Uncovering the Hidden Histories of “Anak Gimbal” in Dieng
It was during my trip to the highlands of Dieng, in Central Java, that I had this curious encounter with two young sisters, Azkya and Zila. The gimbal children are an ethnically distinct population of Javanese people who are a close-knit community and take pride in their traditional culture and customs. One of the most singular aspects that we can find in the region is the naturally dreadlocked hair of the children’s hair of the village.
In the photograph, we can particularly see a few of them on Zila’s head. This style is widely known as “Rastafarian”, and more commonly associated with Jamaica, but here it is not a choice—rather, it is an accepted natural phenomenon for some of the Javanese children of the Dieng plateau, like Azkya and Zila, as their mother told me.
“Not all the kids in this village can grow dreadlock hair. But for those who can, like my daughters, it means they were somehow chosen by their ancestors to accept such hair as gifts,” she shared stories.
“After they were born, Azkya and Zila had normal hair, just like other children’s,” the mother recalled. “The dreadlocks only started to appear when they were about two years old. First, they had a strange high fever for about a month, typical with these children. The sickness does not respond to medical treatment but abates naturally once the hair starts to become matted and turns into dreadlocks,” she explained.
To better understand the story behind this mysterious hair, we need to go back to a myth which dates from as early as the 14th century. The Queen of the Southern Sea of Java, as the story says, wanted locks of hair to prove to visitors that Dieng was the home of deities. Since then, dreadlocked hair started to appear in children born in Dieng.
After the children have grown dreadlocks, there is a ceremony called Ruwatan Gimbal where they have their hair shaved off, but this can only happen with the consent of the child. “I have asked my daughters whether they would like to have their hair cut, but they don’t feel the need to cut them yet, as the hair is still short. I must wait for the right time,” the mother explained.
When the children no longer want their gimbal hair, they usually ask for gifts from their parents a week before the ceremony. “It is hard to believe but children can ask anything they want. If my daughters were to ask for 200 necklaces or wished for gold, then we would have to meet that request,” the mother explained. “People can never believe how expensive the Ruwatan Gimbal can be!”
Sometimes, this causes trouble for parents, particularly if they are barely making ends meet, but following this important ritual is also a test of the parent’s belief in the local mythology. All steps must be respected to perform the ceremony correctly, so if the parents fail to meet their child’s request, the ceremony cannot be carried out fully and the dreadlocked hair cannot be cut. After the hair is cut, they must be purified and then taken to the lake where they are submerged as a symbol of returning them to the ancestors, so that the children always stay safe and prosperous.
The children of the Dieng plateau in Indonesia have grown dreadlock hair as part of a spiritual ritual. According to local legend, the Dieng people believe that the dreadlocks help to protect them from evil spirits. The ritual is said to have been passed down from generation and although Azkya and Zila didn’t join the ceremony at that time because the hair-cutting ritual must be performed when the child reaches the age of 10, it was interesting to hear what their mother had to say about this mystical story. It is said that, after the ceremony, the dreadlocks are kept for the duration of the child’s life to help protect them from harm.
Meeting Azkya and Zila made me question my beliefs about reality again. It made me understand that life is actually a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. This myth showed me that things do not always follow a plan, they happen according to our own timeline, and we should have faith in their outcome if we want them to be accomplished as we want them to be.
One thought on “Uncovering the Hidden Histories of “Anak Gimbal” in Dieng”
I really like your writing style, great information, appreciate it for posting :D. “Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” by Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky.