Magnus Hendratmo

Kapundhan Udan is not just an annual cultural event for villagers in Bunder Jarakan, Jatianom district, Klaten regency, Central Java. For them, udan, which means rain, always brings forth thanksgiving. The villagers feel blessed because they rely on rainfall for clean water. The rain is collected in at least 100 big water containers throughout the village, home to some 150 families.

“Kapundhan Udan is our greatest thanksgiving for rainwater,” said Gunawan, a young man who initiated the cultural event.

Villagers have also made a pond as a source of water for their cattle. The pond has become a meeting point where villagers bring their cattle and have a chit chat.

The Kapundhan Udan ceremony this year began on Friday, March 2, as villagers collected water from seven containers. Small earthenware jugs had been filled with water 15 days earlier and were being stored in the field. On that Friday morning, hundreds of their cows were bathed in the pond in the ngguyang sapi tradition. It was a gesture of feeling blessed by God. Later that night, villagers began to parade around the area carrying the earthenware jugs. Upon reaching the pond, the villagers poured the water into the pond as a symbol of rainfall.

The villagers continued the ceremony with dancing and music as a show of gratitude to God for giving them the water essential for their daily lives. [yan]