Selamatan
Selamatan: A traditional religious feast. The word Selamatan expresses the notions of thanksgiving, blessing, and grace. At the same time, a Selamatan is not really a religious feast. Although prayers may be said and a passage read or chanted from the Qur’an, this is something that goes back a long time before the arrival of Islam. The Selamatan is partly a way of expressing family and neighbourhood solidarity - very important in Indonesia - and partly a way of seeking or keeping the protection of unseen powers. Through the sharing of ritual food, prayers, and fellowship in a Selamatan, the Javanese frequently perform a ritual that demonstrates their belief that they can and should maintain order and constrain dangerous disorder.
