Hyang (Kawi language, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese) is a representation of the supreme being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology.
The Old Sundanese manuscript Sanghyang Siksa Kandang Karesian,
Gama Tirta Balinism describes Hyang as a venerated spiritual existence that deserves special reverence. Hyang is commonly described as a sacred and luminous personal form. It is also referred to as the name for a spiritual existence that has supernatural powers, portrayed like the sun in a dream and often mentioned in a masculine form. A Hyang's arrival in a person's life is reputed to give great contentment and happiness to the person. Indonesians generally recognize this term to refer to the cause of beauty, the cause of all existence (creator), or simply to refer to God.
In Kejawen Javanism, the concept of the Monotheism God is described as the Sang Hyang Tunggal or Sang Hyang Wenang. Raden Ngabehi Ranggawarsita in his book, Paramayoga, detailed the names and designations for Javanese concept of God as the objective of worship, including Sang Hyang Suksma Kawekas, Sang Hyang Suksmesa, Sang Hyang Amurbeng Rat, Sang Hyang Sidhem Permanem, Sang Hyang Maha Luhur, Sang Hyang Wisesaning Tunggal, Sang Hyang Wenanging Jagad, Sang Hyang Maha Tinggi, Sang Hyang Manon, Sang Hyang Maha Sidhi, Sang Hyang Warmana, Sang Hyang Atmaweda, etc.
Etymology
The term
Hyang is
Old Javanese in origin.
It means "god", "goddess", "deified being", or "divinity".
It remains in and , which bears the same meaning. In Old Sundanese, the term
"nga-hyang" means "disappear" or "unseen". In its development, the term "hyang" became the root word for many terms that are still known and used in modern Indonesian:
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Reverence. If the word "hyang" is attached with prefixes attribute Sang-, Dang-, Ra-; to form the word Sanghyang, Danghyang, or Rahyang, the word itself is used to honor or revere gods or the deceased ancestors. For example, Dewi Sri and Acintya
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Place. Kahyangan — later kayangan, from the prefix-suffix conjugation ka-hyang-an — refers to the realm "where hyangs reside". Because of the belief that hyang prefer high places, some mountainous regions are considered as the abode of hyang. For example, Parahyangan refers to the mountainous region of West Java. Originating from a conjugated word para-hyang-an; para indicates plural, while the suffix -an shows the place, so Parahyangan can be interpreted as the abode of hyangs. The term kahyangan is also used to refer to a type of Pura or Balinese temple. For example, Pura kahyangan jagad is a Balinese temple located in the mountainous region as the counterparts of pura segara; a Balinese temple located by the sea.
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Activity. The word sembahyang in Indonesian is Synonym with the Islamic salat ritual. It originated from the compound word sembah-hyang which means "worship the hyang".
Origin
The term
hyang, now widely associated with
Sunda Wiwitan,
Kejawen, and Balinism, developed in ancient
Java and
Bali more than a millennium ago. This term has its roots in the traditional
animism and dynamism in the beliefs of indigenous Indonesians native to the Indonesian archipelago.
Native pre-Hindu, pre-Buddhist, and pre-Islamic Indonesians have venerated and revered
Ancestor. They also believed that some spirits may inhabit certain places such as large trees, stones, forests, mountains, or sacred places. The
hyang concept had indigenously developed in the Indonesian archipelago and is not considered to have originated from
India dharmic religions.
Before the adoption of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, the natives of the Indonesian archipelago believed in powerful but unseen spiritual entities that could be both benevolent and malevolent. They also believed that the deceased ancestor had not gone away or disappeared completely. The ancestral spirit may gain god-like spiritual power and remain involved in their offspring’s worldly affairs. That is why the veneration and reverence to honor ancestors is an important element in the belief system of native ethnic groups, such as Nias, Dayak people, Toraja, and Papuan peoples ethnic groups, as well as many ethnic groups in Indonesia.
In ancient Sundanese people, Javanese people, and Balinese people societies, this unseen spiritual entity is identified as " hyang". These ancestral divine spirits are believed to inhabit high places, such as mountains, hills, and volcanoes. These mountainous regions are considered sacred realms, as the abode of gods and the resting place for the soul of the ancestors.
Several ancient Indonesian inscriptions dated from the Hindu-Buddhist period (8th to 15th century) mentioned Hyang either as the name of the sanctuary or the name of a deity revered in multiple temples.
Characteristics
"
Hyangs" are said to only move in straight lines. Accordingly, traditional Balinese buildings have a wall called an
just inside the doorway, which keeps the spirits out because they only move in straight lines, and hence bounce off.
[ Bali Religion ] Similar walls can be seen at the entrance of some Javanese cemeteries. Parallel beliefs are found in other spiritual traditions, as in British
Corpse road.
Hyang in native Indonesians' religions
The concept of
hyang can be situated in native Indonesian religions in several ways:
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Balinism: It is Acintya, the almighty God, the source of goodness brought by the Gods. Identified with Almighty Lord Parashiva.
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Buddhism: It is Sanghyang Adi Buddha, the law of nature that continues to exist, a so-called God that cannot be forgotten, where his Dharma was discovered by Gautama Buddha.
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Islam Nusantara: according to the teachings of Sunan Kalijaga (Tuban Javanese missionary man), the Sang Hyang is the archipelagic ancestor of Sang Hyang Adam, Sang Hyang Sita (prophet Seth), Sang Hyang Wanuh (prophet Noah), Sang Hyang Jawith (Japheth, son of Noah), Sang Hyang Jawana (believed as progenitor of the Javanese people), Sang Hyang Jawata (another progenitor of the Javanese people), Sang Hyang Bathara Guru, Sang Hyang Ismaya, Sang Hyang Bathara Wisnu, and so on, until the deceased parents are personified as the spiritual entity united with Sang Hyang.
See also
