Travelling from Garut to Tasikmalaya via the beautiful southern route, you will pas Salawu after 30km. Stop at the parking lot left of the road. A long concrete stairs leads to the picturesque village of Kampung Naga.
Halfway the stairs you will see over a hundred houses close to eachother, as if nothing is allowed in between. The roofs are covered with ijuk The wooden houses are built on pillars, all in the direction east-west, like what is common for traditional Sundanese villages. Below are chicken.
The village is located in a fertile valley along the Ciwulan river. Sticky rice is grown here, which can be harvested twice a year. The rice is dried traditionally in bundles. The women peal the rice in a lesung, a riceblock that is located above the fishing pond here. In this way, the skin of the rice is also used as food for the fish.
The few hundred inhabitants of the village support islam, but still cling to many old pre-islamic habits. It's special that this community, so close to modern civilisation, has kept so many unique traditions.
The people in Kampung Naga are strong believers in the presence of supernatural forces which live in the spirits of their ancestors. Ceremonies are aimed to reach the ancestors and to connect with the supernatural. If regular ceremonies aren't held, catastrophe will strike the area soon. Each month, they visit the grave of Dewi Sri, the godess of rice, located on a hill.
Once a year the married men take a ritual bath in the river to clean the inside. Soap is not allowed, only leuleueur, a liquid from roots, is used. The spirit of the river, named Leled Semak has to give permission for the bathing first. Without this, the people are afraid to get possessed.