This year’s Kawruh Jiwa Ki Ageng Suryomentaram School (KAS) marks the fourth time the event has been held since its inception. As with previous years, the short course was a result of cooperation between Universitas Gadjah Mada Faculty of Psychology with Center of Indigenous and Cultural Psychology (CICP). KAS was held through five consecutive days at 9-13 November 2016.
This year’s KAS was different in that in addition to Kawruh Jiwa School, the program also featured a “call for papers” seminar and Junggring Saloka Agung. Head of committee, Fransiska Anggraini, S.Pd.I even announced that the event organizer had been trying to form a partnership with UGM Press to collect all the papers that were presented in the seminar into one cohesive book.
As small parts of a program, all three activities of KAS couldn’t be held simultaneously. KAS School was the first segment to be held, running through 9-12 November. The 4th year of KAS School presented the same theme as the call for papers seminar, which was the focusing of the raos (soul) to achieve happiness in daily life. Many materials were given in the school, two of which were Raos Psychology and Personal Pangwikan. The school was taught by two experts, Prof. Dr. Koentjoro, MBSC, Ph.D and Ir. Prasetyo Atmosutidjo, M.M. On the last day of the course (11/11), participants were taken on a field study to Balong Village, Bantul Regency, where the Javanese culture’s spirit of togetherness still runs deep in the community.
After the school concluded, the next activity in the event was the call for paper seminar at 12-13 November and Junggring Saloka Agung on 13 November. Junggring Saloka Agung roughly means “the grand gathering” and, true to its name, was attended by Kawruh Jiwa communities from all over Java, such as Klaten and Surabaya. The topic discussed in this Junggring Saloka Agung was “The Thoughts of Suryo Mentaram in the Perspective of Indigenous Psychology”. Here, participants were encouraged to share their understanding of the “feeling” they experience after learning and practicing Ki Ageng Sutyo Mentaram’s thoughts.
KAS drew positive responses from various parties. The event had the privilege to have Special Region of Yogyakarta Head of Cultural Department Umar Priyono, M.Pd. give an opening speech. KAS also had substantial media coverage, partnering with notable local newspapers such as Kedaulatan and Harian Jogja. Junggring Saloka Agung had 70 attendants who all came from diverse backgrounds.
KAS was not without aims and expectations. The event aimed to preserve Ki Ageng Suryomentaram’s paradigm in its relation to indigenous psychology. It is hoped that this paradigm can receive more appreciation on an international scope, serve as the first among many studies on other existing paradigms in the archipelago, and encourage the country’s academics to love and treasure their local wisdom. “It is not a matter of whether we can or cannot, but whether we want to do it or not,” Fransiska asserted when asked about advancing psychology by adhering to the archipelago’s local wisdom.