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The battle of rice cakes
Ammunition: Sasak Muslims carry ketupat and offerings to the Kemaliq building
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Ammunition: Sasak Muslims carry ketupat and offerings to the Kemaliq building.
A din fills the front yard of the Lingsar temple complex. Hundreds of people have congregated into two camps, one Muslim, the other Hindu, to fight against each other, with rice cakes.
The Hindu community occupies the yard of the Gaduh temple, a sacred place for them to pray, while members of the Sasak Muslim community hold the front yard of the Kemaliq building, also a prayer spot.
After the initial instructions have been given, the two groups begin hurling ketupat or topat — rice cakes boiled in a trapezoidal packet of woven coconut leaves — at each other. A frenzy ensues, with people running for cover to avoid being hit, then taking up positions to throw more ketupat back at the others.
The event is a unique tradition in Lombok known as the Perang Topat (Topat Battle), which involves people throwing ketupat and nothing else at each other.
Battles are usually synonymous with anger and violence, a physical clash between two parties in dispute. But the Perang Topat in Lombok, which involves hundreds of people from two different religions, is an event that gives no impression at all of being hideous or hateful.
Rather, this tradition, which has been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years in Lingsar village in West Lombok regency, is re-enacted to strengthen harmony between Muslim and Hindu communities.
The battle begins at 4 p.m., a time known as rarak kembang waru (when the leaves of the hibiscus tree begin falling). The community believes ketupat thrown at each other can bring blessing.
After the battle, they snatch the ketupat to plant in the rice fields, following local farmers’ belief that it makes the land more fertile. The rice cake is also taken to the markets in the hope that it will keep trade going smoothly.
“Since the time of our ancestors, and from generation to generation, we’ve always carried out this tradition,” says Lingsar villager and Kemaliq building employee Sahyan.
“It’s usually conducted after a large harvest. It’s an expression of gratitude to god, and of hope that the next planting season will be a productive one. It also helps strengthen social relationships with our Hindu friends.”
Every year, Lingsar village engages in the Perang Topat at the Lingsar temple complex. The temple was built in 1759, during the reign of King Anak Agung Gede Ngurah, a descendant of the kings of Karangasem, Bali, who once ruled this part of Lombok.
The temple complex is located 9 kilometers east of the provincial capital Mataram, and is considered unique. It hosts the aforementioned Gaduh temple and Kemaliq building, and is used for rituals and traditional ceremonies, both Hindu and Muslim.
The two buildings stand side by side, and in front of each is a jabe or courtyard. Because of its uniqueness, the Lingsar temple complex has since the 1990s been declared a cultural conservation site.
The village holds its Perang Topat on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Lombok Sasak calendar, or purnama sasih kepitu (the full moon of the seventh month); in the Balinese Hindu calendar, this corresponds to the 15th day of the sixth month, or purnama sasi kenem (the full moon of the sixth month).
On this night, Hindus celebrate odalan, or the anniversary of the founding of Lingsar village, by holding their pujawali ceremony.
Meanwhile, the Muslims commemorate the epic journey of Raden Mas Sumilir, a Muslim scholar from Demak, Central Java, who brought Islam to Lombok in the 15th century.
Since midday, community members have gathered at the Lingsar temple complex. At Gaduh temple, the Hindus prepare banten, or offerings, for the prayers to pujawali. Over at the Kemaliq, the Muslims prepare kebon odek, offerings in the form of fruit and vegetables.
The topat are prepared by communities from remote areas around Lingsar village, Hindu and Muslim alike.
Once the offerings have been prepared, they are paraded around the Kemaliq building in a procession, to the fanfare of traditional musical instruments.
As the procession continues, thousands of local residents and visitors wait in the Kemaliq yard for the topat to be distributed.
“Perhaps it’s only in Lingsar that you can find a big event involving Hindus and Muslims, which is performed at the same time and place, even though we have different versions,” says Kemaliq head Suparman Taufik.
Over the past 15 years, the Perang Topat has become an annual tourist event. This time, it is opened by West Lombok Regent Zaini Arony and his deputy, H. Mahrip, who throw the first topat into the crowd in the Kemaliq courtyard.
“This is the only war in the world that is fought without hatred, a war without casualties, and a war symbolizing brotherhood and tolerance,” Regent Zaini says in his speech.
He adds multi-ethnic West Lombok has become one of the provinces main tourist destinations.
“In India, where the majority of the population is Hindu, there is the Taj Mahal of Islamic heritage,” he says.
“It’s the same in Indonesia, where the majority of the people are Muslim; we have Borobudur, which is Buddhist, and many Hindu temples, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t live in harmony.
“These are the riches of our culture, the colors of culture.”
Once the topat battle is over, the Hindus hold their pujawali ceremony at the Gaduh temple. People usually go into deep meditation for three nights at the temple. A similar tradition is practiced by the Sasak Muslim community over at Kemaliq.
For three days, the area around the Lingsar temple complex is packed with vendors selling everything from food to children’s toys.
The crowd also includes visitors from across West Lombok and from Mataram.
The Perang Topat lasts less than an hour, but the whole series of ritual processions runs for two days before the actual battle begins.
The day before the highlight of the Perang Topat, the Lingsar community holds its ngeliningan kaok, a procession with two buffalos around the Lingsar temple complex. The buffalo are provided by the community, and later killed and their meat eaten communally.
“This is a symbol of tolerance. For Hindus, cows are sacred, while Muslims are forbidden from eating pigs. So for a win-win solution we use buffalo,” says Suparman.
“We do not bring offerings made from beef or pork to the Lingsar temple complex. We are only allowed
to bring poultry or buffalo. If this creed is violated, the repercussions are serious.”
He adds the significance of the whole procession and the Perang Topat is to express gratitude to
god for the good fortune throughout the year.
The Perang Topat ritual drew 25,000 visitors to the 2009 event, according to the West Lombok tourism office.
“The cultural beauty of the Perang Topat is that long ago our ancestors taught us how to maintain mutual respect and safeguard religious tolerance,” says Regent Zaini Arony.
— Photos by Panca Nugraha
