Pandemic Mitigaton in Javanes Culture

Abstract

. Pandemic in Javanese terms is called pageblug . Pageblug in Javanese culture, however, has wider meaning than that of English and refer to complicated mitigation approaches. Pandemiy could not solely treated as physical matter, without understanding social and cultural aspects. Pageblug in Javanese culture provides transdiciplinary approaches in which the understanding and the mitigation require physical as well as spiritual treatment. This paper aims to reveal the dimensions of pageblug . This article uses heuristic and cultural interpretation approaches of library sources. Pageblug according to Javanese society refers to all kinds of calamities, such as natural disasters, epidemy, and wars that result in large-scale casualties. Pageblug has broad dimensions, including physical, political and social conditions, natural signs and relationships with God. The mitigation approach to pageblug in Javanese culture involves physical treatment or medication ( jamu ), advice of intellegent person ( wong pinter ) with deep understanding ( ngelmu ), the discipline ( laku ) and prayer ( japa ). Therefore, to overcome the pandemic is to deal with human as physical and social subject as well as with human as spiritual one.