Berichte und Kommentare 
567 
^iahatalla. So important is Tempon Telon that his 
followers call themselves the Babuhan (commu- 
Ul ty) of Tempon Telon. Moreover, today Tempon 
Tolon is considered the equal of Shiva, as the god of 
destruction and dissolution (Baier 2006: 17). Like 
wise, the creator Mahatalla was not as almighty and 
^changing a century earlier as he is now. He had 
Power only as long as he possessed “the water of 
life,” Danum Kaharingan, which ensured rejuvena 
tion (Zimmermann 1969: 317-324). 
Throughout the Dutch era there was religious 
freedom for everyone; only head-hunting, slave 
sacrifice, and cruelty to animals, as they occurred 
Coring death feasts, were forbidden. Later, during 
H* 6 Japanese occupation, it was policy to erase all 
re ninants of Western colonialism. For the first time 
Native religion was taken seriously, on a par with 
^§h religion. From 1943, a general movement to 
wards Japanization took place (Bigler 1947; Baier 
1^8: 51). Native priests were encouraged to rein 
troduce or maintain their old rituals. Educated adat 
Socialists and Christian Ngaju reverted back to 
^ n imism, foremost among them Tjilik Riwut, who 
ate r, in 1957, became the first Indonesian governor 
°f the new Province of Central Kalimantan. A med- 
lc al nurse during colonial times and a Christian em- 
jj °yee of the Mission Hospital in Kuala Kapuas, he 
ec arne, in Japanese times, a professed animist and 
practicing priest. Already in 1945, the Japanese had 
r ged him to give his religion a new name, 
j Spontaneously he chose the name Kaharingan. 
s etymology derived from ritual language and the 
nce pt of haring which means “to exist by one- 
j^f’ without foreign influence” (Ugang 1983; 10- 
^ > cf. “Danum Kaharingan”). As the Hindu Ka- 
ar inga n religion explains it today, Kaharingan 
e ans “living,” “a source of life stemming from 
tan 4 new name s P rea< J throughout Kaliman- 
after 1945. At present it is presumed to be the 
d* Ucla l name for all extant Dayak religions of In- 
s Pe 6S ^ a ’ more exac tly for what survives of them, 
d e Cla Uy in Central Kalimantan and along the bor- 
to West and East Kalimantan (Tunjung-, Be- 
of r^ ^ayak), as well as in the Meratus mountains 
p° ut h Kalimantan. 
ties nc ° Ura g e< J by developments during the Japa- 
ai? h ° Ccu P a ti° n , adherents of Kaharingan orga- 
t ra j C a conference. During 1950 they met in Cen- 
re Kalimantan near Palangka Raya where they 
n am Ve d to maintain Kaharingan as the official 
li sh ^ °f their faith. Simultaneously they estab- 
a political party, the Sarikat Kaharingan Da- 
fiber kehidupan dengan kuasa Ranying Hatalla Langit 
emb aga... 2003: 1 [A.b. al 1]). 
Al *hr, 
°Pos 102.2007 
yak Indonesia (Schiller 1997: 117). But they still 
had a long way to go before the new religion be 
came official. Before Indonesia was ready to grant 
formal approval, a number of conditions had to 
be met. The state permitted only one ideology, 
namely Pancasila which embraced one Almighty 
God. How can a worldview, which believes in many 
gods and spirits, satisfy this stipulation? Tjilik Ri 
wut was aware of this problem. In a publication 
locally distributed during 1953, he acknowledged 
that Kaharingan knew only one God by name of 
Ranying (Riwut 1953: 5). However Ranying is only 
a honorific for the Creator God Ranying Hatalla 
Langit. This Ranying occupies the seventh, or high 
est, heavenly sphere, jointly with his “angels,” the 
“dewas,” and “Sangiang.” By way of explanation, 
Riwut in this instance refers to the sister or wife of 
Hatalla. For the first time he manipulates, in writ 
ing, the ranking of Ranying Hatalla Langit so that 
he can appear similar in status to the God in Islam 
or Christianity; a God without family, wife, or chil 
dren. The original family members were degraded 
to angels. 
Marked changes took place too in the cost of 
sacrifices, especially in the Tiwah Feasts of the 
Dead. Before the Dutch occupation it was neces 
sary, at least for the leading families, to offer slaves 
(these were mostly bought at the slave market). In 
1859 the Dutch forbade this practice and only buf 
faloes were allowed to be offered. In the fifties and 
sixties the death rituals experienced competition 
from the much cheaper rituals of Islam and Chris 
tianity. According to Dr. Sri Kuhnt-Saptodewo, af 
ter the eighties only hens were required to be of 
fered at the Tiwah Feast of the Dead. 5 
Ever since Indonesia started its “Orde Baru,” 
every citizen was formally required to belong to a 
recognized religious community. Five were permit 
ted: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, 
and Buddhism. Those adhering to Kaharingan had 
to adapt further, for in 1979, when their faith last 
failed recognition, they were still unable to conform 
to the following requirements laid down: 1) that 
their belief knew only one God; 2) that a holy book 
or script was present; 3) that a special building for 
religious services was present; and 4) that a set 
number of yearly feast days were ordered. 
The changes which Tjilik Riwut had begun to 
make the religion acceptable were carried further 
and included these adaptations. 
5 Maks 1861:494; Kuhnt-Saptodewo 1993:75, 78: After 
questioning and receiving inadequate information, I find this 
doubtful; cf. also Schiller 1997: 124.