How to cite:
Lalu Iman Novian Wahyudi, Antariksa, Johanes Parlindungan. (2022).
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession
in Rembitan Village. Journal Eduvest. Vol 2(2): 182-189
E-ISSN:
2775-3727
Published by:
https://greenpublisher.id/
Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 2, February, 2022
p- ISSN 2775-3735- e-ISSN 2775-3727
THE ROLE OF THE REMBITAN ANCIENT MOSQUE IN THE
PEMOLE PROCESSION IN REMBITAN VILLAGE
Lalu Iman Novian Wahyudi, Antariksa, Johanes Parlindungan
Brawijaya University, Indonesia
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Received:
January, 26
th
2022
Revised:
February, 17
th
2022
Approved:
February, 18
th
2022
The Rembitan village is one of the villages in Pujut Subdistrict
that still maintains the traditional traditions and culture of
the Sasak Tribe. This tradition has built a system of life for the
Sasak people who are believed to bring good for themselves
and the group. This tribe is a good community and that has
been oriented to Ancient Mosque Rembitan which builds the
existing traditions and culture. At this time the tradition of
this tradition began to decrease in demand and the
understanding of its successors related to polishing culture
began to decrease due to cultural acculturation. For this
reason, there needs to be a continuity of cultural knowledge
for the next generation to ensure the preservation of the
culture and uniqueness of the region. The purpose of this
research is to describe the value contained in polishing
culture so that the next generation can learn and understand
the meaning and purpose of each tradition carried out by its
predecessors. This study shows that the role of the Ancient
Mosque of Rembitan is very visible and orientates every
activity in Rembitan Village. This is manifested in the form of
beliefs, attitudes, and visible symbols such as settlements and
indigenous polishing activities. The results of the analysis
showed that the role of the Ancient Rembitan mosque was as
a space or container for the people of Rembitan Village in
carrying out every process of life, both in the form of physical
and cultural activities (polishing).
KEYWORDS
Ancient Mosque of Rembitan, Polishing, Rembitan Village
Lalu Iman Novian Wahyudi, Antariksa, Johanes Parlindungan
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession in Rembitan
Village 183
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
INTRODUCTION
In terms of belief, before knowing Islam, the Sasak people adhered to a belief
called Sasak Boda (Rahman & Bramantyo, 2020). Boda is not a Buddhist teaching. The
Boda religion of the Sasak tribe is a religion characterized by worshiping the spirits of
their own ancestors (Zuhdi, 2018). The influence of Hinduism on the island of Lombok
was marked by the arrival of the Majapahit Kingdom which brought Hindu-Buddhist
teachings (Mustika, 2017). After the arrival of the Majapahit Kingdom, the Sasak people
began to recognize Hindu teachings (Ramdhani, Busro, & Wasik, 2020). At the end of the
16th century Sunan Giri brought Islamic teachings to the island of Lombok (Budiwanti,
2014). After that the development of the Sasak belief system began to develop and was
divided into three main groups, namely Boda, Wetu Telu and Islam (Wetu Lima) (Aniq,
2011).
The Sasak people are one of the tribes who uphold social values in social life,
because almost all life activities are carried out by mutual cooperation (Ribut, Triguna, &
Suija, 2019). This is one of the characteristics of the Sasak Tribe, a style of life, where
everyone has their own responsibility in launching traditional events or other community
activities (Suastra & Pujani, 2021).
Sade Village is a famous village because it is on a strategic route to the tourist
route to Kuta Beach, Central Lombok Regency (Siregar, 2018). Sade Village is famous
for still upholding the value of local wisdom of the Sasak tribe both in terms of customs
and living culture (Firdaus, n.d.). The pattern of activity and the meaning of space is
formed from the human character itself and the culture that exists in that place (Ganshina,
Babaeva, Medved, Levina, & Kamenets, 2019). The character of the traditional villages
in Central Lombok Regency is inseparable from the belief system adopted, namely Islam
and the main livelihood of the Sasak people, namely farming (Tohri, Habibuddin, &
Rasyad, 2020). For example, every traditional activity such as drawing, ngurisan, and
death ceremonies carried out will always involve traditional elders or in this case a kiyai
who is an expert in religious knowledge.
On the island of Lombok, there are three ancient mosques which are relics of the
kingdom and the spread of Islam on the island of Lombok in the past (Jamaludin, 2018).
Rembitan Ancient Mosque is one of the oldest mosques located in Rembitan Village.
This mosque is estimated to have been established in the 16th century and was founded
by datoq nyatoq, a guardian who has the task of spreading Islam on the island of Lombok.
This mosque is not much different from other mosques that function as other places of
worship, what distinguishes this mosque apart from being religiously culturally has a high
level of sacredness which is evidenced by the existence of community traditions such as
massaging done only on Wednesdays or when someone wants to fulfill a vow. only on
wednesdays. In addition, this mosque has a mangku or respected traditional elder who is
in charge of every ritual or cultural activity within the Rembitan Ancient Mosque
(Harnish, 2021).
The nyatoq tomb is the tomb of the nyatoq guardian, a guardian who spreads
Islam on the island of Lombok. This tomb building is located on a hill in Rembitan
Village and has been designated as a cultural heritage area (Siregar, 2018). This tomb has
an important position in people's lives, especially in matters related to belief, they believe
the existence of the guardian nyatok brings blessings to the community because it has
Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 2, February 2022
184 http://eduvest.greenvest.co.id
brought Islamic life. The level of sacredness of this tomb can be seen from the activities
of the people who come for pilgrimages every Wednesday which have been carried out
from generation to generation until now (Sesady, Wahid, Laupa, Bedong, & Syatar, 2021)
Sade is one of the hamlets located in Rembitan Village, Pujut District, Central
Lombok Regency. Sade Hamlet is a tourism icon in Central Lombok Regency, with its
unique cultural spatial layout and still strong customs so that it becomes a special
attraction for tourists. Physically (real) Dusun Sade is the embodiment of the cultural
customs found in the Sasak gumi (land) which are believed to be passed down from
generation to generation by the Sasak people. Starting from the selection of residential
locations (located in the hills), oriented towards the direction of sunrise and sunset, and
residential (settlement) spatial planning which has its own meaning and meaning in its
placement.
The existence of culture provides an overview of the area and the people in the
area. Until now, the concept of regional development has a uniqueness that can be seen
from the culture it has. Culture is a necessity for people who have been identified as one
in everyday life. The stronger the cultural character found in the community, the
identification of a person with the area will become easier and become an experience.
This is one of the heirlooms that has been formed from the past and really gives meaning
to the Sasak community itself. A space with a sense of identity that can be felt is created
from a culture of character. The spatial setting that has been done by the community will
be read as a culture when it is interpreted in depth and is well correlated by the
community life.
RESEARCH METHOD
According to Spreadly (2007:3) ethnography is the efforts made in describing
culture with the aim of understanding the view of life seen from the point of view of the
natives. Ethnography is a study of how people live and behave in the culture they believe
in (Endraswara, 2017: 50).
Ethnographic research places great emphasis on direct involvement in the field to
gain views and a sense of the culture of a society. Based on this, ethnography can also be
said to provide an empirical and theoretical approach at the same time with the aim of not
only being in the form of a description but also a cultural analysis that comes from
intense field work.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
From the results of the study that the role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque and
the Nyatoq Tomb is very important because it is the center of traditional community
activities.
Rembitan Ancient Mosque
The Rembitan Ancient Mosque is a mosque building that stands on a hill in
Rembitan Satu Hamlet, Rembitan Village which was built around the 16th century by a
guardian named Wali Nyatok. This guardian has the task of spreading Islam on the island
of Lombok by establishing this mosque at first as his house and then used by the
community as a place of worship or like a mosque in general.
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession in Rembitan
Village 185
Figure 1: Rembitan Ancient Mosque
This mosque has the character of a roof like a punden terraced upwards and made
of straw, has four main supporting pillars made of wood, walls made of bamboo fences,
floors covered with soil and foundations made of stone and clay layers. The people of
Rembitan Village really maintain the sacredness of this mosque with several activities
carried out such as the pemole tradition. Pemole means return. Pemole is a series of
mandatory traditions carried out by the people in Rembitan Village. The pemole tradition
consists of several rituals, namely poteq porridge, beaq porridge, mulud, fasting, and hari
raye.
These rituals have their own implementation time, where the unit of time used is
the hijri month (Islamic month). Poteq porridge is performed on 10 Muharram, Beaq
porridge on 9 Safar, Mulud on 12 Rabi'ul Awal, fasting in Ramadan, and Raye on 1
Shawwal.
In addition to the mosque, there is also a tani bale which plays an important role
in the pemole procession. Bale tani is a traditional house building for the Sasak people on
the island of Lombok. In the ancient mosque area there are two bale tani, namely the bale
tani which is inhabited by the caretaker of the Ancient Rembitan mosque, Mr. Nur Alim
and the bale tani, which is inhabited by the mangku (traditional elder) of the Rembitan
Ancient Mosque, namely Lalu Ginsir.
Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 2, February 2022
186 http://eduvest.greenvest.co.id
Figure 2: Rembitan Ancient Mosque area map
Lalu Iman Novian Wahyudi, Antariksa, Johanes Parlindungan
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession in Rembitan
Village 187
Based on the picture above, it can be seen that the Rembitan Ancient Mosque is
in the middle of a community settlement, where the mosque is the center of community
orientation in living. In addition, if viewed from the contour line, the Rembitan Ancient
Mosque is located in a hilly area and the mosque building is at the top of the hill.
Based on the prevailing customary norms, the pemole tradition is in the bale tani
and in the Rembitan Ancient mosque. If the Rembitan Ancient Mosque is the center for
pemole activities, the sub-center is the tani bale. Bale tani plays a major role in the
preparation of the pemole event, such as the preparation of the pesajiq which will be
brought to the Rembitan Ancient Mosque to be served to traditional stakeholders,
traditional leaders, religious leaders, and the community.
Figure 03: the direction of community movement in the pemole procession.
At a macro level, the movement of the community for each pemole procession is
to go to the mosque (to the top), because the mosque is on top of the hills. The position of
the mosque is above the hills and higher than other buildings has its own meaning. The
top, height, and peak are symbols of sacredness, so what is in that place is a place to
worship or a place to get closer to God.
Figure 04: the direction of community movement in the micro-pole process
The red arrow is the first movement made by the community towards the bale
tani which is inhabited by Lalu Ginsir (the ancient Rembitan mosque bowl). This
movement is carried out by mothers who are not in a condition of menstruation (holy) to
cook and prepare pesajiq (food dishes) which will be served during the pemole event.
This movement is carried out the day before the pemole event takes place.
The blue arrow is the direction of the movement of the community when the
implementation of pemole takes place. Here, after the community has prepared all the
necessities for the pemole pesajiq-pesajiq tradition that has been made, it is finally
brought to the Rembitan Ancient Mosque as a dish to be consumed together (begebung).
The series of pemole events are basically an event as a form of gratitude for the
gifts that Allah SWT has given to the entire community of Rembitan Village through the
karomah of the Wali Nyatoq, the guardian who founded and resides in the Rembitan
Ancient Mosque.
Overall the Rembitan Ancient Mosque is a sacred place for the community
because it has historical values, cultural values (traditions), and religious values because
this mosque is one of the places of worship for the people of Rembitan Village. In
addition, this mosque acts as a center for traditional activities that take place in Rembitan
Village.
Symbolically, this mosque is a symbol of human obedience in worship and the
binding of human relations with God, that whatever is done is with a fixed intention to
Allah or lillahita'ala.
CONCLUSION
Culture basically has built the character of society and provided knowledge of the
good and the bad in living a life. This is what makes culture for the Sasak people on the
island of Lombok, especially in Rembitan Village, which has an important role and is
even used as a norm in acting and behaving.
Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 2, February 2022
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession in Rembitan
Village 188
The pemole tradition is a traditional activity that reflects the community itself.
What is in the community will be reflected into a series of traditions which start from
poteq porridge to raye day. The series of pemole traditions is an illustration of how
humans are formed from semen (poteq) which is processed in the womb and born pure
(fitri).
The Rembitan Ancient Mosque is the center of pemole activities. In addition, this
mosque also acts as an orientation for settlements around the mosque. It can be concluded
that the mosque acts as a center (core) for the people of Rembitan Village, where this
center consists of a center for cultural activities and a center for physical orientation
(settlement) both.
REFERENCES
Aniq, Ahmad Fathan. (2011). Lombok Islam In The Eyes Of Anthropologists. Al Qalam,
28(2), 197–216.
Budiwanti, Erni. (2014). 5 The Purification Movement in Bayan, North Lombok:
Orthodox Islam vis-à-vis Religious Syncretism. In Between Harmony and
Discrimination: Negotiating Religious Identities within Majority-Minority
Relationships in Bali and Lombok (pp. 144–162). Brill.
Firdaus, Laras. (n.d.). INTEGRATING LOCAL WISDOM OF SASAK TRIBE IN
ECOLOGY LEARNING TO DEVELOP SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE.
Ganshina, Galina Vasilievna, Babaeva, Elena Vyacheslavovna, Medved, Eleonora
Iliinichna, Levina, Irina Dmitrievna, & Kamenets, Alexander Vladlenovich. (2019).
The basics of the specialist job profile diagram related to the field of socio-cultural
activities. In Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews (Vol. 7). GIAP Journals.
Harnish, David D. (2021). Change and Identity in the Music Cultures of Lombok,
Indonesia. Brill.
Jamaludin, Jamaludin. (2018). Salut As A Gate For The Coming Of Islam In Lombok:
Archaeological Analysis Of The Ancient Mosque In North Lombok. Heritage of
Nusantara: International Journal of Religious Literature and Heritage, 7(1), 46–78.
Mustika, I. Ketut Cameng. (2017). Ḉiwa-Buddha doctrine implementation in clergy
symbol towards Hindu society at Lombok. International Research Journal of
Management, IT and Social Sciences, 4(2), 87–95.
Rahman, Irham, & Bramantyo, Rizki Yudha. (2020). Legal protection against the
existence of" Wetu Telu" traditional society against law number 11/2020 concerning
work creation (omnibus law). International Research Journal of Management, IT
and Social Sciences, 8(1), 19–24.
Ramdhani, Fajri Zulia, Busro, Busro, & Wasik, Abdul. (2020). The Hindu-Muslim
Interdependence: A Study of Balinese Local Wisdom. Walisongo: Jurnal Penelitian
Sosial Keagamaan, 28(2), 195–218.
Ribut, Gusti Ayu Santi Patni, Triguna, Ida Bagus Gde Yudha, & Suija, I. Wayan. (2019).
Didactic strategy of wetu telu cultural heritage on sasak tribe. International Journal
of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 5(3), 9–17.
Sesady, Muliati, Wahid, Abdul, Laupa, Rukiah, Bedong, Muhammad Ali Rusdi, &
Syatar, Abdul. (2021). BELIEF SYSTEM IN BULU NENE: RELATION TO
ZIARAH RITUAL TRADITION IN PINRANG DISTRICT, INDONESIA.
PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 18(4), 1887–1896.
Lalu Iman Novian Wahyudi, Antariksa, Johanes Parlindungan
The Role of the Rembitan Ancient Mosque in the Pemole Procession in Rembitan
Village 189
Siregar, Andi Harapan. (2018). Conservation and re-development of sade traditional
kampong at Rambitan village with local approach and cultural landscape. IOP
Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 126(1), 12079. IOP
Publishing.
Suastra, I. W., & Pujani, N. M. (2021). Local wisdom in Lombok island with the
potential of ethnoscience for the development of learning models in junior high
school. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1816(1), 12105. IOP Publishing.
Tohri, Ahmad, Habibuddin, H., & Rasyad, Abdul. (2020). Sasak People’s Resistance
Against Mataram-Karangasem and Dutch Colonial Rulers: The Role of Tuan Guru
Umar Kelayu. In Journal of Asian Social Science Research (Vol. 2).
Zuhdi, Muhammad Harfin. (2018). Wetu Telu in Bayan Lombok: Dialectic of Islam and
Local Culture. Kawalu: Journal of Local Culture, 5(2), 85–106.
