gag..repot2...tak ada padi dewi sripun jaddi

Dewi Sri Festival

Dewi Sri or Goddess Sri is known as the Goddess of Padi (rice) with the Javanese people. The traditional Javanese farmers are pay a great respect to this Goddess. Dewi Sri is also known as the Javanese pre-Hindu and pre-Islam era goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Bali and Java.

Dewi Sri always described as a beautiful and glorious woman. Dewi Sri is believed to have dominion over the Moon. Well, almost similar with the Chinese moon Goddess. Thus, Dewi Sri encompasses the whole spectrum of the Mother Goddess- having dominion over birth and Life: she controls rice: the staple food of Indonesians; hence life and wealth or prosperity (most especially rice surpluses for the wealth of Javanese Kingdoms such as Majapahit), and their inverse: poverty, famine, hunger, disease and Death

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The statue of Dewi Sri the Goddess of Padi

 

The Story : The main God in heaven called Batara Guru had planned to build a palace and he asked all of Gods and Goddess to support him. One God called Anta (a snake or God of Snake) was sad because he can not help Batara Guru. As a snake he did not have hands or legs to help the project. Anta cried and dropped 3 tear drops. The 3 tear drops become eggs. Anta decided to bring the eggs to Batara Guru. On the way to the palace, Anta met a giant bird called Garuda (as a matter of fact this is my National Symbol). Anta carried the eggs inside his mouth, so he can not pay Garuda's greeting. Garuda was mad and beat Anta in his head. That caused 2 eggs dropped to the earth and become ox and wild boar. Anta still had one egg to be presented to Batara Guru, the egg become a very beautiful woman - Dewi Sri.

Dewi Sri is so beautiful that even Batara Guru felt in love with her. Many Gods were jealous and angry with Dewi Sri, so they planned to kill her. Dewi Sri was dead and her body was buried in the building with triple roofs. Many plants grew from her tomb. One of them is padi. Batara Guru ordered some Gods to spread the padi plant to earth and taught the human how to plant padi. The plant is known as padi or Sri. Batara Guru sent the ox and boar as the padi plant guardian.

Now, Javanese people have a tradition to pay a respect to Dewi Sri and Batara Anta (the snake). They are presenting their harvest product to Anta and will not harm snake if they find it in their house. They live in a farm so they usually find snakes. The Javanese farmer still hold an old tradition, they will not plant padi in February. They believe if they do it, their padi plants will be destroyed by pests like snails, maggots, and even flood. They won't listen to the scientist whom assured them that it will be okay to plant padi in February. They insist that they have to wait for the Dewi Sri signal.