Maintaining Ancestor's Heritage, The Seba Badui Ceremony Is Held Again At The Lebak Hall

Badui residents participate in the Seba ceremony or an offering of gratitude for the abundance of produce in a year. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The preservation of local culture is one of the important pillars in strengthening the identity of the nation in the midst of modernization. One of the noble traditions that is still sustainable today is the Seba ceremony, a sacred ritual carried out by the Bedouin community as a form of respect for their nature and ancestors.

Thousands of residents from the Badui Dalam and Bedouin communities gathered at the Lebak Regency Government Hall to carry out the Seba ceremony, an annual tradition that contains a meaning of gratitude for abundant produce.

In this celebration, they presented various agricultural products to regional leaders as a form of respect and prayer so that their territory would always be blessed.

Badui Dalam residents appeared in all-white clothes complete with matching headbands, while the Bedouin residents wore black clothes with blue headbands. Their presence became a distinctive sight that reflected the authenticity and loyalty of the custom.

"This Seba tradition is a mandate from the ancestors that we must carry out as a form of friendship with regional leaders," said Jamal, Chairman of the Seba Masyarakat Badui, when met at the Lebak Regency Government Hall Building, as quoted by ANTARA.

The number of Seba Gede participants in 2025 reached 1,760 people, an increase from Seba Leutik the previous year which was attended by around 1,000 people. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday night at 20.00 WIB and will be attended by the Regent of Lebak, Mochamad Hasbi Asyidiki, and the ranks of the Muspida.

In the ritual, the Bedouin people carry various earth products such as bananas, rice, laksa flour, jaat, slices, honey, and sugar ISN. This tradition has been going on since the Banten Sultanate, and is believed to bring balance and protection to nature and people's lives. They believe that leaving this tradition can be catastrophic.

Apart from being a form of gratitude, the Badui community also entrusted the local government with hope to continue to improve welfare and improve infrastructure, especially road access to the Badui region which is now damaged and hampers economic activity.

"We hope that new leaders can open a new page by building road access to our village," said Jamal.

Responding to this, Deputy Regent of Lebak Amir Hamzah stated that the local government strongly supports the preservation of Bedouin culture and makes the Seba ceremony a symbol of regional pride.

"We fully support the Seba ceremony as a cultural identity of Lebak Regency which we should protect together," he said.