Sembah

Sembah
Sembahas part ofpendetdance movement
Types	Traditional greeting
Ancestor arts	Indonesian
Originating culture	Indonesia
Originating era	Hindu - Buddhist civilisations

Sembah(Javanese:ꦱꦼꦩ꧀ꦧꦃ,Sundanese:ᮞᮨᮙᮘᮃᮠ,Balinese:ᬲᭂᬫ᭄ᬩᬄ) is anIndonesiangreeting andgestureof respect and reverence. While performing the sembah, one clasps their palms together solemnly in a prayer-like fashion calledsuhunorsusuhuninJavanese;ormenyusun jari sepuluh( "to arrange the ten fingers" ) inIndonesianandMalay,placing them in front of their chest and moving the pressed palms up to their chin, or all the way up until their thumbs touch the tip of their nose, while bowing slightly.Any of these two forms are made depending on the status of the person greeted.

Sembahis endemic and prevalent inNusantararegional cultures that sharesdharmicheritage — such asBalinese,Javanese,andSundaneseeven as far asMalayas the testament ofIndonesian Hindu-Buddhist past.It is cognate to theCambodiansampeahandThaiwai.All of thesegreetingsare based on theIndianAñjali Mudrāused innamasté.

Etymology

Javanesesusuhunan,a gesture to convey utmost respect.

InIndonesianandMalay,the termsembahmeans to pay the honour, obeisance, homage or to worship.It also the synonym with theJavanese wordsuhun.According to Indonesian writerHamkain his bookDari Perbendaharaan Lama,the word derives from aJavanese wordfor position (susunan) of hands in reverential salutation, done with hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards, and bowing. This arrangement which has some similarities with Indiannamasteis called "sembah",which is used to honor and praise. Thus" susuhunan "can refer to someone to give the" susunan "or" sembah "to, or a revered person. Another word for"susuhunan"is"sesembahan".The termsembahhowever, curiously sounds similar and cognate to Cambodiansampeah,which suggests their common origin or shared connections.

The wordsembahyangin Indonesian and Malaysian Malay today is madesynonymouswith the Islamicsalatritual, means prayer or worship.— this comes from the merging ofsembahitself withhyang(deityor holy spirits) thus meaning "hyangworship ".

Origin

Sembahgesture depicted inBorobudurbas-relief

PranāmaorNamaste,the part of ancient Indian subcontinent culture has propagated tosoutheast Asia,which was part ofindosphereofgreater India,through thespread of HinduismandBuddhismfrom India. Thesembahoriginated from an ancient greeting of reverence that was done to show neither involvesprostration,or clasping the hands palms together and bowing to the ground. The gesture first appears c. 4000 years ago on the clay seals of theIndus Valley Civilization.It is then named asAñjali Mudrā,and endemic to the dharmic culture ofHindu-Buddhistcivilization inIndian subcontinent.

By early first century, Hindu-Buddhist civilization began to exercises their influences in Indonesia, and by the 4th century early Hindu polities has established their rule in Java, Sumatra and Borneo; such as the kingdom ofTarumanagaraandKutai.By the 6th to 9th century, Hindu-Buddhist civilization stood firmly in Java, Bali and Sumatra, as the kingdom ofSrivijayaandMedang Mataramrose. The images ofsembahorañjali mudrāappear in bas-reliefs of Javanesecandis,such as the 9th-centuryBorobudurandPrambanantemples. From then, thesembahgesture is endemic in the region, especially in Java and Bali.

Social and cultural significance

A late 19th-century photograph ofBedhayadancers performingsembahinkeratonYogyakarta byKassian Cephas.Sembahis prescribed etiquette in Javanese courts.

The sembah is a prescribedetiquetteand much-preferred inkeratonsor Javanese courts ofYogyakartaandSurakarta,where it is particularly important to greet a Javanese king (Sultan orSunan), princes and nobles in this gesture.Sembahis expected among Javanese aristocratic circle ofningratandpriyayi,where the height of raised clasped-hand corresponds to the social stature of the person in question. The highersembahhands is raised, the lower the body is bowed, the more higher the social stature of the person revered in this gesture. In Javanese court tradition, thepisowanan ngabektèn(Javanese termsowanbhakti;i.e. "visit to offer homage" ) ceremony is annually held duringLebaran(Eid al-Fitr), when the Javanese kings—the Sultan of the kraton of Yogyakarta and the Sunan of Surakarta—receives thesembah sungkemfrom their subjects.Sembah sungkemis a kind ofsembahthat is performed by bowing the body low, then clasping the hands at the lap or knee of the revered person.

Sembahalso has become incorporated in standard protocol towards Malay royalty where forehead level is preferred;it is still continued on inMalaysia(particular in functions related to theYang di-Pertuan Agong)andBrunei.

Kramaning sembahworship gesture during Hindu Balinesesembahyang

Sembahis also a common social practice inBali,where the legacies ofHinduetiquette and customs, are alive and well until today. In Balinese tradition however, thesembahfor greeting usually placing joined palms lower than the chin; while the highsembahthat rose the clasped palms over the forehead, is usually reserved only for Gods in religious worship purpose, assembahyang,or known askramaning sembahwhile reciting specificmantra.

In Sundanese tradition of West Java,sembahoften replacing modernhandshakeas it done in reciprocated manner; by barely touching each other combined tip of the fingers, then gracefully redraw the clasped hand and raised it to the face until the thumbs touches the tip of one's own nose. Sundanesesembahis also calledsalam Sunda(Sundanese greetings).

WithinMinangkabau cultureof West Sumatra, this greeting gesture is known assalam sembah.While inJambi,Sumatra, the gesture is calledseloko,orseloko salam sembah.

In Javanese and Sundanese version, usually no words is spoken during performingsembah.In Balinese version however, the word often spoken with thesembahwhen greeting somebody isom swastiastu,which is cognate tosawatdeeinThai,both originated fromSanskritsvasti.In Sanskrit, the wordsvastimeaning well, safe, happy, successful and prosperous,andastumeans hopefully. ThusOmSwastiastumeans: "Oh God, I hope all goodness (safety, happiness and prosperity) comes from all directions."In ancient Indonesia however, it seems that the word "swasti" is said duringsembahgreeting, as evidence in numbers of stone inscriptions founds in Java and Sumatra that started with the formulasvastiin the beginning; such as the 7th-centuryKedukan Bukit Inscriptionthat started with:svasti! śrī śakavaŕşātīta 605 ekādaśī śuklapakşa vulan vaiśākha.

Contemporary practice

Indonesian politician greets the attending crowds by performing thesalam sembahgreeting gesture.

Today, thesembahgreeting is adopted, especially inhospitality industry in Indonesia.Such as performed byGaruda Indonesiaflight attendants to greet passenger prior and after the flight,and also commonly practiced as welcome greetings by staffs in hotels, resorts and spas throughout Indonesia.

Sembahgreeting gesture is often performed by prominent figures, politicians, state officials, president, VIPs, or important persons during their public visit to greet the attending crowd. This is usually done when approaching and personally greeting each individual is not possible. During theCovid-19pandemic, this traditional non-contact social greeting has been promoted to replace the commonhandshaketo prevent direct contact and also to upholdsocial distancing.

In dances

Thesembahgesture is often performed in ritualizedIndonesian traditional dances,such astari persembahanfromLampung,tanggai dancefromPalembang,also its Malay dances variants fromJambiandRiau.InSundanese,Javanese,andBalinese dances,the sembah gesture often incorporated into dance movements, such asbedhaya,serimpi,topeng,wayang orang,panyembramaandpendetdances.

See also

• Sampeah
• Wai
• Namasté
• Sunan
• Culture of Indonesia

External links

• Hundred Sculptures of Sembah- the sculptures by Indonesian artist Purjito
• Sembah dance from Lampung