Dayak Losarang Community - Living in Harmony with Our Co-inhabitants, Part 1 of 2

In the Krimun village of western Java, Indonesia, a vegan spiritual group lives side by side with the surrounding community and is known to be honest, pure, friendly, and helpful. Founded in 1970, the formal name of this group is the Suku Dayak Adat Jawa Petani Bumi Segandu Dermayu Indramayu but they are known as the Dayak Losarang Community. The Reverend Master Eran Takmad Diningrat Gusti Alam is the founder of Dayak Losarang Community.

The members of the group are known for their distinctive attire of black and white pants, with necklaces and bracelets on their hands and feet and no clothing on their upper bodies.

The community believes that returning to nature is useful for teaching humans and that getting closer to nature is the essence of human life. Mr. Wardi shares with us the philosophy of “getting closer to nature” being the essence of human life. “In this universe, there are many life forms. One of them is invisible creatures. How do we also embrace the non-visible and, love them? There are also creatures that animate, such as fish, chickens, and others. We do not eat any animals because animals are fellow human beings, the creatures of God. Finally, there is another creature that breathes, the plant. They are not lifeless but breathing. Humans have blood, they have sap. We respect those three creatures: the unseen/invisible, animal and plant. As we respect humans, we also respect these three creatures.”

The Segandu Indramayu community follows an annual ritual. During the space of a year, they use four months for spiritual practice or rituals and eight months for work. The ritual or spiritual practice is called “kungkum” and “pepe.” Before performing the “kungkum” and “pepe” rituals, practitioners will say some prayers, including “Praise of Nature,” “Chant of Alas Turi” and “pewayangan.”