Religion and Superstition

A couple of weeks ago, a girl in my class got "possessed" by a ghost/demon.
I put quotations because I do not buy it. But this is becoming such a common "event" that it made the news the other night. No, I'm not kidding. People in Indonesia really seem to believe in possessions, ghosts, and maybe even zombies and vampires--though the latter two don't seem as commonly accepted as really existing. My conspiracy theory is that these "possessed" individuals are actually dehydrated, having asthma attacks (but they probably don't know they have asthma), having an extreme migraine, or perhaps being dramatic. Nonetheless, the teacher will try and "exercise the demon/ghost" by means of hypnotism. At least half the class gathers around to observe the scene--which if it's an asthma attack, I cannot imagine that's helpful--and the other half is so used to it that they continue with their business. My host mother, younger sister, and various students in my class always warn/instruct me not to stare off into space--as I am often prone to do because of my reflective nature/ if the teacher is excruciatingly boring--because if I stare off into space I am likely to be possessed by a demon/ghost. Ugh, yea, I just nod my head and thank them for the thoughtful reminder--they say it because they care about me and genuinely worry about me being possessed...which is nice even if unnecessary. :)
Speaking of hypnotizing, when I first arrived, often I would see "live" TV broadcasts from malls. The attraction of these shows was that they would take "random" volunteers from the mall audience, hypnotize them into sleeping, and have hilarious conversations with them out of their hypnotized-induced sleeping that somehow still enabled them to hold a conversation and answer questions...
I'm a skeptic, what can I say.
As to the ghosts, in Indonesia there are--don't quote me on this--about five famous ghost/spirits. Each of these famous spirits has a name and distinctive appearance. People will ask me if I've heard of the famous Indonesian ghosts and then matter-o'factly ask me if the States, too have ghosts, what do the ghosts look like, what are their names, etc. Since these spirit characters are part of Indonesian popular culture--they are portrayed in music videos, sitcoms, and soap-operas, I have a hard time clarifying if my friends are asking me if there are equivalent pop-culture figures, or if they accept these/that ghosts are real and wonder if the US has such real spirits, too. The latter option always amuses me because it's suggestive that the US is an entirely separate world from enchanted Indonesia. The spirit I've seen portrayed the most in pop-culture is named ** and is usually played by a person wearing purple make-up under their eyes to look like black-eyes, and they hop because they are wrapped in what looks like a bed sheet that's tied candy-wrapper style on top if their head. Google a picture for a better idea. The hopping and bed-sheet apparatus just don't strike fear into my heart, which is maybe why this ghost appears so much on sitcoms? :P XD
My classmates generally enjoy telling me about the more traditional parts of Indonesian culture. One friend recently shared with me, the details of Indonesian witch-doctors. She described their prowess at manipulating voodoo dolls to inflict pain and even death upon real people. What an interesting encounter!
Why bring up religion in this post about superstition? Islam strictly prohibits superstitious beliefs--like believing in voodoo. Let me be clear, I do not say this to be judgmental, or point fingers! I bring this up because it's a good illustration of my learning environment here. I'm on this scholarship to learn about Indonesian and Islamic culture, which, since it has the largest Muslim population in the world (in terms of number of people), is heavily influenced by Islam, so it's Islamic culture, too. Maybe that was repetitive but you get my drift. My learning environment here is not made up of really educated everyday people, that's just a fact. What I want you to take away from all my clumsy rambling is the fact that everything I'm learning here about Islam is not pure Islam. Though many many people subscribe to this religion, since in Indonesia you HAVE to have a religion--and you pretty much inherit that religion from your parents (who must be of the same religion to have an Indonesian marriage license)--everything I'm learning about Islam is a people's interpretation of it--but it's very much intertwined in Indonesian culture--to the point that religion teachers teach their students that something is a tenant of their religion when really it's a tenant of the culture... So while I am aware that this is happening, mostly because Andrew is Muslim and has read the Quran (most Indonesians never read the Quran in their native language, they only read it in Arabic...but that does not at all mean they understand the words or the meaning for themselves...usually a religion teacher tells them what it means...and they know from another person) so he has an educated eye for these instances. This is a huge revelation for everyone I think, because it's a fantastic reminder that religion should not be blamed for violence, but that ignorance and human interpretation are the real roots. Not every one is right all the time, regardless of their religion! And Islam has just as many sub-sects/denominations as Judaism or Christianity...just to remind everyone. :)


If only I could insert a song soundtrack for each blog post...
"Very Superstitious...writing on the wall.. Wow naow wowwww....."

On a personal note...
As of right now I'm particularly homesick for (not listed in order of importance):
•My dad's holiday coffee
•My stepmom's chocolate chip pecan pie
•Making holiday cookies with my little sister...GINGER BREAD PEOPLE!!!! :(
•Vegetables. Especially broccoli--I just can't get enough vegetables here.
•Food that's not fried or sweetened with extra sugar.
•My friends. Miss these crazy goofballs a lot. <3
•Toilet paper. :(
•Hot showers.
•Sidewalks/ decent roads.
•Advent at church
•The cold/snow
•My older sister, Anna. <3

Things I'm really enjoying about Indonesia:
•bahasa sunda
•bahasa jawa
•how friendly everyone is
•mango
•surprising people with my language skills...whenever I meet new people it's so strange to them that I can speak bahasa Indonesia that at first they generally ask other people about me--thats when I answer and enjoy their consequential facial expression :) hehe
•Batik
•Kebaya
•Attending wedding ceremonies
•Eating with my hands
•Oreg tempe
•Sunday mornings when the roads are closed to traffic and the city comes out to exercise. People do aerobics; little kids play soccer barefoot; people run; people walk; vendors sell breakfast food, balloons, and stuffed animals. It's like a mini-fair every Sunday morning. This morning I saw my bahasa Indonesia teacher from school! (December 11, 2011)
•Sitting in the living room on the traditionally-carved couch and hearing the water sounds of the fish tanks and fish pond.