Romance To Social Recognition In The Long History Of The Homecoming Tradition

JAKARTA - "The concrete thing that stakeholders can do together is the prohibition of implementing the 'homecoming together' tradition this year. Moreover, usually going home together is synonymous with high mass gathering, both at the time of departure, on the way and also at the destination," said Kastorius Sinaga, Thursday, March 26.

The man who occupies the position as Special Staff of the Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, revealed that the ban on going home must be taken as a step to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which is increasing day by day. Imagine, at the time of writing, there were 1,046 positive cases of COVID-19 with a death rate of 87 people.

Kastorius added that the government's appeal regarding physical distancing still needs to be done to reduce the spread of the virus. This appeal has also been issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to various regions. Based on this decision, homecoming, which has become a tradition for generations in Indonesia, especially in 2020, is advised not to take place.

In the language of romanticization, this year there will be many families who have to endure longing for each other because they cannot stay in touch with their relatives. But, whatever missed. Common safety must be the main thing. It's not just a matter of longing, indeed. However, homecoming is a long tradition that has been recorded in the history of Indonesian society.

Homecoming tradition in the archipelago

Historian JJ Rizal, who was contacted by VOI, Friday, March 27, revealed that the homecoming tradition is a tradition of urban people. In that sense, homecoming coincides with the emergence of modern cities in Indonesia and the symptoms of urbanization in the 19th century. "There is a distance between the city and the village which is often called udik. So the moment when returning to the village is called 'homecoming'. "

This is closely related to Jakarta, which since its name as Batavia and its status as the Colonial Capital, has become a magnet for people from various regions to try their luck. "No doubt, the large amount of urbanization has made Batavia, especially Jakarta, synonymous with going home," said Rizal.

However, if you look back, the term homecoming was actually only popular around the 1970s. Each region also has its own language in mentioning the homecoming tradition. For people in Java, homecoming comes from the word 'mulih disik' which means to go home for a while.

However, for the Betawi people, they interpret going home as 'returning to the udik (village)'. Senior journalist, Alwi Shahab, in a book entitled Maria van Engels: Men-in-law Habib Kwitang (2006) also raises the term homecoming from the perspective of Minang nomads.

He explained, "For the Minang people, who according to an estimate in 2000 the number in Jabodetabek is at least two million people, for a long time it has been known as 'home basomo'."

Homecoming is not just a matter of homesickness. Since in history, homecoming has become a symbol of social recognition. In the past, homecoming was always done by convoy. During the homecoming moment, the nomads are like heroes. The vehicles of the travelers affixed with stickers will be greeted at the provincial border by voorijders.

"That's when a cultural scene was shown. "Let's go abroad to change fate," that's the message they conveyed along the way. "

Because of the popularity of homecoming, Komaruddin Hidayat in his E-book entitled Indahnya Mudik Lebaran (2015), describes the romance of going home as nostalgia and retrospectively during adolescence. Homecoming, for him is a beautiful and melancholy emotional recreation, which is capable of going through a long time

Not only that, Komaruddin also revealed the reasons why someone likes going home. The reason is none other than because there is a classic saying that humans are 'homo festivus', that is, creatures who like festivals. Therefore, Komaruddin said, “... with so many festivals, including festivals with religious nuances. Celebrating Eid al-Fitr can also be classified as a festival. At every festival, there is a steady pattern, which is repeated massively at certain moments, gathering together in an atmosphere of joy. "

"There are others who say, humans are pilgrims. Wanderer or traveler being, which is happy to travel or take a walk. Every holiday comes, the main agenda is sightseeing, recreation, "he added.

In line with that, the Rector of the Sumbawa Besar Social and Cultural Institute (IISBUD) Miftahul Arzak, who was contacted by VOI some time ago, revealed the same thing. Miftah views homecoming as a step back to her homeland. “People who feel that they are going home are people who feel that the land they are standing on right now is not permanent but temporary. So, they need to return to their place of origin or birth within a certain period of time. "

Therefore, people who carry out the homecoming tradition of course have a variety of purposes. Sometimes Homecoming is interpreted as a form of acknowledgment of himself to his native land, sometimes also as a form of longing for the warmth of the atmosphere in his hometown that is not twofold.

"On that basis, it is clear why sometimes there are people who compete to return to their homeland. Either going home is used as a symbol of one's success in the overseas land, or just as a form of longing for the land of birth. What is clear from all of them is that the gathering moment is what we look forward to, "concluded Miftahul Arzak.