Metallurgy and Immortality at Candi Sukuh Central Java

7/26/2019 Metallurgy and Immortality at Candi Sukuh Central Java

1/19

52

PI.

1.

R e l i e f

of

s m i t h y

at C a n g Sukuh,

C e n t r a l

Java. On the

left,

a

s m i t h f o r g i n g

aweapon. In thecenter,ad a n c i n g e l e p h an t h ea d e d figure. Far r i g h t anassistant

o p e r a t i n g

th e

t r a d i t i o n a l

doublepiston

b e l l o w s

of Southeast

Asia.


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METALLURGY AND IMMORTALITY AT

C NDI

SUKUH

CENTR L JAVA

Stanley J. O'Connor

A t

Sukuh , a f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y

m o u n t a i n

sanctuary in Centra l

Java,

t h e r e

is a rel ief sculpture

that represents

two m en fo rg ing a weapo n in a smi thy

(Pla te

1).

This wo rk

h as resisted

explication.

1

N o

textu a l source

h as

been

a ddu c e d for the

iconography,

and one's

initial response

is that a m u n d a n e

m eta l lurgica l endeavor seems incong ruou s in a sanctuary convent ional ly agreed

to be

devoted both

to

ancestor worship

and to

rites aimed

a t

effec t ing

th e

l iberat ion

of the

soul

from

its

ear thly bonds af te r

death.

Ef fo r t s

to

u n r a v e l

th e

mean ing

of the re lie f a re even fu r th er clouded, h owever , by the anom alous

presence be tween

the two

sm i t h s

of a

danc ing f igure

w i t h a h u m a n

body

and

an e lephan t ' s

head who appears to be carrying a small animal , probably a dog.

a im in

this article

is to

establish

that th e

relief

is in

fac t app rop r ia te

to its

context,

that it s m e a n i n gis rooted in an impor t an t r e l ig ious and imagina-

t ive complex,

and

that,

to an uncommon

degree ,

th e artist h as

succeeded

in

enact ing in visua l te rm s a deeply fe lt correspondence be tween m eta l lurg y and

h u m a n

fate. B y

seizing up o n

th e

processes through

which

metal l ic substances

are t ransfo rm ed, he has provided an equiva lence in na tu ra l energies and r h y t h m s

fo r

those sp i r i tua l t ran sfor m at ion s be lieved

to

govern

th e

career

of the

soul

a f t e r dea th .

A t

th e

very

outset,

it is

essential

to

u n de r s t a n d

that

a lmost everywhere

in th e

pre ind us t r ia l world i ron

work ing w as

invested wi th

an

a u r a

of

da n g e r

and

magic.

To us now the smi th

appea rs mere ly

a s

so m e o n e

wh o

perfo rm s technica lly

neu t ra l ope ra t ions

on

ine r t ma t t e r ,

and

this convict ion

m a k e s it

a lmost meta-

physica l ly impossible

for us to

recover

th e

im ag ina t ive un ive r se implied

by

th e Su k u h relief. W e are aw are , of course , that th e g rea t em pir ica l discover ies

and inventions such as the steam engine , th e clock, th e p en du lum , and cybernetics

h a v e s t ru c t u r e d t h o u g h t

and

fee l ing

by

providing

a new

fund

of

analogies,

homologies ,

and metaphors wi th which to const rue

experience.

2

Ou r speech

is

enlivened daily

by

such phrases

as

lf

on track,"

l

the swing of the pendulum,

1

'

feedback, safety valve,

a

head

of

steam. No n e

of

these images, ho wever ,

confounds ou r central intellectual order , our conception of the gu l f be tw een

subject

and

object,

th e

natura l world

and the

conscious

mind , th e

su p e r n a t u r a l

and th e natural. Bu t a t the

h e a r t

of the

technologica l m etap h or presented

by

th e

S u k u h

rel ief , I

would

argue, is the visionary claim

that

the opera t ions

of

the s m i th and sm e l te r

parallel

cosmic processes and

that,

wi th the i r abi l i ty

1. I have p rev ious ly d i scussed th e relief briefly and in the con tex t of a

g e n e r a l s t u d y of the s y m b o l i c aspects of me ta l l u rgy . See S. J . O'Connor ,

I r o n

W o r k i n g

as Sp i r i tu a l Inqu i ry in the Indo nesian A rchipe lago, istory

Religions

14, 3

(February 1975): 173-90.

2. D. Edge, Technological Me tap h or and Social Co ntrol , New iterary istory

6,

1( A u t u m n , 1974): 135-47.


3/19

5

to alter the

m o d e

of

being

of

metals,

the

s m i t h s also possessed

the key to

the

means

of

spiritual transcendence.

3

This redemptive vision will govern

the

present enquiry,

w h i c h

will

be in

the

f o r m

of a

hermeneuticcircle.

The

t h e m e

of

spiritual liberation

so

pervasive

at

S u k u h will provide

the e n f r a m i n g

context against w h i c h

I

will

assess the

particular for either its h a r m o n y or disjunction, with the aim of developing a

coherence of thought, a tissue of interconnections sufficiently dense in its

c u m u l a t i v e implication

to

prove persuasive. Specifically,

I

will argue that

a

substantial body of evidence provides, either by compelling implication or by

explicit statement, support for the view that iron working was a metaphor for

spiritual transmutation in ancient Java. The evidence presented includes m y t h s

surrounding the smith; a description of rddh

rites

in the fourteenth century

text,

the

N g r K er t g r m ;

an

echo

of

parallelTantricrites

in

palace ceremonies

in Central

Java

recorded early

in

this century;

the

precious insight into

Indonesian death rites offered by Robert

Hertz's

classic essay,

M

A Contribution

to the

Study

of the

Collective Representation

of

Death";

the

internal evidence

of the relief itself; and finally, acting as a control, the sense

that

m o u n t a i n

a n d

water temples like

S u k u h

constitute a

kind

of genre in

w h i c h

ancestor

worship

a n d ritual for the liberation of the soul are centrally at issue.

M y th s

The s m i t h in Java and Bali clearly traces his power to an ancient order

of thought and

social

arrangements. In his study of the genealogical charter

o f the smiths on Bali, Goris notes that they draw their powers

f r o m

the god

o f fire. This god apparently

existed

prior to the introduction of H i n d u i s m

in Bali, for, according to the smiths, they provided the B r a h m i n s with all

their w is d o m and knowledge. The smiths prepare their own holy water instead

o f using that prepared by the B r a h m i n s . In fact, they are not allowed to

e m p l o y B r a h m i n s for any ritual purpose. Significantly, the smiths' charter

lays

considerable emphasis on mantra (sacred

f o r m u l a s )

to be used both in

forging

and for the

ritual

of the

dead.

4

Similarly, Hooykaas encountered

o n Bali a

m y t h

that the iron s m i t h MpuG a n d r i n g was granted the power to deliver

"his

forefathers' spirits.

115

This t h e m e

of

death

and

deliverance through

the

power

of the s m i t h

appears

throughout

the archipelago. The Toraja of Sulawesi have a

s m i t h

god who reforges

souls.

6

In Borneo, the Iban have a creator figure, Selampandai, whose s ym b o l

3. For an

understanding

of the

relationship between metallurgy

and

spiritual

transcendence, see

M i rc e a

Eliade,

The Forge and the Crucible: The Origins

and Structures of A l c h e m y , trans. Stephen Corrin (New York: Harper, 1962).

4. R. Goris,

"The

Position of the Blacksmiths," in

Bali: Studies

in Life,

Thought and

Ritual,

ed. J. C.

Swellengebel (The Hague:

van

Hoeve, 1960),

pp.

29197.

5. C. Hooykaas, "The Balinese SengghuPriest, a S h a m a n , but not a S u f i ,

a

Saiva,

and a Vaisnava," in

M a la y a n and Indonesian Studies: Essays Presented

to Sir Richard Winstedt, ed. John S. Bastin and R.

R od v ink

(Oxford: Clarendon

Press, 1964),

p.

274.

6. E. D.

B a u m a n n ,De

Mythe

van der MankenGod, quoted

in R. J.

Forbes,

Metallurgy

in Antiquity (Leiden:

Brill,

1950), p. 89.


4/19

is the bellows

forge

and who is described as being able to m a k e the

souls

o f

the

dead

live again,

7

and the

Dusun have

a

s m i t h god, Kinorohingan,

who

welds the souls of the dead.

8

It is not

only

the

s m i t h

who

possesses

supernatural power but,

at

least

o n special occasions, the s m i t h y

itself

is

seen

as a shrine

Rassers

has

noted that, before forging a fcris (a short rapier that is a symbolically important

weapon), the s m i t h y is decorated in ceremonial fashion.

9

A m o n g the La nd Dy a k

o f Sarawak, a ritual k n i f e (pendt) is. still forged in a s m i t h y that has three

altars.

10

Today, someToraja say that the site of a forge was formerly considered

a

special

place and its potency was such that it was a

place

"which makes

things becomelarge.

11

B u t the nineteenth century Balinese dynastic chronicle, the Babad

Buleleng,

provides perhaps the most penetrating insight into the symbolic importance

o f metallurgy. In it we see kingship both legitimated and empowered by the

possession

of a

kris

that serves

as the

palladium

of the

kingdom.

The

weapon

is described as psuptistr, a reference to a f l a m i n g arrow given by Siva

to the

hero

A r j u n a

to

m a k e

him

invincible.

It is

also

referred

to as the

"essence

of

power." Finally, both

the

royal chaplain

(purohit), and the

son who

succeeds

him in

that strategic office,

are

described

as

skilled

in

the

manufacture

of

swords

and

kris.

12

Process

W h i l e this conspectus

of

m y t h should demonstrate that iron working

is

both

a

craft

and a

spiritual exercise,

we

need

to

establish

in

just

what

m a n n e r

the

i s o m o r p h i s m between metallurgy

and the

liberation

of the

soul exists.

The answer hinges on the fact that the traditional Indonesian view of what

actually happens to both the body and the nonmaterial components of a person

after death

is

remarkably similar

in

operational pattern

to the

reduction

of ores to a blackened

bloom

of iron sponge, and the successive purification

an d

reconstitution of that substance into a new and utterly transfigured blade

of steel.

Physical death

was not

viewed

as an

immediately terminal

event, but

rather

the inauguration of a lengthy period of transition through spiritual death and

rebirth. D u r i n g this transitional period,

the

soul

was

neither fully

alivenor

7. TomHarrisson and Benedict Sandin, "Borneo W r i t i n g Boards," Sarawak M u s e u m

Journal,

special

m o n o g r a p h no. 1 ( N o v e m b e r 1966), pp. 32286.

8. I. H. N. Evans,

The Religion of the Tempasuk

Dusus

of North Borneo

(Cambridge:

C a m b r i d g e University Press, 1953), pp.

1517,

75.

9. W. H.

Rassers,

"On the

Javanese Kris,"

in

Pn/i: The Culture

Hero

(The

Hague:

N i j h o f f ,

1959), p. 233.

10. C. and I.

N e i m i t z ,

"The Forging of a Ritual

K n i f e

(Pendat) by La nd Dayaks

in

Sarawak Borneo, Cultural and Religious Background,"

Sarawak Museum Journal

23, 44 (JulyDecember 1975): 24357.

11.

Charles Zerner, "Signs

of the

Spirit,

Signature

of the

Smith: Iron Forging

in Tana Toraja," Indonesia

31

(April1981):

95.

12. J. Worsley,

Babad

Buleleng: A Balinese Dynastic Genealogy (The Hague:

N i j h o f f ,

1972),

pp.

5254,

57, 59,15354.


5/19

56

u l t i m a t e l y

dead.

In

th is state

it was

homeless, . d i s t r a ug h t ,

a n d

potent ial ly

malevolent . The

great

i n s i g h t o f a n t h r o p o l o g i s t R o b e r t H e r t z , a f t e r a n e x t e n d e d

survey of

m o r t u a r y

custom in the Ind onesian archipe lago, was to see that the

f a t e

of the

body, whic h mu st

go

t h r o u g h u n p l e a s a n t tr a n s f o r m a t i o n s s w e l li n g ,

p u t r e f y i n g ,

dessicatingis

a n a l o g o u s

to the

f a t e

o f t h e

soul.

13

A l t h o u g h ritual

e x p r e s s i o n s o f t h is t r a n s i t io n a l o r li m i n a l p e r i o d v a r y

wide ly

in the

region, they commonly involve some

kind o f

s e c o n d a r y t r e a t m e n t

o f

th e

dead,

and are m a r k e d at

t h e i r t e r m i n a t i o n

by a

feast ce lebrat ing

th e

passing

of th e

soul into

the

realm

of the

p o w e r f u l

an d

g lor i f ied

ancestors.

W h e t h e r

the

process culminates

in the

n u ln g f e a s t

of the

B e r a w a n

o f

Borneo,

th e memufcur

of

the Balinese, or the

raddha rites

o f a n c i e n t

Java,

th e pat te rn involves

the p u t r e f a c t i o n of the corpse, the

m a n i p u l a t i o n

an d d r y i n g of the b o n e s d u r i n g

an i n t e r m e d i a r y p e r io d , and the

successive

r e f i n e m e n t an d reconst ruct ion o f

a f i n e r essence.

14

M etal lurgy, e special ly th e complex and, to the

prescientific

mind, m y s t e r i o u s

process

by which ores

d r a w n

f rom the l iving earth are reduced

to a

m o l t e n

state,

t r a n s f o r m e d f i r s t i n t o

a

r o u g h i r o n m a s s

o f

r e s i d u a l slag

and

i ron chips

by the

smel te r ,

and

then pur i f ied, hardened

in the

presence

of

carbon, and f o r g e d i n t o b e a u t i f u l and use ful ob ject s by the s m i t h , m a k e s

a f r u i t f u l

a n a l o g u e

for the m e t a m o r p h o s i s of the

soul a f te r death .

F or

th e m e t a p h o r i c c o h e r e n c e of the process to become evident , it is

essential

t o r e e s t a b l i s h t h e

c o n t i n u u m

t h a t j o i n s m e t a l e x t r a c t i on b ot h th e mining

and the smel t ing o f orewith the

f i n i s h i n g

stage o f w o r k t h a t i s s m i t h i n g .

T h e stages are he lpful ly jo ined in Ursula

F r a n k l i n

f

s

p h r a s e m e t a l w i n n i n g

an d

m e t a l

fabrication.

1115

T h e

v i e w e r s

fo r whom the Sukuh

re l ie f

w a s

i n t e n d e d

w ould

have bro ugh t to the enco unter a hor izon of be lie f that l inked those

processes.

In the

s y n t h e t i c

and

c o m b i n a t o r y m a n n e r

in

wh ich consc iousness

act ive ly cooperates in exper iencing a wo rk of ar t and br in ging out i ts impl ic i t

m eanings,

the

v i e w e r

w ould

d r a w

on his

w h o l e r a n g e

o f

k n o w l e d g e

and

exper ience .

Th us the

re l ie f would

be

w r e a t h e d

in

memor y ,

a

p r e s s u r e

o f

f e e l i n g , s o m e t h i n g

m o r e

g o s s a m e r t h a n

a set of

propo si tions. Igni ted

in the mind

w e r e i m a g e s

of

th e

s m e l t e r s w e a t i n g o v e r

the

r i s ing

gorge

o f

f i r e ;

the

spl intered roast ing

o re

g l o w i n g

in the

r e e k i n g s m o k e ;

a pod of

o r a n g e w h i t e bloom b u l g i n g

in the

hearth; the bloodred threads of slag tapped of f in s teady

trickles;

the phased

rhythm

of the be llows w i th i t s pul se o f spu rt in g ai r ; the gra ni te

h a m m e r s t o n e

r i n g i n g o n

chilled

steel; the

searing

hiss

o f

whitehot i ron plunged

in

water.

13. Robert Hertz ,

Co ntr ibu t io n

a une f itude sur la Representat ion Col lect ive

de la M o r t ,

ff

Anne

Sociologque

10(1907):

48137.

14. I am f o l l o w i n g h e r e the u n d e r s t a n d i n g of m o r t u a r y r i t u a l in S o u t h e a s t

A sia advanced by R. H u n t i n g t o n and Peter M e t ca lf in t h e i r w i d e r a n g i n g s t u d y :

C e l e b r a t i on s

o f Death: T he Anthropology of

M o r t u ar y R i tu a l ( N e w Y o r k : C a m b r i d g e

U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1979). D r.

M onni

A d a m s has

d r a w n

a t t e n t i o n t o

processes

in

S o u t h e a s t A s i a i n v o l v e d

in

humid

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s

of

food

processing

and

textile d y e i n g

that

a r e s i m i l a r in o p e r a t i o n to r o y a l

f u n e r a l

practices in

Thai land,

Cambodia, and Laos: "Style i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a n M a t e r i a l s P r o c es si n g:

Some I m p l i c a t i o n s fo r R i t u a l and

Art"

in Material Culture: Styles, Organization

and Dynamics

o f

Technology ed.

H e a t h e r

Lec htman and

R o b e r t

M e r ri l

(St. Paul,

M i n n e so t a :

W e s t

P u bli sh in g Co., 1977), pp.

2152.

15 .

Ursula

M .

F r a n k l in ,

M

O n

B r o n z e

an d

O t he r M e ta ls

in

Ear ly China,

in The

Origins

o f

Chinese

Civilization ed. David N .K eight ley (Berke ley: Un ivers i ty

of C a l i f o r n i aPress, 1983),

pp.

27996.


6/19

57

A ll t h i s a n d m o r e t h e dangers faced bym i n e r s i n t r u d i n g in the l i v i n g e a r t h w o u l d

constitute t r a n s p a r e n t c u r r e n t s

f o r m i n g

a penu m bra o f tho u ght an d fee l ing,

t h r o u g h whic h, a n d w i t h th e c o o p e r a t i o n o f which, th e

S u k u h

re l ie f w a s read.

T he

relief

also

calls

up on

the viewer's

u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t

the

s m i t h

is

p a t t e r n w e l d i n g o r m a r r y i n g nickelo u s m eteo r ic i ro n (pmor), f a l l e n t o e a r t h

f rom the h e a v e n s, w i t h i r o n d r a w n f rom the m a t e r n a l b o d y of the earth. B y

a series

o f

l a m i n a t i o n s , r e s e m b l i n g

a

m anylayered torte,

he interleaves the

diverse f o r m s

o f i r o n s o t h a t t h e i r d i f f e r e n t i a l c r y s t a l li n e s t r u c t u r e w i l l

b e c o m e v i s ib le in the f in i shed blade. A f t e r e t c hi n g, d a r k traces o f n ickel

w i l l

form

p a t t e r n s

wh ich

th e

s m i t h

i s ab le to en v i s io n and co ntro l thr o u gh

a l o n g

series

o f o p e r a t i o n s s o m e t i m e s i n v o l vi n g th e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a l m o s t

o ne

h undr ed layers

o f i ro n andsteel b e f o r e f o r g i n g o u t a

f i n i s h e d

w e a p o n .

T h u s th e m y s t e r i e s o f m e t a l l u r g y trace th e s t r u c t u r e of the rites f o r

th e dead. T he ores a re destroyed, reduced to a bloom o f w r o u g h t i r o n , just

as cre m atio n o r pu tre fac t io n redu ce the bo dy. The bloom is g a t h e r e d t o g e t h e r

and reco nst i tu ted by he at in g in the presence o f charco al to charge i t w i th

carbon,

just

as the reduced products of the body a r e g iven r i tu a l pro cess ing

d u r i n g a n i n t e r m e d i a t e

stage

o f f u n e r a l ritual. Final ly , a new and per fec ted

body is

f o r g e d

in the

s m i t h y , j o i n i n g

th e quasisexual,

polar,

b u t

m u t u a l l y

attractive

elementsterrestrial a n d

celestial i r o n i n t o

a n e w

u n i t y ,

a n d

th i s stage i s m ar ked o n the p lane o f r i tu a l by the release o f a new being

constituted

by an eff igy (pusp) in the f inal

rites

o f

liberation.

T he Relief: Internal Evidence

A t f a c e value,

th e

re l ie f po r trays

f o u r

f i g u r e s

f r a m e d

by an

o p e n s t r u c t u r e

s u r m o u n t e d b y a tiled r o o f (PI. 1). T h i s is a p p a r e n t l y a t r a d i t i o n a l i r o n

s m i t h y ,

fo r o ne o f the f igu re s i s o per at ing a do u blepis to n bello ws, w hi l e

the o th er i s su r ro u nd ed by tools a n d w e a p o n s an d i s f o r g i n g a sw o r d . A l t h o u g h

s u f f i c i e n t care has been taken in dep ict ing the var io u s w eap o ns and to o ls

fo r

them

to be

identifiable,

16

nevertheless

t h e r e a r e e n o u g h

clues

to i n d i c a t e

to the v iew er th at in fact

these

are ideal act io ns in the rea lm o f m y t h r a t h e r

th a n

a

m e r e t r a n s c r i p t i o n

of the

w o r k a d a y w o r l d . A s i d e

f r o m th e

o bvio u s presence

o f th e m a n e l e p h a n t , th e s m i t h s , w h o w e r e n o r m a l l y

c o m m o n e r s

a t t a c h e d to

th e

palace

as special

c r a f t s p e r s o n s ,

are

h e r e p o r t r a y e d

in the

dress

of

aristo

crats. T he

s m i t h

(PI, 2) may actu al ly be

Bhma,

one of the f i v e P a n d a w a b r o t h e r s

of

the great

Indian

epic, t h e M a h a b h a r a t a . O t he r i m a g e s o f Bhma have a l ready

been ident i f ied bo th at Suk uh a n d a t several o t h e r

m o u n t a i n

s a n c t u a r i e s i n

Java, w h e r e h e a p p a r e n t l y w a s t h e central f i g u r e o f a c u l t o f d e l i v e r a n c e

o f

s o u ls d u r i n g t h e f i f t e e n t h

century.

17

T h e

s m i t h

i s p o r t r a y e d w e a r i n g h i s

16. Ph. Subro to,

Kelo mpo k

K er ja Besi Pada Rel ie f Candi Su k u h,

Pertemaan Ilmiah

A r k e o l o g i , P r o y e k P e n e l i t i a n

d a n

P e n g g a l i a n P u r b a k a l a , D e p a r t e m e n P e n d i d i k a n

d a n

K e b u d a y a a n ,

Cibu lan, 2125 Febru ar i (Pu sat Penel i t ian Pu rbakala

d an

P e n u n g g a l a n

Na siona l ,

1980),

pp.

34254.

I am

g r a t e f u l

to

P r o f e s so r A u r o r a R o x a s

Lim of the

Univers i ty

o f the Ph i l ippines fo r b r ing ing the Su bro to

article

t o m y a t t e n t i o n .

F or the best rec ent w o r k o n the kr i s and i t s m an u f ac tu r e, see G . So lyo m ,

The

World of Javanese

Kers

( H o n o l u l u : E a s t W e s t Center, 1978). A n o lder s tandard

w o r k

is J. E.

Jasper

and Mas

P i r n g a d i e , De Inlandsche

Kunstnijverheid

in Neder

landsch IndiS, vol. 5 (The H ague:

M o u to n ,

1930).

1 7 . W . F . S t u t t e r h e i m ,

A n

A n c i e n t J a v a n e s e

Bhima

Cult, in

Studies in Indonesian

Archaeology

ed. F. D. K. Bosch (The Hague:

N i jh of f ,

1956), pp. 10725.


7/19

58

PL. 2.

D e t a i l

of PL. 1

s h o w i ng s m i t h g r a s p i n g t a ng

of

w e a p o n w i t h

b a r e hand. Note the b l a d e

rests

on the smith s knee.

There s n o

h a m m e r

I n t h e

u p r a i s e d

hand.


8/19

59

hair

caught

in a

d ia d em

(j 'mng) and

swept back

as in the

W a y a n g puppet theater

in the

supi urang

style. The

bulging eyes, mustache, upawita (the serpentine

cord

r u n n i n g across his

shoulder, here

treated in the f o r m of a

snake),

and

the poleng or

d i a m o n d pattern

on his

loin cloth,

are all

iconographic conventions

o f

B h m a

in the sculpture of the

M a j a pa h i t

period.

It should be noted that

the

upawita hangs

f r o m the

right shoulder

and goes

across

the

body

to the

left.

This

reversal of the

n o r m a l order

is

adopted

in I n d ia n

rites

of

creation

and

raddha

(a

cycle

of

rites

for the dead) and

that

may be the meaning intended

here.

18

(There

is,

however,

the

distinct possibility that

the

artist means

us

to see the

s m i t h f r o m

behind,

that

is with his back to us; in

that

case,

the

sacred

thread would be in its customary

position.)

There are other anomalies.

N o

h a m m e r

is

held

in the

upraised right hand

of the

smith.

He

grasps

the

tang (psi)

of the

sword (pedng) with

his bare

hand, instead

of the

tongs

used

to

hold redhot metal.

Nor is the

sword

resting

on an

anvil,

or at

least

there

is no indication of the traditional convex anvil of Java. Actually,

the tang of the sword is resting on the knee. W h a t may be portrayed here

is the f a m i l i a r Indonesian

m y t h

of the s m i t h who has supernatural power to

forge weapons by using his fist as a

h a m m e r

and his thigh as an anvil, and

w h o draws the fire he needs

f r o m

the palm of his hand.

19

Bhma,

who is the

physically

i m m e n s e ,

powerful,

and

forthright hero

of the

M a h a b h a r a ta , undergoes a sea change in Javanese

literature

and becomes a spiritual

guide who "knew the path

that leads

to

perfection.

1120

He would be admirably

suited to master the esoteric mysteries governing the liberation of the

soul,

and,

of

course,

he does actually

rescue

the soul of his father, Pandu,

f r o m

the fires of hell in the

B h m s v rg.

This

poem

is

recited

on the twelfth

day

after

cremation.

21

Bosch

has

discussed both

a

Sanskrit

text f r o m

Bali

in

w h i c h

BhTma is

identified with

the

Tantric Buddhist figure, Vajrasattva,

a n d

a

tenth century

Javanese text

describing

him as the

supreme teacher

and

guide to

absolute knowledge.

22

Professor Johns observes

that

through his

quest for

immortality

and esoteric

knowledge

in the

ninety

stanzas of the

possibly sixteenth century

text

D e w r u c i ,

B h m a

was admitted into the

"rights

a n d

privileges

of the Tantric pantheon."

23

Pigeaud in his s u m m a r y of the

JavaneseBalinese epic prose tale, the

W i n d u

Sr, describes BhTma as having

18. M e e n a Kaus hi k, "The Symbolic Representation of Death," Contributions

to

Indian Sociology (NS) 10, 2 (1976): 28081, and Veena Das, "The Uses of

L i m i n a l i t y : Society and

Cosmos

in

H i n d u i s m , ibid.,

pp.

24950.

On raddha

in

southern India, see G. M o r c ha n d , "Contribution a

E t u d e

des Rites Funraires

Indiens," Bulletin de I ' f ico le F r np ise d'Extreme Orient 62 (1975):

55124.

19. P. de Kat Angelino, "Over de s m e d e n en

eenige

andere ambachtslieden op

Bali,"

Tijdschrift voor Indische

l ,

Land, en Volkenkande 60(1921): 216.

20. H. Ulbricht, W a y a n g Purwa:

Shadows of the Past

(Kuala Lumpur: Oxford

University

Press,

1970),

p. 98.

21. J. Gonda, "Old Javanese Literature," in Handbuch der Orientalistik; ndo

nsien, Malaysia and die Philippines Literaturen (Leiden: Brill, 1976), p. 212.

22. F.

D.

K.

Bosch, "The Bhimastava,"

in India A n t i q u e

(Leiden:

Brill,

1947),

pp.

5762.

23. A. Johns, "The Enlightenment of B h im a , in

R.

C.

M j u m d r Felicitation

Volume

ed. H. B. Sarker

(Calcutta:

M u k h o p ad h y a y , 1970), p. 146.


9/19

taken pi ty on the pitaras w ho we re plunged into the f i re s o f he l l in the shapes

of

a n i m a l s .

24

W i t h i n th e f r a m e w o r k of Ta ntr ic tho ug ht, i t is possible to discover the

m e a n i n g

of the d a n c i n g e l e p h a n t m a n (PL 3) who is the c e n t r a l f i g u r e of the

relief.

H e w e a r s a cr o w n a n d i s

Ganea,

the guardian of thresholds, the remover

of

obstacles,

and his

presence here ,

in my

v iew, embo dies

th e

process

o f

crossing

over f rom o n e state t o a n o t h e r th r o u g h t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i v e p o w e r o f th e m e t a l

lurgists art.*

5

But clearly we are l o o k i n g at a d i s t i n c t i v e t r e a t m e n t of

Ganea,

a s

i n d i c a t e d ,

by the exposed

genitals,

the

d emo n ic

p h y s i o g n o m y , t h e

rosary o f bones, the s t range ly

a w k w a r d

dance

posture.

O n e i s i m m e d i a t e l y

r e m i n d e d of the

stylistically

d i f f e r e n t , b u t e q u a l l y

demonic,

T a n t r i c Ganea

f rom C an d i S i n g a s a r i

in

East Java.

26

A

l ink seems possible between

o u r

Siikuh

f i g u r e a n d t h e T a n t r i c r i t u a l of the

Gnckr

r e f e r r e d to in C a n t o 4 3, stanza

3 of the

NagaraKertagama. Recal l ing

th e

T a n t r i c r i t u a l s

o f K i n g

K e r t a n a g a r a

(12681292), Prapaica, the poem's autho r, observes tha t in his old age the

k i n g

he ld to the esoter ic

sense

of a l l

rites

(fcriys) c i t ing the

Gncfcr

as one such rite.

27

Gana is a n o t h e r n ame fo r

Ganea.

In

his

c o m m e n t a r y

on

th is s tanza

o f

C a n t o

43,

Pigeaud rel ied

on a

n o t e

w r i t t e n in 1924 by P o e r b a t j a r a k a w ho found an e x p l a n a t i o n of the Gncfcr

in the

h istory

o f Buddhism in

T i b e t w r i t t e n

by Taranatha.

2

T h e r e

the

r i t u a l

24. T. G. Th.

Pigeaud, Literature

of

Java, vol.

2

(The Hague: Ni j h o f f , 1968),

p. 581.

25. I t may be relevan t to poin t to

Ganea's

associat ion in Sr i Lanka

w i t h

c e r e m o n i e s

o f

m a g i c a l e x o r c i s m

an d

p u r i f i c a t i o n pirt) which , according

to

Edmund Leach, are like

raddha rites.

S ee

tf

Pul leyar and the Lord Buddha:

A n A s p e c t o f Rel ig ious Syncre t i sminCeylon, Psychoanalysis

an d

the Psychoanalyt ic

Review

49, 2

(Summer

1962):

81102.

26. See Plate 235 in A . J. Bernet

K e m p e r s ,

A n c i e n t Indonesian Art (Cambridge,

M ass.: H arvard

Univers i ty

Press, 1959).

27. T. G. Th.

Pigeaud,

Java in the Fourteenth Century 5

vols. ( T he H a g u e :

Ni j h o f f , 196063), 3: 49.

There are a number o f d emo n ic

Ganea

i m a g e s f rom East Java in a style

s im i lar

to the Singasar i im age . A l l are no table for the h um a n skul ls they

w e a r

as

a d o r n m e n t . I m a g e s

f rom

B a r a , K a r a n g k a t e s ,

an d M o u n t S meru , as

w e l l

as the Singasar i

Ganea,

are

illustrated

and discussed by P. H .

Pott,

F o u r

DemonicG a n e s a sf rom EastJava,

Mededelingen van

het

Rjksmuseumvoor

VolfcenJcunde,

Leiden

15

(1962):12331.

In

addit ion,

a n d

p e r h a p s e v e n

m o r e

direct ly related

to our

present purpose,

there i s a port rayal o f a

demonic

d a n c i n g Ganea a s a s u b s i d i a r y f i g u r e o n

the relief

s c u l p t u r e

o f Ca munda

found

at

A r d i m u l y a

in the

v ic ini ty

o f

K e r t a n a g a r a

s

f u n e r a r y

t e m p l e . It is i l lust rated and discussed by P. H . Pot t in Y o g a and

Y a n t r a

(The Hague:

Ni j h o f f ,

1966),

pp.

13036

and

plate

XIII.

A s

a g r o u p , these images provide evidence of

Ganea's

i m p o r t a n c e i n T a n t r i c

rituals e m p l o y i n g

the

symbolism

of the

c r e m a t i o n g r o u n d . T h i s w o u l d ,

o f

course,

f it easily w i t h

raddha

and the

cycle

o f

rites

for the dead; but it should

b e e m p h a s i z e d t h a t t h e T a n t r i c

rites

would not be

conf ined

to those concerns.

W h i l e it

a p p e a r s t h a t

the m e a n i n g of the

blacksm ith re l ie f

a t Candi

Suk uh

can

most d i rect ly

be

u n d e r s t o o d

w i t h i n raddha

r i tual ,

I do not wish to

imply

t h a t a ll

esoteric

r i t u a l a t Candi

Sukuh

se rved that purpose .

28.

P o e r b a t j a r a k a ,

A a n t e e k e n i n g e n op de

N a g a r a k e r t a g a m a ,

1 1

Bijdragen

tot de


10/19

61

PI.

3. The

elephant-headed

figure

almost

certainly

Ganesa

wears a crown

and

carries

a

small

animal

probablyadog.

PI.

4.

Detail showing bone

r o s a r y or

rattle

carried

by Ganesa.


11/19

62

is

associated

with

several

figures, one of

w h o m

is described as the

"King

of the

Dogs,

11

who taught his

disciples

by day, and by night performed the

Ganacakra

(wheel or dance) in a burial ground. It is an almost

irresistible

temptation

to link the quite

clearly

Tantric representation of the dancing

Ganea

holding

a dog in the

S u k u h

relief

to the

ritual

described

by Taranatha.

But, as Professor Zoetmulder has pointed out, texts

tell

almost nothing about

the

rules and purposes of such rituals in

Java.

Their secrets have always

been carefully guarded.

2

'

Surprisingly, however, a faint echo of

these

Tantric

practices

could still be

heard

in the present

century

in the courts of

Central Java.

In

1932, Stutterheim

obtained accounts

of

court attendants

in

Surakarta whose office

it was to

perform

b u f f o o n i s h l y and shockingly on

special

ceremonial occasions.

30

They were

called cntngr

b l n g , their seal of office was a phallus inside a heartshaped

vulva,

an

insignia

well

suited

to

their function since they

were in chargeof

the public dancing girls, t l e d h e f c , who in addition to performing with the

gamelan, also functioned as

prostitutes.

Although differing in details of title,

similar

officials could be f o u n d in the neighboring kraton in

Yogyakarta.

31

O n

special

occasions,

the

cantang balang performed

a

dance called

the

d r u n k e n elephant,

f

while holding a glass of gin in the right

hand

and accompanying

themselves with small pieces of buffalo bone strung together on a string and

played with the left hand. Although it had not been performed for some thirty

years, one of the dances formerly in their

repertoire

was an imitation of

dogs mating. As recorded by Stutterheim, the dance step of the cantang balang

seems to have consisted of rather awkward hopping

first

on one foot and then

o n the other.

B y superimposing this image of the cantang balang of the twentieth century

o n our fifteenth century relief we f in d a remarkable

series

of parallels:

the

dancing elephant,

the

awkward hopping dance f o r m ,

the

reference

to a

dog,

l, Land

en

Volkenkunde 80

(1924):

23839. See Taranatha's History

of

Buddhism

in India, translated

f r o m

Tibetan by L a m a

C h i m p a d a

and Alaka Chatto

padhyaya,

ed. Debiprasah Chattopadhyaya (Simla: Indian Institute of Advanced

Study, 1970), p. 242,

29. P. J.

Zoetmulder,

"The

Significance

of the

Study

of

Culture

and

Religion

for

Indonesian Historiography,"

in An

introduction

to

Indonesian Historiography

ed. S o e d j a t m o k o et al.

(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1965),

pp. 33637.

30. W. F.Stutterheim, "A Thousand Years Old Profession in the Princely Courts

on Java," inStudies in

Indonesian

Archaeology pp. 93101.

31. The association between the cntng b lu n g and the t l e d h e f c was not merely

c o n f i n e d

to the

Kraton

but was

apparently

a

widespread feature

of

life

at the

village level. In his discussion of the W a y a n g

theatre

in 1872, C. Poensen

noted

that

taledhek often

sang at

W a y a n g

performances where they

also

served

as

prostitutes.

M o s t of the

w o m e n

were poor, often

divorcees,

and their musical

training was rudimentary. They were forced to

live

in

special

k a m p o n g s under

a bordelloowner who was

called

the grema or tjantangbaloeng. C. Poensen,

"De

W a j a n g ,

Mededeelngen van vtege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap

1872 (16th year),

pp.

21516.

F o r a

recent

study of the female singerdancer profession (taledhek) in

Java see R. Anderson Sutton, "Who is the Pesindhen? Notes on the Female Singing

Tradition in Java," Indonesia 37(April

1984):

11933.


12/19

6

th e b on e s , wh ich i n o u r re l ie f a r e a lso carr ied in the l e f t hand (PI. 4),

32

and, to d r a w a possible f u r t h e r connect ion, th e i n s i g n i a o f o f f ic e is a l m o s t

m i r r o r e d by the v e r y r e a l i s t i c p h a l l u s a n d v u l v a (PI. 5) c on t a i n e d

w i t h i n

a n o r n a m e n t a l s u r r o u n d carved in the f i r s t s t on e a r c h t h a t o f f e r s e n t r a n c e

to the

Suk uh

terraces.

I f we

t h e n

add to

this

list

s o m e t h i n g

n o t

included

in

th e

reliefthe

g i n a n d t h e

dancing girls

w h o a r e

specialists

in

erot ic

a t t r a c t i on w e h a v e c om p l e t e d the le f thanded Tantr ic associat ions o f promiscuous

i n t e r c our s e , d r un k e n n e s s ,

a n d

gravey ards ( the ra t t l in g bones).

W h a t poss ib le connect ion

exists

b e t w e e n th e d a n c i n g demonic e l e p h a n t o n the

Suk uh

re l ie f w i t h its i n t i m a t i o n s o f T a n t r i c revels that break the s t r ictures

of

c on v e n t i on a l b e h a v i or

and the

raddha rites

for the

l i b e r a t i on

of the

soul?

F o r t u n a t e l y w e have in Cantos 6369 of the

N g r K er t g m

a d e s c r i p t i on o f

th e po sthu mo u s rites in

honor

of the R a j a p a t n i in

1362. T he se

rites

took place

twelve years a f t e r

h e r

death, ra ther than short ly a f ter cr em at ion

as in

India.

T he ceremony in Java w as also much

m o r e

e laborate than a s i m p l e f e e d i n g of the

ancestor's spir i t

and a

r e c on s t i t u t i on

of a new

body.

It was

opulent, anim ated,

h i g h

theater i n v ol v i n g f i r e o f f e r i n g s , r i t ua l gestures, sacred formulas ,

a n d

"exertion"all

o f a

public

M a h a y a n a

Buddhist, bu t

Tan tr ict inged character .

T h r o u g h these m e a n s

th e

R a j a p a t n i

f

s soul

w a s

b r o u g h t

to

lodge itself

in a

f l o w e r

ef f igy

(puspa). T he e f f igy w as then placed o n a l i on t h r on e w h e r e it was

accorded publ ic hom age. Th ere

was an air of

great fes t iv i ty and,

as

l iquor

w as

s t r e a m i n g l i k e a f lood, a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f d r un k e n n e s s . T h e n , d u r i n g th e

n i g h t b e f or e th e f i n a l release of the soul f rom the f l ow e r e f f i g y , the pr inces

clois tered themselves

in a

h a l l w i t h

th e

Ra j a p a t n i ' s t h r on e , w h e r e t h e y per formed

dances o f an erot ic character w i t h w o m e n w ho w e r e p r e s um a b l y p r o f e s s i on a l

s ingers

a n d

dancers l ike

the t a l e d h e k .

T h e r e w e r e

n o

ot h e r

m en

prese nt, only

the wo men ,

some

o f

whom

f or g ot w h a t t h e y w e r e d oi n g , a p p a r e n t l y a r e f e r e n c e

to an

altered

state of consciousness

whic h

could be arr ived at th ro ug h a var ie ty

of m e a n s such as spirit possession, trance, dr un ke nn ess, or, as seems l ikely

here, erot ic

a b a n d o n .

3 3

W h a t

b r e a k s

the

f r o z e n

immobil i ty

o f

d e a t h

a n d

c a r r i e s

the

soul

across

the s i lence, the distance that separates the rea lm of ex is tent beings f rom

the la nd of the pe r f ec te d ancestors , i s the v i ta l i ty of sexual a t t ract io n,

th e

e n e r g y

o f

sexual l icense,

th e

social chaos

o f

d r u n k e n n e s s ,

th e

f u l l rhythmic

f o r c e o f ecstatic

dance.

In our

rel ief

it is the

d a r k l y e n e r g e t i c d a n c e

o f

Ganea, th e g u a r d i a n o f thresholds, w ho b r e a k s op e n a p a t h for the soul,

which

is

r e p r e s e n te d h e r e

as an a n i m a l

w r e a t h e d

in the

f l a m e s

o f

Hell, just

as the

s r a d d h a rites o f t h e R a j a p a t n i c u l m i n a t e i n t h e e r ot i c t e n si on , t h e

vital

pressur e gen erated by the pr inces ' t ransp orts w ith the dan cinggirls.

In

a t t e m p t i n g

to

recover

th e

relief's m e a n i n g ,

one i s

i n e v i t a b l y

le d

back

t o t h e i n t e n t i on o f t h e artist. A l l the ev idence so far ind icates that he

w a s a i m i n g to g ive v is ib i l i ty to

states

o f

m o v e m e n t ,

process, an d change .

Inescapably, his

w o r k

is

mimet ic , since

it s

c la ims

a re

based

o n a

harmo n io u s

reciprocity between

macrocosm

an d

microcosm.

It

f o l l o w s t h a t p e r t u r b a t i o n s

on o n e

level

a re

causal ly antecedent

to

c on s e q ue n t s

on the

ot h e r .

B u t

r a t h e r

32 . D u r i n g h is res idence in Tibet, Hein r ic h H a r r e r p h o t o g r a p h e d a

pilgrim

w e a r i n g a rosary cu t f rom human bone. See the p h ot o g r a p h s b e t w e e n p a g e s

64 and 65 in his Seven Years in T ibet ( N e w Y o r k : B u t t o n , 1954). It is very

s im i lar

to the necklace w o r n by Ganea in the

Sukuh relief.

33. P i g e a ud ,Java in the Fourteenth C e n t ur y ,3: 78 and 4: 19596.


13/19

64

PL. 5. Phallus and

v u l v a

represented,on the floor of the monumental

gateway at

Sukuh.


14/19

65

th a n

the

s k i l l f u l d e p i c t i o n

o f a

p r i o r reality

to be

en jo yed

for i ts

p o w e r s

o f

p e r s u a s i v e s i m i l i t u d e ,

th e artist's

i n t e n t i o n s e e m s

to

have been

theurgic.

S im ple

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n wo u ld have been at once too static in aim and too equivocal in

result, since

t h e w o r k ' s

po wer actu al ly der ives f rom

th e

t e n s i o n

of i ts

d i s p a r a t e

p a r t s s m i t h , bellows, and the d a n c i n g

Ganea,

a dog, th e f l a m e s o f

Hel lon

the

face of it a c o n f u s i o n o f r e a l m s and expectations. It s u n i t y o f t h e m e an d

i ts m e t a p h o r i c a l e n e r g y d e p e n d up on s o m e t h i n g o u t s i d e th e actu al wo rk itself.

O n the o ther hand, the w o rk cer ta in ly i s no t a f re e p lay o f the im agin at io n ,

a se l f su f f ic ient wo r ld of its o wn, in tended to be c o n t e m p l a t e d d i s i n t e r e s t e d l y

fo r its own

sake

as the p r e v a i l i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y aesthetic w o u l d h a v e it. A n d ,

a l t h o u g h th e

relief clearly leans

o n ,

indeed depends u po n,

th e

k n o w l e d g e ,

interests,

a n d

s y m p a t h i e s

o f an

au dience

to

b r i n g

out i ts

f u l l m e a n i n g ,

it

never theless do es

n o t

s e e m m o t i v a t e d ,

in the

f i r s t ins tance,

by a

desire

to

teach

o r a dmonish

that au dience,

a s m i g h t be the case i f we

read

the scene

s im ply

a s

a

depict io n o f the an gu ish o f pu rgato ry . The di f f icu l ty o f b r ing in g the artist

f

s

i n t e n t i o n

in to fo cu s

m a y

arise

f rom th e

fact

that

w h a t

is

b e i n g i n t e r p r e t e d

is

f i r s t

of all an

o p e r a t i v e s t a t e m e n t ,

th e

u t t e r a n c e

o f which

pro du ces

the

e f f e c t

in tended.

The

v i e w e r

is

closer

to

w i t n e s s i n g

an

e v e n t t h a n i n t e r p r e t i n g

a

text.

By

analo gy,

the

artist

may be

said

to give us in

s t o n e w h a t

J. L.

A u s t i n

described as a p e r f o r m a t i v e utterance

11

in

speech.

34

T h e r e is, he d e m o n s t r a t e d ,

a w h o l e series o f o p e r a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s i n l a n g u a g e

wh ich

in thei r very u t ter anc e

actu al ly e f fect

an

in tended result. These wo u ld

be

phrases such

as I

p r o m i s e ,

I

baptize,

11

"I a u t h o r i z e you," wo rds that do things. If we read the Suk uh

relief a s a

p e r f o r m a t i v e

utterance,

t h e n w h a t

it

p e r f o r m s , t h r o u g h

a

p r e s e n t a t i o n

o f

c r a f t m y s t e r i e s ,

is the

t r a n s f i g u r a t i o n , t r a n s f o r m a t i o n ,

o r

t r a n s p o r t a t i o n

of spirit. In the

spatial

ar t o f

scu lptu re

w e

have

a parallel to the

r i t u a l

gestures

in

t i m e

by

wh ich

th e

Bal inese

B rah m i n

priest p r e p a r e s

toy pgrents,

th e

w a t e r

for

shipping over"

the souls of the

dead

to the hereafter.

35

And

just

as the

priest's

activities are e f f icacio u s o nly w i t h i n an a p p r o p r i a t e

context,

p r e s u m a b l y

th e relief is

eff icacious only

w i t h i n th e

c o n t e x t

o f a

speci f ic

kind

o f

place

a n d

w i t h i n

the

c o n v e n t i o n a l

f r a m e w o r k

o f

ritual.

T h e r e

is thu s a c o n v e r g e n c e b e t w e e n w o r k , place, a n d c e r e m o n i a l c o n t e x t that, j o i n e d

together,

f orm a co nceptu al pattern, a set, or better, a genre.

Genre:

Mountain

Temples and

Liberation

36

S u ku h

has been subject to a great d e a l o f d e s t r u c t i o n an d a l t e r a t i o n so

t h a t

it s

o r ig inal character

and i t s

scu lptu ra l pro gram

ca n

o nly

b e

s u r m i s e d .

34. J. L.

A u s t i n , P e r f o r m a t i v e

Utterances," in

Phi lo so phical Papers,

ed.

J . O . U r m s o n and G . J. W a r n o c k

(Lo ndo n: O xfo rd Univer s i ty Press, 1961),

pp.

22039.

35. C.

H o o y k a a s , D r a w i n g s

of Balinese

Sorcery

(Leiden:

Brill,

1980),

p. 1.

D u r i n g the descr ipt io n o f the raddha rites f o r t h e R a j a p a t i n i

Ngr fc e r tgm ,

c a n t o 64 , stanza 5 , t h e r e is a r e f e r e n c e to p r i s h r m . T he

M o n i e r W i l li a m s

SanskritEnglish

Dictionary

( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n

Press,

1964), p. 602, d ef in es

t h e w o r d priSrm as , fa t igu e, exer t io n, labo u r , fa t igu ing o ccu pat io n, t ro u ble,

pain . This wo u ld seem

to

o f f e r

echoes

of the

e x e r t i o n

of the

s m i t h ,

the

bellows operator, and the d a n c i n gGanea a s w e l l as the B ra h m in

priest's

e f f o r t

to

ship

over" the soul.

36. M yu n d e r s t a n d i n g o f m o u n t a i n t e m p l e s in general, and of

S u ku h

in par t icu lar ,


15/19

66

Pl

6 . L i f l a d i s c o v e r e d a t C a n d i S u k u h a n d n o w i n

M u s e u m

Pusat,

J a k a r t a from

C. J. van der

Vlis, R e p o r t

of

1843 .


16/19

7

W h e n S ir S tamf o rd

Raf f les v i s i ted

i t in M a y

1815,

h e fo u n d

t h a t

m an y

scu lptu ra l

slabs

had

b e e n t h r o w n down

on the

gro u nd,

and

t h a t m o s t

of the

f r e e s t a n d i n g

f i g u r e s ha d beendecapitated.

37

C. van der

V l i s ,

w hov i s i ted th e site twentyseven

years later, le f t a deta i led acco u nt in wh ich he no ted

that

Suk uh had been

so

altered

t h a t

i t was

qu i te po ss ib le that even

th e

p r e s e nt a r r a n g e m e n t

o f

t h r e e

terraces

w as ar r ived at by co nso l idat io n of an o r ig ina l p lan wh ich co u ld

have included a do zen terraces.

38

H e

also

reco rded scu lptu res on the f i r s t

and t h i r d terraces t h a t w e r e m i s s in g d u r i n g m y visit in 1977. O n the th ird

terrace,

too, it is very l ike ly t hat so m e s t ru ctu r es have di sappeare d

altogether.

Bu t, inso far

as the

relief sculptures

at

Sukuh have

a

n a r r a t i v e logic, this

is one of

"liberation." W h e t h e r

it is the

Sudml,

wh ich is ,

Gonda notes,

s u p p o s e d to be p e r f o r m e d d r a m a t i c a l l y o r recited in

places

w h e r e corpses

ar e c r e m a t e d in o rder to co u nteract curses o r

expel evil

spirits,"

39

or the

story o f G aru da ' s

del iverance

of his

m o t h e r

V i n a t a

f rom

a curse, the

t h e m e

is deliverance. This is echoed too in the system o f w a t e r c h a n n e l s at the

site

w h i c h , a l t h o u g h r u i n e d , a r e clearly co nnected by inscr ipt io n to the release

of

souls.

40

T he

t h e m e

is

restated

in a

m o s t e m p h a t i c

m a n n e r

by the

l i r

(PI.

6)

which

R a f f l e s

fo u n d

bro ken in to two

parts

a nd which he recognized could easily be

re jo ined. I ts

colossal

sizeover six feet long an d f i v e f e e t in circumference

argues for its p o t e n t i a l use as a visual focus for the terraced site. It

w ould

also

l ink the site to the r i s ing peak o f M o u n t Law u . F inal ly , the l i f t g a

bears a n

inscr ipt io n down

it s

l e n g t h which

M a r t h a

M u u ss e s

h as translated

f rom

O ld

Javanese in to

Dutch.

41

T h e re levant po r t io n is: Co nsecrat io n of the

Holy G a n g g a s u d h i

. .

thesign of

m a s c u l i n it y

is the

essence

of the

wo r ld.

I m p o r t a n t t o our present co ncern is the f a c t t h a t a kr i s o r s w o r d is carved

in relief on the s h a f t of the l i f t g a T h u s the

a r m o r e r ' s

art and the creative

pr inciple are j o i n e d t o g e t h e r in a sym bo l o f release that cro wns a n d c u l m i n a t e s

the

terrace

tem ple. This wo u ld seem bo th to confirm the c e n t r a l i m p o r t a n c e

has been greatly i n f l u e n c e d by the w o r k o f P r o f e s s o r A u r o r a R o x a s L i m . A

p r e l i m i n a r y

s ta tem ent o f her v iews was presented in a paper , "Caves a n d B a t h i n g

Places

in

Java

a s

Evidence

o f

C u l t u r a l

A c c o mmo d at io n ,

del ivered

at the

A s s o c i a t i o n

f o r A s i a n S tu d i e s M e e t i n g i n T o r o n t o i n

Ma r ch ,

1981. I h a ve

also

p r o f i t e d

f rom a paper by Ju d i th Patt, T h e A e s t h e t i c s o f A r c h i t e c t u r a l P l a n n i n g , d e l i ve r e d

at a Social Science R esear ch Councilspon sored con fere nce o n S o u th e a st A s i a n

A esth etics at Cor nell U nive rsi ty on A ug u st 2325, 1978. For an intro du ctio n

to the s u b j e c t , s e e F . M .Schnitger, Les terrasses

m g a l i t h i q u e s

d e Java,"

Revu e

des Arts Asiatqaes

13

(193942): 10114.

3 7. S t a m f o r d R a f f l e s , T he

History

o f Java, vol. 2 (London: Black, Parbury

and A l l e n

[etc.],

1817),

pp. 4551.

38. C. J. van de r V l i s , P r oe v e Eener Beschr i jv ing en V e r k l a r i n g der O u d h e d e n

va n S o e k o e h

enTjetto,"

Verhandelingen

van

het

Koninklijk)

Bataviaasch

Genootschap

van Kansten en Wetenschappen 19 (1843).

39 . Gonda, O ld Javanese Literature," p. 238.

40. A . J. Bernet K em pers, A ncien t Indo nes ian A r t (Cam br idge, M ass .: H arvard

Univers i ty Press, 1959),

p.

103.

41. M . A. M u u s se s , De SoekoehO pschr if ten, Tijdschrft voor Indische Tl,

Land, en Volkenkande

62

(1923): 5035.


17/19

8

o f

metallurgy

at the

site

and to

reinforce

our

reading

of the

s m i t h ' s

art

as a m e t a p h o r for

spiritual transfiguration

and

release.

Conclus ion: T he

Question

o f Alchemy

T o

speak

at

length,

as

here, about

the

transmutation

of

metals w i t h i n

the f r a m e of a spiritual tradition such as Tantrism, is to touch the essence

o f

a l ch emy

without ever emplo yin g th e term. W h a t e v e r other

m o r e

material

and

f a n c i f u l goals

it may

have, such

as the

transformation

of

base metals

i n t o gold,

a l ch emy

t h r o u g h a system o f correspondences offers a correlative

fo r spiritual redemption.

The

perfection

of

spirit

is

figured

in the

perfection

of metals, and, in a sense, imposes itself in the poetic logic of the metal

workers' physical operations. Even

i f one

were persuaded,

as I am ,

that

the

a t m o s p h e r e

o f

a l ch emy

hovers over th e ruins o f

Suk uh ,

o n e m u s t a d m i t that

there is no positive evidence to establish that

a l ch emy

qua alchemy was actually

i n t e n d e d there, or that it was even a factor in ancient Javanese culture.

42

F o r

w h a t it is worth, however, there is s o m e tantalizing archaeological

evidence

that does suggest that

a

very precise knowledge

of

Indian a l ch emy

existed in the archipelago in the period o f the thirteenth to fourteenth century.

T his c o mes

f r o m

the

research

of the

late

F. E.

Treloar who,

as a

chemist,

took an

interest

in

applying c h e m i c a l analysis

to

archaeological material

excavated

in

Southeast Asia.

T h r o u g h a n

analysis

o f

pieces

o f

gold foil

cu t

to th e shape o f liga, a n d excavated in a ritual deposit in the M e r b o k Estuary

o f K e d a h w h i c h dated

f rom th e

thirteenth

to th e

fourteenth century, Treloar

was able to establish that the structure of the gold had been altered by the

a ddit ion o f

mercury,

w h i c h

h a d

been rubbed into

th e

metal. W h a t

is so

i m p o r t a n t

a b o u t Treloar's study is that he traced this practice to an Indian text on

alc hemy of the eleventh to t w e l f t h century, the

R s rtn s m u c c y.

4 3

Treloar

fo l low ed up this line o f investigation by studying a type o f coarse earthenware

bottle excavated

in

substantial n u m b e r s

a t

Santubong, Sarawak,

in a

thirteenth

to fourteenth century context. He believed that the

bottles

were

emplo yed

in th e s h i p m e n t o f mercury. S imi lar bottles have been fo u n d at

A n g k o r

in

Ca mbodia

a n d

Fort

C a n n i n g

in Singapore.

44

It is

noteworthy, too, that Chinese

m e r c h a n t s

in the

latter

part

of the

Sung dynasty regarded c i n n a b a r

as a

staple

o f their trade withJava.

45

42. I do not f ind

specific reference

to alchemy in several

recent publications

on m a g i c in Indonesia: C.Hooykaas,

The

Balinese

Poem Basur: An

Introduction

to

Magic

(The Hague:

N i jh of f ,

1978), or his

D r a w i n g s

of Balinese

Sorcery

(Leiden:

Brill, 1980); or in M a r ie T h e re s e Berthier and Jo hn T ho mas Sweeney, Bali,

L ' A r t de la

Magie

(Paris: F M V JVoyages, 1976).

43. F. E. Treloar, The Use of M e r c u r y in M e t a l Ritual Objects as a

Symbol

of

Siva,

11

A r t i b u s

Asie

34, 2/3

(1972):

23240,

and

"Ritual Objects Illustrating

Indian

A l c h e m y

andTantric Religious

Practice,"

Isis 58 (1967): 39697.

44. F. E. Treloar, "Stoneware Bottles in the Sarawak M u s e u m : Vessels for

M e r c u r y Trade?" Sarawak

M useum Journal

20, 4041 (JanuaryDecember 1972):

37784.

45. P. W h e a t l e y ,

"Geographical Notes

on

Some

C o m m o d i t i e s

Involved

in

S u n g

M a r i t i m e

Trade," Journal of the Malayan Branch, Ro yal Asiatic

Society

32,

2 (1959):

91.


18/19

69

A l t h o u g h it is

used

in

m i n i n g

to separate

gold f rom

q ua rtz , and i s

used

too for pro du cing red p i g m e n t , m e r c u r y is a

central

i n g r e d i e n t in Indian an d

C h i n e s e

a lchem ical

texts,

w h e r e

it

plays

a role in the

t r a n s f o r m a t i o n

o f base

m e t a l s i n t o g o l d a n d

also

in the preparat io n o f elixirs and m edicines fo r

l o n g e v i t y ,

virility, strength,

o r

beauty.

4

In

India,

these

texts

f l o u r i s h e d

in the per io d f ro m th e t e n t h to the s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y , whic h is w e l l w i t h i n

th e

date

of the Suk uh c o m p l e x .

4 7

These

are, o f

course,

little

m o r e t h a n i n t i m a t i o n s t h a t

in

ancient t im es

alchemy may have been an i m p o r t a n t c u r r e n t o f t h o u g h t in m a r i t i m e S o u t h e a s t

A s ia . I f , ho we ver , we extend o u r ho r izo n to

Bur ma

w e f ind a n e x u b e r a n t t r a d i t io n

of

a lchem y. A cco rding

to M a u n g

Ht in A u n g , a l c h e m y

can be

traced

in Bur ma

to the

f i f t h

centu ry, and i t was a l r e a d y b e g i n n i n g to decline in i m p o r t a n c e

by

th e

e l e v e n t h century.

48

T h a t

it is

even today still

a

vital c u r r e n t

in

Bur ma

i s a p p a r e n t f ro m a recent study of the Wekzas o r m a s t e r s o f w i z a r d r y

and th e

occult.

49

N o n e o f this establishes the existence o f a l c h e m y i n f i f t e e n t h c e n t u r y

Java.

A t

best,

w e c a n p o i n t o u t

that

little

in the m e t a p h y s i c a l f o u n d a t i o n s o f

alchemy wo u ld, in any of its variants, pose insuperable

obstacles

to acceptance

in early S o u t h e a s t Asia. Despi te the

m an y

o b v i o u s d i f f e r e n c e s in hi s to r ica l

exper ience an dpatterns o f tho u ght, a lchem ists , w heth er Islam ic, W este rn, Chinese,

o r Indian , based the ir claims

o n a

shared v i s io n

of the

u n i v e r s e

a s a

vital

and u n i f ied who le. They po s i ted a para l le l i sm betw een the m icro co sm and the

macrocosm.

They f igu red co sm ic process

as the

creative co nf l ict

o f

qu as isexu al

and m u t u a l l y attractive polar opposites, and envision ed the c o n su mmat io n o f

t h e i r o p e r a t i o n s , w h e t h e r m a t e r i a l o r spi r i tu a l , a s a j o u r n e y f ro m div i s io n

and mult iplici ty to a pr im al un ity of being. This cosmic design, w hich could

be

traced

f rom th e Arabic a lchem ists su ch as

M o r i e n u s

t h r o u g h the h e r m e t i c

and

neoPlatonic

revival

in the Rena issance, w ou ld seem to have a f amily l ikeness

to co ncepts fam i l iar in early S o u t h e a s t Asia.

W i t h i n

t h is i m a g i n a t i v e f r a m e w o r k ,

th e phys ica l o perat io ns of the m e t a l w o r k e r can be read as an e f f o r t to speed

up

the s l o w n a t u r a l

process

o f m e t a l l i c g r o w t h and to br ing

base

m e t a l s to

46. For

Chinese a lchem y

see N.

Sivin, Chine se Al ch emy

and the

M a n i p u la t i o n

of T i m e , in

Science

and Technology in East A s i a , ed. N. S i vi n ( N e w Y o r k :

Science H istor y Pu blica tions, 1977), pp. 10922, and N . Sivin, C hine se A lche m y:

Preliminary

Studies (Cam br idge, M ass .: H arvard Univers i tyPress, 1968);

J.

Needham,

Science

and Civilization in C h i n a , vol.

5, pt. 2,

Spagyrical Discovery

and

Invention (Cam br idge: Cam br idge Un ivers i ty Press, 1974); J. R.

W a r e ,

trans,

and

ed., A lchem y , M edicine and Rel ig io n in th e

China

of A.D.320: The Nei P'ien

of Ko Hung (Cam bridge, M ass.: M .I.T. Press, 1966). F or

Indian

a lchem y see

P. C.

Ray, A

History

of Hindu Chemistry

vols. 1 and 2

(Calcu tta : Chu cke rver t ty ,

C h a t t e r j e e

&

Co.,

1925); M . Eliade , Yo ga :

Immortality an d

Freedom (Princeton,

N.J.: P rince ton U nive rsi ty

Press,

1969),

ch. 7; S .

M a h d i h a s s a n , I n d ia n A lc hemy

or Ra sayan a (N ew De lhi : V ika s, 1979);

M . Roy and B. V .

Su bbarayyappa,

trans,

an d

eds., Rsrnvfclp (Calcutta:

Indian

N atio n al Science

A c a d e m y ,

1976).

47. Roy and Sub baray yappa , Rsrnvklp, p. 2.

4 8 . M .Ht in A u n g,Folk Elements

in

Burmese

Buddhism ( W e s t p o r t ,Conn.: Green wo o d

Press,

1978), ch. 4.

49. J . F er gu so n and E. M . M endelso n, M aster s o f the Bu rm ese O ccult: The

B u r m e s e

Wei fczs,

Contributions

to

Asian Studies 16 (1981): 6280.


19/19

7

the p e r f e c t i o n of

gold. W h a t

is i m p o r t a n t to recognize is that consciousness

does not i n v e n t this r e d e m p t i v e j o u r n e y . Instead, it is the i n t e n t i o n a l i t y

of m e t a l l u r g y

itself,

th e dr a m a t ic ch a nges in th e s t ruc ture a ndcolor of meta ls ,

t h a t gives d i r e c t i o n to the i m a g i n a t i o nand accounts for the a s t o n i s h i n g parallels

in

m e t a l l u r g i c a l

lore

b e t w e e n

cultures

o t h e r w i s e m a r k e d

by

ra dica l

diversity.

50

In t h e W e s t e r n w o r l d th e

t r i u m p h

of th e exper imenta l procedures o f th e

sciences

in

th e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y e m p t i e d

this

o r d e r i n g d e s i g n of i ts p r o p o s i t i o n a l

credibi l i ty and w e a k e n e d its sy mbol ic power.

51

50. M ircea E l iade h a s employ ed th e concept o f inte nt io na l i ty in his d iscuss ion

of

vegetation.

See

The Sacred

in the

Secular World,

11

C u l t u r a l

Hermeneutics

1, 1 (A p r il 1973): 103.

51. An

excellent i n t r o d u c t i o n

to

a l c h e m y

that

d o e s f u l l justice

to the

o r d e r e d

p r i n c i p l e s o f the a lch emica l t ra di t ion is Titus Burck h a rdt , A lch emy : Sc ience

of

the Cosmos,

Science

of the Soul ( London: Stua r t

&

W a t k i n s , 1967).

A

splendid

collection o f

Rena is sa nce a lch emica l i l lus t ra t ions

m a y b e f ound in

J o h a n n e s

Fa br ic ius , A lch emy : Th e M edieva l A lch em is ts a nd T h e i r R o y a l

Art

( C o p e n h a g e n :

R o s e n k i l d e

& Bagger,

1976). A m o n g

th e

recent w o r k s

on the

place

o f

h e r m e t i c

t h o u g h t

in the

E u r o p e a n R e n a i s s a n c e

see

especially A l l e n

G .

Debus,

T he

Ch emica l

Philosophy:

Paracelsian

Science

and

M e d i ci n e

in the

Sixteenth

and Seventeenth

Centuries, vol .

1

( N ew Y o r k : Sc ience H is tory P ubl ica t ions , 1977),

pp.

161;

Jocelyn Godwin, Robert Fludd: Hermetic Philosopher and

Surveyor

o f T w o W o r l d s

( Boulder : Sh a mbh a l a , 1979); and Fra nces Yates, Giordano

Bruno and the

Hermetic

Tradition

(London

and

Ch ica go: Univers i ty

of

Ch ica go

Press,

1964);

D. P.

W a l k e r ,

Spiritual and

Demonic

Magic

from

Ficino to

Campanella

( London: W a r b u r g Institute,

1958), and The A n c i e n t T h e o l o g y , Studies

in

Christian

Platonsm from the

Fifteenth

to the Eighteenth Century ( I th a ca : Corne l l Univers i ty Press, 1972). The

M o r ie n u s

text,

a

product

of the

A r a b i c a lc h e m i ca l t r a d i t i o n ,

has recently

been edited

andtranslated: L ee

Sta venh a gen,

A T e s t a m e n t o fAlchemy

( H a nover, N.H. : Un ivers i ty

Press

of New

England, 1974).

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Metallurgy and Immortality at Candi Sukuh Central Java

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