In the tradition of the Betawi people in the month of Maulid (the month of the Hijri calendar) there is a celebration to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad SAW or commonly referred to as the Maulid Nabi. However, in some Betawi people, especially those who live in Kramat Aris, Setu Village, Cipayung District, East Jakarta, there is other ceremony that is held annually by local people called the Baritan or Babarit ceremony.

The word Baritan means alms to the earth. This ceremony is held as a series of Mauludan ceremony. The Baritan ceremony is one of the traditions of the Betawi people who are descendants of Kramat Aris.

Then who is Kramat Aris?

Kramat Aris was a student of Sunan Gunung Djati or Syarif Hidayatullah or also known as Panembangan Cirebon. Kramat Aris whose real name is Aris Wisesa later became known as Pak Aris. Pak Aris was the elder of the Betawi people in the Setu area. During his lifetime, he was trusted by the public as a helpful person. Therefore, after he died, his grave was sacred by them and was given the name Kramat Aris.

Another version tells that the location of Kramat Aris was a shelter for a person named Aris Wisesa, who then disappeared. There were three names of his descendants, who later became the caretaker of Kramat Aris, namely Aki Atma Winata (Ki Nata), Aki Murtani (Ki Tani), and Aki Ateng.

Back to the Baritan ceremony, this ceremony is held annually which is the message of the ancestors of the Betawi people in Kampung Setu, or the descendants of Aris Wisesa. Therefore, the ceremony is one of the traditions of the Betawi people of Aris Wisesa descent, both inside and outside the Kampung Setu area. Now, there are also members of the community who are not descendants of Aris Wisesa who attend the ceremony, including those who usually go on pilgrimages to Kramat Aris.

The Baritan ceremony was originally intended to honor the spirits of the ancestors as the protector of the village. During its development, the ceremony is also a means of conveying gratitude to the Almighty for His blessings, especially regarding agricultural products.

The Baritan ceremony is held every year, precisely in the month of Maulud. The choice of the date for the ceremony is not carried out arbitrarily, but there are conditions. First, the Baritan ceremony must be held after the Mauludan ceremony in Cirebon; second, the day of the Baritan ceremony must be on Friday.

However, there is no provision that regulates the distance between the day of the Baritan ceremony and the day of Mauludan in Cirebon as long as the time is still in the month of Maulud and must be on Friday. If the date is not Friday, it can be confirmed that the ceremony will have to be postponed to another date which coincides with Friday. The person in charge of determining the date for the Baritan ceremony is usually the caretaker of Kramat Aris.

Another version of the Baritan Ceremony

In several Betawi villages, the Baritan ceremony is expressed in various forms of offerings, namely in the form of food, drink, fruit, entertainment, bancakan or tahlilan and burying four buffalo heads in four directions. Since the price of buffalo is so expensive some people replace them with goat heads, as was done in Pondok Rangon Village.

Besides being held in the month of Maulud, there are also those who carry it out after the main harvest on the Great Day (Hari Raya Agung), to be precise on the 10th of the month of Hajj. In several villages, it was held during the month of Sha'ban or the month of Rowah before the fasting month. This ceremony is centered at the Keramat Ganceng location and led by the caretaker of Keramat Ganceng.

The implementation of this rite consists of four stages. The first is preparation (calculating the cost, the number of invitations and so on). The second stage is the implementation of the ritual which is centered on the sacred grave of Ganceng and is filled with tahlilan and eating meals together with all the participants of the ceremony.

Usually in the afternoon before the ceremony, all participants deliver offerings in the form of various kinds of food, drinks, rujak, risol, cakes, pastries, various fruits, and all that are harvested by the local community. The third stage is Ngarak Kepala Kerbau to be burried in the four cardinal directions, including burying in the Keramat Bambu Ampel. The fourth stage is entertainment in the form of kanji kliningan, ibing sawer, wayang kulit and layar tancep.