Yunus Demianus Djabumona
Local belief systems in Indonesia, especially the spirituality of Kejawen, are often perceived as remnants of a “primitive” animistic pre-modern past. This perception stems from a colonial Western worldview that positions rationality and monotheism as the pinnacle of human evolution. That is a colonization of local belief that demands decolonization. The decolonization of animism means restoring local beliefs to their rightful place as legitimate and equal systems of knowledge. Kejawen, along with mystical movements such as Sumarah, is not a vestige of the past but a living spirituality that continuously grapples with the forces of colonialism, capitalism, and modernity. This essay discusses the decolonization of Javanese animism through the examination of three theoretical lenses: Edward B. Tylor’s concept of animism, David Harvey’s critique of capitalism and spatial production, and Kyle Whyte’s theory of ecological justice.
Edward Burnett Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871), defines animism as “the belief in spiritual beings,” which he considers the foundation of all religions (1871, 1–3). He views animism as the earliest stage in the religious development of humankind, followed by polytheism and monotheism. This framework reflects 19th-century European evolutionary thought, which placed Western society at the top of civilization. In the colonial context of the Dutch East Indies, such a perspective provided ideological justification for the colonial “civilizing mission,” which aimed to replace indigenous belief systems with modern religion and education (Ricklefs, 2008, 192–194). As a result, the worldview that unified spirit, nature, and humanity was pushed aside by capitalist rationalism, which claimed universality and superiority.
In contrast, R.M. Koentjaraningrat, in Javanese Culture, shows that the Javanese perceive the world as a relational unity of humans, nature, and spiritual power (kasekten) (Koentjaraningrat, 1985, pp. 412–414). Rituals such as slametan (communal ritual feasts) or laku batin (inner discipline) are not “superstitions,” but ways to maintain cosmic and social balance. In the Javanese tradition, concepts such as pamali (taboo) and manunggaling kawula Gusti (human-divine unity) emphasize the interconnectedness of all existence. Tylor, in his evolutionist framework, regarded such views as “prelogical thinking,” not as a rational system of knowledge (Koentjaraningrat, 1985, pp. 411–412). A decolonial reading reverses this judgment: animism is not primitive thought but a sophisticated epistemology that rejects the separation between humans and nature. This perspective aligns closely with modern ecological philosophy, which stresses interdependence and sustainability as the core of human existence.
The Sumarah mystical movement, studied by Paul Stange in Kejawen Modern: Hakikat dalam Penghayatan Sumarah (Modern Kejawen: The Essence in the Experience of Sumarah), provides a concrete example of internal decolonization within Javanese culture. Founded by Sukino Hartono during the late colonial period, Sumarah emphasizes sujud sumarah—total submission to God through inner awareness (Stange, 2009, pp. 25–26). Sukino rejected spiritual practices that relied on ancestral spirits or supernatural powers, such as those associated with Nyai Roro Kidul in the legends of Prince Diponegoro’s struggle. Instead, he taught that true freedom derives from inner liberation rather than external forces (Stange, 2009, p. 168). Thus, Sumarah represents a form of spiritual emancipation from colonial ways of thinking that separate rationality from religiosity. Stange notes that the mystical movement’s development has always reflected Indonesia’s political and cultural transformations, from the independence revolution to the New Order era, revealing its role in shaping national and spiritual consciousness (Stange, 2009, pp. 18–25).
Mysticism in modern Indonesia is not escapism but a way to build an autonomous and adaptive spiritual identity. As religion responds to human alienation by reconnecting life with an absolute meaning, mysticism deepens the connection through direct inner experience rather than external forms. Its essence lies in an awareness of unity that transcends reason and ego, even as its expressions remain shaped by social and cultural contexts. For mystics, teachers and rituals are only catalysts for self-revelation, for as one approaches the core of mystical experience, all outer forms dissolve into the immediacy of the Absolute (Stange, 2009, pp. 19–20).
From an economic and political perspective, David Harvey helps explain how colonialism and capitalism shape how humans experience space and spirituality. In The Limits to Capital, Harvey argues that capitalism produces space by detaching people from the land, from tradition, and from spiritual values (Harvey, 2006, pp. xix–xxi). Economic value, he writes, is relational, that is, arising from social and geographical networks (Harvey, 2006, pp. 339–340). Yet capitalism generates what he calls the fetishism of space: transforming social relations into relationships between things and places (Harvey, 2006, p. 338).
In Indonesia, the process of the fetishism of space began under colonial rule, when sacred land and natural resources were commodified. Spiritual spaces such as sacred forests and springs were redefined as economic assets subject to extraction and administration. Rituals like the slametan, once aimed at maintaining social and ecological balance, were reduced to cultural ceremonies. Viewed through Harvey’s framework, Kejawen can be seen as a form of counter-space, an alternative spatial practice that resists the capitalist logic of commodification. Rituals and laku batin (inward acts) serve as symbolic acts of resistance against the desacralization of space (Harvey, 2000, pp. 125–127). The decolonization of Kejawen, therefore, entails reclaiming space as a site of spiritual relationship rather than a zone of economic production.
Meanwhile, Kyle Whyte extends the notion of decolonization to the realm of ecological justice. In his essay “Justice Forward: Tribes, Climate, and the History of Environmental Justice,” Whyte argues that colonialism not only dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their land but also destroyed their systems of ecological responsibility (Whyte, 2013, pp. 523–524). Colonialism persists up to the present time, and so suffers both indigenous people and the environment endlessly. For environmental justice, Whyte proposes the concept of collective continuance—a community’s ability to sustain reciprocal relationships with the environment and with one another despite colonial and climatic disruptions.
In the Javanese context, the collective continuance resonates with the philosophy of hamemayu hayuning bawana, that is, the duty to preserve the beauty and balance of the world. Kejawen teaches that humans are not masters of nature but integral parts of a web of interdependence. Decolonizing animism thus means recognizing the local belief values as legitimate systems of knowledge. Amid the global climate crisis, Javanese spirituality offers an alternative paradigm for sustainable development grounded in ecological and moral balance.
When the ideas of Tylor, Harvey, and Whyte are examined together, it becomes clear that the decolonization of animism encompasses three interrelated dimensions. First, decolonial epistemology challenges the hierarchy that privileges Western rationality over local spirituality. Second, the spatial dimension resists capitalist domination that desacralizes social and environmental space. Third, the ecological dimension restores ethical relations between humans and the natural world. Tylor represents the epistemic phase of colonialism; Harvey exposes its spatial and economic extensions; and Whyte offers a path toward ecological and relational liberation.
Kejawen, in its complexity, is not merely a “syncretic” blend of Islam, Hinduism, and animism. It is an alternative worldview that rejects the dualism of modernity. It unites the spiritual and the material, the human and the non-human, the local and the cosmic. In practices such as sujud sumarah or slametan, time and space are not understood as linear but as an interpenetrating network of relationships. This resonates with Harvey’s concept of relational space-time, which views space and time as socially produced through human interaction and collective experience (Harvey, 2006, pp. xxi–xxii).
In short, decolonizing animism is not about reviving the past but about opening new epistemological spaces where Indigenous traditions can engage in equal dialogue with global critical theory. Kejawen and the (new) animist heritage of the Indonesian archipelago offer a model of spirituality that speaks directly to the crises of modernity: a spirituality grounded in ecological awareness, social harmony, and respect for all living beings. Within the quiet practice of sumarah lies a profound vision of human freedom, one that is not only political but also ecological and spiritual. This, ultimately, is the essence of decolonizing knowledge in Indonesia.
References:
Harvey, D. (2000). Spaces of hope (Vol. 7). Univ of California Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=W00VHZg3u2MC&oi=fnd&pg=PP9&dq=david+harvey+spaces+of+hope&ots=7WmmRJKKB8&sig=n9iW4kwYuyUv-lDXtZtIAK6Aj4Y
Harvey, D. (2006). The Limits to Capital (New and fully updated ed). Verso.
Koentjaraningrat, R. M. (1985). Javanese culture. Oxford University Press.
Ricklefs, M. C. (2008). A history of modern Indonesia since c.1200 (4th ed). Palgrave Macmillan.
Stange, P. (2009). Kejawen modern: Hakikat dalam penghayatan Sumarah (Cet. 1). Penerbit & distribusi, LKiS Yogyakarta.
Tylor, E. B. (1871). Primitive culture: researches into the development of mythology, philosophy, religion, art, and custom (Vol. 2). J. Murray.
Whyte, K. P. (2013). Justice forward: Tribes, climate adaptation and responsibility. Climatic Change, 120(3), 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-0743-2
Yunus Demianus Djabumona is a graduate student in the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), Graduate School, Universitas Gadjah Mada
