Eyes that do not pry may miss many things. But those who explore Madura, in Java’s north-eastern corner, may find long-held practices at Legung that help define the character of those who live there.
Perhaps in line with their host island’s obscurity, the untrained seer does not always pick up on such discreet things. Nevertheless, these facets bind people and things together. And in a place where family ties have the strength of steel, like much of Indonesia, it makes sense for people to keep these traditions alive.
Thus goes the thinking in Batang-Batang, towards the eastern edge of Sumenep. The visitor will find nothing unusual. Palm trees sway as they should and the attendant beach is no cleaner or dirtier than its cousins elsewhere in the regency. In other words, a typical Indonesian coastal village. But the clue is in the name; for the people call it Kampung Pasir, or sand village, and it encompasses Legung Timur, Legung Barat and Dapenda
Intrinsic bond
In Kampung Pasir, much like many places in Indonesia, generations of families exist under the same roof, and the community seems tight and close. And the traveller soon notes the inspiration between sand village’s name. In the housing compounds, four or five buildings, made of ornate marble slabs in the Madurese traditions, converge upon a sizable courtyard. The floor looks pockmarked and mottled, denoting recent rainfall. And in the middle of these yards, the visitor spies sandboxes, hemmed in by concrete blocks.
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To most visitors, sand is an outside thing. They may picture beaches or dunes, or landlocked venues that replicate such things. Rarely do they associate sand with the great indoors. But that was before they arrived in Kampung Pasir. They walk inside the buildings, villagers’ homes, where they find, to them, the uninformed, an unusual thing: a small room, no larger than the exterior sandboxes, with its floor covered in sand. On the ground is any number of family members sprawled upon the sand.
They soon explain the purpose of these rooms, that they call ‘sand mattresses’. Sand on the floor is a grand tradition passed down from generation to generation. No one knows when the tradition began, but some say the habit has lasted hundreds of years. And it has become entrenched. All houses have these mattresses, and oftentimes, residents head there to relax and recharge and sometimes sleep. The sand is an integral part of their lives.
All change
Over the years, these grains have replaced traditional furniture and other things associated with living space. The villagers prefer it this way: the sand cools them down when it’s hot and retains heat when the weather takes a turn for the cold. The sand, perhaps due to its pliability, allays health difficulties to such an extent that some are adamant it has life-giving qualities.
The villagers share a symbiotic link with the sand. In Legung, people are born on the sand. They live on the sand, and they die on the sand. Such is the flow of life.
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It is common in Indonesia for people to betray an extra level of perception. This sensitivity breeds an awareness of what lies beyond, and it explains why magic, of the white and black varieties, or at least the belief in it, holds sway in many situations. It also suggests a reverence for folklore.
The fact that folklore wields similar influence should surprise no visitor. Thus, the denizens of Kampung Pasir abide by the belief in doing good to all around them. Maintaining direct contact with nature’s gifts and existing with, rather than against, it means nature will respond in kind. When the villagers care for nature, respect their surroundings and sleep on the earth, theory can deflect the insidious grasp of witchcraft and black magic. Such things have tendrils that seek to exploit gaps and broken chains and then corrupt them.
But unity, shown by the unharmed bond between land and villagers, defies these foul raids. As the saying goes: ‘When one unites with the earth, no evil thing can come to them’. And no more is this true than in Kampung Pasir, on the edge of Madura.
(2024 update: Edited for clarity. Hopefully the tone is a little less pretentious, too. Who knows, though? Can’t really guarantee that.)
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