Finding Fortune from Nyai Blorong

ONE afternoon, around the 1960s. Magelang residents gathered on the edge of the main road connecting Magelang and Yogyakarta while sounding kentongan (a slit drum made from bamboo) and anything else that made noise. Prapto Yuwono, still very young back then, also joined the crowd. However, the street was surprisingly quiet; no one passed by. After some time, the wind blew from the south.

"Apparently, that's how people welcome the lampor. They made noises so that Nyai Blorong's army in the form of lelembut (spirits) would not stop in the middle of the road. If the troops stop and drop by people's houses, the area will be attacked by disease," said Prapto Yuwono, a lecturer in the Javanese Literature Study Program at the University of Indonesia.

Lampor usually refers to a trip to several regions, especially in Java, which was carried out by Nyai Blorong and her troops.

Javanese people have various ways to deal with the plague or pagebluk caused by lampor. In Semarang, for example, around 2001, residents hung plastic bags containing colored water in front of their doors. This method was expected to ward off pagebluk caused by Nyai Blorong's anger at losing her shawl.

The myth of Nyai Blorong still exists in Indonesian storytelling tradition, which is also disseminated through various media, especially movies. She is often depicted as changing her appearance from a beautiful woman to a snake with golden scales, or vice versa. Apart from being the commander of the spirit world, she is called pesugihan (a Javanese term for dealing with spirits to acquire fortune) and believed to be able to provide wealth. If anyone wants to be allied with her, the conditions are severe: they must be willing to have sex every Friday night and provide sacrifices. After making love, the scales on Nyi Blorong's body will fall off and turn into gold pieces and gemstones.

Since the 19th century, H.A. van Hien has recorded the existence of Nyai Blorong. In his book, De Javaansche geestenwereld, en de betrekking, die tussen de geesten en de zinnelijk wereld, verduidelijkt door petangan′s of tellingen bij de Javanen in gebruik published in 1896, van Hien divided the world of supernatural beings in Java into 95 types. About Nyai Blorong, he wrote: "All kinds of wealth will be given to the summoner. And it is for a period of seven years, but can be extended up to two more times. However, during that time someone must be sacrificed, and finally the summoner becomes the victim and fills Nyai Blorong's palace," van Hien wrote.

Pesugihan

A poor farmer from Soegihsaras village, Sidokantoen district, talked to an old man called Kyai or Embah. The farmer was tired of living in poverty, being the poorest of his five brothers. He wanted to get rich quickly.

Embah was willing to help, as long as the farmer accepted his condition: providing a sacrifice. The farmer agreed. He was asked to prepare a special room, complete with a bed covered with a mosquito net. On Friday Legi (a day in the Pasaran cycle of the Javanese calendar), he was asked to prepare a lamp on the bed along with flowers and incense.

"Now around midnight, he heard a sound like a whirlwind. Then after it calmed down, Blorong appeared on the bed. Her legs are not visible, only the tail of a snake completely covered with golden scales," wrote J. Kramer, a Dutch cultural researcher, in his article "Blorong of de geldgodin der Javanen" (Blorong or the godess of fortune), published in Mededelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap (Notices from the Dutch Missionary Society), 1904.

The story told by Kramer shows that the belief in the magic of Nyai Blorong has been going on for a long time. However, Javanese society generally regards rich people who allied themselves with Nyai Blorong negatively, even at the risk of losing their status as a member of the society.

Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsito also criticized this practice. In Serat Jayengbaya, which he wrote when he was a clerk of the Anom duchy under the title Raden Ngabehi Sarataka around 1822-1830, Ranggawarsito used the word "Nyai Blorong" to make fun of the situation of Javanese society at that time. The translation is as follows: Those who want to gain fortune quickly / just like Nyai Blorong / don't need to go to Mount Cereme / as long as doing good to their neighbors / bestowing compassion / hopefully I will not be caught by spies.

The Origin

Who is Nyai Blorong? Some sources refer to her as the daughter of the ruler of the southern sea, Ratu Kidul. This story is included in Babad Prambanan, which was copied in 1927. This Babad has an older version, copied by Wirsungun in the Mangkunegaran region in 1885 at the initiative of B.R.Ng. Both recount the founding of Prambanan Temple and the story of Aji Saka. Interestingly, the myth of Aji Saka is also expressed in Serat Kandaning Ringgit Purwa, a collection of wayang stories and fairy tales composed in macapat songs (traditional Javanese songs) around the 16th century.

It is said that because he killed a dragon who was meditating in a cave, Prabu Aji Saka of Medhangkamulan had a son in the form of a dragon named Naga Nginglung. Although ashamed, Aji Saka was finally willing to acknowledge him as his son as long as Naga Nginglung could defeat his enemy, Dewatacengkar, who transformed into a white crocodile and lived on the south coast.

Meanwhile, the king of the south sea, Nginangin, held a meeting to discuss the chaos caused by Dewatacengkar. He also made a contest; whoever could defeat the white crocodile would be married to his daughter, Rara Blorong, who had a human body but was covered in scales. Not long after, the white crocodile was defeated by Naga Nginglung. The wedding was then held.

According to Robert Wessing in "A Princess from Sunda: Some Aspects of Nyai Roro Kidul" published in Asian Folklore Studies Vol. 56 in 1997, snakes are a favorite creature in several folktales that developed in Southeast Asia, China, and India. In many of these stories, snakes or dragons are often associated with rulers, harvests, and fertility.

In Javanese puppetry, the character Anantaboga is depicted as a god in the form of a dragon. Ktut Ginarsa in Gambar Lambang mentions that Anantaboga comes from the words "ananta" and "boga", which mean "endless" and "material for life", respectively. Thus, Anantaboga symbolizes prosperity or happiness.

It is no wonder that for the agrarian inland Javanese community, Nyai Blorong has an important meaning. Her embodiment in the form of a snake is considered the guardian of agricultural land from pests, especially rats. Thus, people perform earth alms for her.

"Blorong can be embodied by a snake. In Javanese myth, the snake symbolizes the guardian of the earth. She is considered as a symbol of security in the agrarian world," said Prapto.

In the course of time, especially due to the evolving nature of folklore, Nyai Blorong is more closely associated with pesugihan. In Prapto's analysis, this is normal because today's problems are increasingly difficult and unsolvable, so many people look for a way out in 'another' world. In the Javanese mindset, the existence of the other world and its inhabitants has become a unified whole.

"Because they are both alive, they can help each other. Someone who has a great desire to achieve political or economic power will certainly involve the spirits in achieving his or her goals," said Prapto.