NON-COMMUNICATION: TWITCHING AS A BASIC PROGNOSIS IN THE BOOK OF MUJARROBAT

Twitching is a unique phenomenon of the body, ie the movement of the body or body moves unconsciously without any apparent reason, for example, twitching in the left and right eye and twitching on the upper eyelids. The Javanese people believe that twitching gives a hint or some kind of premonition to an incident that will or about to happen; regardless whether it is a good or a bad one. Usually the pragnosis was also discussed in the book of Primbon Java. It is believed that, twitching may indicate a non-verbal communication aspect that something will happen by only getting a sudden pulse that could be found anywhere on the body parts. The study is intended to explain the ways in which how the belief functions and its application to those who believe in it through the book of Mujarrobat, an ancient manuscript that explains the details of many traditional practices in Java, which are still prevalent to these days. For the purpose of this study, the main method of textual analysis will be applied and series of interviews will be conducted on the focused group of people who are still believed in this practice. An approach to the aspect of ‘firasat’ or premonition in Malay Methodology Theory is used to analyse further on the twitching belief. The findings have shown that twitching on the body can be categorized into four major parts: head, face and neck, body, hands and feet. Twitching can describe an incident that would relate to one s life, such as wealth, property, occupation and health. Such beliefs are still adhered by the Javanese community, that some of them truly being vigilant of the premonitions especially in making decisions in their daily life. The significant of this practice is that it ables to adapt and thus suit the life of local people, generally.