Was a Pak Subuh a dukun?
A dukun is, in Java, a traditional healer. There’s nothing wrong or disgraceful about being a dukun. I can remember when I lived as a kid in Cilandak, and I got a sore on my back—I had to spend several days lying face down—Pak Subuh kindly sent over a poultice, consisting of some black mixture of herbs, to help the healing. Whether he made this himself, or ordered it in, I don’t know. Whether it worked or not, I don’t know!
Inez Mahony has written some useful research reports on dukun practice:
http://www.serve.com/inside/edit75/p11-12mahony.html
http://www.murdoch.edu.au/acicis/hi/field_topics/inez.doc
According to Mahony, dukun are a normal and accepted part of Javanese society:
Dukun [are] traditionally… sorcerers and curers, predominantly male practitioners of Javanese mysticism from the various subcategories of santri, priyayi and abangan, who practice a variety of dukun specialties yet may be more skilled in a particular area. Literature suggests dukun regularly played a central role as priest, spirit contact and respected elder in the many traditional Javanese rituals and ceremonies and that dukun were generally consulted as curer and helper in alleviating physical, mental and spiritual problems.
Being a dukun is therefore consistent with Pak Subuh’s social origins and social class—priyayi—and his calling: spiritual guide.
Mahony tells us that:
…Today many dukuns mix these practices with Islamic terminology and thinking (by claiming, for instance, that whether their medicines work or not is ‘up to God’), and in one study, 50% of them didn’t want to be identified as a dukun, which they saw as associated with ‘black magic’. These dukuns prefer the term ‘orang tua’ — ‘old man’.
Among the many dukun practices is the preparation of rajah. Mahony describes the rajah thus:
The usual methods of treatment by santri [orthodox Islamic] dukun include chanting specially adapted verses from the Koran or burning rajah over glasses of water, which are then given to the client to drink.
From another source:
…a Qur’anic inscription is written on a leaf or piece of paper. The recipient soaks it in a glass of water that is drunk. This practice is undoubtedly an abangan legacy.
A rajah inscribed on a leaf. Pak Subuh’s were written on paper, which was then burned, and the ashes dissolved in water for the patient to drink.
Pak Subuh definitely prepared rajah. In one of his talks, he said: “I was surprised; I thought Mrs Subardjo must be ill. I started to collect some paper and a pen in case I needed to make a rajah.” [64 TJK 4] In another, he said: “That is why, for example, Bapak has advised you not to try, for example, to make rajahs. You may have heard that Bapak sometimes makes a rajah for people when they are sick.” [84 CDK 6]
When Pak Prio Hartono described his first encounter with Pak Subuh, he wrote, in Volume 2 of Inner Wisdom:
Suardi came to tell me that our mutual friend, Masrul Latif Pane, had arranged an appointment for me to meet a dukun (faith healer)… Masrul Latif introduced him as Pak Subuh and asked me to explain the purpose of my visit. This too annoyed me since it was not my idea to meet this dukun.
However, elsewhere Pak Subuh demurs from being called a dukun:
Bapak agrees that he is willing to give people rajahs, but sometimes there is no need to ask for one. And if Bapak were to make a habit of doing this, would you be pleased if people called Bapak a dukun (witch-doctor)? [80 CDK 1]
Mahony tells us that up to 50% of dukun do not want to be called dukun, for fear of being labelled a dukun santet: a black magician. We can see, however, that Pak Subuh thought that traditional dukun practices were helpful to people, and was not averse to preparing the occasional rajah.
This is where it gets interesting.
Medicine is not the only area in which dukun are asked for advice. According to Martin van Bruinessen, in addition to problems with illness, a dukun’s advice is also called upon for:
- economic difficulties
- career issues
- partner problems.
Moreover, dukun are asked to name children, which ties in with Javanese beliefs with regard to the importance of a person’s name in determining their fate. Almost certainly, the story of Pak Subuh’s own name-change, as he tells it in his Autobiography, involved a dukun:
The baby was named Sukarno. However, because he was sickly, his name was changed to Muhammad Subuh by a mysterious old man that nobody knew. Grandfather accepted the change of name with a feeling of satisfaction as its meaning fitted exactly the time of the baby’s birth: dawn. Thereafter, the baby was both happy and healthy.
There seems to me to a strong correlation between dukun practices, and the kinds of practices that Pak Subuh undertook because he saw them as helpful to Subud members. He would prepare the occasional rajah. He offered name-change advice, and career direction advice. All of these are consistent with the beliefs of the people of his place and time.
However, we need to ask ourselves:
- Are these practices consistent with our own place and time?
- Is it good and appropriate for Subud, which aspires to be international and universal in its practice and appeal, to be the conduit for disseminating practices that are local to mid-20th century Java?
It is interesting as always to read your research, which you put together in a very thorough academic way. I have always been fascinated by shamanism and by traditional healers. As a university educated Medical Herbalist, I have studied traditional medicine of the Chinese and Greek traditions. What I find odd is that when I mention animistic or paganistic traditions to Subud members there is often a strong abhorrence that Pak Subuh would be connected to these pre-monotheistic religious traditions.
A theme I see in your writings is that Subud’s guiding concepts are older than 1930/40/50,and that Pak Subuh did not invent these concepts, as a unique philosophy.
Of the questions you ask, all I can say is that Subud is a paradox when the exercise is based on has the aim of awakening and training the individual soul, but one man’s particular cosmology is taught as the basis of Subud. It’s hard to get my head around.
I wish you would write an article asking these questions to a larger audience, such as in Subud Voice, SWN or the UK Journal.
What are the main themes that you’d like to see explore in such an article?
Your articles are always interesting David but they always follow a particular stream of thought and thus suffer from incompleteness and a failure to alert us to your interpretation, which is often taken as obviously ‘true’.
In the dukun article you never refer to the issue of the source of a traditional dukun’s power, which is crucial from a spiritual perspective and definitely something that Bapak spoke about. Naming children may be done by a dukun but its spiritual benefit depends on the source of the name. I believe Bapak on a number of occasions referred to the fact that usually a dukun’s powers did not arise from a pure source and that was problematic. He contrasted this with the kind of spitiual gifts that might arise from the latihan.
And if I remember correctly, it was not a dukun that appeared when Bapak was ill as a child. Some of us used to think it was Khizr but Bapak stated that it was Sunan Kalijaga (alternative spellings apply), whom is considered one of the wali songo or nine saints responsible for spreading Islam throughout Java. He is definitely not to be confused with being a dukun.
You write:
- Are these practices consistent with our own place and time?
- Is it good and appropriate for Subud, which aspires to be international and universal in its practice and appeal, to be the conduit for disseminating practices that are local to mid-20th century Java?
What is so unique about our own place and time? My place is Thailand so these ideas are fairly common. I suspect when referring to time you mean the Age of Science and Reason. Being a postmodern sort of guy can’t you see how different worldviews might co-exist? And is Subud really disseminating these practices? You already mentioned that Bapak warned against doing rajas and you can add to this giving names to others.
You make too much out of these things for some reason.
Iljas
I gather from what you’ve said that (a) you believe in the effectiveness of dukuns–depending on where they get their power; (b) you believe in the power of “the right names” to confirm “spiritual benefits”, (c) you believe in visitations by dead people.
I don’t believe in dukun powers. I remember being told about the great encounter between the Dutch cannons and the Javanese magical weapons. The cannons one side; the magical krises on the other: bye-bye, Javan empire. I also know from my work in Indonesia that if poor people have no money, they go to a dukun; if they can afford it, they go to a doctor. I don’t think they’re being stupid. They know from that harshest and most direct experience what works, and what doesn’t. Middle class white folk, on the other hand, always backstopped by the public health and medical system, aren’t forced into that choice.
I also don’t believe that “spiritual benefit” can be had by getting the “right name”. The traditional Javanese change their names constantly, maintain different names for different purposes, get name-changes to change their fortune, and support all this by the Hindu musical metaphor for the universe. There is no injunction or advice in Islam that supports such a practice. Islamic parents are enjoined to give their children names with good meanings: that’s it. In the West, this belief is the province of numerology, like the site advertising this service: “The power of your knowing your name’s meaning is in it’s ability to reveal the spiritual and emotional urgings of your soul that are meant to be expressed through the talents and physical capabilities of your personality. Together these radiate as your unique quality of consciousness and all that you intrinsically are – your character and the ways that you express it. Name Consciousness is great for understanding your names meaning, finding the perfect baby names or predicting the effects of name changes!” Perhaps Subud can open up such shopfront, too: imagine the endless benefits to humanity.
Some of you used to think it was Khizr? That sounds to me like empty speculation. And, again, it requires belief in mythological figures, or rather a LITERAL belief in mythology. I love the Mahabharata. It informs my life. But if I were to start taking it literally, or worse–to start seeing Arjuna in the back garden–not only would that be weird, but it would miss the whole point of the Mahabharata.
What I see going on in Subud is a conflation of animistic beliefs with religion, and spiritism with spirituality. Neither religion nor spirituality require one to reject a scientific understanding of the world.
Consider the words of one Lisa E. Park, a professor of paleontology at the University of Akron, on visiting the Creation Museum: “I think they should rename the museum — not the Creation Museum, but the Confusion Museum. Unfortunately, they do it knowingly. I was dismayed. As a Christian, I was dismayed.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/30/science/30muse.html
Most of the people fighting the Creationists are Christians, who don’t want Christianity conflated with ignorance, or the adoption of Medieval or superseded beliefs. Or look at Islam in its Golden Age, when it was centred in Baghdad. Or Buddhism today, in which the Dalai Lama can say: “If science finds anything that contradicts Buddhism, then Buddhism must change.”
On Subuh’s childhood: How would Pak Subuh discern as a child that this was Sunan Kalijaga? After all, Mr Kalijaga was long dead by then. You’re not now saying that Pak Subuh consorted with dead spirits? Even more evidence that he was steeped in animism, not Islam. In Islam, when you’re dead, your dead, which is why you won’t find in Islam thousands of stories about apparitions of famous dead people, as you will in animist societies, or European spiritualism (or in Subud, for that matter.) People see visions of dead people in those societies in which people believe that kind of thing. On the whole, Muslims don’t.
Furthermore, here is what Subuh said about his own birth: “The baby was named Sukarno. However, because he was sickly, his name was changed to Muhammad Subuh by a mysterious old man that nobody knew. Grandfather accepted the change of name with a feeling of satisfaction as its meaning fitted exactly the time of the baby’s birth: dawn. Thereafter, the baby was both happy and healthy. This is what my mother told me about my birth.”
Nothing else. It should be clear from this passage that Pak Subuh did not remember this incident first hand, but heard it from his mother. If he didn’t recall the incident, how could he remember the “mysterious old man”? And if elsewhere and later he decided it was Sunan Kalijaga (whom he also claimed as ancestor), this more likely falls into the category of “authorization stories”, other examples of which would be his statements that “the jinn say I’m the World Teacher” and “the Queen of the South Seas wants to marry me.”
Do you believe that there is a green queen, covered in seaweed, living under the water off the West Coast of Java. For an alternative view, see this:
http://www.radix.net/~bardsley/censor.html
I agree that different worldviews can, and do, co-exist. That doesn’t mean that we have to subscribe to them all, or that they’re of equal value to human beings, or to our lives. Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, “Intelligent Design” and social darwinism are all beliefs that co-exist with us today… That doesn’t mean that they’re good ones to hold. I’m sure that Thailand is today full of beliefs in spirits. So too in Indonesia. Why did my car break down? Hantu, hantu, hantu. Needless to say, when people believe that spirits cause their cars to break down, it becomes more difficult to instill a culture of periodic maintenance.
The postmodern worldview accepts that many worldviews are viable. Thus, a world filled with spirits, life forces, levels, name-change, mysterious strangers, ancestral baggage, etc can be a viable world in which people are born, live, love, die, and raise the next generation. It was a viable world for centuries, for feudal Javanese. That doesn’t mean we should seek to adopt it.
It also accepts that all are human constructs. All of them. So that the “reality” that Subud community has constructed for itself, around the texts of the talks, is no more nor less real than any other social construction.
Again, this is not a matter of secularism versus religion. It’s a distinction between religion that’s practiced in a way that is tune with the wonders and successes of modern knowledge and technology, and religion that desires to hang onto medieval beliefs and magical thinking.
You finish with: “You make too much out of these things for some reason.”
I only take it seriously (or more precisely did), because the Subud community takes it seriously. Thus, we have the principal of an enterprise which has spent some $13m looking for gold in Kalimantan reporting: “Baroi is located 5 kilometers east of Lakapoi or Bapak’s Thumb, which is where Bapak placed his thumb on a map in 1985 indicating the place we should live. Bapak explained in some detail at the time, the type of house and size of the rooms we should each have. In hindsight five kilometers is an ideal distance for people to live from a mine site. This may well be another excellent indication that Baroi is the prospect we have been waiting for.” The writer is a delightful human being, but that such ways of thinking (and that’s all it is) are harmful.
I say “or more precisely ‘did’ ” because I’ve come to realise there are thousands, if not tends of thousands of little religious groups in the world, all with their unusual, historically-given beliefs, many of them thinking that they are central to a divine plan, or are the key to the future of humanity. And that says much about human beings.
I’ve also come to realise that those in Subud who choose to live so–like the Creationists–do so wilfully. They want to live in that world they have constructed for themselves. No-one has to join them, and few now do. I choose not to.
What I’d like to establish here is some cultural context and some (dare I say it) objective truth around Subud’s history, including the character and beliefs of Pak Subuh, in place of the blind reverence which seems to be so widespread. That reverence, it seems to me, leads to uncritical consumption of his views and opinions.
I write not because I hope to change Subud, but as a resource for other Subud members who feel discomfort with the spiritism and magical thinking–especially for those in the 2nd and 3rd generations, who never chose these beliefs, but were inducted into them before they had a choice.
David
Your writing is replete with logical fallacies David. Because I believe that Bapapk had the power from God to give names that were of spiritual significance doesn’t mean I believe that all dukuns have unlimited powers. Therefore telling us about the Javans’ (with their krises) defeat at the hands of the Dutch armed with cannons is completely irrelevant, as is your story about how poor people go to traditional healers when they can’t afford a modern Western trained doctor.
Many of the prophets and great spiritual figures had healing powers and used them out of compassion. In their own cultures there were dukun-like characters. As far as I understand matters, the prophets attributed their healing powers to God and not to occult powers. There is nothing wrong with healing powers as such. They are often based on herbs and other medicinal substances. Practices similar to the rajah are common in North Africa and perhaps other Islamic cultures. I think many of these things have become debased but there may be a truth in them. Revealing these truths may be one of the latihan’s fruits.
You give the impression that Bapak and many Subud members are against the application of science and technology. But you know that is not the case. Bapak has encouraged us to use our minds (S&T) to advance our material and physical well-being and our social life. I have a religious worldview yet I drive a car, take it to be maintained, fill it with petrol, change the tyres etc and before driving off I say “Bismillah”. I listen to music on an Apple mac, but not during Ramadhan. I do use it to listen to Bapak’s talks during Ramadhan. I love some science and technology. I use modern medicine but realize in some instances I know myself better than a doctor and that many modern medicines have bad side effects. I have also learned that through the latihan I can sometimes find the cause and a solution to a health problem and thus don’t always need to run to the doctor. I’d say this is normal in Subud. For Bapak the development of science and technology can be inspired by God. But he didn’t give it more importance than the spiritual. See next point.
You seem to want science to be the arbiter of what is true in religion. You will no doubt feel more at ease with the Dalai Lama’s interpretation of Buddhism in that case as you point out he has said something similar. But then again he neither believes in God or the soul. If your religion is based only on the mind and your own efforts that kind of materialist conclusion seems unremarkable to me. And until science disproves it, he is happy to approve that a certain child is a reincarnation of a deceased lama because the child chose the possessions of the deceased lama when presented with a diverse group of items. I don’t think this kind of practice is something that is of much interest to scientists. So I don’t think that particular aspect of Tibetan Buddhism will be challenged by science as such.
Bapak as you know has spoken of the relation between science and spirit in terms of an ontological hierarchy, which is the position in Islamic metaphysics and in Christian (Eastern Orthodox) metaphysics. Bapak’s explanations I think are fairly nuanced, something you fail to acknowledge. Scientific reasoning cannot enter into the spiritual dimension and so cannot pass judgement on what pertains to that dimension. Of course this sort of “debate” has a long history and there are philosophers more knowledgeable than you or me who have rejected your inverted hierarchy of values. Mystics too, for want of a better word, have rejected your upturned hierarchy. According to Rumi (13th century):
“The man more perfect in erudition is behind in meaning and ahead in form….
A knowledge is needed whose root is upon the other side, since every branch leads to its root.
Every wing cannot fly across the breadth of the ocean: Only a knowledge that comes directly from Him can take one to Him”.
And, like Bapak, Rumi didn’t reject science and technology, he pointed out:
“Those people who have studied or are now
studying imagine that if they attend faithfully here [the spiritual exercise, sama] they will
forget and abandon all their knowledge. On the contrary, when
they come here all their sciences will acquire a spirit. The science are all paintings. When they gain spirits, it is as if a lifeless
body receives a spirit. The root of all these sciences is from
Yonder, but they have been transported from the world
without sounds and letters into the world of sounds and
letters.”
W. Chittick, 1983.The Sufi Path of Love, p. 25-26.
You frequently paint a picture of Bapak which elevates in importance and significance remarks about dukuns, healing etc and relegate (virtually jettison) his remarks about what is of supreme importance for Subud members: Surrendering to the Will of God. Bapak I’d say consistently confirms the Quranic characterization of the Creator and our position vis a vis the Creator. I understand that you are not comfortable with this kind of language and I believe it is leading you to paint a highly misleading and biased picture of Bapak and the contents of his talks. You emphasise the peripheral and de-emphasise the core in Bapak’s life and talks as the core is decidedly spiritual.
The fact that you don’t believe in the spiritual benefits of names or visitations of the dead simply means that you haven’t experienced these things and aren’t prepared to accept the opinions of others. And another logical fallacy: The fact that Indonesians change names frequently including for non-spiritual purposes doesn’t invalidate the idea that names can confer spiritual benefit. But of course one shouldn’t overstate the case. I think Bapak and Ibu have faithfully avoided this. As someone who has changed his name, I have had experience of its spiritual benefit. The name Bapak gave me is the name associated with my soul and I have from time to time found that very helpful on my spiritual journey, no more than that. If you don’t believe in the soul then of course you can’t appreciate that. Renaming is common in most spiritual traditions. Is it simply a case of taking a name with a good meaning? Perhaps there was a deeper dimension now lost and refound in Subud? It’s possible. In latihan I have had an experience involving someone who had died years previously. I think many Subud members have had such experiences. It is very different I believe from spiritism where you intend to contact the spirit of someone who has died. You don’t have to believe in these experiences to practice the latihan. For those who have such experiences they don’t take up a central position in one’s life or spiritual practice. Muslims you tell us don’t have such experiences. But you will find in Islamic culture in general lots of experiences with the Jinn! Perhaps one has to be receptive in the first place.
You say you write not to change Subud but as a resource for Subud members who might be similarly uncomfortable with the kind of ideas you have written about. I hope I have shown above that you are doing more than that. You have devoted considerable time and energy and intellectual resources not simply to say that we don’t have to believe these things to benefit from the latihan. Instead you have misrepresented Bapak. You have elevated in significance the peripheral and ignored the core contents of Bapak’s talks and advice to Subud members. In fact you are totally silent on Bapak’s core message. Curious I’d say.
It would be interesting if you were to write about your experience of the latihan, talk about the meaning of the latihan for someone whose belief system is not theistic. It would be of interest to those of us who share a common practice with people with a very different worldview. It may be useful for those less experienced Subud members who find it difficult to adopt a spiritual worldview but wish for something positive while they develop in the latihan.