page_title: Slametan
section_title: Procedure
hierarchical_section_title: Slametan / Procedure
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Repronegatief. Een religieuze maaltijd "selamatan" in Tjibodas
context_page_description: The slametan is the communal feast from Java, symbolizing the social unity of those participating in it. Clifford Geertz considered it the core ritual in Javanese religion, in particular the abangan variant. The feast is common among the closely related Javanese, Sundanese and Madurese people.
  A slametan can be given to celebrate almost any occurrence, including birth, marriage, death, moving to a new house, and so forth. Depending on the intention, the mood and emphasis may vary somewhat, but the main structure is the same. Geertz categorizes them into four main types:
  Those relating to the crises of life: birth, circumcision, marriage, and death
  Those associated with events of the Islamic calendar
  The bersih désa, concerned with the social integration of the village
  Those held irregularly depending on unusual occurrences: departing for a long trip, moving residence, changing personal names, illness, sorcery, and so on
  The ceremony takes its name from the Javanese word slamet, from Arabic: salam, which refers to a peaceful state of equanimity, in which nothing will happen.
context_section_description: Slametans are generally held in the evening, after evening prayer is finished. The date is determined either by the occurrence it is celebrating (for births and deaths, for example), or on auspicious days in the Javanese calendar. The guests, always men, are always close neighbors, and the selection of guests is based entirely on proximity, and not whether they are friends or relatives. They are called by a messenger of the host (usually a child of his) only five or ten minutes before the slametan is to begin, and they must drop whatever they are doing to come.
  When they arrive, the guests sit on floor mats around the food which has been placed in the center, while incense fills the room. The ceremony begins with a formal speech (udjub) in high Javanese. The speech thanks the attendees for coming, presents the reason for the slametan, announces his intentions and petitions the spirits to secure for himself and his guests a state of equanimity (slamet, hence the name of the ritual), and finally apologizes for any errors in his speech and the humble inadequacy of the food. During pauses in the speech, the audience responds with solemn "inggih" ("yes").
  Following the speech, somebody present gives an Arabic chant-prayer. Many will not know how, but the host makes sure that someone there had attended a religious school (usually a kyai); for special occasions he may even invite the village religious specialist (the modin). Fragments of the Koran, especially the al-Fatiha, are most commonly used, although special prayers may be used if they are known. At pauses the audience says "amen" (amin). The prayer leader receives a small payment (wadjib).
  At last, the food is served. While the ceremony is strictly for men, the food preparation falls upon the women in the family, who for larger ceremonies may draw on kin to assist in the preparation. Each guest receives a cup of tea and a banana-leaf dish containing each sort of food in the center of the room. The food is fancier than average, and each variety has a symbolic meaning, which is sometimes explained in the speech. The host himself does not eat, nor does he serve the food, which one or two of the guests do. When everybody has a dish, the host invites them to eat, which they do quickly without speaking. After a few minutes, and before eating most of the food, the guests excuse themselves, and finish eating the food in their own homes, with their own wives and children. The whole ceremony usually lasts only ten or fifteen minutes.
caption: A Slametan in a mosque in Cibodas, with tumpeng as its main menu. ca. 1907.
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