Revisiting Javanese pranata mangsa: On ethnic groups and the four sample cities in Java

Abstract

Pranata mangsa is a local knowledge based on a calendrical system utilized historically by Javanese peasant farmers in conducting their agricultural activities in cultivating plants and vegetation. It is also used by fishermen to guide them not only in capturing fish and other aquatic animals but also in predicting the type of seafood they might gather. Although the Javanese possess and maintain their own calendrical system based on a combination of solar and lunar calendars, pranata mangsa is solely based on the solar calendar and passed on from one generation to the next verbally. Literature has confirmed that by combining this local knowledge and scientific data, the Javanese community has a better resilience in adapting to extreme hydrological events due to global warming and climate change. In this comment, we provide remarks on ethnic groups and the four sample cities in Java where the latter were selected for the pranata mangsa study.