Customs
- On 31 Mar 2021
Gotong Royong in Betawi's Culture: from Making Dodol to Moving Houses
The tradition of gotong royong has indeed become a characteristic of Indonesian. Gotong royong means cooperation, gathering and deliberation to work on something for the benefit of all. Each region in Indonesia has its own term for gotong royong. In Jakarta, especially the Betawi people, the term gotong royong is called Paketan.
Paketan literally means gathering and deliberating to carry out community service or mutual cooperation. In metaphor, Paketan means working together voluntarily to solve all the problems that exist in the midst of society.
In the Paketan tradition among the Betawi people, there is a common proverb which says ‘kalo mao samè-samè, semut bisa mindain gunung/’
This means that if they are working together, even ants can move a mountain. This proverb is still relevant today and even this mutual cooperation can still be found among the Betawi people. They generally work together in the construction of a house or mosque.
The residents would gather and were coordinated by a local community figure—nowadays, the head of the RT or RW usually act as the community figure.. We can still find this gotong royong in the Betawi villages that still exist in Jakarta. For example, the Betawi village in Rawa Belong, Pos Pengumben, West Jakarta, or in Betawi Village in Srengseng Sawah, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.
Beside building mosques or cleaning the environment, there are other gotong royong activities among the Betawi people, such as gotong royong for making dodol, ngubek empang, gotong royong at weddings, etc. The following are some examples of gotong royong among the Betawi people.
Gotong Royong of Making Dodol
Gotong royong to make dodol, a local traditional snack, is usually carried out before the Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran day. The dodol that is made together is to be served during the Eid holidays.
Betawi people are so friendly in terms of mutual cooperation in making dodol, even ancient Betawi families whose houses were close to each other used to collecting the ingredients for making dodol. From buying the ingredients to making the products, all activities were carried out together.
The dodol dough is stirred at least by two people alternately for seven hours. The activity of stirring dodol is not only a ritual to produce snacks, but also implies faith and community values. For example, the values of friendship, gotong royong, hard work, and harmony.
As long as the cultural values of gotong royong, helping each other, in making Betawinese dodol done together by the Betawi ethnicity, the values of togetherness will be higher and unified so that the cultural value of dodol as a typical Betawi food will not be eroded by modern foods. However, if the making of Betawinese dodol as a typical Betawi food has been left behind, the values of mutual help will fade over time.
Ngubek Empang
Ngubek empang is usually done when there is a pond that will be drained either to be cleaned or to be harvested. When draining the pond, usually the community will be involved in the Ngubek Empang activity. The atmosphere of gotong royong is felt in this activity. Together, the people catch the fish in the pond. The fish consist of fish that are intentionally planted such as goldfish and carp and there are also fish that are accidentally planted such as cork, catfish, tilapia, and so on.
If someone finds goldfish or carp during the process, he has to give it to the owner of the pond, yet they can keep other fish than those for himself. After the process of draining the pond is completed and the fish have been collected, usually the owner of the pond will distribute some of the fish to residents who participated in the Ngubek Empang activity.
The cultural value of gotong royong in the ngubek empang activity is relatively still alive today. For example in the Betawi Cultural Village Setu Babakan, there are still residents who have ponds. Most of the Betawi residents think that ponds have a recreational value or entertainment in their spare time.
For some Betawi residents, managing fish in the pond has its own artistic value, which can eliminate boredom. If the activity of ngubek empang still exists in the Betawi Cultural Village of Setu Babakan, the value of togetherness as the glue for the value of gotong royong will be increasingly visible, but this is supported by the existence of the pond itself.
Gotong Royong at Weddings
At the time of preparation for the wedding, togetherness and gotong royong are still visible. Until now, the tradition of deliberation before holding a wedding ceremony is still maintained by the Betawi people, especially those who still live in the village. At the deliberation, usually the relatives of the prospective bride and groom will voluntarily offer assistance in goods and money to the family of the bride and groom. They deliberate to determine what items will be provided and are usually divided evenly across the extended family.
Gotong Royong in Making Houses
Gentlemen, mothers, and teenagers usually participate in the gotong royong in building houses. Fathers and teenagers usually carry hoes, machetes, sickles and blencong. Meanwhile, the duty of the mothers is to cook or prepare food for those who work to make houses. Among the Betawi people, making or moving houses is a very sacred activity, so usually there are certain conditions, including determining a day that is considered suitable for starting the process of building or moving houses.
Paketan literally means gathering and deliberating to carry out community service or mutual cooperation. In metaphor, Paketan means working together voluntarily to solve all the problems that exist in the midst of society.
In the Paketan tradition among the Betawi people, there is a common proverb which says ‘kalo mao samè-samè, semut bisa mindain gunung/’
This means that if they are working together, even ants can move a mountain. This proverb is still relevant today and even this mutual cooperation can still be found among the Betawi people. They generally work together in the construction of a house or mosque.
The residents would gather and were coordinated by a local community figure—nowadays, the head of the RT or RW usually act as the community figure.. We can still find this gotong royong in the Betawi villages that still exist in Jakarta. For example, the Betawi village in Rawa Belong, Pos Pengumben, West Jakarta, or in Betawi Village in Srengseng Sawah, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta.
Beside building mosques or cleaning the environment, there are other gotong royong activities among the Betawi people, such as gotong royong for making dodol, ngubek empang, gotong royong at weddings, etc. The following are some examples of gotong royong among the Betawi people.
Gotong Royong of Making Dodol
Gotong royong to make dodol, a local traditional snack, is usually carried out before the Eid al-Fitr or Lebaran day. The dodol that is made together is to be served during the Eid holidays.
Betawi people are so friendly in terms of mutual cooperation in making dodol, even ancient Betawi families whose houses were close to each other used to collecting the ingredients for making dodol. From buying the ingredients to making the products, all activities were carried out together.
The dodol dough is stirred at least by two people alternately for seven hours. The activity of stirring dodol is not only a ritual to produce snacks, but also implies faith and community values. For example, the values of friendship, gotong royong, hard work, and harmony.
As long as the cultural values of gotong royong, helping each other, in making Betawinese dodol done together by the Betawi ethnicity, the values of togetherness will be higher and unified so that the cultural value of dodol as a typical Betawi food will not be eroded by modern foods. However, if the making of Betawinese dodol as a typical Betawi food has been left behind, the values of mutual help will fade over time.
Ngubek Empang
Ngubek empang is usually done when there is a pond that will be drained either to be cleaned or to be harvested. When draining the pond, usually the community will be involved in the Ngubek Empang activity. The atmosphere of gotong royong is felt in this activity. Together, the people catch the fish in the pond. The fish consist of fish that are intentionally planted such as goldfish and carp and there are also fish that are accidentally planted such as cork, catfish, tilapia, and so on.
If someone finds goldfish or carp during the process, he has to give it to the owner of the pond, yet they can keep other fish than those for himself. After the process of draining the pond is completed and the fish have been collected, usually the owner of the pond will distribute some of the fish to residents who participated in the Ngubek Empang activity.
The cultural value of gotong royong in the ngubek empang activity is relatively still alive today. For example in the Betawi Cultural Village Setu Babakan, there are still residents who have ponds. Most of the Betawi residents think that ponds have a recreational value or entertainment in their spare time.
For some Betawi residents, managing fish in the pond has its own artistic value, which can eliminate boredom. If the activity of ngubek empang still exists in the Betawi Cultural Village of Setu Babakan, the value of togetherness as the glue for the value of gotong royong will be increasingly visible, but this is supported by the existence of the pond itself.
Gotong Royong at Weddings
At the time of preparation for the wedding, togetherness and gotong royong are still visible. Until now, the tradition of deliberation before holding a wedding ceremony is still maintained by the Betawi people, especially those who still live in the village. At the deliberation, usually the relatives of the prospective bride and groom will voluntarily offer assistance in goods and money to the family of the bride and groom. They deliberate to determine what items will be provided and are usually divided evenly across the extended family.
Gotong Royong in Making Houses
Gentlemen, mothers, and teenagers usually participate in the gotong royong in building houses. Fathers and teenagers usually carry hoes, machetes, sickles and blencong. Meanwhile, the duty of the mothers is to cook or prepare food for those who work to make houses. Among the Betawi people, making or moving houses is a very sacred activity, so usually there are certain conditions, including determining a day that is considered suitable for starting the process of building or moving houses.
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Bujaka - Aplikasi Budaya Jakarta |
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DINAS KEBUDAYAAN PROVINSI DKI JAKARTA
Jalan Gatot Subroto Kav. 40-41 Lt. 11 dan 12
Kelurahan Kuningan Timur, Kecamatan Setiabudi
Jakarta Selatan
DKI Jakarta, 12950
(021) 252-3164
dinaskebudayaandki@gmail.com
