Malang Preserves Brantas River via Hatur Tirta Amerta Ritual

RRI.CO.ID, Malang Efforts to preserve the environment while honoring ancestral cultural heritage have been reaffirmed by residents of Penanggungan Village, Malang City, East Java. Thousands witnessed the solemn Hatur Tirta Amerta traditional ceremony held along the banks of the Brantas River.

Blending spiritual rites, environmental education, and a community celebration, the event has become one of the main attractions in Malang City’s river culture preservation series. It also served as a platform for reflection on the relationship between humans, nature, and the Creator.

In Javanese and Sanskrit, Tirta means holy water, while Amerta signifies the eternal essence of life. Fundamentally, this tradition is a form of reverence and gratitude by the community for the abundant water supplied by the Brantas River, the second-longest river on Java Island, which flows through the Malang Region.

The ceremony began with a procession of residents and village elders dressed in traditional Nusantara attire. Walking together toward a sanctified water source along the river, they carried clay jugs and various offerings of agricultural produce as symbols of prosperity and nature’s alms.

“This noble rite essentially borrows the spirit from the great Garudeya epic. In classical Nusantara mythology, carved on temples in East Java, it is told of Garudeya’s unwavering devotion and duty as he struggled to free his mother, Dewi Winata, from the chains of slavery. As a condition for his mother’s redemption, Garudeya was willing to overcome countless obstacles to obtain Tirta Amerta, the holy water embodying the essence of immortality,” said Mbah Haryono, a community figure in Penanggungan Village, Malang City, on Friday, August 14, 2026.

For Penanggungan residents, this poetic epic is not merely recounted as a tale but manifested as a grand ruwatan (purification) practice.

Just as Garudeya liberated his mother from bondage, this rite represents the community’s collective effort to free “Mother Earth,” embodied in the flow of the Brantas River, from the shackles of pollution, greed, and environmental damage.

“The taking of holy water symbolizes the purification of the river. It is a prayer and hope that the Brantas River will be restored to its sanctity, continually soothe the earth’s wounds, and keep flowing with eternal life that sustains civilization,” added Mbah Haryono.

The noble values of the Garudeya story are tangibly translated through grassroots ecological actions as part of the Hatur Tirta Amerta Sari event series in Penanggungan Urban Village. Local residents jointly organized river trekking and cleanup activities along the Brantas River Banks.

This movement aims to free the river flow from the grip of plastic waste and household effluent. In addition to cleanup efforts, the community also released fish fry to help restore endemic ecosystems that are increasingly threatened.

This concern serves as a concrete example of how local wisdom can align harmoniously with modern environmental conservation campaigns.

“Viewed through the lens of Cultural Geography, this rite is not merely a cultural practice but also a manifestation of Water Resource Conservation based on Local Wisdom. This behavior is carried out consciously through a sense of human connection with the environment,” said Norma Dewi, a researcher from Malang State University.

The Malang City Administration and local tourism activists have responded positively to this noble community initiative. Looking ahead, the Hatur Tirta Amerta tradition is expected not only to remain an internal village rite, but also to be incorporated into Malang City’s official tourism calendar.

With its strong philosophical narrative and proper management, the Brantas River Banks in Penanggungan Village hold significant potential to become a thematic cultural tourism destination. The area is ready to educate every cultural pilgrim on the importance of respecting history, caring for nature, and honoring water as the source of civilization. (Annaila Azzahra-EN)