Erau

The tradition & historical record

Erau is an Indonesian biennial cultural festival, taking place in the city of Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. The word Erau is derived from the Kutai word eroh, meaning crowded, noisy, joyful. ¹

The legend began in the Kutai Kartanegara Ing Martadipura Kingdom in the 13th century, when it was situated in Tepian Baru or Kutai Lama. It is a legend of the greatness of the Kingdom's first Sultan, who was said to be a descent from BROT. The story goes that in a village called Jaitan Layar, in the East Kalimantan mountainous slope, a kingdom official and his wife has been married for a few years, but had not yet been blessed with a child. They would pray to their God, hoping that a child will soon be born. One night, as the couple were sleeping, they were interrupted by a deafening noise from the outside. A bright light shone on the night as if it was daylight. The wife told his husband to check what the whole commotion is all about. When outside, the husband found a box made of golden stone. He opened the lid and inside he found a baby covered with a golden blanket. On the baby's right hand was an egg and on his left was a golden kris. Suddenly seven Gods appeared before him. One of the Gods would say, ¹

"Praise the Gods, you wish has been granted. This baby is the descendant of God. He needs to lay on your relatives laps for 40 days and 40 nights, his feet cannot touch the ground. His bath must be scented with blooms and roses. His feet cannot touch the earth until after the Erau Ceremony. In the ceremonial Tijak Tanah (literally stepping on earth), his feet shall step on the head of a human, living and dead. His feet shall step on the head of a buffalo, living and dead. Then he shall perform the Mandi ke Tepian rite (literally bathing to the shore), by taking a bath in the river." The husband told the Gods that he will obey all of their commands and thanked them for answering his prayers. Once the Gods disappeared, he took the baby inside to his wife. ¹

Every coronation of the Kutai Kartanegara Sultans, since the time that the first Sultan was inaugurated, had been commemorated with an Erau ceremony. Erau ceremonies then developed from being solely for the Sultan's coronation to a celebration commemorating the vesting of title to individuals for their outstanding service to the kingdom. The duration of the ceremony would depend upon the Kutai Palace's wealth, it ranged from 7 days to a maximum of 40 days continuously. The Erau ceremonies were traditionally organised by the Kutai palace courtiers, who would invite the kingdom's community leaders. Arriving from all corners of the kingdom, the leaders would bring supplies of food, livestock, fruits, and also artists for entertainment. The Sultan and his courtiers would then provide free meals to the kingdom's citizens as a gesture of the Sultan's gratitude to the dedication of his people. The last known traditional Erau ceremony was in 1965, for the commemoration of the Sultan Aji Pangeran Adipati Praboe Anoem Soerya Adiningrat coronation. The traditional Erau ceremony ended along with the end of the Kutai Kartanegara Sultanate reign, when its territory was converted into the autonomous region of Kutai Kartanegara (abbrev. Kukar) Regency. ¹

In the effort of preserving the cultural traditions of Kutai, the bupati (taken from a Sanskrit word, which contemporarily means the holder of executive power of the local government) of Kukar Regency government, Drs. H. Achmad Dahlan, mandated that Erau be a biennial festival commemorating the foundation of the capital Tenggarong on 29 September 1782. This biennial festival was first held in 1971. From the advice of Kukar's last Sultan, Sultan Aji Muhammad Parikesit, the district government is only allowed to exercise some traditional ceremonies, and not others such as the tijak kepala (literally step on head) and the vesting of titles. Activities that are allowed are art and sport or agility performances, such as Menjamu Benua, Merangin Malam, Mendirikan Tiang Ayu, Upacara Penabalan, Pelas, Seluak Mudik, Mengulur Naga and Belibur. Traditional tribal ceremonies allowed was from the Dayak tribe, such as Papaer Maper, Kuangkay, Mumutn, Ngayau, Lemakan Balei, Uman Undad, Pasek Truit, Erau Anak. There are also the occasional Malay arts such as Tarsul and Badendang. Erau festival, held every September, has now been included in the Indonesian national tourism calendar of events. It is no longer associated with cultural tradition of the Kukar Sultanate palace, but rather to showcase the arts and culture that exist and thrive across the regency. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Erau”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Erau is Indonesian biennial cultural festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²