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Tulungagung villagers stand fast against COVID-19 with spiritual boost from 'tetek melek'

While hand sanitizers and face masks are two methods science recommends to protect against COVID-19, adding a Javanese talisman for a spiritual boost can't hurt.

Titah AW (The Jakarta Post)
Tulungagung
Tue, March 9, 2021

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Tulungagung villagers stand fast against COVID-19 with spiritual boost from 'tetek melek'

T

hree days after the first suspected case of COVID-19 was announced last year in Tulungagung, East Java, 55-year-old Sutikno came up with a unique idea: As he harvested the dry, fan-shaped sheaths of coconut leaves at his farm, a vision of a familiar traditional mask came to him.

Using leftover wall paint he had at home, he began painting a monstrous face on the leaf sheath, complete with bulging eyes, huge fangs and a protruding tongue. He made three, and once he was done, Sutikno hung them in different spots around his house.

Sutikno’s creations are known as tetek melek, a traditional talisman believed to repel outbreaks of disease and protect families.

“This is a tradition passed on by our forebears here in Tulungagung. When there’s a pageblug (plague), we have to put tetek melek (on the doors) so we’ll be protected,” he said.

Read also: Some Indonesians try to ward off COVID-19 with talismans, rituals

Sutikno is not alone. Thousands of other Tulungagung residents were doing the same thing. Soon, almost all houses in this West Java village had the talismans displayed on their doors.

Excris Endy, a 24-year-old whose artistic talent is known throughout the village, became its primary tetek melek maker.

“At first, I made one for my own house, then my father brought home a dozen coconut leaves, so I made more for all my neighbors,” he said.

"It felt like [I had] a solo exhibition in the village," he laughed.

Excris grew up knowing about tetek melek, told in folk stories to teach young children to be good. He does not really believe that tetek melek has the power to ward off disease, and merely considers it a “trend” and a cultural art form.

Applying local wisdom

Unlike the other cultural traditions in Tulungagung, tetek melek are produced only during an outbreak of disease. Prior to COVID-19, the villagers made tetek melek during the 1911 bubonic plague outbreak and the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. The plague killed 39,254 people in East Java, including Tulungagung.

Sutikno recalled that the villagers also made tetek melek during a sudden case of mass vomiting: “Back in the ‘70s, many villagers suddenly got ill and kept vomiting. We put up tetek melek as a kind of prayer, and we all got well.”

"But of course, I also follow the health protocol," he added.

Tetek Melek hung in the front porch of a house to wade off illnesses.
Tetek Melek hung in the front porch of a house to wade off illnesses. (JP/Benny Widyo)

The alleged efficacy of tetek melek in combating past outbreaks has not been as evident today. Since the Tulungagung’s first confirmed case in March 2020, the region has recorded 2,486 cases and 190 people who have died of COVID-19.

A year into the COVID-19 epidemic, the village remains an orange zone of moderate transmission risk, leaning toward yellow. This is an improvement since Feb. 15, when the East Java COVID-19 task force still designated Tulungagung as a red “high risk” zone.

Rationally speaking, a talisman cannot ward off a virus. Still, Abdul Kholik, a 37-year-old tetek melek maker who learned the craft from his ancestors, believes that the talisman could help prevent the spread of disease-causing bacteria or viruses.

"Unlike today, the old tetek melek was made using just chalk and charcoal. Hence, there were only two colors,” said Kholik.

“You know,” he continued, “[tetek melek] works just like those elders who chew betel leaves. Their teeth remain strong into old age. The materials in the mask used to be the same."

Both chalk and betel leaves naturally contain calcium, which strengthens the bones and is good for the digestive system, while charcoal has been medically proven to have antimicrobial and toxin-absorbing properties.

"The elders were quite unique weren’t they? They didn’t know the science, but somehow understood its function," he said.

Turning a profit

Although Abdul knew about the health benefits of these natural substances, he still used colored paint for the tetek melek he made in large numbers from March to April 2020, since they were easier to get. With the help of six other villagers, he joined the ranks of the impromptu tetek melek traders that emerged in Tulungagung.

"I made [the talismans] using colorful paint, because the original colors were just black and white [and] they didn’t sell well," he said.

Taking advantage of a surge in local demand for the talismans, he sold up to 50 tetek melek each day from the trunk of his car at busy spots. He priced the talismans between Rp 15,000 to Rp 50,000, depending on their shape and the complexity of the image.

To attract more customers, Kholik made two kinds of tetek melek: one that maintained the traditional form and another that had a more modern design. The traditional tetek melek he made was painted to resemble Dwarapala, a giant protective spirit in Javanese culuture. Dwarapala statues are often found at the gates of Hindu and Buddhist temples in Java.

"But it turned out that the little children were afraid of it and their parents protested. That’s why I also made tetek melek [painted] with images of Doraemon, Casper, SpongeBob and other cartoon characters,” he said, laughing. Although he realized that these innovations departed from tradition, he said his customers liked them.

Today, Kholik no longer produces tetek melek. Sales was good only in the first two months following the declaration of the public health emergency. After that, sales dwindled and he was left with surplus stock until he finally threw them away.

"But the profits were not so bad,” he said, explaining that he was unemployed at the time.

Symbol of hope

The three tetek melek are still displayed at Sutikno's house: One at his front gate, another at his front door and the third at the door to the small shop on his terrace. Even though they have become weathered by the sun and rain, the creepy images haven’t faded.

Agung Cahyadi, a 40-year-old local historian agreed that today’s tetek melek had evolved from its original form.

Sutikno with one of his Tetek Melek in front of his house.
Sutikno with one of his Tetek Melek in front of his house. (JP/Benny Widyo)

"But we can't say what’s right or wrong, we just appreciate it as a symbol of people making an effort [to tackle] the pandemic,” he said. "Javanese people use symbols every opportunity they can."

According to Agung, the name of the talisman derives from tetek or the Javanese teteg meaning “steadfast” or faithful”, and melek meaning watchful.

Just like its name, Sutikno remains a believer.

“As long as I don't bother others, I won't remove these until the pandemic is completely [over]. It makes me and my family feel safe,” he said.

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