warung kembang sajen…the dark mystical side of Jakartan urbanites…
2009.04.28 13:30
an angkot ride is always a pleasure for me..especially when i get to sit in front, beside the driver –except when i have to share the seat with another while the driver smells ;p –…
(try it sometimes, no matter how long the journey is, one can always kill time by either chatting with the driver or just browsing the view along the way…trust me, jakarta is never boring…you only need to know how to love it)
this time, a sight intrigues me during my last five-minute angkot ride along Pasar Kebayoran Lama…something tickles…the sight of more than a dozen of minute stalls, each filled with colorful flower buds, terracotta flasks, incense sticks and pineapples…
the grouping of objects for sale there would not make any sense if you were not familiar with the dark, mystical side of Indonesians..especially the Javanese…
forget the Blackberry hype and the SUVs in the city streets that was supposed to symbolize modernity…Jakartans are indeed living a double life as traditional rituals and metaphysical activities are no less important than their modern hi-tech amenities…
the “kembang sajen” (flower offerings) stalls in Kebayoran Lama –survive exactly because of that and also partly to the fact that there are two so-called paranormals practicing just 10 minutes away…
traders — who are interestingly instead of Javanese are mostly Padang — said that their highest income comes every Monday and Thursday night, nights deemed sacred for contacting those on the other dimension…
aside from superstitious customers practicing weekly “prayers” with a handful of ‘kemenyan’ and ‘kembang telon’…occassionally, there are those who want to hold Javanese ceremonies, ranging from wedding preparation to planting a newborn baby’s umbilical cord…
objects for sale include roses, jasmine, betel nuts, kaffir lime, red pineapples, dried paddy stems to “rokok menyan” (clove cigarettes infused with sap of Stryraccaceae tree)…all for any kind of events where one needs to “get connected” with the supranatural…
here are some pictures…
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…the first on the line of "flower offerings" abang-abang… |
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…bawang bungkul or bawang lanang… |
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…roses, cananga, Michelia buds…the combination makes up "kembang tujuh rupa"… |
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…a driver sent by his boss to buy rose petals and terracotta flask for "slametan"… |
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Turkish perfumes, jasmine oil and the notorious "Air Mata Putri Duyung"… |
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…rokok menyan… |
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1 Comment on “warung kembang sajen…the dark mystical side of Jakartan urbanites…”
I trust you. I miss Jakarta and all its chaotic elements. Everything’s just too ordinary and predictable here. It gets to me by the end of the day :)
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