REVISITING PRANATAMANGSA

A NOTES FROM KASEPUHAN CIPTAGELAR:

gustaff h. iskandar

International SETI Conference Jogja National Museum, 20/07/2016

• Officially established in 1368• Located in Mount Halimun – Salak National Park• Distributed in 3 regencies, 2 province (West Java & Banten)• More than 500 villages and 30.000 inhabitants• Inherit the lines of Baris Pangawin/Pancer Pangawinan

Kasepuhan Ciptagelar

~ Sundanese traditional proverb

“Nyoreang alam ka tukang, nyawang mangsa nu bakal datang.”(Revisiting the past in order to see the glimpse of our future.)

~ Suhardja D. Wiramihardja*Astronomy Research Group, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

“Agricultural people like Sundanese were deeply concerned with calendrical observations. These were crucial in gauging the time of

planting and harvesting to insure successful crops. The appearance and disappearance of certain stars correlated with the seasons of the

year, and reminded observers when to plough, sow, hunt, fish, and celebrate other annual events. The Sundanese agricultural cycle is

known as Pranatamangsa.”

* Ethnoastronomy: The Sundanese of West Java and their Relation to Ethnoastronomy (CSEAS Newsletter, 2013)

Revisiting Pranatamangsa

“Tanggal Kerti turun wesi, tanggal Kidang turun kujang. Surup Kidang turun kungkang.”

KIDANG

KERTI

The dawn rising of the Orion Belt and the Pleiades in mid-May marked the coming of the dry season. For about forty nights before sunrise the Pleiades was said to disappear from view. This event, usually noted in an almanac, was called ngerem in the local language which means to hide itself. The heliacal rising of the Pleiades and the Orion Belt in the evening sky is also important to farmers as a sign of the wet season and the beginning of rice-planting.

~ Suhardja D. WiramihardjaAstronomy Research Group, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

Gene Ammarell / Sky Calendars of the Indo-Malay Archipelago: Regional Diversity / Local Knowledge

"Orion IAU" by IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Orion Belt = Bentang Kidang/Wuluku = The Plough(“Mitsu Boshi” in Japanese)

* Deep sky image of the constellation Orion by Mouser on 14 December 2004; CC BY-SA 3.0

Pleiades = Bentang Kerti = Bentang Ranggeuy/Ranggeuyan (“Subaru” in Japanese)

* The Pleiades Star Cluster by Antonio Fernandez-Sanchez in 18 November 2007

Quatrain on Orion Belt, indicating time to begin cultivating rice*

In Sundanese Tanggal Kidang turun kujangKidang ngarangsang, (waktuna) ngahuruKidang manceuran, (waktuna) ngaseukSurup Kidang turun kungkang In IndonesianSaat Orion mulai muncul, waktunya menebang pohonSaat Orion terlihat agak jelas, waktunya membakarSaat Orion semakin jelas, waktunya membuat lubangSaat Orion lenyap, Walang Sangit akan datang English translationWhen Orion Belt started to appears, it is the time to cut the treesWhen Orion Belt become clearer, it is the time to burn the bushes When Orion Belt become very clear, it is the time to dig the holesWhen Orion Belt disappeared, there came the rice pests & insects*

*Herikame Musi in Japanese

* Notes by Suhardja D. Wiramihardja, 2015

Names of the month/seasons (mangsa) in Pranatamangsa with their characteristics*Kasa: June 22 – August 1, 42 days. Characteristics: leaves fell down, woods were dry. A time to cultivate second crop. Flying insects (like grasshopper) laid eggs.

Karo: August 2 – August 24, 23 days. Characteristics: land were cracked and dry, a resurgence of growth was observed, including the leafing out of the randu or “kapok” trees (Ceiba pentranda L.).

Katiga: August 25 – September 17, 24 days. Characteristics: The east monsoon brought the hottest days and coolest nights of the year. Crops ripened and were harvested. Bamboo shoots began to grow. Potatos began to show young leaves.

Kapat: September 18 – October 12, 25 days. Characteristics: Wells and ponds were dry. Kapok trees began to grow their young seeds. The now nearly extinct rice birds, called gelatik or “Java sparrow” (Padda oryzivora), were in the fields and the well-known manyar or “weaver” birds (Ploceidae spp.) were weaving their nests with the characteristic long entrance tunnel.

Kalima: October 13 – November 8, 27 days. Characteristics: Rains began to fall. Young leaves of tamarind trees began to grow out. Curcuma leaves grew green. Snakes came out.

Kanem: November 9 – December 21, 42 days. Characteristic: An “unhealthy dew” on the ground and the ripening of mangos and other fruits. Time to start to till rice fields. Dragonflies grew from larva.

* Notes by Suhardja D. Wiramihardja, 2015

Names of the month/seasons (mangsa) in Pranatamangsa with their characteristics*Kapitu: December 22 – February 2, 43 days. Characteristics: Rivers overflew. Very strong wind. Farmers began to transplant the young rice plants from the nursery to the field.

Kawalu: February 3 – February 28, 26 or 27 (leap year). Characteristics: The rice plants would shoot above the surface of the water and begin to blossom. “Cats came into heat”. Many insects and some kinds of worms came out. Kasanga: March 1 – March 25, 25 days. Characteristics: The singing of crickets, the blooming of galagah or “wild sugar-can grass” (Saccharum spontaneum), and the formation of heads on the rice plants.

Kadasa: March 26 – April 18, 24 days. Characteristics: The wind began to shift to the east, marking the beginning of the dry monsoon. The rain stopped, animals became pregnant, the rice ripened, and the harvest began.  Desta: April 19 – May 11, 23 days. Characteristics: “Harvest was in full swing” and “kapok blossoms glowed in the moonlight.” Birds fed their baby birds. Sada: May 12 – June 21, 41 days. Characteristics: The nights grew colder as a dry wind continued from the east. Early morning was extraordinary cold. Harvesting finished, stubbles (dried rice stalks) were left in the paddy fields.

* Notes by Suhardja D. Wiramihardja, 2015

The Pranatamangsa Cycle*

* Notes by Kusnaka Adimihardja, 1992

No. Proverb Meaning Translation1 Tanggal Kerti turun wesi,

tanggal Kidang turun Kujang•Bintang Kerti muncul di ufuk barat•Warga Kasepuhan harus sudah mempersiapkan alat

untuk bertani•Kujang dan alat lain harus disiapkan•Saat Bintang Kidang muncul di ufuk timur warga harus

siap mencacar lahan untuk berladang•Dalam kalender Islam biasanya bertepatan dengan

bulan Haji (Masehi: September – Oktober)

•Kerti clusters is appearing in west horizon•Farmers has to start preparing the tools•Kujang has to be prepared, as well the other farming

tools•When Kidang clusters is appearing in east horizon,

farmers has to start cleaning up the swidden land• In Islamic calendar this should be happen in Thul-Hijjah

(Gregorian: September – October)

2 Kidang ngarangsang ti wetan, Kerti ngarangsang ti kulon; Kidang-Kerti pahareup-hareup

•Bintang Kidang merembang dari arah timur dan Bintang Kerti dari arah barat

•Posisi kedua bintang itu berhadapan•Tanda musim kemarau yang lama atau ‘halodo ngadu’•Saatnya untuk membakar ranting dan daun di ladang

atau ‘ngahuru’•Dalam kalender Islam biasanya bertepatan dengan

bulan Muharam (Masehi: Oktober – November)

•Kidang clusters is rising from the east and Kerti clusters is coming from the west

•Two star clusters is facing each other•The sign for long dry season or ‘halodo ngadu’•The time to burn the bushes, leaf and branches• In Islamic calendar this should be happen in Muharram

(Gregorian: September – October)

3 Kerti mudun, Kidang matang mencrang di tengah langit

•Kedua bintang menjadi sangat terang•Waktunya untuk menanam padi (ngaseuk)•Penanaman padi terlambat bila ‘Kidang ka kulon’ atau

Kidang sudah bergerak ke arah barat•Bila terlambat dilakukan, pucuk padi akan mati•Dalam kalender Islam biasanya bertepatan dengan

bulan Muharam/Safar (Masehi: November – Desember)

•The two star clusters are becomes very bright• It is the time to plant rice (ngaseuk)•Rice planting becomes too late if Kidang has moved to

the west• If its too late to plant, the shoot of the rice will be perish• In Islamic calendar this should be happen in

Muharram/Safar (Gregorian: November – December)

4 Kidang medang turun kungkang

•Saat Bintang Kidang dan Kerti mulai surut dan hilang dari pandangan, maka berarti waktunya ‘turun kungkang’ (hama padi sejenis ‘Walang Sangit’)

•Biasanya warga Kasepuhan menyebutnya sebagai ‘bahaya kemeian’. Mungkin karena biasanya jatuh pada bulan Mei

•Dalam kalender Islam biasanya bertepatan dengan bulan Rajab/Shaban (Masehi: April – Mei)

• If Kidang and Kerti are started to disappear from our sight, it is the sign for ‘turun kungkang’ or the kungkang is coming (a kind of rice pests similar to walang sangit)

•Most farmers at Kasepuhan Ciptagelar called the time as ‘hazardous may’. Perhaps it is because it usually happen in May

• In Islamic calendar this should be happen in Rajab/Shaban (Gregorian: April – May)

5 Kidang Kerti ka kulon •Bintang Kidang dan Kerti bergerak kea rah barat•Tandanya datang musim hujan atau ‘usum ngijih’•Dalam kalender Islam biasanya bertepatan dengan

bulan Hapit/Rayagung (Masehi: Agustus – September)

•Kidang and Kerti star clusters has moved to the west• It is the sign for rain season or ‘usum ngijih’• In Islamic calendar this should be happen in Hapit/

Rayagung (Gregorian: August – September)

Ngaseuk rituals, initial rice planting tradition at Kasepuhan Ciptagelar. This particular ceremony marks the whole agricultural cycle, with the appearance of Kidang & Kerti star clusters.

Nganyaran rituals, traditional ceremony after harvest season at Kasepuhan Ciptagelar. This

ancestral tradition is always initiated by praying & offering to Sanghyang Sri, the goddess of fertility.

“[…] green revolution resulted in the extinction of local rice varieties as farmers has to purchased commercial seed. Organic fertilisers also being replaced by modern fertilisers. Buffalo power has to compete with the tractor & fuel oil, which in the future will be increasingly scarce. Bio-pesticides that are made by traditional farmer is being replaced by chemical pesticide. Poisoning water & organisms that are originally part of natural predator of pests in the rice fields […]”

~ Johan Iskandar*Lecturer at Etnobiology Department, Faculty of Math & Natural Sciences,

Padjadjaran University (UNPAD)

* Kebingungan Petani Hadapi Iklim (Harian Kompas, Juli 2010)

“This knowledge has an impact on our culture, social behaviour and on nature. By sharing this culture and our consumption pattern, we expect to raise social awareness: when people follow the stars as signs for the planting season, they become more deeply aware that they have limited time and limited growth. All the preparation and work around our food production has to be done together, and with the least impact on the natural order.”

~ Yoyo Yogasmana, 2015** Interview by Christine Wagner for The Age Of Wonderland, 2015

Buana panca luhur, buana panca tengah,buana panca rarang.

Bumi, langit, sawarga, naraka.

GununganRastika (1942 - 2014)Glass painting, 21/11/2012

Our duty as human being is to nurture & protect the whole living creature in the universe with knowledge & kindness.

Thank You! Hatur nuhun!