Indian communities and to break down tribal cohesion by
introducing Western religious choice and the paradigm of
denominationalism. It can also be argued, of course, that tra-
ditional Lakota culture allows for the making of these sorts
of leadership choices. While leadership was hereditary, it was
always possible for any members of a band or group to follow
another leader should they decide that they disagreed with
the direction of leadership.
In any case, the contemporary result has been that there
is no longer a “Lakota” tribal Sun Dance; instead, more than
two dozen Sun Dances have been reported at the Oglala res-
ervation at Pine Ridge over a single recent summer, with a
similar number at the neighboring Rosebud and Cheyenne
River reservations. The shift, however, has become more pro-
nounced as Lakotas and Dakotas have invited more and
more non-Indians as participants into their tribal ceremonial
rites.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Holler, Clyde. Black Elk’s Religion: The Sun Dance and Lakota Ca-
tholicism. Syracuse, N.Y., 1995.
White, Phillip M. The Native American Sun Dance Religion and
Ceremony: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport, Conn.,
1998.
TINK TINKER (2005)
SUNDANESE RELIGION. Although the Sundanese
of West Java, Indonesia, consider themselves Muslims, many
pre-Islamic ideas still permeate their religious life. A key
point in understanding Sundanese relations to the supernat-
ural is the relationship between the soul and a creative or
generative power that animates the universe. This power,
anu ngayuga (“that which creates”) is limited and is con-
tained to varying degrees in the elements that make up the
cosmos. The amount of power in a person is determined by
ancestry and the time, place, and conditions of birth. It may
further wax or wane according to the state of ritual or moral
purity of the person (see Anderson, 1972).
SOUL. The Sundanese have two ideas of soul: nyawa and se-
mangat. Other words such as roh and jiwa are occasionally
used, but these are adoptions from the Arabic and Sanskrit,
respectively, and overlap in meaning between nyawa and se-
mangat. Nyawa is simply life or breath, existing only while
the person lives. Semangat, on the other hand, is that aspect
of soul that connects a person to the ancestors and gives him
or her various capabilities and strengths. It is the whole of
a person’s spiritual life. Provencher (1975) relates semangat
to the Melanesian and Polynesian mana.
The semangat belongs with the person, but may occa-
sionally leave if frightened or if a taboo is broken. In this case
the person’s soul must be coaxed back, or illness and death
may follow. The semangat is also considered to be able to
travel away from a person during sleep, making it dangerous
to awaken him suddenly, and may further transmigrate and
enter an animal such as a tiger.
The amount of semangat in a person is not constant but
may be added to through study, especially of sacred texts and
magic, as well as through the acquisition of sacred objects
and heirlooms. It may also be diminished through impure
and worldly actions. There must be an inner balance between
the semangat and the social persona of the person. Too much
or too little of it to fit the situation makes the person uncom-
fortable and may lead to disquietude or illness. These last two
aspects of semangat are much like the cosmic power men-
tioned above, and one may see semangat, then, as the unique
expression of cosmic creative power (anu ngayuga) in indi-
viduals.
Semangat is located throughout the body, although it
seems to be focused on the navel. The Sundanese take care
to bury brushed-out hair and nail clippings, as these are parts
of the person and thus contain soul substance that may be
used against one in magic. Amulets are worn around the
waist, protecting the center of the soul.
The placenta (ari ari) is considered to be the elder sib-
ling of the person. It is also believed that the same placenta
comes back to the mother as she bears each successive child,
creating a spiritual or soul bond between siblings.
The father, who planted the seed and made the body,
is responsible for its physical maintenance. The soul is said
to come from the mother, and she is responsible for the spiri-
tual makeup of the child. For this reason there is a tali batin
(spiritual tie) between the mother and her children and be-
tween the children via the shared placenta.
This connection goes back to the ancestors as well. An-
cestral graves are visited and the ancestors are notified when
a ritual is to take place or when one goes on an extended jour-
ney. Ancestral spirits may also be consulted in times of need.
They are often associated with a particular piece of land. Tra-
ditionally, people were buried on family land, and inherited
land could not be sold to outsiders. Placentas, especially
those of infant girls, are also often buried on family land,
with which the soul is thus intimately connected (Mus,
1975).
Ancestral souls may also be called on for aid in times of
trouble, in which case the ancestor may appear in the form
of a tiger. Deceased rulers are said to guard their realms in
this form; shamans are said to be able to take on tigrine form
while curing.
THE WIDER SUPERNATURAL WORLD. The shaman (dukun,
kuncen) is the vehicle for dealing with the wider supernatural
world. Aside from being human soul stuff, cosmic power is
also found in animals, plants, and the like. Like ancestral
graves, places such as caves and mountains can be strongly
imbued with it. Since this power is amoral, it may be danger-
ous to ordinary people. Through their craft, shamans are able
to interact with these forces and thereby protect the com-
munity.
Ordinary people may make requests from these powers,
which are often manifested as spirits or magical animals, afterSUNDANESE RELIGION 8849