Katitahan

Katitahan is a philosophy and belief system that's also described as a system of thought and behavior with origins mainly from Karimun where it is also one of the largest religions or beliefs in the country. Katitahan has been described variously as a tradition, a philosophy, a religion or a secular religion, and a way of life, and laid foundations for most of Karimunese culture, with numerous elements of Katitahan system of thought and behaviors being adapted into Karimunese culture and by other religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and so forth.

Katitahan was originally created based on the writings of an unknown male priest, referred to as the Bapak Titah, who tried to envision the values of a human being. Katitahan revolves around certain human values. Bapak Titah believed that being human means being fundamentally good, willing to do and behave well, and understanding the wall of separation between good deeds and evil deeds. In the Book of Reasoning and Rationalization of Good Deeds, Bapak Titah reflects on the existence of good deeds as superior to evil deeds, and that humans could be improved, taught, and perfected by individual or communal ways, often through self-cultivation, reflection, and personal growth as well as development. Additionally, the Script of Community also stresses the importance of good faith, relations, and work ethics between members of a community to strengthen communal solidarity and improve the qualities of being a human while the Agreement on Responsibility stresses upon the collective and individual responsibility as a human and to face consequences of one’s actions. Lastly, the Book of Creativity stresses the need to learn and teach, grow, develop, cultivate, innovate, and so forth and the The Letters of Humility stresses the need to be humble and prioritize an individual harmony within a community and its surrounding environment, including nature. Katitahan is illustrated as more a guidance of thought and behavior than a religion and is one of the factors that construct Karimunese culture. Even though Katitahan as a “religion” has weakened compared to the Age of Ancient Katitahan Civilization and Age of Katitahan Revival, Katitahan is still a part of Karimunese culture and cannot be separated whatsoever. The followers of the religion, called Titahan, believe that what they’re practicing is not a part of any religion but is actually a part of being a human and refer more to traditions and cultural practices.