Ethnobotany of traditional rituals in the Karangwangi Village, Cianjur District, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Erawan TS, Alillah AN, Iskandar J. 2018. Ethnobotany of ritual plants in Karangwangi Village, Cianjur District, West Java, Indonesia. Asian J Ethnobiol 1: 53-60. According to Sundanese tradition, each Sundanese village community practices some distinctive traditional rituals in which diverse plants grown in different local ecosystems are used. The objectives of this study were to document the traditional rituals performed by the people of Karangwangi Village, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, and various plants used in these traditional rituals by employing qualitative and quantitative ethnobotanical approaches. Techniques, namely observations and in-depth interviews, were applied to collect primary data. The study results showed that the village people of Karangwangi have practiced 6 kinds of traditional rituals. These traditional rituals are locally named srokalan (the traditional ceremony of naming the baby), nikahan (the traditional ceremony of the wedding), nujuh bulanan (the traditional ceremony associated with the seventh month of pregnancy), nyepitan (the traditional ceremony of circumcision), upacara pare (the traditional ritual of planting rice) and upacara nelayan (traditional ceremony of fishers before going to sea). As many as 26 species representing 17 families of plants are used in these rituals. The plants used in traditional rituals were harvested mainly from the home garden systems, and most of these species are also commonly used as spices. The plants used in the traditional rituals have been predominantly cultivated in the homegardens; the village people indirectly conserve these plants.