Belief System of Chinese Community toward Tatung in the

Celebration of Cap Go Meh in Singkawang City

Abd. Basith

, Slamat Fitriyadi

, Susan Neni Triani

, Fitri

Scholar in Central China Normal University, Wuhan. China

STKIPSingkawang, Singkawang. Indonesia

Keywords: Belief System, Tatung

Abstract: The objectives of this research are: 1) to describe Chinese belief system toward Tatung at Cap Go Meh

celebration in Singkawang city, and 2) to describe some factors that underlie Chinese society belief towards

Tatung at Cap Go Meh celebration in Singkawang city. This research uses qualitative method with in-depth

interview for the data collection technique. The subjects in this study are three Tatung men and seven

Chinese people. The data analysis techniques include data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing.

Meanwhile, the test data validity uses source triangulation. The result of the research shows that: 1) the

belief system of Chinese society towards Tatung means the existence of great religious value toward

Tatung, the existence of strong belief on Tatung, intrinsic-religious oriented, and a perspective which

emphasizes on obedience and loyalty toward the teachings of the ancestors, 2) the factors that underlie the

Chinese society in believing Tatung are their past experiences, belief to God, and hereditary culture.

1 INTRODUCTION

Culture is a uniqueness that lies within a group of

human and very influential on the human behavior

itself in living their life. Culture is any kind of idea,

belief, technology, custom, or practice gained

through learning from others (Heine, 2016). This

opinion provides a description that culture is a result

of human creativity believed by others and then

inherited from generation to generation deeply

rooted in certain groups of people.

Indonesia is one of the countries having rich

culture. One of the most multicultural and

multiethnic areas is Singkawang city, West

Kalimantan. The community is dominated by

Chinese, Malay, Dayak, and other ethnic groups.

There are many unique cultures that exist in this

city; one of them is Cap Go Meh, which is a culture

of Chinese ethnic. Cap Go Meh is initially started in

17th century, when there was a great migration of

people from Southern China. During Han dynasty,

on the night of Cap Go Meh, the king went out of

the palace to celebrate it along with his people. The

word Cap Go Meh is taken from the dialect of

TioCiu and Hokkian, meaning 15

night. While in

the Hakka dialect, it is called CangNyiat Pan, which

means middle of the first month. In China itself it is

called 元宵节 (yuánxiāojié), meaning a festival held

on each 15

day of the first month according to

Chinese calendar (Andriani, 2013)

The farmers set up lanterns called ChauTian

Can around their fields to ward off pests and scare

away the plant-destructive animals, and also to

create beautiful scenes at the 15th day of the first

month. As well as to scare or expel the plants-

destroying animal, they also play music and perform

barongsai to make it more crowded and beneficial to

the farmers. Cultural beliefs and traditions are

inherited from generation to generation, both in

China and throughout the world. This is one version

of the original stories of Cap Go Meh (Andriani,

2013).

In the Western countries, Cap Go Meh is

considered a carnival party of Chinese ethnic

because there is a long march that generally starts

from Kelenteng (temple). Kelenteng is a general

term for the place of worship of three religions/"Tri

Dharma" (Buddhism, Taoism and Confuciusm). The

name of Kelenteng is now converted into Vihara

which is actually a term for Buddhist monasteries

(Andriani, 2013).

Cap Go Meh, in Imlek (Lunar New Year), comes

from the Chinese tradition which is regarded as an

expression of gratitude to the God over good

Basith, A., Fitriyadi, S., Triani, S. and Fitri, .

Belief System of Chinese Community toward Tatung in the Celebration of Cap Go Meh in Singkawang City.

DOI: 10.5220/0009023700002297

In Proceedings of the Borneo International Conference on Education and Social Sciences (BICESS 2018), pages 549-553

ISBN: 978-989-758-470-1

549

harvest, and at the same time, it is also a form of

hope for the better result next season. Imlek is

always celebrated for 15 days in a row and the 15th

day is called Cap Go Meh. So, in Chinese tradition,

it means that the fifteenth day is the peak of Chinese

New Year and Cap Go Meh celebrations. The peak

of Imlek or Cap Go Meh event is also intended to

ward off disturbance or misfortune in the future. The

expulsion of evil spirits and the abandonment of

misfortune in Cap Go Meh are symbolized in the

"Tatung" show(Harningsih, 2014)

The term "Tatung" has been familiar to the

public. Tatung, in Hakka language, means a person

possessed by a spirit, a god, an ancestor, or a

supernatural power (Sirojudin, 2018).Keep in mind

that Tatung is not only held at the peak of Lunar

New Year or Cap Go Meh. But on a normal day,

Tatung can also be performed by people who have

become experts with a specific purpose, such as to

help healing the sick, and so forth. Tatung is the

main medium of Cap Go Meh. Tatung attractions

are filled with mystic and tense, because many

people will be "possessed" by spirits believed as

Chines gods. Tatung calling ceremony is led by a

Tatung chairman who deliberately brings the

spirits of the gods to possess the chosen people.

The spirits are believed to be good ones which are

capable of warding off evil spirits that are going to

interfere with the harmony of life and are believed

to be the heroes of Chinese legends, such as

warlords, judges, writers, princes, and other saints

(Sirojudin, 2018).

The invited spirits will only possess the chosen

ones, who in this case are the descendants of the

family who pass on knowledge to be possessed by

the gods, and those who have gone through various

rituals and have qualified in the stages required to

master that knowledge. Tatung people are required

to fast and become vegetarian for three days and

three nights before the celebration day, and this is

intended to make them in a holy state before the

event is held (Harningsih, 2014)

Right on the day of Cap Go Meh, Tatung players

who have been possessed by the spirit of god will

behave beyond the normal human capabilities in

general; like trampling a blade of a sword or knife,

and plugging steel wires pointed to the right cheek to

penetrate the left cheek. Strangely, they are not even

scratched or injured when the sharp objects are stuck

in their bodies. Some of other Tatung players

voraciously eat animals or chickens alive and then

drink their fresh and raw blood. (Harningsih,

2014)

.Another unique thing in the celebration of

Cap Go Meh in Singkawang is that Tatung

procession is not only done by Chinese ethnic, but

also they come from Dayak who participate in

Tatung show. They are encouraged to participate

because the ritual ceremony "Kesurupan" is a

Tatung-like ceremony held by Dayak people

(Harningsih, 2014)

The Cap Go Meh celebration, which is held at

the peak of the Lunar New Year celebration on the

15th day, is performed with a Tatung players’ parade

that perform their play along the highway and

become a good show for the local people. This

culture will continue to be preserved and it is the

responsibility of all Indonesians to preserve the

richness of indigenous, traditional, and cultural

affairs in the country. This tradition is inherited from

generation to generation (Harningsih, 2014)

For people beyond the Chinese ethnic, this will

be seen as something abnormal because in Tatung, it

is believed that the players have been controlled by

the gods or other mystical spirits. For other cultures,

it may be sees as a strange or unnatural custom.

However, for Chinese people, this has become a

common tradition for every year in the celebration

of Lunar New Year. In the contemporary perspective

of abnormal psychology based on a socio-cultural

perspective, we cannot judge that a person is

abnormal, if the things he has done are according to

his own culture/belief, because every culture has its

own characteristics (Nevid, dkk, 2005).

The uniqueness of Tatung is very interesting to

be investigated more deeply, particularly related to

the psychological aspects of community groups that

implement and believe it. One of the most important

psychological aspects of is the belief system that

exists in that community groups. In the cognitive

theory, the belief system is a basis of one's attitude

and behavior in living his life. The belief system is

an interrelated and varied structure of norms,

especially at a systemic level. The meaning of

systemic in the belief system is an interrelation

between some beliefs (DoménechdanSelva, 2016).

This opinion implies that the belief system is

motivated by pre-existing beliefs in the individual

and then becomes a unity in his strong belief system.

Tatung in the Cap Go Meh celebration has

become a culture inherent in Chinese society. The

culture prevailing in a society must be carried out

consistently due to the strong belief in the culture.

For a person who holds a particular culture, the

ultimate goal is to fulfill the culture itself and to gain

salvation now and in the future. Culture itself is

specifically consisted of cultural values, knowledge

and beliefs that are used as guidance or reference in

the pattern of community life. Tatung culture for the

BICESS 2018 - Borneo International Conference On Education And Social

550

Chinese community has been believed for

generations so that there is no more debate on it.

This belief has led the Chinese people to celebrate

Cap Go Meh with Tatung play in order to gain

salvation in current and following years.

The individual belief system will have effects on

his/her perceptions, cognitions and actions, and will

affect his/her psychological processes and

behaviors(George E. Belch, 1978). It is likely that

the actions of individuals involved in some types of

decision process will be influenced by their own

belief systems and concepts. Thus, individuals of

each system must manifest variations relative to

their perceptions, beliefs, and actions. The belief

system can be understood more by exploring deeper

into the elements embedded in it. There are seven

important elements in the belief system, i.e. values,

basic beliefs, orientation, language, perspective,

commands and prohibitions, and ideological

technology (DoménechdanSelva, 2016).Because this

research is related to sub culture, then it only takes

some elements, value, basic belief, orientation and

perspective.

Values are highly esteemed in human life.

Values become the basis for a person to act by

determining what is good or valuable. Substantive

beliefs are all things that underlie a person's belief so

that his faith is getting stronger to uphold it, as God

exists with all His creations. Orientation is the center

of attention or the tendency of a person in carrying

out everything that becomes his belief. Perspective

is a person's view of the culture that exists in his

social environment and affects his belief system to

the culture around him.

Every human being has a belief system that they

use to represent a set of tendencies to comprehend,

interpret, and translate stimuli or events consistently,

so that through this mechanism, individuals can

interact well with the world around them. The

context of understanding, interpreting and

translating the stimuli or events must have deep

meaning, harmony and peace created between

human beings due to these attitudes which are

always applied in everyday life to honor and respect

another belief system.

Tatung in the celebration of Cap Go Meh, has

become an inherent culture in the Chinese society

that is consistently implemented due to strong belief

in the culture. For a person who holds a particular

culture, the ultimate goal is to fulfill the culture itself

and to gain salvation for now and in the future

(Hadikusumo, 1990).Culture itself is specifically

consisted of cultural values, knowledge and beliefs

that are used as the guidance or reference in the

pattern of community life. Tatung, for the Chinese

community, has been believed for generations so

that there is no more debate on it. This belief has led

the Chinese people to celebrate Cap Go Meh with

Tatung play in order to gain salvation in current and

following years.

2 METHODOLOGY

This research used qualitative method in

phenomenological perspective. Husserl's

phenomenological perspective (Moleong, 2014)

means "a way of approaching to acquire knowledge

on something (object) just the way it is and becomes

the experience of human consciousness. "The

phenomenological qualitative method in this

research, is used to reveal the Chinese society’s

belief pattern on Tatung at Cap Go Meh celebration.

The subjects were three Tatung players and seven

Chinese people. The data collecting technique used

was in-depth interview analyzed in three stages,

namely data reduction, data display and conclusion

(Miles dan Huberman, 2013). The data validity test

used source triangulation by comparing or checking

the data obtained from different sources.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Speaking about Tatung, there is certainly an

underlying thing so that emerges the Chinese

society’s belief about it. In this case, the researcher

tries to collect the data through in-depth interviews

on Tatung players and some Chinese people related

to their belief system on Tatung, which includes four

elements: values, basic belief, orientation and

perspective.

Tatung has a very high religious value because

there is a religious ritual that comes from ancient

Taoism. Such religious rituals as fasting and rituals

incorporate the spirit of god into the human body.

Tatung is a proof that the Gods can save people from

the disorder of evil spirits. All good or bad, pleasure

or misery, and wealth or poverty found in humans

can be controlled by the Gods. Tatung expresses the

goodness of the Gods who can give happiness,

pleasure and wealth and keep away from all

disasters. This is in accordance with the opinion of

Djojosantoso which reveals that religion means

bonding and attachment to God, or more precisely,

the human accepts the bond of God as a source of

tranquillity and happiness (Hariyani, 2008:15).

Belief System of Chinese Community toward Tatung in the Celebration of Cap Go Meh in Singkawang City

551

The basic Chinese belief in Tatung is that

everything Tatung has predicted would happen, the

miraculous healing of the gods, the guidance to earn

the right living according to the instructions of

Tatung, the existence of appropriate names for the

stores to influence their development and benefits,

the existence of a belief that Tatung can ward off

disruptive evil spirits, then only Tatung can master

the spells for the burial of every Chinese who has

passed away. In the Chinese community, Tatung is

the embodiment of the God in the sense in which the

person who becomes Tatung player is controlled by

God so that he has a power beyond the ability of

ordinary people. Tatung is a must-have attraction in

the celebration of Cap Go Meh, so it becomes an

inherent culture in Chinese society. Tatung, in Cap

Go Meh celebration, is held to anticipate undesirable

things, such as poverty, disaster, illness and other

ugliness. Because of this, the people believe in

Tatung and use it in the celebration of Cap Go Meh.

The orientation of the Chinese community on

Tatung is a form of obedience and loyalty toward the

religious teachings that have been inherited by their

ancestors. The Chinese community believe that the

religious teachings left by the ancestors need to be

preserved and always carried out without criticizing

them. This orientation belongs to the intrinsic

religious orientation (Allportdan Ross, 1967).

Intrinsic Religious Orientation is a religious way of

thinking about commitment toward the religion

thoroughly and treats that commitment sincerely as

the ultimate goal (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991)

.In

individuals with religious intrinsic, the teachings of

religion are internalized and followed as a whole

part, because religion serves as a framework in life.

More specifically, an Intrinsic Religious Orientation

is someone who makes an earnest effort to live his

teachings and follow religious instructions without

any question.

Next, the Chinese community's perspective on

Tatung is that Tatung is a culture that must always

be preserved and implemented every year, because

there is a very strong religious ritual inside which

can maintain the balance in the concept of religious

teachings. If it is not implemented well, it will

violate the teachings that have been handed down by

the ancestors and will invite a major disaster against

a country. This shows that Tatung has a connection

with the world beyond this (not only on the present

experience of the individuals, but also on the overall

experience). A belief can be considered as a

collection states of an organism bound together by

attachment to the external world, entirely or partially

(Suriasumantri, 2001:72).

The Chinese community's belief in Tatung is

built by several factors: previous experiences, belief

in God, and hereditary cultures. According to some

informants, the belief in Tatung does not emerge

without any reason, because something is believed

to be true. Many of the sick people then gradually

recovered because of a spell given by Tatung, the

people who have sought sustenance according to

Tatung's guidance are then getting rich, the shops

whose names are given by Tatung become the

bestsellers and have many loyal customers, and

someone who is often possessed by evil spirits could

be cured and the evil spirits never come back. These

past experiences become a factor that mostly

influence the Chinese community's belief in Tatung

in the celebration of Cap Go Meh. The previous

experiences which become the main factors of the

Chinese community's belief in Tatung is similar to

Plato's explanation that a belief should be supported

by three conditions, they are: true and based on the

facts, believing that it is true, and evidence to

support the belief (Plato dalam Sjamsuri, 1989).

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of the discussion, it can be

formulated the research conclusions as follows: The

belief of the Chinese community toward Tatung in

the celebration of Cap Go Meh is based on: 1) high

religious values in Tatung, 2) the existence of a

strong belief base on Tatung, as they can drive out

evil spirits, 3) intrinsically religious oriented, and 4)

a perspective that emphasizes adherence and

obedience to the teachings of the ancestors.

Meanwhile, the factors influencing the Chinese

belief on Tatung in Cap Go Meh celebration are as

follows: 1) previous experiences, 2) belief in Gods,

and 3) hereditary culture. Of the three factors, the

most dominant factor that encourages people to

believe in Tatung on Cap Go Meh celebration is the

previous experiences. The Chinese people believe in

Tatung in the Cap Go Meh celebration because they

already have the proofs in their everyday life.

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