RELIGIOUS IDEOLOGY OF THE TRADITION OF MAKOTEK IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION Gede Yoga Kharisma Pradana I Nyoman Suarka AA Bagus Wirawan I Nyoman Dhana Hindu University of Indonesia, Denpasar, Bali email: gedeyoga@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Makotek is a cultural tradition which is performed as a ritual to ward off misfortune by the people living at Munggu Village, Badung Regency. It is performed once in six months, namely, every Kuningan Feast Day. It has been inherited from generation to generation as an oral tradition. In the era of globalization, many parties and cultural components are involved in its performance. It is still performed until now. However, the people living at Munggu Village do not close themselves to modernity. The data were collected through observation, interview, library research and documentary techniques. The informants were determined using the purposive and snowball technique. All the data were analyzed in order to draw conclusions. The result of the study shows that the religious ideology which has inspired the people living at Munggu Traditional Village to perform the tradition of Makotek. Ideologically, they believe that by performing the tradition of Makotek, they can protect their resources and the human unity in the middle of the social dynamics in the era of globalization. It is performed in stages, in accordance with the tradition they have adhered to since a long time ago. The performance of the tradition of Makotek at Munggu Village has been able to strengthen their belief in the existence of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi, Almighty God. In addition, such a religious practice is the supernatural source of happiness and health as it is believed to be able ward off misfortune. Keywords: religious ideology, performance of tradition of makotek, globalization era. INTRODUCTION Makotek is an oral tradition which is performed as a ritual to ward off misfortune by the people living at Mungu Traditional Village, Badung Regency. It is performed once in six months, that is, every Kuningan Feast Day. It has been performed until now, although, if their houses, public buildings, and ownership of land, hand phones, and vehicles, and the street leading to the village which is covered with asphalt and their daily life style are observed, they can be classified as modern and developed people. Munggu Village is located close to the Governmental Center of Badung Regency, and Tanah Lot tourist destination, which have directly affected the local people’s way of thinking and life. However, as a phenomenon, the tradition of Makotek, which is performed as a ritual by the society which can be classified as a developed one, in the era of globalization is interesting to explore. Although the local people can be stated to be developed, they still perform the tradition which is identical with irrationality, cultural underdevelopment, and orthodoxy. Ideologically, the developed society in the era of globalization tends to adhere to the globalized culture, have capitalistic ideology, profit-oriented, and to hate irrational way of thinking. They tend to be busy working hard to solve their problems and to increase their income in order to be able to make both ends meet. In fact, in the middle of globalization which is identical with liberalism and capitalistic economy, the people living at Munggu Village still perform the tradition of Makotek. Such a tradition does not benefit them financially; in addition, they have to spend their money on the things needed for its performance; they leave their jobs so that they can be involved in it. The aspect of religiosity is the answer. This article entitled “the Religious Ideology of the Tradition of Makotek in the Era of Globalization” is intended to identify how the religious hegemony dominates the life of the people at Munggu Traditional Village; they voluntarily perform the tradition of Makotek although they can be classified as modern people. It is expected that the result of the study can be used as a reference; the people’s knowledge of the religious ideology which has caused such an oral tradition to be able to be conserved in Bali in the era of globalization. RESEARCH METHOD The research method which was used to explore the tradition of Makotek performed at Munggu Village in the era of globalization was the qualitative research method. The article which was written based on the result of scientific study was designed to be the study in oral tradition which is critically discussed from the perspective of cultural studies. The data were collected through observation, interview, library research and documentation techniques. The informants were determined using the purposive sampling and snowball technique. DISCUSSION An ideology socially tightens and stabilizes the collective life of society (Sumantri, 2001: 264), meaning that an ideology is the way of life which is constructed from the tradition, history, and social relation across regions. It is constructed from reciprocal relation. Socially, it legitimates the dominant political strength, identity, belief, orientation of action, and distorts the systematic communication in the ideological domain of its society. The ideological view is identical with the collective view of its society. Similarly, the people living at Munggu Village regard the ritual of Makotek as an important ritual which is intended to protect the local people in the era of globalization. Ideologically, the tradition of Makotek is a spiritual practice which is mobilized by the collective belief of the people living at Munggu Traditional Village. Through a series of ceremonies involving the relation of power, they reorganize their social structure for the sake of their collective interest in the era of globalization. The process of such a construction positively affects the harmonious collective positive image of the local people and the social control. Hardiman (2003: 247—255) states that any religious activity can contribute to being respectful to others and discipline in making the human life in harmony, meaning that the harmonious construction which is created through the religious practice of Makotek indirectly legitimates the dominant political strength, identity, belief, orientation of action, and distortion of the systematic communication among the people living at Munggu Traditional Village. The people living at Munggu Traditional Village position Sasuhunan Temple and Kahyangan Tiga Temples as the state of power, and the center of religious strength. The environment as the space where the local people live is believed to have magical power which can free them from every kind of disease. Therefore, it is believed that through the tradition of Makotek they can keep their relation to their environment in harmony. It is believed that the nature has the power of giving life and creating disasters. It is believed that both life and disasters cannot be separated from the nature’s law, which regulates the cycle of the universe. It is believed that every cycle of the nature is determined by the supernatural power of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi, Almighty God. Sometimes, the nature’s energy has the effect of the supernatural power which can benefit human beings. The miracle of the nature’s energy makes human beings astonished. Similarly, the Hindus living at Munggu Village worship God through the symbols which are believed to be able to ward off misfortune. Therefore, they still perform the tradition of Makotek . Such a religious practice is still peacefully performed due to the hegemony of the religious ideology which has been strongly implanted by their ancestors. The tradition of Makotek performed at Munggu Village has made the local people have more understanding of the existence of Ida Hyang Widhi, Almighty God. Furthermore, it is believed that such a religious practice is the source of happiness and supernatural power of God which enables them to ward off misfortune. Dawkins (in Wijayanto, 2012: 10) state that God has extraordinary power which cannot be separated from the essence of life. Daulay (2011: 35) states that the essence of life needs religious adherence, meaning that the supernatural power can be achieved through full and total religious comprehension. Similarly, the tradition of Makotek, which is performed every year, is believed to be able to give happiness and spiritual comfort to the local people. The implementation of the religious value of Ida Sang Hyang Widhi, Almighty God, and His manifestations can be explicitly and implicitly observed from the whole process of the performance of the tradition of Makotek. Ideologically, the ritual performed by the people living at Munggu Traditional Village plays a role in intensifying and strengthening the human dependence on Ida Sang Hyang Widhi and His manifestations as the center of religiosity. In this context, everybody living at Munggu Traditional Village can maintain the solidarity of their brotherhood through the performance of the tradition of Makotek. Koentharaningrat (1993) states that a ritual is an expression of religious faith. Faith is needed to solve the matters pertaining to death, injustice, and suffering (Wijayanto, 2012: 10). Therefore, the tradition of Makotek which is performed as a form of the expression of faith by the Hindus living at Munggu Village seems to have been their spiritual need. Such a need seems to be central in the society’s complex life in the current era of globalization. Although the local people are busy with their livelihood, they still need to perform the tradition of Makotek to save their lives and to improve the quality of their lives in the era of globalization. It is performed to purify the village from all types of profanity which are assumed to have bad values for the local people’s lives. The fact that the tradition of Makotek is still performed in the era of globalization is based on the sameness in the religious ideology. It is one of the attempts which is made to empower the natural resources which the village, as a religious one, has. The religious ideology on which the tradition of Makotek is based is a spiritual contact made by the local people with the environment where they live. The empowerment of the local people’s resources manifests in the form of their desire to perform the tradition of Makotek more spontaneously, neatly, creatively and lively. They desire to show the change in their spirit to comprehend the God’s supernatural power as the controller of the universe. Religiously, the local people’s faith in what is referred to as anima is the main factor which has contributed to the performance of the tradition of Makotek until now. The local people’s religious ideology is so strong that the tradition of Makotek is still happily performed until now. They seem to disagree with the stigmatic construction that the cultural religious tradition is old, antique, and not profitable. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION The people living at Munggu Traditional Village still perform the tradition of Makotek until the current era of globalization due to the religious ideology they have. Ideologically, the local people believe that by performing the tradition of Makotek they can protect their resources and human unity in the globalized social dynamics. It is suggested that the performance of such a tradition should be formally, informally and academically continued. It is also suggested that the local people’s elements of the ritual tradition should be more critically developed within the current context in the framework of revitalizing culture as an attempt to empower the society’s resources and to avoid people from being marginalized. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In this opportunity, the writer would like to thank Prof. Dr. I Nyoman Suarka, M.Hum., as the supervisor, and Prof. Dr. Anak Agung Bagus Wirawan, S.U., as co-supervisor I, and Dr. Drs. I Nyoman Dhana, M.A., as co-supervisor II for their input and suggestions for the completion of this article. Thanks are also expressed to the Oral Tradition Association ‘Asosiasi Tradisi Lisan (ATL)’ for the scholarship provided to the writer to join the doctorate program in Cultural Studies, Udayana University. A word of appreciation should also go to the informants, whose names cannot be mentioned one by one for the completion of this article as expected. BIBLIOGRAPHY Daulay, Asrul (ed.). 2011. Pendidikan dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat. Medan: USU Press. Hardiman, Budi F. 2003. Kritik Ideologi: Menyingkap Pertautan dan Kepentingan Bersama Jurgen Habermas. Yogyakarta: Kanisius. Koentjaraningrat.1993. Ritus Peralihan di Indonesia. Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. Sumantri, Zaimar. 2001. “Ideologi dalam Pariwara” dalam Ida Sundari Husen dan Rahayu Hidayat (penyunting), Merentas Ranah, Bahasa, Semiotika dan Budaya. Yogyakarta: Bentang. Wijayanto, Eko. 2012. Genealogi Kebudayaan. 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