The occasional drawback of weeping skies is counterbalanced by the
gorgeous vegetation only seen to perfection in the rainy season, and
that clouds should sometimes veil the burning blue to mitigate
Equatorial sunshine proves a source of satisfaction to those who fail
to appreciate the Rip Van Winkle life of womankind in Java. The journey
to Garoet supplies a succession of vivid pictures, illustrating the
individuality of the insular scenery. The weird outlines of volcanic
ranges, shading from palest azure to deepest plum-colour, the dreamlike
beauty of Elysian plains, and the stately palm-forests extending league
upon league, with mighty vans clashing in the mountain breeze, assume
magical charm as we penetrate into the heart of the alluring land. Two
pyramidal peaks, Haroeman and Kaleidon, rise sheer from the fair plain
of Lelés in colossal stairways of green rice-terraces. Knots of palm
shelter innumerable villages which dot the mountain flanks, the woven
huts fragile as houses of cards, but built up on identical sites
through countless ages, recorded in perennial characters of living
green on these twin trophies of primitive agriculture. Many travellers
have commented on the strange undertone of music, echoing from a
thousand silvery rills and tiny cascades, which follow the verdant
lines of terrace or parapet, and make the shimmering air vocal with
melody, like the distant song of surf on a coral reef. Variety of form
belongs to all Javanese agriculture as the result of handicraft, for
the peasant unconsciously puts his own personality into his toil. The
exquisite tints of the rice in different stages of growth display a
translucence indescribable except in terms of light and fire. The amber
gleam of young shoots, the green flames of the springing crop, the
pulsating emerald of later growth, and the golden sheen of ripened
ears, invest the "gift of the gods" with unearthly radiance. The
Eastern mind has ever responded to Nature's touch, for the great Mother
whispers her closest secrets to simple hearts, and science now realises
that civilisation has broken many of the subtle links which in earlier
days were mystic bonds of union between man and the universe.
Malay idiosyncracy evidences the survival of many primal influences
forgotten or denied by races of higher type and deeper culture. Very
little is known concerning the Malayan people who mingled with almost
every Oriental stock. Amphibious tastes suggest picturesque traditions
of prolonged voyaging in search of fresh fishing grounds to supply the
needs of a rapidly multiplying population. A strong Malay element
exists even in far-off Japan, and the wide ramifications of the nomadic
stock can be traced to broad rivers encountered on the southward
journey, and luring stragglers from the main body by the mysterious
glamour of winding water-ways piercing the tangled forests, and
pointing to unknown realms of hope or promise. The Malay retains many
of the hereditary gifts bestowed on the untaught children of Nature,
and, in spreading his language and customs far over the vast Pacific,
adopted few extraneous ideas from the world through which he wandered.
His primeval instincts still sway his life under other conditions.
Marvellous skill in hunting, fishing, boat-building, and navigation in
tornado-swept waters, remains to him. The deft weaving of palm-leaf hut
and wall of defence creates a village or destroys it at lightning
speed. Even now his basket-work home is never built on dry land, if
water can be found wherein to plant the supporting poles of the fragile
dwellings, suggesting the impermanence of a nomadic race. The Malay
never travels on foot to any place which can possibly be reached by
water, his native element; winds and tides have imbued him with
something of their own unstable and changing character, and the sea
which nurtured him is still the supreme factor in his life. Feet vie
with fingers in marvellous capacity, and to see a native cocoanut
gatherer run up the polished stem of a swaying palm, with greater ease
and swiftness than anyone shows in mounting a ladder, transports
thought to the distant past, when the ancestral stock, disembarking
from the rude canoes at nightfall, sought an evening meal on the edge
of the palm-forest, bowed beneath the weight of green and yellow nuts a
hundred feet overhead. What wonder if in lands of perpetual summer the
syren song of some "long bright river" should lure the storm-tossed
mariners from the perilous seas to the comparative security of inland
life! The stern environment of Northern poverty stands out in terrible
contrast with the teeming prodigality of tropical Nature, offering all
the richest fruits of earth in full measure to these early wanderers
across the Southern seas.
The mountain railway, curving round ridge or precipice and spanning
sombre gorge with bridge and aqueduct, affords superb views of the
unrivalled plains. Waterfalls foam over granite cliffs; a sinuous river
flings a silver chain round the symmetrical base of Kaleidon, and from
our lofty vantage point we gaze into the luminous green of a million
palms, where the warm heart of a deep forest opens to display the
lustre and colour of molten emeralds. The Soendanese quarter of the
island gives place to the ancient Javanese territory, and Malay
characteristics, though underlying and mingling with every insular
stock, are here modified by a strain of Hindu ancestry, which gives
refinement of feature and grace of carriage. Well-modelled figures and
delicate hands and feet are attributed to the liberal admixture of
royal and noble blood with that of the peasantry, for the ancient
Rulers of Java respected no rights but their own, and the domestic
arrangements of King Solomon prevailed in a kingdom of tyrants and
slaves. Hindu thraldom was intensified under Arab priests, who,
following in the train of piratical Moormen, claimed the sovereignty of
Java under their protection. The gold-embroidered jacket of civil or
military rank, with the _kris_ thrust into a brilliant sash, here
supplements the universal _sarong_, itself of bolder design and glowing
colour in this old-world realm of Mataram, the centre of Java's
historic interest. The crooked blade of the _kris_ is still used in
divination, light and shadow playing over the wavy steel, ever
suggesting cabalistic signs inscribed by an invisible hand on the azure
surface. The _kris_ is popularly endowed with healing efficacy, and the
availing touch of the sacred talisman is an article of Javanese faith.
A hundred varieties of the weapon are found in the Malay Archipelago,
from the gold-hilted and diamond-studded royal _kris_ to the
boat-handled dagger of common use, permitted to all but peasants;
women of the higher class wear it in the girdle, and though
unrepresented in the sculpture of Javanese temples, the _kris_ is
ascribed to the days of Panji, a Hindu warrior whose feats form the
libretto of a popular drama, though his authenticity appears uncertain.
The changes in local costume and character, as seen in wayside
villages, enliven the journey until we reach the mountain gateway of
Tjadas Pangeran, "the Royal Stone," flanked by flashing waterfalls, and
forming the entrance to the region supreme in natural scenery, archaic
art, and literary interest. The black cone of Goentoer, "the thunder
peak," accentuates the red blaze of the declining sun on the intricate
rice-mosaic of green and gold in the divinely beautiful plain revealed
through the rocky cleft. Amid the many glories of Javanese landscape,
the poetic glamour of these palm-girt levels lingers longest in the
memory, for the world-famed picture known as "The Plains of Heaven"
might have been inspired by the haunting loveliness of these rolling
uplands. Our railway carriage contains a native Regent, his principal
wife, and a pretty daughter. Javanese princes are made ostensible
rulers of native districts, but associated with Dutch Residents as
"Elder Brothers," who may be more accurately termed compulsory
advisers. Without a measure of despotic authority exercised by the
fraternal partner, the spendthrift Malay would cause perpetual
hindrance to insular development and commercial prosperity. The old
Regent, with embroidered military jacket glittering above his
elaborately-patterned _sarong_, looks a grim and forbidding figure, and
evidently regards his womenkind as beneath notice. His head is tied up
in a black kerchief, and a brilliant Order conferred by the Queen of
Holland adorns his breast. Madame, in magenta shawl and purple gown,
travesties European costume. Diamonds blaze incongruously on arms and
neck, a scarlet flower in oily black braids completing her startling
attire. The girl, in yellow _sarong_ and pink cotton jacket glorified
with rubies and pearls, shows her high breeding in slender wrists,
delicate hands, and bare feet of exquisite modelling, a red stain of
henna drawing attention to their statuesque contour. She staggers
beneath a load of impedimenta belonging to her princely father: bags,
bundles, and a heavy cloak. Javanese parents of exalted rank treat
their daughters with disdain, the approved discipline of family life
consisting in stamping an impression of abject insignificance deeply on
the plastic mind of girlhood. Fertile plain and wooded slopes are alike
destitute of domestic animals. The sheep was unknown to native races in
this pastureless land, and, though introduced by the earliest
colonists, is still spoken of as "the Dutch goat," no other term
existing for it in Malay parlance. Monkeys chatter and rustle in
forest trees, gorgeous birds flit past on jewelled wings, and frogs in
this rainy season make a deep booming like the tuning of numerous
violoncellos. At length the little town of Garoet appears in a green
valley, encircled by a diadem of peaks which suggest a tropical
Engadine. Volcanic mountains replace Alpine crests, but the white
battlements of Papandayang's smoking crater give the effect of distant
snow, and the dark pines of the Swiss valley are merely translated into
the lustrous green of crowding palms. Brawling river, rustic bridge,
and brown hamlets foster the strange illusion, and if it be true that
somewhere in the wide world every face finds a counterpart, natural
scenery may be subject to an identical law, and various ice-bound
landscapes be mirrored under Southern skies in pictures wreathed with
palm-fronds and tropic flowers. The Hotel Rupert, garlanded with
creepers, the open lattices trellised with ivy and roses, shows a more
poetic aspect than any hostelry of the distant Engadine. Our hostess is
the widow of a German physician, and her fair young daughter, alert and
capable as the typical _Hausfrau_ of her native land, has established a
reputation for supplying the guests with the home comforts and restful
atmosphere which make the Hotel Rupert an ideal abiding-place in
stagnant Java, where as a rule the sole luxuries are out-of-doors, and
of Nature's providing. That the Dutchman flourishes on his diet of
tinned meat, his appalling rice-table, and the extraordinary sequence
of dishes which probably belonged to the early days of colonisation,
either proves herculean strength or the triumph of mind over matter,
but to those of less heroic mould the unwonted amenities of a more
familiar civilisation are welcome as a green oasis in a sandy desert. A
cool and healthy mountain climate gives unwonted zest for the lovely
excursions of which Garoet is the centre. From the little lake Setoe
Bajendit, a covered raft plies to a cupola-crowned hill, facing a noble
panorama of volcanic peaks the Soendanese _désa_ of basket-work huts,
through which we pass, presents a curious spectacle, with the village
street lined on either side by rows of kneeling children, clad in Dame
Nature's brown suit alone; each little figure holding up a long-stemmed
flower--red hybiscus, creamy tuberose, or snowy gardenia--the imploring
faces raised in silent entreaty to the white strangers for the
infinitesimal coins which suffice to purchase a sheaf of blossom.
Changing lights and shadows sweep across the glancing emerald of the
rice-filled vale, darken the purple rifts of mountain gorges, or
intensify the luminous azure of soaring crests. Wayside fruit-stalls
make gay patches of colour among green piles of banana leaves, and thin
yellow strips of bamboo, the approved paper and string of the tropics,
in which every parcel is packed. Tall sugar-cane and plumy maize
surround each brown _désa_ beneath the knot of palms, and fields of
tapioca vary the prevailing rice-grounds with sharp-pointed leaves and
paler verdure. The entire tapioca crop of Java belongs to Huntley and
Palmer, for use in the manufacture of the biscuits which make a
valuable supplement to the Javanese commissariat, for unlimited rice
seldom commends itself to English tastes. Hot springs abound in this
volcanic soil, and in the "five waters" of Tjipanas, each of different
temperature, the native finds a panacea wherein he can indulge to his
heart's content, the healing springs rushing into stone tanks set in
sheds of bamboo. The principal excursion from Garoet is to the active
crater of the Papandayang, a long drive of twelve miles leading to the
foot of the volcano. From this point a chair carried by six coolies is
required for the steep road, formed by hundreds of moss-grown steps.
Plantations of coffee, cinchona, and tapioca girdle the lower slopes of
the mountain, hedges and thickets of red and purple coleas bordering
the primeval jungle of orchid-decked trees on the higher levels, the
moss-grown boughs wreathed with epiphytal plants, the trunks covered
with branching ferns, and the thick ropes of matted lianas strangling
the dense forest in their green embrace. Wild oleander mingles rosy
blossoms with bushes of living gold like tall growths of double
buttercups, and at length the cooler regions show the familiar ferns,
violets, and primroses of the temperate zone. The weird silence of the
jungle is emphasised by an occasional cry of a wild bird, flitting
among the tall tree tops, or the crash of a bough, dragged down by the
weight of some climbing rattan. A walk up a boulder-strewn slope
reaches the old crater, or Solfatara, almost surrounded by steep walls
of rock. Boiling and wheezing springs, fast-forming sulphur columns,
and clouds of choking steam, rise from the yellow and orange-powdered
earth. A deafening noise issues from the self-building architecture of
ruddy pillars, the bubbling of boiling mud, and the shrill spouting of
hot vapours from narrow orifices in the trembling crust of the
fire-charged earth. Golden sulphur-pools shower burning drops on every
side, and from the mysterious _kawa_ or crater, echoes of subterranean
thunder sound at intervals, from the traditional forge where native
legends assert that a chained giant is condemned to work eternally in
the service of the Evil One.
At night the broad verandah of the Hotel Rupert is transformed into a
stage for a performance of the _topeng_ or national drama, chartered by
an American guest. The weird spectacle, accompanied by the _gamelon_
music, transports us to the days of old-world Java, story and
performance being of ancient origin and religious signification. The
subjects of the _topeng_ are derived from the Panji group of dramatic
poems, the ancient costumes, the curious masks, and the office of the
_dalang_ or reciter, whose ventriloquial skill is required for the
entire wording of the _libretto_, comprise a valuable memento of bygone
days, otherwise entirely forgotten. The _wayang-wayang_ or "shadow
dance" of puppets, vies with the _topeng_ in popularity, but the latter
ranks as classic and lyrical drama. A graceful girl in pink, with
floating scarf, and gleaming _kris_ in her spangled sash, exhibits
wonderful skill in the supple play of wrist and fingers, through the
process known as devitalization, a form of drill which gives to the arm
a plastic power of detached movement, fascinating but uncanny. The
dusky garden is filled with a native crowd, moved alternately to tears
and laughter by exploits unintelligible to the European spectator, for
the story of every national hero is known to the poorest and most
ignorant of the people, from perpetual attendance on theatrical
performances. The _al fresco_ entertainments necessitated by the
climate provide exceptional opportunities of dramatic education in the
legends of Java's heroic age. The spacious verandahs gleaming with the
soft light of Chinese lanterns, and set in depths of shadow, the
scented gloom of the tropical night veiling the dusky lawns, crowded
with mysterious figures drawn by the weird music from every quarter,
the brilliant robes and grotesque masks of the actors, compose a
picture of archaic charm. Passers-by pause on their way to look, and
listen with unwearied interest to the oft-told tales, for the stories
of the world's childhood, like the fairy lore of our own early days,
deepen their significance to the untaught mind by perpetual repetition.
The Hindu cloudland which veils the Javanese past "was reached by a
ladder of realities," for the exploits of gods and mythical heroes were
afterwards attributed to native Rulers, until the medley of truth and
fiction, history and mythology, became an inextricable tangle. The
birds' beaks, and hooked noses of the masks in the _topeng_, and of the
puppets in the shadow-play, were made compulsory after the Arabic
conquest, in order to reconcile the national pastime with the creed of
Islam, which forbade the dramatic representation of the human form. The
reigning _Susunhan_ evaded the decree by distorting mask and puppet,
but although the outside world might no longer recognise the heroes of
the play, Javanese knowledge of national tradition easily pierced the
flimsy disguise, and credited their deified heroes with a new power of
metamorphosis. The fantastic play lasts so far into the night that the
prolonged _libretto_ is brought to a summary conclusion by the hostess,
since European nature can stand no more, though the rapt attention of
the Malay would continue till morning. The satiety of modern days has
never touched these simple minds, and an entire absence of that
critical element which disintegrates so many of life's simple joys,
ministers to the supreme satisfaction derived from the crude ideals of
native drama. Silently the brown spectators slip away like shadows from
the dim and dewy garden, for the simple and untaught Malay, though
eagerly welcoming the privileges permitted to him, never encroaches
upon them, and the conduct of these Eastern playgoers affords an
example of order and sobriety which shames many an audience of higher
education and social superiority in distant Europe.