Saparan Tradition Celebrates Mount Andong’s Farming Heritage
- 31 Jul 2026 17:32 WIB
- Voice of Indonesia
Key Points
- Annual Saparan Tumpeng Jongko Ingkung Sewu tradition celebrates gratitude, agricultural abundance, and community unity among Mount Andong farmers.
- Ritual promotes cultural preservation and ecological awareness through communal feasts, traditional performances, and symbolic livestock release.
RRI.CO.ID, Magelang - The community of Mantran Wetan Hamlet in Girirejo Village, Ngablak Subdistrict, Magelang Regency, celebrated their annual mertidesa village‑cleansing tradition, “Saparan Tumpeng Jongko Ingkung Sewu,” on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The ritual is called Saparan because it is held during the Safar month in the Javanese calendar.
Situated on the slopes of Mount Andong, the agricultural hamlet marked the Safar month festival with communal feasts (kenduri), shadow puppet performances, and a grand parade featuring three giant produce mounds (Tumpeng Jongko) alongside hundreds of whole cooked chickens (Ingkung Sewu).
Beyond its festive atmosphere, the tradition embodies a philosophy of multidimensional sufficiency among local vegetable farmers.
Households allocate substantial communal and individual funds, averaging around IDR 5 million (approx. USD 305) per family for food, chicken, and hosting visiting relatives, reinforcing a sustainable cycle where agricultural production, religious gratitude, and social harmony converge.
This year, community leaders introduced a new symbolic act after the kenduri: releasing live chickens along the main village road to reinforce ecological awareness and ensure a sustainable supply of livestock for future generations.
Cultural scholar Sutanto Mendut, founder of the Five Mountains Community (Komunitas Lima Gunung), explained that releasing chickens signifies harmony with nature and agricultural sustainability.
“That is part of the multidimensional meaning of sufficiency for village people. The release of chickens reinforces the importance of raising livestock, especially since chickens are an annual requirement for making ingkung during Saparan,” he said in Magelang, as quoted by Antara.
Hamlet head Andoko highlighted how the tradition motivates agricultural planning. “Planting and farming become spirited because we have the goal of Saparan. Likewise, for the period after Saparan, residents have already calculated their objectives for planting crops,” he explained. ***
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