Cembengan: A ritual ahead of sugarcane milling season

Thu, June 2, 2016 / 10:36 pm

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Various offerings in the Cembengan ritual, including buffalo heads, colored sticky rice, multifarious cakes and crops. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Two bearers carry the buffalo heads, the main offerings, in the Cembengan ritual at the Tasik Madoe sugar factory in Karanganyar, Central Java. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Buffalo heads are believed to symbolize the power to dispel evil spirits and bring goodness. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Some executives from the Tasik Madoe sugar factory join the Cembengan procession. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Warok or reog [masked dance] entourage accompanies the procession of the Cembengan offerings to the Tasik Madoe sugar factory. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Several shaman pray after placing the offerings next to the sugar mills. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Hundreds of residents watch the performance of a masked dance in the front yard of the Tasik Madoe sugar factory. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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The sugarcane wedding procession enters the vicinity of the Tasik Madoe sugar factory in Karanganyar, Central Java. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A couple carry two sugarcane effigies symbolizing the groom and his bride in the Cembengan ritual. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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The ‘sugarcane wedding’ entourage enters the milling area. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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Several workers place the sugarcane sticks on the belt ready for milling. JP/ Ganug Nugroho Adi
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The sugarcane couple effigies, Bagus Mandara and Rara Ayu Manis Laksmi, are ready to be milled to mark the start of the milling season. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A teenage couple carry sugarcane couple effigies on a cart drawn by a tractor to join the Cembengan parade. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A slogan reads “Steady, stable and safe milling” at the sugar factory. JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A clay piggy bank and wooden car toys are on display during the Cembengan night market. JP/ Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A mini Ferris wheel, locally known as a drumolen, was among the attractions in the Cembengan night market. JP/ Ganug Nugroho Adi
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A vendor prepares a toy boat at the Cembengan night market. JP/ Ganug Nugroho Adi

Residents of Karanganyar in Central Java and the workers of the sugar factory, Tasik Madoe, stage a two-day ritual on May 12 and 13 known as the Cembengan procession to dispel evil spirits and ask for safe and smooth milling.

The ritual begins with a parade of offerings that include seven buffalo heads, red and white sticky rice, a cone-shaped rice dish and multifarious crops. The offerings are placed on a small decorative palanquin carried from the Suruh village hall to the sugar factory, which is located five kilometers from the hall.

The Cembengan ritual refers to the night market being held after the harvest in April or May in the vicinity of the sugar factories.

The peak of the Cembengan ritual is the parade of the so-called sugarcane wedding, involving a teenage couple carrying sugarcane sticks tied with small effigies symbolizing a local groom and his bride, the traditional figures of Bagus Mandara and Rara Ayu Manis Laksmi.

“The ritual has been performed for decades. This is how we ask for safety and cast away any hurdles during the milling season,” said Teguh, a Tasik Madu sugar factory administrator.

The crowd of locals joined the parade along the Karanganyar streets.

The sugarcane effigies become the first crops placed into the running mill to mark the beginning of the milling process for the next 100 days. [dmr]

JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi