Ki Gendeng : un sorcier en politique. Réflexions sur les dimensions occultes de l'espace public en Indonésie

Abstract

Ki Gendeng: Sorcery and Politics. About the Occult Dimension of Public Sphere in Indonesia Romain Bertrand This article analyses the existence, in present-day Indonesia and particularly in East and Central Java, of popular modes of political reasoning, grounded in the belief that the "visible realm" of social life is duplicated by an "invisible world". With regards to the building up of political legitimacy, both at the local and national level, public mention of partnership with these secret forces can help dismiss a politician or, on the contrary, enhance his fame. The first section deals with positive political uses of the language of magies. It attempts to show that well-known Indonesian politicians make use of paranormal experts and accomplish magie rituals in order to demonstrate that they are entitled to rule. The second and third parts deal with negative or illegitimate uses of (black) magies and spiritual empowerment devices. It shows that rumours about partnership with devilish creatures can abruptly break down the career of an arrogant politician (this is the case with Ki Gendeng). Sorcery scares also have to do with the way village people re-order their world of meanings in times of turmoil, getting rid of those people (migrants, vagrants, madmen) who do not fit neatly in local social hierarchies. Only by looking at this "secret domain" are we to make sense of the outbursts of violence and protest in present-day Java.

Le « patient sorcier »

“…Revenant sur la question classique de la sorcellerie en Mélanésie, lors d'un colloque récent 3 , Laurent Dousset prend acte du phénomène majeur et de l'enjeu crucial pour les anthropologues océanistes d'aujourd'hui de la « criminalisation » de la sorcellerie et plus globalement : « de la recrudescence, depuis ces dernières années de cas rapportés de sorcellerie et d'exécutions sommaires et publiques de présumés sorciers » (Dousset 2016 : 85). Romain Bertrand (2000) se fait l'écho des campagnes de « chasse aux sorciers à Java » qui se soldent par des lynchages faisant des centaines de victimes. L'Afrique urbaine, de Kinshasa à Libreville, est coutumière de ces passages à l'acte et de cette violence « sorcière » ou « contre-sorcière » qui investit la rue, les medias, et mettent en cause en retour ce que certains appellent « l'État sorcier » 4 .…”