ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on the revival of two specific rites of passage in the Temanggung area. The gombak ceremony is designed for the removal of a child's hairlock, perceived to be a lingering connection to the spirit world. The tingkeban, instead, is a mid-pregnancy rite involving the family of the mother-to-be and the symbolic participation of a female shaman. The chapter details the re-establishment of these two rites in Temanggung. While the willingness to revive the “ways of the ancestors” seems to be a driving force in its own right, the chapter underscores the process by which the Javanese tradition becomes Buddhified, and Buddhism, in turn, take on Javanese nuances. Although implicitly and on a small scale, these examples also show how the revival in Temanggung hinges in important ways on the establishment of public events.
