PANDEMI FLU SPANYOL TAHUN 1918 DI WILAYAH MOJOWARNO

Abstract

Long before the Covid-19 pandemic rocked, the world had been hit by deadly pandemics and epidemics. One of the deadly outbreaks occurred in the period 1918 to 1921, the pandemic was referred to as the "Spanish Flu". With the widespread spread of the virus, practically the casualties caused are also very large. Medical personnel are overwhelmed in dealing with the number of Spanish flu patients, the death rate shown is also very high. This condition in turn triggers limited access to health services, the lack of medical personnel makes only a few groups receive proper and proper treatment. An interesting thing happened in the Mojowarno area which is the afdeling of Jombang. The people of Mojowarno, which was known as the Christian community at that time, used certain countermeasures to deal with the Spanish flu. This response was part of the zending mission. During the pandemic, some local wisdom can still be practiced to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. Pandemic or plague in Javanese terms is called "pageblug", meaning a disease outbreak. Spiritual practices are carried out by the Javanese community with local wisdom following the limited access to formal health services obtained. In Java, this can be seen in a number of phenomena, including in Jogja, a carnival with a keris is carried out, in Ngawi, special ceremonies such as ruwatan are held, and in Modjowarno. In addition to medical treatment, the people of Mojowarno respond in a non-medical way, namely with the culture and traditions that they believe in. Several ways of mitigating the handling of the pandemic in Mojowarno became an interest in itself to be explored more deeply, especially at that time the colonial government had not yet established clear procedures for handling the pandemic. The beginning of the spread started from the port area under the ship's employees from Hong Kong. The colonial government was too easy with the arrival of the pandemic. The colonial government only tightened surveillance, so three months later it was reported that there were people with Spanish flu in various parts of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch East Indies government took action with lab research that produced drugs, regional restrictions regulations, clear health protocols and so on. In addition to treating by means of medical treatment, scientific methods are treated in irrational ways such as by holding ritual traditions and also using herbal drinks. The Spanish flu epidemic was also experienced by residents in the Mojowarno Afdeling area, Jombang Karisidenan, Surabaya. The Spanish flu affects both children and the elderly. The handling of the pandemic in the Mojowarno area is unique where the handling is carried out by the local Christian community by utilizing an existing hospital, besides that the residents of Mojowarno also carry out flower-spreading rituals and sacrifices at the village elders' graves. However, the author hopes that this research can be a lesson for the government to overcome and overcome epidemic disasters in the future. For the general public, the author hopes to maintain health and implement health protocols to fight the COVID-19 pandemic that we are currently experiencing. Hopefully this research can be used or useful for further research

Keywords:Spanish Flu, Culture, Mojowarno.