunggal. This is the home of Prince Djatikusumah, built in 1840.
People who follow the traditional Sunda Wiwitan belief still celebrate this harvest festival. This includes the Baduy people, Kasepuhan Banten Kidul, and Cigugur. Today, most Sundanese people are Muslim. However, this tradition still continues. The prayers are now often done in an Islamic way.
What Happens During Seren Taun?
The Seren Taun rituals are a bit different in each village. But the main part is always a procession where people bring rice to the community leader. This rice is then put into the main leuit (rice barn) and other secondary barns. The community leader then gives blessed indung pare (mother of rice) to village leaders. These seeds will be planted in the next farming season.
In some villages, the rituals begin by collecting water from several sacred water springs. Usually, water is gathered from seven springs in small jars. These are then combined into one large water vessel. The water is blessed with prayers and is considered sacred. This sacred water is later sprinkled on people at the festival. People believe it brings good luck and good fortune.
Next is sedekah kue. People bring traditional cakes, delicious foods, and also tumpeng (a cone-shaped rice dish) on wooden platforms. The cakes are then shared among villagers. People believe eating them brings good luck. The tumpeng rice is given to everyone to eat together. Sometimes, a water buffalo is also part of the rituals. Its meat is later given to poor families in the village. Later that night, a wayang golek (wooden puppet show) is held in the village's main building.
The main Seren Taun ritual usually starts at 8:00 AM. It begins with the ngajayak procession. This is where people bring and present the rice. After this, three group performances take place: the buyung dance, angklung baduy, and angklung buncis angklung music. These are often performed during Seren Taun in Cigugur.
The ritual starts with a prayer to thank God for the good harvest. The main ngajayak ritual is when villagers give their rice to the community leader. This rice is stored in the main barn, and the rest goes into secondary barns. Some of the rice is then rhythmically pounded by women using wooden mortars and pestles. Some blessed rice seeds are placed in a special pavilion called Pwah Aci Sanghyang Asri (Pohaci Sanghyang Asri). Villagers try to get these seeds, as they also believe it brings good fortune.
In Cigugur, Kuningan, Seren Taun begins on the 18th of Rayagung. Several traditional Sundanese cultural performances are also shown. These include pencak silat (a martial art), Sundanese dances, nyiblung (water music), suling rando, tarawelet, karinding, and suling kumbang from the Baduy people.
