PREPEGAN TRADITION IN BANDUNGAN SEMARANG: AN EFFORT TO INVENTORY OF GRASSROOT CULTURE

HIGHLIGHT ABSTRACT - Traditions of grassroots communities often escape academic discussion and rarely become in-depth discussions in academic circles. The result is that the inventory of the traditions of the grassroots community is small in number when compared to the traditions of the aristocratic society or the traditions of the palace. Tradition is not just a question of 'how the custom is done' or 'why this needs to be done'. However, at least, these methods and reasons can be passed down completely to the next generation. It can be understood well, not only as a cultural heritage, but also as a living value in the society they live in. Understanding of traditional values will be biased, degraded, and even fade or disappear altogether if no one writes them down. Writing is an inventory of civilizations. Even if it's just a fragment, it's still important. This study does not have a complicated goal such as analyzing patterns of cultural integration, or interpreting traditional symbols. Just a small effort to write down the cultural phenomena that occur in the environment around the researcher. Not a culture of elite society, but the culture of farmers, middlemen, traders, and other lower class groups. At least, through this paper, the researcher hopes that there will be more who conduct studies on grassroots culture..

District, Semarang Regency, and Central Java Province.Precisely in Pasar Bandungan, where the sellers and buyers come from the surrounding villages and from outside the area.So there is no limit to where these sources come from, but limited to what they do in the market and the situations that occur in the market.
Source of data from this research comes from primary data and secondary data.The primary data in this study were the results of interviews with several informants and the results of direct observations by researchers in the field, which were conducted randomly.While the secondary data in this study are in the form of texts or written manuscripts both physically and non-physically from books and free articles that can be accounted for.Data collection techniques in this study were through interviews, participatory observation, and documentation.The data analysis technique is by reducing unnecessary data, and then displaying primary and secondary data with analysis through Van Peursen's theory, which then draws conclusions from the analysis (Huberman & Miles, 2014).

Prepegan in Several Regions
In contrast to some areas.For example in Indramayu, this Prepegan tradition lasts for one day before the holiday.Prepegan in that place is interpreted as the Tumpah Market, which is a place where people shop for various needs.Starting from clothes, food ingredients, fireworks and others.The prices are varied and the majority are cheap.Reporting from merdeka.com, the Prepegan tradition was originally a habit of residents from two regions in Central Java, namely Brebes and Tegal.Over time, the tradition began to take root in Indramayu Regency when many residents of Central Java came to the northern coastal area of West Java.Previously, Prepegan was a traditional market that only sold flowers or flowers for pilgrimage purposes ahead of Eid al-Fitr.Over time, the Prepegan market has transformed into a traditional market that only exists once a year.The Prepegan tradition is held once a year on the day before Eid.Prepegan is a cheap spill market.In Indramayu, there are only Kedungwungu and Wanguk villages (Kautsar, 2022).Another uniqueness of the Prepegan market tradition in Indramayu is related to the myth that you should not shop before walking to the end of the market.It is said that this is a hereditary belief where visitors there are required to walk from north to south and when at the village crossroads they are required to spread certain denominations.After the myth was carried out, residents and visitors at the Prepegan market were only allowed to buy goods as needed (Kautsar, 2022).
In contrast to what happened in the Tegal community, quoted from wartabahari.com, the Prepegan tradition is divided into two types, namely small Prepegan and big Prepegan.Prepegan small two days before Eid and big Prepegan the day before Eid.Prepegan is used properly to find the needs of Eid, from after dawn and in the evening Prepegan is still crowded with people.Identical to the goods sold are diverse and the prices are quite affordable, many people flock to shop (Mu'min, 2020).
Quoted from detik.com, in the people of Brebes, Central Java, Prepegan has almost become an obligation before Eid, even though it is just buying flowers for pilgrimage.Eid is not complete if you miss the Prepegan tradition.This Prepegan tradition begins two days before the holiday.At Prepegan Kecil, two days before Idul Fitri, residents will shop at the market to look for basic needs that must be available during Eid.Such as culinary ketupat, lepet and other necessities such as tomb pilgrimage equipment, be it flowers and pandan leaves.While the big Prepegan , which takes place the day before Eid, residents will look for complete clothing and sandals and others.Shopping on this large Prepegan tends to spend large amounts of money because the items to be purchased are expensive (Suripto, 2017).

Some Differences: Prepegan in Bandungan Semarang
From some of the examples above, there are fundamental differences between the Prepegan tradition in Bandungan Semarang and some of the places mentioned above.First, in other areas, the Prepegan tradition is divided into two, namely the small Prepegan and the large Prepegan .However, in Bandungan Semarang this is not different.However, there is only the name of the Prepegan tradition .There is no difference in terms, even in practice there is no clear difference.If in other areas there is a little Prepegan whose time is two days before Eid, then in Bandungan Semarang even since seven days before Lebaran it has also been called Prepegan if market conditions have improved.And if in other areas there is a big Prepegan that occurs the day before Eid, then in Bandungan Semarang it is also referred to as Prepegan only.No small or big.
Second, in other areas, most of it only happens in one or two days before Eid.Meanwhile, in Bandungan Semarang, the Prepegan tradition can occur even from seven to five days before Eid.This even lasts until one day before Eid or even after Eid.It all depends on market conditions whether they are still in a state of increasing transactions or not.If it still is, then it means that Prepegan can be understood that it is still ongoing.When will it end?When the market is quiet.
Third, in other areas, the Prepegan tradition is famous for its cheap markets.In a sense, the prices in the Prepegan market are affordable and become a means for people to shop at much cheaper prices.This is different from the one in Bandungan Semarang.In Bandungan Semarang, when the Prepegan tradition took place, prices soared very high.In fact, it is considered by the public to understand when prices go up and they only know that Prepegan is in progress.And they understand, accept the price increase without asking the reason behind the price increase when the Prepegan tradition takes place.
Prepegan tradition in Bandungan Semarang does not have the exact time because it all depends on market conditions.The public can only predict the approximate date, which is D-7 to D-1 before the holiday.As for the hours themselves, it depends on how crowded the market is and the transactions that take place in the market.
The main variable in the Prepegan tradition is when prices suddenly rise and even soar.When that happens, Prepegan is declared to have started.Even if it starts without a standard or stated beginning, or there is a moment that marks the opening of Prepegan.None of that is in the Prepegan tradition.Completely in control of the market.Even for the closure, there are no special conditions.There is only a situation where market participants have started to leave the market and the market gradually calms down and then prices return to normal.This marks the end of the Prepegan tradition .
In Prepegan it can be assumed that there are two main actors who carry out this tradition.The first is the seller, the second is the buyer.However, in practice, there is no clear boundary between these two actors because everyone can become a seller and everyone can become a buyer, depending on time and conditions.For example, a vegetable farmer who has just harvested comes to the market to sell his produce.At that time that person's position was as a seller because transactions were often carried out directly between farmers and consumers.After the vegetables were sold and the farmer got some money, the person immediately spent the money to buy some necessities without going home first.This is because prices tend to increase for an unknown time limit.These concerns encourage people to immediately shop for necessities without wanting to wait any longer.
When the price suddenly doubles or even triples, the public or buyers will not protest because the Prepegan tradition is still going on.Even when the seller offers a high price, he doesn't mind or is afraid that his merchandise will not sell because the Prepegan tradition is still ongoing.The price agreement just happened, you could say a condition where the market is confused about determining the actual price but the market is in an uptrend (Bullish Trend).This is common in the Prepegan tradition.After the Prepegan tradition ends, prices tend to return to normal.Or even in some goods the price has fallen significantly.
For example, when the Prepegan tradition takes place, the price of roses can increase gradually from Rp. 35,000 for one basket to Rp. 350,000 for one basket.Up to 10 times.All sellers will compete to find the smallest margin for profit, even the buyers.Compete to find a seller who has the lowest price.But when the price has reached its saturation point, the seller is tired of playing with the price and the buyer is tired of bidding.Usually the price has reached a stable point which marks the Prepegan tradition at its peak.In the case of roses during the Prepegan tradition, the price usually tends to be stable when it is at Rp. 300,000 to Rp. 350,000 for one basket.
What is very interesting about this Prepegan tradition is when the Prepegan tradition is placed in the economic field as stated by Bakker.Bakker writes that the economic field is usually divided into three sectors and the percentage of human resources engaged in each sector reflects quite well the nature of a culture and its main orientation.
The primary sector devotes the power of extraction, namely producing raw materials from the earth's nature and from life on earth, sea, and space.This work consists of mining, agriculture, animal husbandry, and fishing.The secondary sector processes raw materials produced in the primary sector and includes industry, crafts, and construction.Both require manual labor.The tertiary sector includes all kinds of services to the community which optimally consist of a "six-service standard".These are livelihoods, distribution and communication, law and security, education and education, health, arts and entertainment.
In the Prepegan tradition, it is almost indistinguishable or indeed an abstract mix of the three sectors.For example, a farmer (extractor, first sector) who brings his own land products to the market (distribution, third sector) and then sells them directly door-to-door (communication) to consumers.Of course, the farmer must first beautify his merchandise in such a way that it is suitable to be sold a high price when the Prepegan tradition is in progress (crafter, second sector).And all that can be done by one human being, the Farmer.

Another Prepegan Tradition
In another article entitled Socio-Cultural Behavior of Peasants Who Have a Tendency to Cause Shirk in the Life of the Cirebon Society written by Setia Budiyanto, it is said that the Prepegan tradition is a ritual performed before the rice harvest by farmers.The article claims that all the rituals carried out by the farmers are not in accordance with the rules of Islamic aqidah, and are classified as shirk and are included in the unforgivable sin (Budiyanti & Ta'dib, 2018).The article explains that Prepegan is done before the rice harvest.The ritual is a sign that the harvest will soon be carried out and harvested symbolically by regional leaders and followed by other communities.Setia said that in general, ritual performers are used to doing it because they think the act is not shirk.They stated that what they did was an expression of gratitude to God.According to him, actually they have mixed up the right with the false (Budiyanti & Ta'dib, 2018).
Of course, in terms of Prepegan used by Setia, it is not meaningful in practice.Because in the Prepegan Tradition that the author is highlighting in this paper, it is not a tradition carried out by farmers before harvest, but a tradition that is carried out before major holidays or certain days and is carried out in the market which is generally a public space and is related to the topic; economy and culture.Not a ritual as referred to in Setia's writing.
In terms of socio-religious matters, the Prepegan tradition that took place in Bandungan Semarang, I -as a local community, see that there is absolutely no element of shirk or anything like that.Even though this tradition is motivated by many factors, such as the community's need to prepare for the holiday (religious factors) or in the context of the community preparing for other ritual agendas (traditional factors or local beliefs).However, it needs to be seen from a more relevant and inclusive religious perspective that it needs to be realized that it is part of the diversity of the Indonesian nation and at the same time as a cultural asset.Therefore, it needs to be preserved and maintained for its continuity.

In Van Peursen's Perspective
In the cultural philosophy, Van Peursen sees cultural development and divides it into three stages, namely starting from the mythical stage, the stage where humans at first strongly believe in mythical things, second to the ontological stage, namely a stage of wanting to get out of the mythical shackles that so far they believed.And the last is the functional stage, namely at this stage humans are no longer fascinated by the mythical realm, in other words that at this stage humans are able to free themselves from the mythical siege and do not believe in it anymore.At this functional stage, everything is seen from the aspect of its function.
Although Van Peursen divides it into three stages, but in his explanation, he does not divide it in the sense that one stage is higher or lower than the other.As stated by Soedjatmoko in the introduction to the book Cultural Strategy written by Van Peursen, he said that Van Peursen presented a cultural model in three stages, namely the mythological stage, ontological stage, and functional stage.But in contrast to previous theories, Van Peursen does not present it as a sequence of steps, where the next rung is higher than the previous rung, but he emphasizes that the three stages, also in which the progression exists, each contain elements of the other stages, though in different forms.Therefore, according to Soedjatmiko, the approach is structural, not phenomenological or based on knowledge theory (CA VAN, 1976).
In the Prepegan tradition that took place in Bandungan Semarang, the author does not see the mythical aspect in the practice of the Prepegan tradition itself, but it is not completely independent of the mythic influence.However, this mythical aspect is found in the factors that influence the occurrence of the Prepegan tradition itself, it can be said structurally.One of the factors in question is religion and belief.Religious practice in the Bandungan Semarang community, which is predominantly Muslim, on certain days, especially before Idul Fitri, will hold a grave pilgrimage.Not only Muslims, but it is also done by adherents of the belief that there are also many in Bandungan Semarang.In the procession of the pilgrimage to the grave, Muslim pilgrims carry roses that are sprinkled on the graves they visit.In addition to the graves they visit, pilgrims usually also sprinkle these flowers on the graves of relatives.
Slightly different from the Muslim pilgrims, the pilgrims from the faith or Kejawen besides sprinkling flowers on the graves, they also make offerings that they place in places where they believe there are spirits of the ancestors (related to the belief of animism, dynamism, and will not be discussed in this article).Therefore, the price of interest when the Prepegan tradition takes place soars due to the increasing number of requests.This is because it is not only the Islamic community who need to visit the graves (in some Islamic sects using roses and sowing them on the graves they visit), but some local beliefs or Kejawen who usually also perform certain rituals before the holiday (even though they are not Muslims, but they participate in celebrating in their own way, such as putting up offerings as a form of gratitude to nature).Religion and belief are precisely the main reasons, natural factors that make people want to buy even though interest prices have increased more than 100 times, from those on weekdays it only ranges from 3000 rupiah to 5000 rupiah, when approaching Eid can reach 300,000 rupiah.flowers that are arranged together.The Prepegan tradition in this case is functioned as a place to seek maximum profit and also functions as a moment where market players -not all of them, usually play their own price, under the pretext of Prepegan .From the point of view of a capitalistic society, it is clear that the Prepegan tradition is a momentum to get as much profit as possible.Is it wrong?Or right and fine and not a problem?Then questions like; Is it good to use tradition as a means to enrich oneself?Such ethical issues will arise later when viewed from an ethical problem.
More importantly, religious communities, Muslims and non-Muslims, at this functional stage at least understand that what they get from this Prepegan tradition can make themselves feel better because they think that their task as individuals towards their God has been completed.Their duty as individuals towards their ancestors had been completed.It doesn't matter how much it costs, but the feeling of security and comfort, as well as inner satisfaction is not something that can be exchanged for a certain amount of money.At least, at the functional stage, this kind of behavior is found in Muslims who understand the basis and arguments for why people use flowers for pilgrimage.Also to believers, they believe that this is how they worship their ancestral spirits.Once again, it does not lie in the Prepegan tradition directly, but in another practice, another tradition, which is the cause and reason for the Prepegan tradition itself.

D. CONCLUSION
The Prepegan is a grassroots tradition and grassroots tradition that is rarely well inventoried.In fact, there is much that can be studied in this tradition because there are so many elements that have not been discussed in this paper or in previous writings.There is a kind of pattern of integration between economic, social, and religious which forms the complex background in the Prepegan tradition.The limitations of the explanation in this paper, obtained after going through several interviews with market participants, the majority of whom do not understand how to see Prepegan as a cultural phenomenon.They simply replied, "Well, this is it," or, "That's all I know."In addition to the actors who did not understand what they were doing, the writings that the researchers encountered were also scattered randomly in the media, which only presented informative facts, and did not constitute a cultural analysis.Writings about Prepegan appear very minimal in academic scientific writings.This is just the author's assumption, maybe because of the confusion in placing this tradition in another tradition container because there are no rituals contained in the Prepegan tradition.Or because there are no symbols in the Prepegan tradition, or maybe because there is no kind of folklore or fairy tale found in the Prepegan tradition.However, that is precisely the task of academics.Thank you to Koentjaraningrat who has pioneered the writings on Javanese culture written by individuals who were born and grew up in the environment in which he wrote.Really writing and reviewing isn't just a prerequisite for graduation or getting academic points.Rather writing in a solid effort as an integral part of Javanese society itself.Therefore, the author recommends academics who have more mature glasses to study this further, considering that in this case the author