As you live in Indonesia, it slowly dawns on you that magic colours every Indonesian view of the surrounding world. Some regions of the country have a reputation for magic that is particularly potent and every region has its own distinctive type of magic. The Dayaks, native inhabitants of Kalimantan for example, are famed for the power that their women's love magic works on hapless males whom they meet. The dukun or magic man can be found in every corner of the country and people visit him when deciding on a course of action, trying to woo a lover, seeking a job or just wanting some good luck to come their way.
This drives the followers of the strict and supposedly pure Islam of the Arabian Peninsula to absolute distraction but there is nothing they can do about it because the traditions are so entrenched and they themselves are in a decided minority. Some of the magic is black in that it seeks to harm others or sway them in some way. For example, it might be used to make someone fall in love with a person whom they might normally not have been interested in.
Most people feel a very real connection with relatives who have passed on and often seek their advice or feel their presence in certain situations. They often feel that a grandmother or grandfather is protecting them and looking out for their best interests. What the objective truth of all this is I can't say but it permeates everyday life in Indonesia and, rightly or wrongly, people believe in its reality. The more educated and cosmopolitan an Indonesian is, the less involvement he or she will have in this magic business but a deep-seated belief in its reality will always remain.
Whatever the truth, if this magic business continues to cause apoplexy in those Moslems who are pushing for a Saudi Arabian type of Wannabi-Islam in Indonesia, then it can't be a bad thing. The reason Islam took root in Indonesia in the first place was that it was accommodating of local traditions and fortunately the majority of Indonesian Moslems continue to embrace an interesting and syncretic form of the religion. God bless magic.
This drives the followers of the strict and supposedly pure Islam of the Arabian Peninsula to absolute distraction but there is nothing they can do about it because the traditions are so entrenched and they themselves are in a decided minority. Some of the magic is black in that it seeks to harm others or sway them in some way. For example, it might be used to make someone fall in love with a person whom they might normally not have been interested in.
Most people feel a very real connection with relatives who have passed on and often seek their advice or feel their presence in certain situations. They often feel that a grandmother or grandfather is protecting them and looking out for their best interests. What the objective truth of all this is I can't say but it permeates everyday life in Indonesia and, rightly or wrongly, people believe in its reality. The more educated and cosmopolitan an Indonesian is, the less involvement he or she will have in this magic business but a deep-seated belief in its reality will always remain.
Whatever the truth, if this magic business continues to cause apoplexy in those Moslems who are pushing for a Saudi Arabian type of Wannabi-Islam in Indonesia, then it can't be a bad thing. The reason Islam took root in Indonesia in the first place was that it was accommodating of local traditions and fortunately the majority of Indonesian Moslems continue to embrace an interesting and syncretic form of the religion. God bless magic.
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