Spirits, nature and pilgrimage: the “other” dimension in Javanese domestic tourism

Abstract

Domestic tourism in Asia receives little research attention, yet movements within the people's own country far outnumber overseas visits. A strong motivating factor for the Javanese is visiting sacred sites such as caves or mountain peaks to pray or meditate. The significance of many sites pre‐dates modern religions, and they are linked to continuing awareness of a spiritual dimension to everyday life. While in the West, belief in an intangible cohort of active entities which can interface with humans has disappeared through scientific rationalism, in Java such beliefs retain a deep hold and influence several areas of behaviour, including choice of leisure activity. Many favoured sites are located in protected areas, and may even be responsible for the area remaining ecologically unscathed for long enough to be protected under modern planning schemes. At popular sites, large crowds can arrive – for instance, on a particular night in the Javanese calendar when the spirits are especially cooperative – and pose management challenges. This paper examines the relevance of Javanese spirituality for tourism.

Keywords:

• Java
• pilgrimages
• religion
• kebatinan
• domestic tourism
• national parks

Notes

1. The Tenggerese are a remnant population of the Hindu‐Buddhist Majapahit kingdom which dominated Java until the fifteenth century. The Hindu courts fled to Bali, but pockets of Hinduism survived in the mountains (Hefner 1987).