Field Story

Sea Alms Tradition for Fisherman in Pemalang, Central Java

by adminapri September 9, 2022 0 comments

The sea alms ceremony is one of the traditions of ancestral heritage that is still preserved in Indonesia, especially by people living in the coastal areas of the island of Java. The implementation of sea alms is throwing or floating (drifting) offerings in the sea accompanied by local fishing boats. This sea alms tradition is routinely carried out every year in the month of Sura or the first month in the calculation of the Javanese calendar. This activity is intended as a form of gratitude to God Almighty for the blessings of the catch and to ask for the safety of fishermen while at sea.

The sea alms ceremony procession is a long and complicated series of traditional ceremonies that require precision in preparing all the necessities, from the opening of the event with prayers to offerings that will be thrown into the sea. The series of activities begins with the process of making a small boat or “ancak” which will later be used to put the materials for offerings, then at 13.00 WIB the “ancak” is paraded around the village and accompanied by local residents. The next day continued with “meruwat ancak” which had been filled with offerings through “wayang kulit” performances and joint prayers. The offerings were carried out after the shadow puppet show, precisely at 12.00 WIB and accompanied by local fishing boats. Shortly after the offering ceremony, the fishermen took water around the pelarungan area and then poured the water into their respective boats.