History of Java from the establishment of Mahomedanism (A. J. 1400)
till the arrival of the British Forces in A.D. 1811, (A. J. 1738.)
147
Line of Mahomedan Sovereigns of Java 254
Chronological Table of Events 255
Account of the several principal Divisions of Java and Madura 265
APPENDIX.
A. Unhealthiness of Batavia i
B. Account of the Japan Trade xvii
C. Translation of a modern Version of the Súria Alem xxxviii
D. Proclamation of the Governor General, and Regulation
passed by the Hon. the Lieutenant Governor in Council
for the more effectual Administration of Justice in the
Provincial Courts of Java liv
E. A comparative Vocabulary of the Maláyu, Javan, Madurese,
Báli, and Lampung Languages lxxvii
--Extract from the Dása Náma lxxix
--Comparative Vocabulary of the Sanskrit, Kawi, and Pali lxxx
--Vocabulary of Káwi Words, with the Meaning attached to
them, by the Panambáhan of Sumenap lxxxi
--Specimen of the mystical Meaning attached to the Letters
of the Alphabet, &c. according to the Interpretation of
the Panambáhan of Sumenap lxxxii
F. Account of the Island of Celebes lxxxv
--Comparative Vocabulary of the Búgis, Makásar, Mándhar,
Búton, Sásak, Bima, Sembáwa, Tembóra, and Endé
Languages cv
--Comparative Vocabulary of the Gunung Tálu, Menadu,
Ternati, Sang'ir, Sirang or Ceram, and Saparúa Languages cvii
G. Numerals according to the Chandra Sangkála cix
H. Translation of the Mánek Máya cxii
I. Translations of Inscriptions in the ancient Javan or Káwi
Character cxxvii
K. Account of the Island of Báli cxxxviii
L. Proclamation declaring the Principles of the intended Change
of System cxlviii
--Revenue Instructions cli
M. Memorandum respecting Weights, Measures, &c. clxv
AN ACCOUNT
OF THE
ISLAND OF JAVA.
CHAPTER IX.
_Religion--Introduction to Mahomedanism--How far its
Tenets and Doctrines are observed--Priests--How provided
for--How far the ancient Institutions of the Country
are superseded--Antiquities--Edifices--The Temples at
Brambánan--Bóro Bódo--Gúnung Práhu--Kedíri, Sing'a Sári, Súku,
&c.--Sculpture--Images in Stone--Casts in Metal--Inscriptions on
Stone and Copper--Coins--Ruins of the ancient Capitals at Médang
Kamúlan, Majapáhit, Pajajáran, &c.--Island of Báli--Conclusion._
It has already been stated, that the established religion of the
country is that of Mahomed. The earliest allusion to this faith made
in the Javan annals is in the twelfth century of the Javan era (A.D.
1250), when an unsuccessful attempt appears to have been made to
convert some of the _Súnda_ princes[203]. Towards the close of the
fourteenth century, several missionaries established themselves in
the eastern provinces; and according to the Javan annals, and the
universal tradition of the country, it was in the first year of the
fifteenth century of the Javan era, or about the year of our Lord 1475,
that the Hindu empire of _Majapáhit_, then supreme on the island, was
overthrown, and the Mahomedan religion became the established faith
of the country. When the Portuguese first visited Java in 1511, they
found a Hindu king in Bantam; and subsequently, they are said to have
lost their footing in that province, in consequence of the arrival and
establishment of a Mahomedan prince there; but with the exception of an
inconsiderable number in some of the interior and mountainous tracts,
the whole island appears to have been converted to Mahomedanism in
the course of the sixteenth century, or at least at the period of the
establishment of the Dutch at Batavia in 1620.
The natives are still devotedly attached to their ancient institutions,
and though they have long ceased to respect the temples and idols of a
former worship, they still retain a high respect for the laws, usages,
and national observances which prevailed before the introduction of
Mahomedanism. And although some few individuals among them may aspire
to a higher sanctity and closer conformity to Mahomedanism than
others, it may be fairly stated, that the Javans in general, while
they believe in one supreme God, and that Mahomed was his Prophet,
and observe some of the outward forms of the worship and observances,
are little acquainted with the doctrines of that religion, and are
the least bigoted of its followers. Few of the chiefs decline the use
of wine, and if the common people abstain from inebriating liquors,
it is not from any religious motive. Mahomedan institutions, however,
are still gaining ground, and with a free trade a great accession of
Arab teachers might be expected to arrive. Property usually descends
according to the Mahomedan law; but in other cases, the Mahomedan code,
as adopted by the Javans, is strangely blended with the more ancient
institutions of the country[204].
Pilgrimages to Mecca are common. When the Dutch first established
themselves on Java, it was not unusual for the chiefs of the highest
rank to undertake the voyage, as will be seen in the course of the
native history. As soon, however, as the Dutch obtained a supremacy,
they did all they could to check this practice, as well as the
admission of Arab missionaries, and by the operation of the system of
commercial monopoly which they adopted, succeeded pretty effectually.
It does not, however, appear that this arose from any desire to check
the progress of Mahomedanism on Java, or that it was with any view to
introduce the doctrines of Christianity, that they wished to cut off
the communication with Mecca; their sole objects appear to have been
the safety of their own power and the tranquillity of the country.
Every Arab from Mecca, as well as every Javan who had returned from
a pilgrimage thither, assumed on Java the character of a saint, and
the credulity of the common people was such, that they too often
attributed to such persons supernatural powers. Thus respected, it
was not difficult for them to rouse the country to rebellion, and
they became the most dangerous instruments in the hands of the native
authorities opposed to the Dutch interests. The Mahomedan priests have
almost invariably been found most active in every case of insurrection.
Numbers of them, generally a mixed breed between the Arabs and the
islanders, go about from state to state in the Eastern Islands, and it
is generally by their intrigues and exhortations that the native chiefs
are stirred up to attack or massacre the Europeans, as infidels and
intruders.
The commercial monopoly of the Dutch, however injurious to the country
in other respects, was in this highly advantageous to the character of
the Javans, as it preserved them from the reception of many of the more
intolerable and deteriorating tenets of the _Kóran_.
I have already mentioned, that every village has its priest, and that
in every village of importance there is a mosque or building set apart
adapted to religious worship. The usual Mahomedan service is performed;
and the _Panghúlu_, or priest, consulted, and decides in all cases of
marriage, divorce, and inheritance. He is bound also to remind the
villagers of the proper season for the cultivation of the lands. He
is remunerated by a tithe of the produce of the land, certain fees
which are paid on circumcisions, marriages, divorces, and funerals,
and presents which are usual at particular seasons and on particular
occasions.
In every chief town there is a high priest, who with the assistance
of several inferior priests, holds an ecclesiastical court, and
superintends the priests who are appointed in the subordinate districts
and villages. His emoluments consist of a share, which varies in
different districts, of the _zakát_ levied by the village priests, of
fees of court, presents, &c. These chief priests are usually either
Arabs, or descendants of Arabs, by women of the islands. Their number
in some of the large towns is considerable; at _Pakalóngan_ and
_Grésik_ they have amounted to some hundreds. The village priests are
mostly Javans. On entering the profession, they adopt a dress different
from that of the Javans in general, wearing a turban and long gown
after the manner of the Arabs, and encouraging, as much as possible,
the growth of a few hairs on the chin, as a beard. It is probable, that
the total number of priests is not less than fifty thousand, which
forms a ninetieth part of the whole population of the island.
In common with other Mahomedans, the Javans observe the ceremony of
circumcision (_sónat_), which is performed at about eight years of age,
and in a manner somewhat differing from that usual in other countries.
The ceremony is usually attended with a feast and rejoicing. Girls, at
the same age, suffer a slight operation, intended to be analogous, and
called by the same name.
In their processions and rejoicings on religious festivals and other
occasions, the Javans are free from that noisy clamour and uproar,
which is usual with the Mahomedans of continental India. The ceremony
of _húsen hásen_, which on the continent excites such a general noise
throughout the country, here passes by almost without notice, and the
processions of the Sepoys on this occasion, during the period of the
British government on Java, excited the utmost astonishment among
them, on account of their novelty, noise, and gaudy effect; but nobody
seemed inclined to join in, or to imitate them: indeed the Javans
have too chaste an ear to bear with pleasure the dissonant sounds and
unharmonious uproar of the Indians[205].
The Mahomedan religion, as it at present exists on Java, seems only
to have penetrated the surface, and to have taken but little root in
the heart of the Javans. Some there are who are enthusiastic, and all
consider it a point of honour to support and respect its doctrines: but
as a nation, the Javans by no means feel hatred towards Europeans as
_infidels_; and this perhaps may be given as the best proof that they
are very imperfect Mahomedans. As another example of the very slight
hold which Mahomedanism has of them, may be adduced the conduct of the
reigning prince (the _Susúnan_) in the recent conspiracy among the
Sepoys serving on Java. The intimacy between this prince and the Sepoys
first commenced from his attending the ceremonies of their religious
worship, which was Hindu, and assisting them with several idols of
that worship which had been preserved in his family. The conspirators
availing themselves of this predilection of the prince for the religion
of his ancestors, flattered him by addressing him as a descendant of
the great _Ráma_, and a deliberate plan was formed, the object of which
was to place the European provinces once more under a Hindu power.
Had this plan been attended with success, it would probably have been
followed by the almost immediate and general re-conversion of the
Javans themselves to the Hindu faith[206].
Whatever of their more ancient faith may remain in the institutions,
habits, and affections of the Javans, the island abounds in less
perishable memorials of it. The antiquities of Java consist of ruins of
edifices, and in particular of temples sacred to the former worship;
images of deities found within them, and scattered throughout the
country, either sculptured in stone or cast in metal; inscriptions on
stone and copper in ancient characters, and ancient coins.
The antiquities of Java have not, till lately, excited much notice;
nor have they yet been sufficiently explored. The narrow policy
of the Dutch denied to other nations facilities of research; and
their own devotion to the pursuits of commerce was too exclusive to
allow of their being much interested by the subject. The numerous
and interesting remains of former art and grandeur, which exist in
the ruins of temples and other edifices; the abundant treasures of
sculpture and statuary with which some parts of the island are covered;
and the evidences of a former state of religious belief and national
improvement, which are presented in images, devices, and inscriptions,
either lay entirely buried under rubbish, or were but partially
examined. Nothing, therefore, of the ancient history of the people,
of their institutions prior to the introduction of Mahomedanism, of
their magnificence and power before the distraction of internal war
and the division of the country into petty contending sovereignties,
or of their relations either to adjacent or distant tribes, in their
origin, language, and religion, could be accurately known or fully
relied on. The grandeur of their ancestors sounds like a fable in the
mouth of the degenerate Javan; and it is only when it can be traced in
monuments, which cannot be falsified, that we are led to give credit
to their traditions concerning it. Of these monuments, existing in
great profusion in several places, and forming, if I may so express
myself, the most interesting part of the annals of the people, none
are so striking as those found at _Brambánan_ in _Matárem_, near the
middle of the island, at _Bóro Bódo_ in _Kédu_, on _Gúnung Práhu_ and
its vicinity, in _Kedírí_, and at _Sing'a Sári_ in the district of
_Málang_, in the eastern part of the island.
In addition to their claims on the consideration of the antiquarian,
the ruins at two of these places, _Brambánan_ and _Bóro Bódo_, are
admirable as majestic works of art. The great extent of the masses of
building covered in some parts with the luxuriant vegetation of the
climate, the beauty and delicate execution of the separate portions,
the symmetry and regularity of the whole, the great number and
interesting character of the statues and bas-reliefs, with which they
are ornamented, excite our wonder that they were not earlier examined,
sketched, and described.
With respect to the ruins at _Brámbanan_, we find, upon the authority
of a Dutch engineer, who in 1797 went to construct a fort at _Kláten_,
on the highway between the two native capitals, and not far from the
site of the temples, that no description of its antiquities existed at
that period. He found great difficulty in clearing away the rubbish
and plants, so as to obtain a view of the ruins and to be enabled
to sketch them. The indifference of the natives had been as great
as that of their conquerors, and had led them to neglect the works
of their ancestors which they could not imitate. They had allowed a
powerful vegetation, not only to cover the surface of the buildings,
but to dislocate and almost to overthrow them. They still viewed with
veneration, however, the most conspicuous statue in the ruins, and in
spite of their Mahomedan principles, addressed it with superstitious
reverence. The temples themselves they conceived to have been the
work of a divinity, and to have been constructed in one night; but
unfortunately this belief did not restrain the neighbouring peasants
from carrying off the stones of which they were constructed, and
applying them to their own purposes. Enough, however, still remains, to
shew the style of architecture that was followed in their construction,
the state of sculpture at the period of their erection, and the nature
of the religion which then prevailed.
In the beginning of the year 1812, Colonel Colin Mackenzie[207],
so well acquainted with the antiquities of Western India, visited
_Brambánan_, took an accurate survey of the ruins, and sketched the
fragments of the building, the architectural ornaments, and the
statues found there. His journal, accompanied with much ingenious
and interesting speculation on the nature and origin of the worship
indicated by them, he kindly permitted me to publish in the seventh
volume of the transactions of the Batavian Society.
Considering it as a matter of importance, that a more extensive and
detailed survey should be made while we had the best opportunity of
doing so, I availed myself of the services of Captain George Baker
of the Bengal establishment, employed in the provinces of the native
princes, to survey, measure, and take draughts of all the buildings,
images, and inscriptions, which this magnificent mass of ruins
presented. The following is an abstract of his report on the subject.
In the province of _Matárem_, and between the native capitals of _Súra
kerta_ and _Yúgya kérta_, lies the village of _Brambánan_, and at a
distance of a mile from the high road, there are hills which run east
and west, for about a mile and a half. On one of these, within about
one hundred yards to the south-east of the _Bándar's_[208] house, stands
THE CHANDI KÓBON DÁLAM,
but so covered with trees and shrubs, that it is not visible till you
are within two or three hundred yards of it. I could find no remains
of the ancient enclosure, but the fields for some distance round have
been enclosed in later days with the stones which have fallen from the
temple. About forty yards westward of the temple, formerly stood two
colossal images or _réchas_[209], both now overthrown, and one broken
in two: these evidently faced each other inwards, as if to guard the
approach. Each of these, including the pedestal, is of a single block,
seven feet high; the head is two feet high; the square of the pedestal
about three feet, and its height thirteen inches and a half: the stone
block coarse grained, and apparently the same as the outer coating of
the temple. The door-way is three feet and a half wide, and now ten
feet long, so that allowing two feet for dilapidation, the thickness
of the walls must have been more than twelve feet. This leads directly
to an apartment twenty feet square, the terrace of which, or original
floor, is now covered to an unknown depth with masses of stone fallen
from the walls and roof. The present height of the interior of the
building is about twenty-eight feet.
The roof is a square pyramid about fourteen feet high, formed of stones
which overhang each other like inverted steps. The stone composing
the interior of the apartment is whitish and close grained, and
breaks in flakes something like flint. The whole is uniformly cut and
neatly morticed together without cement. The interior is perfectly
plain, the exterior could never have possessed more than the simplest
architectural embellishment.
Excepting the two _réchas_, or porters, I saw no remains of statuary;
but it is probable that images of Hindu deities lie buried in the
rubbish. These porters or giants seem to have been posted as if to
guard the approach to the sanctuaries of the gods. The hair of each is
plaited and wound round his head, after the fashion of the mendicant
priests of India. He wears large cylindrical ear-rings, like those
of the Javan women, bracelets and necklace of beads. His waistband,
which is very bulky and reaches almost to his knees, is confined
by a chain of square links, and receives on the right side a small
square-hilted dagger. Between his legs and under the waistband there
passes a _lungofa_ or _kopina_, the ends of which hang down before and
behind. In his right hand he holds an octagonal club; in his left a
snake, coiled and darting its tongue along the breast: small twisted
snakes also form his armlets, and one passes over his left shoulder
diagonally across the body, the head and tail forming a kind of knot.
His head is broad; his forehead and chin short but wide; his eyes quite
round, large, prominent, and staring; his lips thick; his mouth open,
and shewing two very large dog teeth and four others of the upper jaw.
Singular as the countenance is, it has generally an open good humoured
expression. The Sepoy who attended me, and who had resided two years
among the Bramins at Benares, and, of a corps of upwards of eight
hundred Sepoys, was acknowledged to be the best acquainted with such
subjects, informed me that similar figures were common guardians of the
entrance to the temples of India, and seemed perfectly well acquainted
with their history, purpose, and distinctive accompaniments; but he was
lost in surprise at the number, magnitude, and superior execution of
those at _Brambánan_, to which he said that India could in no respect
furnish a parallel. Every thing here, he said, was manifestly the
work of the gods, as no human power could have effected such things.
The temples at _Brambánan_ are entirely composed of plain hewn stone
without the least mixture of brick, mortar, or rubbish of any kind,
even in the most extensive solid masses, or to fill up the floors and
basements of the largest structures. Large trees have made their way
through many of them, and give an air of high antiquity.
Close by the road side at _Brambánan_, and in front of the _bándar's_
house, there are several pieces of sculpture deserving of notice. One
is a very well executed relievo on two small stones, of about eighteen
inches by five, within the _bándar's kámpung_: it represents elephants
completely caparisoned in the Hindu fashion. Another is a piece of
sculpture representing the wide-extended mouth and erect curled
proboscis of the elephant, having a figure (I believe of a _Gôpie_ or
inferior deity or demi-god) seated in an erect posture on the animal's
tongue, surrounded with a formidable array of teeth. This is found on
either side of the top or bottom of flights of steps, grand entrances,
or portal of all the _Brambánan_ buildings. There is also a more
finished specimen of the same kind as the last, but having instead of a
_Gópia_ a lion, decorated with a necklace, to whose head descends from
the _lotos_ flowers which crown the elevated proboscis of the elephant,
a very rich cluster of beads. Two stones are sculptured in relief with
the figures of seven apes traversing a wood: they are each about two
feet six inches high by two feet wide. These pieces are more damaged by
time and weather than any others I met with, and perhaps more ancient.
They appear to be entirely historical, and probably formed together the
memorial of some legendary event, which the learning of my Brahmin did
not reach: he seemed however positive that _Hanumán_ was not of the
number. The shield occurs twice, a reptile of the lizard kind led by a
string once, and all the figures appear armed with sticks.
The only other piece of sculpture found here is of a headless naked
figure, sitting on a double throne, surrounded with foliage, opposite
the _Bandáran_ at the corner of a field. The journal of Colonel
Mackenzie, which had previously appeared in the Transactions of the
Batavian Society, had so fully persuaded me that all these rude figures
in a sitting cross-legged posture were _Jain_ or _Budhist_, that I
by accident only asked my companion if he knew what this was? To my
astonishment he replied, that this, with all other similar images,
were _tupís wurri_, or Hindus in the act of devotion, and that this
figure was evidently a Brahmin (from the sacrificial or sacred string
over his left shoulder) employed in _tupísya_. I asked him whether it
might be _Budh_? to which he replied, No; that _Budh_ held a very low
rank in the estimation of the Brahmins, who, in consequence of the
schism between Brahmins and Budhists, did not choose to make _tupísya_
before him, or erect his likeness in their temples; and that, as all
the temples at _Brambánan_ were entirely Braminical, or had their
origin from the same sect of which he himself was a member, it was not
likely that any images of _Budh_ should be found thereabouts. When we
afterwards came to examine the temples at _Lóro Jóngran_ and other
places, where the same figure complete appears seated in the small
temples, surrounding the great central one, I pointed out to him the
long-extended ears, short curled head of hair, and other marks, which
I had understood served to distinguish the _Jain_ or _Budh_ images
from all others. He said he was only more convinced that they were all
simple Hindu devotees in the act of making _tupísya_, in the presence
of the principal deity enthroned in the grand temple in the midst
of them; that this was frequently the case in India, and wherever
practicable the Brahmins placed images of devotees, of exactly similar
form and attitude, around the fanes of Brahma and their inferior gods;
that what I called curled hair was nothing more than a peculiar kind
of cap (_topi_ he called it) worn by devotees when in the most sacred
acts of _tupísya_, which caps are common, he said, throughout Bengal
or Hindustan, and are made for the purpose, by a particular class of
people. I found the lower part of two counterpart decorated stones,
having the part of the body of _Ganésa_ in the centre of each. They
were extremely well executed and in good preservation.
CHÁNDI LÓRO JÓNGRANG; or TEMPLES OF LÓRO JÓNGRAN.
These lie directly in front (north) of the village of _Brambánan_,
and about two hundred and fifty yards from the road, whence they are
visible, in the form of large hillocks of fallen masses of stone,
surmounted, and in some instances covered, with a profusion of trees
and herbage of all descriptions. In the present dilapidated state
of these venerable buildings, I found it very difficult to obtain a
correct plan or description of their original disposition, extent, or
even of their number and figure. Those that remain, with any degree
of their primary form or elevation, are ten, disposed in three lines,
running north and south. Of those on the western line, which are far
the largest and most lofty, that in the centre towers high above the
rest, and its jutting fragments lie tumbled about over a large area.
Nothing can exceed the air of desolation which this spot presents; and
the feelings of every visitor are attuned, by the scene of surrounding
devastation, to reflect, that while these noble monuments of the
ancient splendour of religion and the arts are submitting, with sullen
slowness, to the destructive hand of time and nature, the art which
raised them has perished before them, and the faith which they were to
honour has now no other honour in the land.
After repeated visits to the place, I am perfectly clear, that the
temples of _Jongrángan_ originally consisted of twenty separate
buildings, besides the enclosures and gateway; that of these, six large
and two small temples were within the second wall, and twelve small
ones, exactly similar to each other, formed a kind of square about the
exterior of the inner wall. The first temple that occurs on entering,
is the small central one on the right hand of the present pathway;
and though its roof is gone, a most beautiful terrace appears, which
supported the building, and measures twenty-three feet six inches by
twenty-two feet ten inches. At present the height of it is barely three
feet and a half. The lower part contains five small niches on either
side, profusely decorated and resting on small pilasters, each niche
occupied by a lion, seated exactly similar to those described in the
elephant's mouth. The intervals between the niches are very neatly
filled with diminutive pilasters and other ornaments, displaying real
taste and skill, which again support a double fillet projecting all
round. One carved most beautifully, with a running festooned beading,
with intermediate knots and pendents, each festoon filled with a lively
representation of a parroquet with expanded wings, the other fillet
with a fancy pattern more simple. On the opposite, or north side, was a
building similar to this, but now a mound of stone.
The largest temple, apparently about ninety feet in height, is at
present a mass of ruin, as well as the five others connected with
it; but ascending to its northern face, over a vast heap of stones
fallen from it and the third temple, at the height of about thirty
feet, you reach the entrance: the whole is of hewn stones, fitted
and morticed into each other, without rubbish or cement of any kind.
Directly in front of the door-way stands the image of _Lóro Jóngran_.
I had previously found a very similar, and I think a more beautiful
representation of _Dévi_, as the Bramin called it, in the village
of _Kuwíran_, about fifteen miles north-east from _Brambánan_. The
image of _Lóro Jóngran_ here has exactly the same attributes and
accompaniments as that found at _Kuwíran_, but it is larger, not at all
damaged, perfectly smooth, and with a polished surface: the buffalo
is entirely recumbent; the character of the countenance, general
figure, and attitudes, are very different, and the shape, attitude,
and visage of the goddess, far less elegant and feminine. The figure
at _Brambánan_ is six feet three inches by three feet one inch in the
widest part at the pedestal; that at _Kuwíran_ is three feet nine
inches high by twenty inches. The general description of this goddess,
as read to me by the Bramin from a Sanscrit paper he copied at Benares,
will serve to illustrate both these images, in the literal precise
manner in which I took down his words.
"_Bhawáni_, _Dévi_, _Soca_, _Juggudumba_, _Mahamya_, _Lutala_,
_Phulmuttis_, and _Mata_, are the designations of this powerful
goddess, who resides at _Shasi_ or _Basini_ (Benares), at an angle of
the sacred Ganges. Her adoration is called _urchit_ with oblations of
flowers, _chundun_, _kundun_, and _mugt_. In her hand she holds a
_tulwar_, called _khug_: round her neck she has a _mala_ of _sumpurun_,
_toolsi_, or _chundun_. Her weight is very great, and wherever her
effigy is placed the earth trembles and becomes much heavier. The name
of her buffalo is _Mahisa_, and the _Dewth_ who attempts to slay it is
_Ussoor_. She sleeps upon a bed of flowers."
Thus much could I understand, and repeat verbatim of this goddess's
power and attributes. For the rest, in her eight arms she holds, 1st.
the buffalo's tail; 2d. the sword called _khurg_; 3d. the _bhulla_ or
_janclin_; 4th. the _chukur_ or _whut_; 5th. the _lune_ or conch shell;
6th. the _dhat_ or shield; 7th. the _jundah_ or flag; and 8th. the
hair of the _Dewth Mahikusor_, or personification of vice, who, while
attempting to slay her favourite, _Mahisa_ is seized by the goddess in
a rage. He raises a _dhat_ or shield in his defence, and a sabre, or
some offensive weapon, should be in his right hand.
The apartment in which this image and some other sculptured stones are
placed, rises perfectly square and plain, to the height of ten feet,
and there occurs a richly carved cornice of four fillets, a single
stone to each. From this rises the roof in a square pyramid, perfectly
plain or smooth, for ten feet more.
Proceeding over the ruins round to the west face of this building,
you pass the intermediate angular projection, carved alternately
in a running flower or foliage, which Colonel Mackenzie has called
_Arabesque_, and with small human figures of various form and attitude
in compartments, above representations of square pyramidal temples,
exactly like those on so many of the entablatures of _Bóro Bódo_, and
similar, I understand, to the _Budh_ temples of Ava, &c. &c., the whole
extremely rich and minute beyond description. The western door-way is
equally plain with the former, and the entrance is still lower. The
apartment is ten feet two inches square, apparently more filled up
(that is, the floor raised higher than the other), but in all other
respects exactly the same. In front is seated a complete _Ganésa_,
of smooth or polished stone, seated on a throne: the whole a single
block, five and a half feet high and three wide. In his hands he has a
plantain, a circlet of beads, a flower, and a cup to which the end of
his proboscis is applied: a hooded snake encircles his body diagonally
over the left shoulder. His cap is high, with a death's head and horned
moon in front, and as well as his necklaces, waistband, armlets,
bracelets, anklets, and all his habiliments, is profusely decorated.
The only damage he appears to have sustained, is in losing all but the
roots of his tusks.
The Javans to this day continue to pay their devoirs to him and to
_Lóro Jóngran_, as they are constantly covered with turmerick, flowers,
ochre, &c. They distinguish _Ganésa_ by the name of _Raja Demáng_,
_Singa Jáya_, or _Gana Singa Jáya_. Going still round over heaps of
fallen stone to the south face, you with some difficulty enter by the
door-way (nearly closed up by the ruin) into the third apartment, where
there is scarce light enough to see a prostrate Siva with his feet
broken off and lost. What remains is four feet ten inches and a half
long, and two feet two inches wide.
The whole of the apartment on the east side has fallen in, or is closed
up by the dilapidation of that entire front.
From the elevated situation of the entrances to all the apartments
first described, it is evident that there must formerly have been
flights of steps to them. The plan of this temple, and as far as I
could judge of the two adjoining ones, north and south, was a perfect
cross, each of the four apartments first described occupying a limb or
projection of the figure, and the small intermediate protruding angles
between these limbs of the cross could only be to admit of a large
apartment in the centre of the building, to which, however, no opening
was practicable or visible. Moreover, as all the grand entrances to the
interior of Hindu temples, where it is practicable, face the rising
sun, I could have wished to ascertain from this (the largest and most
important at _Jongrángan_) whether or not the main apartment was in
existence, as I had made up my mind, that were I possessed of the
means to clear away the stone, I should have found _Brahma_ himself
in possession of the place: the smaller rooms being occupied by such
exalted deities as _Bhawani_, _Siva_, and _Ganésa_, scarce any other,
indeed, than _Brahma_ could be found presiding on the seat of honour
and majesty.
The three large temples on the eastern line are in a state of utter
ruin. They appear to have been very large and lofty, and perfectly
square. The upper terraces, just under the supposed entrances, were
visible in some places, at the height of about sixty feet.
CHÁNDI SÉWU, or THE THOUSAND TEMPLES.
In the whole course of my life I have never met with such stupendous
and finished specimens of human labour, and of the science and taste
of "ages long since forgot," crowded together in so small a compass as
in this little spot; which, to use a military phrase, I deem to have
been the head quarters of Hinduism in Java. These ruins are situated
exactly eight hundred and thirty-five yards north-north-east from
the northern extremity of those of _Lóro Jóngran_, and one thousand
three hundred and forty-five yards from the high road opposite the
_bándar's_ house. Having had in view all the way one lofty pyramidal
or conical ruin, covered with foliage, and surrounded by a multitude
of much smaller ones, in every stage of humbled majesty and decay, you
find yourself, on reaching the southern face, very suddenly between
two gigantic figures in a kneeling posture, and of terrific forms,
appearing to threaten you with their uplifted clubs; their bulk is so
great, that the stranger does not readily comprehend their figure.
These gigantic janitors are represented kneeling on the left knee, with
a small cushion under the right ham, the left resting on the retired
foot. The height of the pedestal is fifteen inches, of the figure,
seven feet nine inches to the top of the curls; total, nine feet. The
head twenty-six inches long: width across the shoulders, three feet ten
inches. The pedestal just comprises the kneeling figure, and no more.
The character and expression of the face I have never met with
elsewhere: it belongs neither to India nor to any of the eastern
isles. The countenance is full, round, and expressive of good humour.
The eyes are large, prominent, and circular; the nose is prominent
and wide, and in profile seems pointed; the upper lip is covered with
tremendous mustaches; the mouth is large and open, with a risible
character, shewing two very large dog-teeth; the under lip thin, and
the chin very strait and short; forehead the same; no neck visible; the
breast broad and full, with a very prominent round belly; the lower
limbs, as well as the arms, extremely short and stout. But the most
extraordinary appendage of these porters, is a very large full-bottomed
wig, in full curl all over, which, however, the Bramin assured me
(and I really believe) is intended to represent the usual mode in
which the _Moonis_ are supposed to dress their natural hair; these
gigantic genii, whose duty it is to guard the sanctuaries of the gods,
requiring as formidable an appearance as possible. In other respects
the images are in the Hindu costume. The _lungota_ passes between the
legs, the ends of it decorated, hanging down before and behind, over
the waistband, and a curious square-linked chain, which encircles the
waist. A snake entwines the body diagonally over the left shoulder, the
tail and head twisted on the left breast. A small ornamented dagger is
stuck in the girdle on the right loins. A pointed club of an octagonal
form is held up in the right hand, and rests on the knee; the left
hand, dropped down his side, grasps a circled snake, which seems to
bite the fore-part of the left arm. The necklace is of fillagree-work
(such as is called _star_); and the ears, which are large and long, are
decorated with the immense ornamented cylindrical ear-rings worn by the
Javan women of the present day. Round the two arms are twisted snakes,
and round the wrist bracelets of beads. The waistband extends nearly to
the knees. From the waist upwards the figure is naked.
The same description is applicable to the eight other pair of images,
which guard the other approaches of _Chándi Séwu_; at twenty feet
distance from the exterior line of temples, and facing inwards to each
other about twelve feet apart. Each of these statues and its pedestal
is of one piece of a species of pudding-stone, which must have required
great care in working.
The whole site or ground-plan of these temples forms a quadrangle of
five hundred and forty feet by five hundred and ten, exactly facing
the cardinal points. The greater extent is on the eastern and western
sides, as there allowance has been made for wider avenues leading up to
the grand central temples situated within, while on the north and south
sides the spaces between the small exterior temples are all alike.
There is no vestige of an exterior boundary wall of any kind. The
outer quadrangle, which is the limit of the whole, and which encloses
four others, consists of eighty-four small temples, twenty-two on each
face: the second consists of seventy-six; the third of sixty-four;
the fourth of forty-four; and the fifth, or inner parallelogram, of
twenty-eight; in all two hundred and ninety-six small temples, disposed
in five regular parallelograms. The whole of these are upon an uniform
plan, eleven feet and a half square on the outside, with a small
vestibule or porch, six feet two inches long, by four feet and a half
externally. Within is an apartment exactly six feet square, with a
door-way five feet nine inches high, by three feet four inches wide,
directly opposite to which stands the seat or throne of the statue
which occupied the temple. The walls inside rise square to the height
of seven feet ten inches, and quite plain; thence the roof rises about
five feet more in a plain pyramid, and above that a perpendicular
square rises two feet more, where the roof is closed by a single stone.
The interior dimensions of the porch or vestibule in front were three
feet and a half by two and a half. The thickness of wall to each temple
was about two feet nine inches, and of the vestibule one foot four
inches. The exterior elevation of each must have been about eighteen
feet, rising square to the cornices about eight or nine feet, according
to the irregularities of ground, and the rest a fanciful superstructure
of various forms, diminishing in size to the summit, which was crowned
with a very massive circular stone, surmounted with another cylindrical
one rounded off at the top. The whole of each superstructure thus
formed a kind of irregular pyramid, composed of five or six retiring
steps or parts, of which the three lowest appeared to me of the figure
of a cross, with intermediate projecting angles to the two lower, and
retired ones to the upper step, which varied in position also from the
lower ones. Above that the summit appeared to rise in an octangular
form, diminishing gradually to the stones above described. The same
kind of stone appears also to have been placed on the four projecting
angles of at least the lower part of the elevation above the body of
the building. I saw none that were complete; but from the detached
views I had of all, I think either nine or thirteen similar ones were
disposed at the various points of the roof. Besides these, the roofs
had little in the way of decorations to attract notice, beyond a
profusion of plain cornices, bands, fillets, or ribands, forming a kind
of capital to the crest of each stage of the superstructure, and on one
of them small square pilasters cut in bas-relievo at intervals.
I have already stated, that the small temples appeared to be all upon
one uniform plan, differing however according to their situation. The
decorations, internal and external, are alike in all, except that the
interior niches are all variously filled with the endless variety of
Hindu mythology.
Proceeding inwards from the southern _récha_, and reckoning from
the centre, the distances are as follow: to the exterior line of
the outer quadrangle twenty feet; depth of these temples, including
porch, sixteen feet; space from thence to the next line of temples
eleven feet; depth of the second quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to
the third quadrangle thirty feet; supposed depth of this line sixteen
feet; thence to the fourth quadrangle thirty feet; depth of the fourth
quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to the fifth or inner quadrangle thirty
feet; depth of the inner quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to the bottom
of the flight of steps leading up to the grand temple fourteen feet;
in all two hundred and fifteen feet from the centre of the porters to
the bottom of the steps. The spaces between all the temples on the same
line are about twelve feet and a quarter, but on the east and west
sides the central avenue is larger. Between the inner quadrangle and
the central temple, at a distance of five feet from the bottom step of
it, runs a line of stone fourteen inches high, and two feet four inches
wide.
We now come to the great temple. You ascend from each of the cardinal
points by a flight of fourteen stone steps, all rough hewn, and now
mostly disjointed or displaced. The length of each flight was about
sixteen feet to the edge of the upper step, the breadth eight over
all, and the height about ten feet, that being the elevation of the
terrace of the temple. The walls of this elevated terrace projected on
either side of the steps, so as to form with the walls that received
the steps three sides of squares, which the Sepoy who was with me
immediately said must have been intended for small tanks, one at each
side of every flight of steps, for the devotees to purify themselves in
before their appearance at the shrine of the deity. On the third step
from the bottom, on each side of it, was a figure of _Hastu Singh_ (or
the lion seated in the elephant's mouth), looking outwards and having
a very fine effect. The same figures, facing outwards, supported each
side of the four entrances to the vestibules. The terrace has a breadth
of three feet and a half, clear of the walls of the temple all round,
and as far as I could discern in the ruin, following the angles of the
edifice.
The form of the building, like that at _Lóro Jóngran_, is a cross,
with the same intermediate angular projection, in order to afford
room for the grand central apartment. Entering from the east you pass
through a portal, five feet eight inches in width by five feet nine
inches in length (which is the thickness of the walls), into an outer
vestibule, twelve feet wide by ten deep. The walls of this vestibule
are ornamented with three niches, a large and two smaller ones, with
pointed arches, and all the profuse decoration of Hindu architectural
sculpture. In most of these niches remained the throne of the inferior
deities, who the Sepoy said must have originally occupied them: not
one was now to be found. The throne was generally a single stone,
decorated in front with a vase and profusion of flowers, filling the
whole space in a natural easy manner. Leaving this room you pass on
through a door-way four feet five inches in width, and four feet in
depth (the thickness of the wall), but of uncertain height, to a second
vestibule, fourteen feet nine inches wide, and four feet four inches
deep. At either end of this vestibule is a door, twenty-six inches wide
in the clear, four feet two inches deep in the passage or width of the
wall, and barely five feet and a half high, which communicates with
the surrounding terrace. This vestibule is perfectly plain, with the
exception of a raised spiral fluting, which surrounds the large portal
or gate leading into the central apartment, and terminates near the
bottom steps in the representation of the elephant's mouth and trunk,
simply cut in relief on the wall, with no other addition but several
strings of beads descending from the top of his proboscis. The roofs
of the vestibules or limbs of the building, though entirely fallen,
were originally shaped like the Syrian, that is pointed and falling
down to the upper cornice of the walls, with a gentle double swell or
curve. The northern limb is an entire mass of confusion and ruin; but
the description just given of the double vestibule on the east side of
the temple, answers with a very trifling variation of dimensions to
those on the south and west, but that instead of the large and spacious
portal to be seen on the east, there are five very lofty niches let
into the main walls about a foot, with pointed Indian arches, standing
on square pilasters of the same fashion, the capitals of each of which
are supported by a small, squat, doubled-up human figure, having its
arms embowed over its head, which my Cicerone informed me was very
common in the like situations in India. He concluded also, that images
of the gods had occupied the niches in front against the main walls of
the temple, on the north, south, or west sides; but we saw not one, and
only the centre niches had even the thrones remaining. The niches and
pilasters are surmounted with a very deep elaborate projecting cornice,
crowned again with five representations of small temples on each side,
and immediately over these are seen the two swells or curves of the
original Syrian roof.
So far we have gone on a level with the external terrace or platform
which surrounds the whole; but on the east side you ascend by a flight
of eight steps, at least six feet high, through the spacious portal
before mentioned, which is twelve feet high from the top of these
stairs, and six feet eight inches wide in the clear, formed entirely
of massive blocks of stones, well squared. The depth of the passage
or thickness of the wall is ten feet. The top of the portal, which is
flat or square externally, surmounted in the centre with a very large
and terrible gorgon visage, changes with the ascent of the stairs,
in a very artful manner, to the pyramidal form, internally, formed
by the overhanging of the stones to resemble inverted square steps
closed at the top with a single stone. You thus find yourself in the
_sanctum sanctorum_, the spot which has rewarded the toil and zeal of
many a weary pilgrim. My expectations were raised, and I imagined I
should find the great and all-powerful Brahma seated here, in glory and
majesty proportionate to the surrounding splendour and magnificence of
his abode. Not a single vestige, however, remains of Brahma, or of any
other deity. The apartment is a plain, unadorned square, of twenty-one
by eighteen feet. Four feet from the eastern wall or door is a raised
platform, three feet and a half high, extending all across the room
(north and south), surmounted with a deep projecting capital or crest,
to ascend which are two small flights of six steps each, situated at
the extremities on either hand. The walls of this sanctuary, to the
height of about forty feet, rise square and plain, and are composed
of uniform blocks of greyish stone, well squared, and fitting closely
without cement, grooved into each other, according to the general
manner of all the buildings at _Brambánan_. Above this is a projected
cornice of three or four stones, from which the roof assumes the
pyramidal form of overhanging stones, or inverted steps, to the height
of ten feet nearly; thence it rises perpendicular, plain and square,
for about ten feet more, and hence to the top in an octangular pyramid
of overhanging stones, approaching each other gradually by tiers or
layers, for nearly fifteen feet more, where it closes finally with a
stone, about two and a half or three feet across.
The exterior of this great temple contains a great variety of
ornamental sculpture; but no human or emblematical figures, or even
niches in the walls, as in all the small temples surrounding it. The
capitals of the pilasters (as in the niches against the body of the
temple) are indeed supported by the very diminutive figures before
mentioned; but nothing further appears in that way throughout the
whole structure. The style, taste, and manner of execution, are every
where light, chaste, and beautiful, evincing a fertile invention,
most delicate workmanship, and experience in the art. All the figures
occupying the niches of the smaller temples (and there were thirteen
to each of the two hundred and ninety-six) are a wonderful variety of
mythological characters, which the Brahmin said figured in the Hindu
legends.
Of the small temples, at least two-thirds are strewed along the ground,
or are mere ruined heaps of stone, earth, and jungle. On the third
quadrangle no more than six large heaps of dilapidation remain: fields
of palma christi, sugar-cane, and tobacco, occupy the place, and many
detached spots on the site of the temples. Not one, in fact, is at all
perfect: large trees and many kinds of herbage have shot up and split
them asunder. They are covered with the foliage which has hastened
or produced their destruction, certainly prematurely; for the stone
itself, even externally, and where it would be most perceptible, on the
sculpture, exhibits not the least token of decay. The whole devastation
is caused by a most luxuriant vegetation. Towering directly over the
temples the _waríngin_, or stately banyan, is conspicuous, both for its
appearance and the extraordinary damage it has caused. In short, hardly
twenty of the temples give a satisfactory notion of their original form
and structure.
Under such circumstances it can hardly be supposed that I examined
the interior of many of them. Few could boast of the original four
walls alone; but within such as I did examine I found only five of
the original images occupying their places. As these five, however,
were found in points very remote from, and bearing no relation to each
other, and were all exactly counterparts in size, shape, character,
and general appearance, I may safely conclude, that each of the two
hundred and ninety-six smaller temples contained a similar image. Of
these five, which are exactly the same with those Colonel Mackenzie
calls _Jain_, only one was perfect: the others had lost their heads and
received other damage in the fall of their habitations; but all were
manifestly intended to represent the same figure. The Bramin maintained
that these were all _tupés-wurri_, or devotees, represented by the
Braminical founder of these temples in the act of _tupísya_, around the
sanctuary of the divinity himself, situated in the centre of them.
Returning from _Chándi Séwu_ towards _Lóro Jóngran_, about half-way on
the left of the road, two hundred yards distant, are the remains of a
small assemblage of temples, which, on examination, proved to consist
originally of a small square of fourteen temples, with a larger one
in the centre. Five temples were on the east and west faces, and four
on the north and south, including throughout those at the angles. The
only difference, however, between these temples and the small ones of
_Chándi Séwu_ was, that they were rather smaller, and the elevated
terraces raised much higher, those of _Chándi Séwu_ not being a foot
above the ground, while these were raised nearly four feet, and had a
small flight of steps and a door-way inwards towards the middle temple.
The exterior of all these buildings was perfectly plain, excepting a
very simple square pilaster and cornice surmounting it. The central
building alone possessed the very same kind of decorative sculpture
which is seen on those of _Chándi Séwu_, was about twice the size of
its neighbours, and about four feet larger either way than those of
_Chándi Séwu_, from which it only further differed from having no
porch. I shall only add to this brief notice, that the whole site of
this cluster seems comprised in an area of eighty feet by sixty; that
the spaces between the temples of this quadrangle are equal to the
extent of each building; that only nine of the exterior temples, of
which one is a mere heap of stones, exist in any form indicating their
primitive order or position; and lastly, that no statuary of any kind
remains, to indicate the deity in whose honour they were erected,
except the relievos in the eleven niches round the central building,
which certainly seemed, as the Bramin asserted, to be of the tribe of
_Gopias_, or demigods and goddesses, which occupy the walls of the two
hundred and ninety-six temples of _Chándi Séwu_.
The only name the Javans could give this assemblage was the generic
term _chándi_, or temples. The inclosures of the surrounding fields
attest the extent to which the farmers have turned to account the
devastations made by the _waríngen_ trees.
REMAINS at DINÁNG'AN, or RÁNDU GÚNTING.
Taking the road from _Brambánan_ to _Yúgya kérta_, a little beyond the
seventh furlong, you arrive at an angle bearing nearly south-west. At
this angle, about sixty yards off the road to the left, a very large
statue is conspicuous, standing close to the corner of the village of
_Dináng'an_, which is behind it. Searching about I found the broken
scattered remains of five other images exactly similar to it. Twenty
yards in the rear of the erect image, and just to the westward of the
village, a very extensive heap of blocks of hewn stone (particularly
large hollow cylinders intended to hold the water used in ablution in
India) intermingled with earth, points out the site of what must once
have been a spacious temple, long since prostrate. The principal image
is called by the Javans _Béga Mínda_.
CHÁNDI KÁLI SÁRI, or TEMPLE of KÁLI SÁRI.
Returning to the angle of the road which I had left to inspect _Béga
Mínda_ and his maimed and headless brethren, and proceeding along the
high-road, at a distance of little more than two furlongs further,
I crossed the small stream now called _Káli Béning_, formerly _Káli
Búhus_. A hundred and twenty yards beyond this, having the village of
_Káli Sári_, which gives its name to the temple, close to the right
hand, you turn up a path between two hedges in that direction, and at
the south-western side of the village, about two hundred yards off
the road, you come upon the south-east angle of a large and lofty
quadrangular building, having much the appearance of a two-story
house, or place of residence of a Hindu Raja. It resembles a temple in
no point of view even externally. It is an oblong square, regularly
divided into three floors, the ground-floor having in front a large
door between two windows, and on the sides two windows corresponding
to the others. The first floor appears to have three windows in front,
and two in the depth, answering to the apertures below, and through the
foliage which decorates and destroys this monument of grandeur, may be
seen several small attic windows at intervals, seemingly on the slope
of the roof: these, however, are false, as the structure has but the
two floors and no other.
The external appearance of this edifice is really very striking and
beautiful. The composition and execution of its outer surface evinces
infinite taste and judgment, indefatigable patience and skill. Nothing
can exceed the correctness and minute beauties of the sculpture
throughout, which is not merely profuse, but laboured and worked up
to a pitch of peculiar excellence, scarcely suitable to the exterior
of any building, and hardly to be expected in much smaller subjects
in the interior of the cabinet. It originally stood upon an elevated
terrace of from four to six feet in height, of solid stone. The
exterior dimensions of this building are fifty-seven feet and a half
by thirty-three and a half, measured along the walls just above the
terrace or line of the original basement, which is divided obviously
enough into three parts, by the centre projecting nearly a foot, and
the general correspondent composition or arrangement observable in
each. The door in the centre is four feet eight inches and a half wide,
surmounted with the wide-gaping, monstrous visage, before described
at _Chándi Séwu_, from which runs round each side of the portal a
spiral-fluted chord, ending near the bottom in a large sweep or
flourish, inclosing each a caparisoned elephant in a rising posture;
the space left over its hinder quarters being filled with the face
of a _munnook_, or human being, all in the usual style of relief. At
either side of the door the original coat of stone has fallen, as far
as the extremities of the vestibule, which covered the whole central
compartment of the east or front of the building. In the middle of each
of the other divisions is an aperture or window, nearly a square of
eighteen inches, having a very deep and projected double resemblance of
a cornice beneath, resting on the upper fillet of the terrace, while
the same single projection crowns the top of the window, surmounted
with a more lofty and elegant device of two elephants' heads and
trunks, embellished and joined in a most tasteful way, with a profusion
of other devices. On either side of the windows is a small double
pilaster, having a space between for the figure of a small _garúda_,
an effigy well known by the Hindus, which is human down to the waist,
and has the body, wings, and talons of an eagle. Beyond the second
pilaster, on each side of the windows, is a large niche rising from the
terrace to the cornice or division between the upper and lower story.
The niche is sunk in the wall about four inches, and is formed by the
adjoining pilasters rising straight to their capitals, whence the top
of the niche is formed by a very beautiful series of curved lines,
leaving the point clear in the centre, which I can hardly compare to
any thing but rounded branches of laurel, or some such foliage. This
is crowned with a square projecting fillet, which reaches the central
cornice dividing the two floors. Beyond the last pilaster of the
niches, a single stone brings you to the angle of the building, which
is covered from top to bottom with the running arabesque border, most
delicately executed. On entering the building, the mind of every one
must be fully satisfied that it was never constructed for, or dedicated
to, mere religious purposes. The arrangement is entirely adapted to
the domestic residence of a great Hindu chieftain or raja.
The whole building, within and without, was originally covered with a
coat of very fine chunam, or lime, about one-sixth of an inch thick, of
surprising tenacity.
CHÁNDI KÁLI BÉNING.
Pursuing the high-road from the spot at which you leave it to visit the
palace of _Báli Sári_, at the distance of about three furlongs and a
half, a lofty, massy pile is seen, about one hundred yards off the road
to the left. This ruin is of the same general form and appearance as
the larger temples at _Chándi Séwu_ and _Lóro Jóngran_, but on a closer
examination is found to be superior to the whole, in the delicate
and minute correctness of execution of all its decorative parts. It
is a cross, with the intermediate angles projected to give space to
a large central apartment, which is entered from the east side only.
The building is about seventy-two feet three inches in length and the
same in breadth. The walls are about thirty-five feet high; and the
roof, which appears to have fallen in to the extent of five feet, about
thirty more. Only one front or vestibule is perfect.
On the south face is seen a small door, five feet seven inches high,
and three feet five inches and a half wide, situated in a deep niche,
which also receives in the recess above the door a small figure of
_Síta_, (as the Sepoy called it) in a sitting posture. Beyond the door
a small projection contains probably more various elaborate specimens
of the best sculpture, than were to be found any where within a small
compass, and on similar materials. A very large and well defined
monster's head projects over the door, surrounded with innumerable
devices of excellent workmanship. I know not how to describe them,
nor the niche beneath, containing _Síta_, which, amongst other
accompaniments is supported by two small pilasters, the capitals of
which are upheld by the small naked figures before described, under the
generic term of _munnook_. The central compartment of this southern
limb (which is formed by the niche and door below, and the gorgon head
above) terminates at the top in a point, by a gradual elliptical slope
upwards on both sides. These sides of the slope are filled, on either
hand, with a succession of small naked _munnook_ figures, all seated
on various postures on the steps formed for their reception, along the
edges of this ellipse, and closed by a similar one above.
On either side of the door-way is a small niche, three feet high and
six inches wide, supported by small pilasters, and filled with relievo
figures of the fraternity of _Gópias_ and their wives. That occupying
the niche to the right, my Cicerone recognised to be _Krésna_. He was
peculiarly happy to find _Síta_ seated over the door, which he declared
to be a decisive proof of the sense and devotional excellence of the
founders of this superb temple, which he very justly extolled, as far
excelling in sculptural beauty and decorations, any thing he had ever
seen or heard of in India, or could possibly imagine had existence
any where. This surprise and admiration at the superiority of the
Javan architecture, sculpture, and statuary, over those of India,
was manifest in every Sepoy who saw them. Nothing could equal the
astonishment of the man who attended me throughout this survey at every
thing he saw; nor did he fail to draw a very degrading and natural
contrast between the ancient Javans, as Hindus and artists, and their
degenerate sons, with scarce a remnant of arts, science, or of any
religion at all.
The arch of all the niches is surmounted with a very lofty and
magnificent representation, in bas-relievo, of a grand pyramidal
temple, on a small scale, though superior in size, and far more so in
execution, to those at _Lóro Jóngran_ or at _Bóro Bódo_. Beyond these
niches to the angles of the building, are a series of pilasters, rising
to the cornice, which surmounts the whole face of each projecting
vestibule. In the centre, just at the point of each niche, is a gorgon
head of the usual aspect, which is surrounded by the lofty temples just
described.
The exterior sides of the vestibules occupy an extent of eleven feet
and a half, in the centre of which is a niche, much larger and deeper
than those in the front, being about six feet high and two wide,
and one deep in the clear, supported on either side by a real Hindu
pilaster, already described, and the top of the niche surmounted
with the gorgon head and pyramidal temple, equally well known by
description. Each of these niches was formerly occupied with solid
statues, I imagine of _Gopia_. On either side of these single niches
are the same series of terminating pilasters (three in number), which
occur also on the fronts of the vestibules, of which the centre one
is a very magnificent running arabesque, from top to bottom; the two
others are plain without any variation.
A very fine coat of stucco, of excellent quality, covers the whole
exterior surface of the temple, and is made so to follow the most
minute and laboured strokes of skill on the stone underneath it, as
even considerably to add to their effect, particularly in concealing
the junction of the stones. The walls are surmounted with a deep
projecting double cornice. No principal image was found in the temple
or vestibules.
REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT HALL OF AUDIENCE, &c. AT KÁLI BÉNING.
The temple which I have just described stands close to the north side
of the village of _Káli Béning_, east of which is the river of that
name; and as I had never before heard of any thing further in this
quarter, I fancied my work was over. I was, however, most agreeably
surprised, on being told by my Javan guides that there was something
more to be seen directly south of the village behind us. We accordingly
passed through it, and barely one hundred and fifty yards from the
temple, in a high sugar-cane and palma christi plantation, we came
suddenly on two pair of very magnificent gigantic porters, all facing
eastwards, each having stood about twelve feet from the others. The
pedestals of all these statues are nearly covered, or rather entirely
sunk into the ground. The height of each figure, from the top of
the pedestal, is five feet one inch and a half, and breadth at the
shoulders three feet six inches. They are generally much better
executed, defined, and consequently more marked and striking in their
appearance, than those I had seen. The countenance is much more marked
and expressive, the nose more prominent and pointed, the eyebrows
meeting in a formidable frown. The hair flows all round and down the
back in large ringlets and curls, and on the ankles, instead of
beads, are the small circular bells common in India, under the name of
_googoor_. These figures are called _Gopolo_. Behind the second pair
of porters, or west of them, is a heap of ruins of brick and mortar,
which proved on examination to be the remains of an ancient hall of
audience or state, originally standing on fourteen pillars, with a
verandah all round it standing on twenty-two pillars. The porters
guarded this building exactly in the centre of its eastern front: the
nearest pair scarcely thirty feet distant from it. The greatest length
of the building was east and west. The inner apartment over all gave
forty-seven feet in length, including the pillars: the width of the
hall was twenty-eight feet and a half in the same way. A verandah, of
twelve feet and a half wide all round over the pillars, surrounded the
hall.
It struck me forcibly, that the house at _Káli Sári_ was formerly the
residence of some great Hindu Raja of Java; the superb temple at _Káli
Béning_, the place of his devotions and prayers; this hall, a little
south of it, that of state or audience, perhaps also of recreation
after his devotions. Other ruins of brick-work, without any mixture of
stone, were close by, and perhaps served as out-houses.
BÓRO BÓDO.
In the district of _Bóro_, in the province of _Kedú_, and near to the
confluence of the rivers _Elo_ and _Prága_, crowning a small hill,
stands the temple of _Bóro Bódo_[210], supposed by some to have been
built in the sixth, and by others in the tenth century of the Javan
era. It is a square stone building consisting of seven ranges of walls,
each range decreasing as you ascend, till the building terminates in
a kind of dome. It occupies the whole of the upper part of a conical
hill, which appears to have been cut away so as to receive the walls,
and to accommodate itself to the figure of the whole structure. At
the centre, resting on the very apex of the hill, is the dome before
mentioned, of about fifty feet diameter; and in its present ruinous
state, the upper part having fallen in, only about twenty feet high.
This is surrounded by a triple circle of towers, in number seventy-two,
each occupied by an image looking outwards, and all connected by a
stone casing of the hill, which externally has the appearance of a roof.
Descending from thence, you pass on each side of the building by steps
through five handsome gateways, conducting to five successive terraces,
which surround the hill on every side. The walls which support these
terraces are covered with the richest sculpture on both sides, but more
particularly on the side which forms an interior wall to the terrace
below, and are raised so as to form a parapet on the other side. In
the exterior of these parapets, at equal distances, are niches, each
containing a naked figure sitting cross-legged, and considerably larger
than life[211]; the total number of which is not far short of four
hundred. Above each niche is a little spire, another above each of the
sides of the niche, and another upon the parapet between the sides of
the neighbouring niches. The design is regular; the architectural and
sculptural ornaments are profuse. The bas-reliefs represent a variety
of scenes, apparently mythological, and executed with considerable
taste and skill. The whole area occupied by this noble building is
about six hundred and twenty feet either way.
The exterior line of the ground-plan, though apparently a perfect
square when viewed at a distance, is not exactly of that form, as the
centre of each face, to a considerable extent, projects many feet, and
so as to cover as much ground as the conical shape of the hill will
admit: the same form is observed in each of the terraces.
The whole has the appearance of one solid building, and is about a
hundred feet high, independently of the central spire of about twenty
feet, which has fallen in. The interior consists almost entirely of the
hill itself.[212]
Near the site of this majestic edifice was found a mutilated stone
image of _Brahma_, and at no great distance, situated within a few
yards of the confluence of the rivers _Elo_ and _Prága_, are the
remains of several very beautifully executed and interesting temples,
in form and design corresponding with those in the neighbourhood of
_Brambánan_. In niches and on the walls of these are designed in relief
numerous figures with many arms, evidently of the Braminical order,
most of them having their several attributes perfect. It is remarkable
that at _Bóro Bódo_ no figures of this description occur.
The image of the harpy (No. 1. of the annexed plate) was taken from
the temple at _Bóro Bódo_ and brought to England: it is of stone, in
length about twenty inches, and exceedingly well executed. The other
subjects in this plate were not found in this neighbourhood. No. 2 is
a stone box about a foot square, containing a small golden _lingam_:
it was recently dug up near _Málang_ by a peasant, who was levelling
the ground for a cooking place. No. 3 and 4 are representations
of ornamental stone water-spouts, collected in the vicinity of
_Pakalung'an_. No. 5 is an ornamental corner stone, now lying among the
ruins of _Majapáhit_, the figure carved upon which is nearly as large
as life.
Next to _Bóro Bódo_ in importance, and perhaps still more interesting,
are the extensive ruins which are found on _Gúnung Díeng_, the
supposed residence of the gods and demigods of antiquity[213]. This
mountain, from its resemblance to the hull of a vessel, is also called
_Gúnung Práhu_. It is situated northward and westward of the mountain
_Sindóro_, which forms the boundary between _Kedú_ and _Bányumas_, and
terminates a range of hills running east from the mountain of _Tegál_.
There are no less than twenty-nine different peaks of this mountain, or
rather cluster of mountains, each of which has its peculiar name, and
is remarkable for some peculiar production or natural phenomenon.
On a table-land about six hundred feet higher than the surrounding
country, which is some thousand feet above the level of the sea, are
found the remains of various temples, idols, and other sculpture, too
numerous to be described in this place. A subject in stone, having
three faces, and another with four arms, having a ball or globe in one
hand and a thunderbolt in another, were the most conspicuous.
The ascent from the country below to the table-land on which these
temples stood is by four flights of stone steps, on four different
sides of the hill, consisting of not less than one thousand steps each.
The ascent from the southern side is now in many parts steep and rocky,
and in some places almost inaccessible, but the traveller is much
assisted by the dilapidated remains of the stone steps, which appear
to be of the greatest antiquity. Time alone, indeed, cannot have so
completely demolished a work, of which the materials were so durable
and the construction so solid. The greatest part of this wonderful
memorial of human industry lies buried under huge masses of rock and
lava; and innumerable proofs are afforded of the mountain having,
at some period since the formation of the steps, been in a state of
violent eruption. Near the summit of one of the hills there is a crater
of about half a mile diameter.
At no great distance from this crater, in a north-west direction, is
situated a plain or table-land, surrounded on all sides but one by a
ridge of mountains about a thousand feet above it. At some very remote
period it was perhaps itself the crater of a vast volcano. On its
border are the remains of four temples of stone, greatly dilapidated,
but manifestly by the effect of some violent shock or concussion of
the earth. The largest of them is about forty feet square: the walls
are ten feet thick, and the height about thirty-five feet. The only
apartment which it contains is not more than twenty feet square, and
has only one entrance. The roof is arched to a point in the centre,
about twenty feet high above the walls, so that the whole building was
almost one solid mass of masonry, composed of the most durable cut
stone, in blocks of from one to two feet long and about nine inches
square. Yet these walls, so constructed, are rent to the bottom. It
was particularly observable, that little or no injury had been done by
vegetation, the climate being unfavourable to the _waríngen_, whose
roots are so destructive to the buildings of the lower regions. The
entablatures of these buildings still exhibit specimens of delicate and
very elegant sculpture. Several deep excavations are observed in the
neighbourhood. These, it is said, were made by the natives, in search
of gold utensils, images, and coins, many of which have, from time to
time, been dug up here.
The whole of the plain is covered with scattered ruins and large
fragments of hewn stone to a considerable distance. In the centre are
four more temples, nearly similar to those before mentioned, but in a
much better state of preservation, the sculpture being in many places
quite perfect. Numerous images of deities are scattered about.
On a more minute examination of this plain, traces of the site of
nearly four hundred temples were discovered, having broad and extensive
streets or roads running between them at right angles. The ground-plan
of these, as far as it could be ascertained, with sketches of the
different images, ornaments, and temples, which distinguish this
classic ground, have been made by Captain Baker, who devoted three
weeks to the accomplishment of this interesting object. At present I
have it only in my power to exhibit a drawing of one of the temples, in
the state in which it was found in 1815, with the same temple restored
to what it originally was.
The whole of the country lying between _Gúnung Díeng_ and _Brambánan_,
in a line nearly crossing the central part of the island, abounds
with ruins of temples, dilapidated images, and traces of Hinduism.
Many of the villagers between _Blédran_ and _Jétis_, in the road from
_Bányumas_ through _Kedú_, have availed themselves of the extensive
remains to form the walls of their buildings. In the enclosures to
several of the villages (which are here frequently walled in) are
discovered large stones, some representing gorgon heads, others
beautifully executed in relief, which had formed the friezes and
cornices of temples, all regularly cut so as to be morticed together,
but now heaped one upon another in the utmost confusion and disorder.
Along the fields, and by the road-side, between _Jétis_ and _Mágelan_,
are seen in ditches or elsewhere many beautiful remains of sculpture,
and among them many _yonis_ and _lin-gams_, where they seem not only
to be entirely disregarded by the natives, but thrown on one side as if
in the way.
Thee following is the account given by Dr. Horsfield of the ruins found
in the Eastern Provinces of the native princes, in the year 1815.
KEDÍRI, &c.
In the districts of _Jagarága_, _Charúban_, _Ráwa_, _Kalángbret_,
_Trengáli_, _Pranarága_, and _Magetán_, these antiquities are dispersed
solitary at occasional points, and consist principally of images or
_réchas_. The remains of buildings, and of towns and cities, generally
distinguished by the name of _Kóta-bedáh_, are also noticed; but
_Mádion_, _Kértasána_, _Kedíri_, and _Sreng'át_, contain very important
and interesting antiquities.
In regarding them, the vicinity of the former capital of the princes of
the house of _Majapáhit_ strikingly offers itself for consideration;
and a traveller perceives them to increase in number, as he proceeds
from the western to the eastern districts.
Commencing my notices from the westward, I have to point out in
_Mádion_ four monuments, or stones covered with inscriptions: these,
with several pedestals and other remains of ancient buildings, have
been collected and employed at _Mauspáti_, the capital of _Mádion_,
lately established by _Ráden Ráng'ga_, the well known rebel of the
_Yúgya-kerta_ court. On the largest of these monuments the characters
of the inscription are still in a great degree distinguishable, and
these I have carefully taken off; on the others, which are smaller, the
characters, although completely perceivable, are too much obliterated
by the decomposition and decay of the substance of the stone to afford
a copy. Besides these inscriptions; remains of buildings, pedestals,
and _réchas_ of different sizes, have also been collected from various
parts of this province, and employed to decorate a well and bath near
the capital. After a considerable interruption, which contains no
remains at present, I discovered, in a direction almost due east from
_Mauspáti_, in the district of _Anjóg_, a monument with an inscription,
in a more perfect state. In form this, as well as the others,
resembles the common tomb-stones of our burial grounds, exceeding them
only in size: its dimensions have been carefully taken. Four sides are
covered with characters; two of these were in a state sufficiently
preserved to be copied with only occasional deficiencies. This stone
was placed near a _chándi_, of which the ruins only remain. It was two
stories high, built of elegant bricks, according to the usual plan and
distribution. In size, it nearly agrees with that of _Jábung_, near
_Probolíngo_. It is obvious, that both the dimensions and the general
plan of the numerous _chándis_ found in these eastern districts, built
of these materials, are similar; at least they do not exhibit that
variety, both in size and distribution, that is observed among the
larger edifices built of stone.
_Anjóg_ is connected in the east to _Kértasána_. In this province I
found two monuments covered with inscriptions, a _kótah bedáh_, or
destroyed capital, and various _réchas_. The district of _Brébeg_
has lately been separated from _Kértasána_. The newly-appointed
_Tumúng'gung_, in clearing and levelling the ground for a dwelling and
for a new capital, on the site of the village _Brébeg_, discovered,
by following the indication of water oozing from the surface, in a
slight concavity covered by a wild vegetation, the remains of a bath,
constructed with neatness, and not without taste and art. The principal
excavation, which appears to have been employed as a bath, is oblong,
and about ten feet in length. Six small outlets or fountains pour the
water into it, which was conducted from a rivulet flowing at some
distance, by small canals cut of stone, but bedded in a foundation of
brick. The fountains discharging the water are covered with sculpture
in relief, tolerably executed: one of these is a female figure pouring
small streams from the breasts. Adjoining to this bath are several
other reservoirs of water, included in the same square, and receiving
the supply by the same channels. Every thing is constructed massy of
regular and elegant bricks. The present _Tumúng'gung_ has collected,
near this bath, many _réchas_ and other antiquities from various parts
of the district: among these was found one small inscription. Towards
the foot of mount _Wílis_, in a southern direction from _Brébeg_, I
visited, at the village _Ng'etos_, a _chándi_ constructed of brick, and
still entire, with only partial dilapidation of the ornamental parts.
It is on the whole very similar to the appearance exhibited by the
remains of the _chándi_ at _Anjóg_, and to the others constructed of
bricks in the eastern districts above mentioned. Near this is a smaller
_chándi_, of the same construction, in ruins, with various other
remains of antiquity.
The environs of the capital of _Kediri_ abound with antiquities of
every kind; but it is evident that here, more than at other places,
great expense and labour has been bestowed to demolish the buildings
and to mutilate the images. In all parts of the site of the present
capital I noticed fragments covered with sculpture in relief, broken
_réchas_, and regularly chiselled oblong stones, of that kind which was
employed in the construction of the _chándis_, besides very extensive
foundations, in brick, of walls, buildings, &c. I am further led to
suppose, from the regularity and elegance of the materials employed,
that a Mahomedan temple and grave have been constructed almost entirely
from an ancient building demolished for the purpose, at the period
of the introduction of the Mahomedan religion. This temple is called
_Astána Gedóng_, but none of the present inhabitants can give any
information as to the period of its construction. As it is of Mahomedan
origin I took only a very slight view of it, to avoid the disagreeable
gesticulations which the natives always exhibited on the approach of
one of their sanctuaries; and it is a very comfortable circumstance
that a traveller is freely permitted to examine undisturbed, all those
antiquities which are unequivocally derived from a period preceding
the introduction of Mahomedanism, or from what the natives call "_wong
kúna_, _kapir_, or _buda_."
I shall shortly enumerate the principal antiquities of _Kedíri_
which I visited, and only mention the names of those villages where
the greatest number of _réchas_ are dispersed. These are _Pápar_,
_Kebo-gádung_, _Gadúngan_ and _Págot_.
The cave of _Séla-mángleng_ is situated about two miles in a western
direction from the capital, at the foot of the hill _Klótok_, an
appendage to the large mountain of _Wílis_: it consists of four small
apartments cut into the solid rock composing the hill, on a very
gentle eminence. The apartments are adjoining to each other, forming a
regular series, which stretches from north to south. The two middle
apartments, which are the largest, have each an entrance from without,
while those at the extremity communicate by an interior door, each with
the apartment next to it. They differ but little in size. Their form
is square or oblong; the largest is less than twenty feet in length.
The walls of the two principal apartments are covered with sculpture,
and various platforms and projections indicate the places of devotion
or penance. Several _réchas_ now arranged in the avenue leading to the
cave, as well as the sculpture covering the walls of the apartments
within, are handsomely worked; but the external sculpture of the rock
is coarse, and the steps by which one ascends, which are cut out of the
same general mass of rock, appear to have been made intentionally rude.
Several niches for _réchas_, lamps, &c. are cut in various parts of the
walls; a _lingam_, several reservoirs of water, and other figures are
arranged on the vestibule. Of an inscription on the external rock, one
regular line, stretching from the door of the outer apartments to the
northern extremity of the rock, is still discernible, but many of the
characters are probably too much effaced to afford an explanation.
In an eastern direction from the capital of _Kedíri_, the antiquities
of _Séntul_ and of _Prúdung_ are the most remarkable. _Séntul_ is
situated near the district of _Tiga-wángi_, in a forest, the condition
of which indicates an undisturbed vegetation for many successive ages.
The dimensions of the principal edifice, now remaining nearly entire,
are comparatively inconsiderable, but the workmanship is executed
in a style of elegance, equal to that of any antiquity found on the
island. By the present inhabitants the building is denominated a
_chúnkup_, which word, in as far as it admits of a precise translation,
denotes a place of burial or a repository of the dead. It appears
to resemble, in its general scheme, several of the other principal
antiquities of Java, being a solid massy structure, without any
internal apartment or chamber, as a _chándi_, but affording, on the
summit, an extensive platform or place of devotion, to which one of
the sides is appropriated to furnish an ascent, while the others are
perpendicular. The access to the _chúnkup_ was from the west. Not only
the sides of the stairs, but the perpendicular walls of the building,
are ornamented by entablatures, the internal divisions of which are
covered by elegant sculpture, while the projections are carved into
a great variety of forms, which can only be represented clearly by
a drawing. A few images, removed from their original situation, are
dispersed through different parts of the surrounding area, displaying
an exquisite workmanship. On the summit remains an highly elegant
reservoir of water of uncommon dimensions. The plan of this building is
a nearly regular square, the sides of which are about thirty-six feet
in length.
It contains in its foundation a subterraneous cell, to which the
descent is by very narrow steps, leading from the south: this consists
of three compartments, gradually decreasing in dimensions as they
extend into the body of the building. The height of the cell does not
permit a person to stand erect, and no vestiges indicate its former
appropriation, whether as a place of devotion or penance, or for the
reception of the remains of the person to whose memory devotion was
paid on the summit.
Near this _chúnkup_ is a smaller building of the same kind, equally
ornamented by handsome sculpture. The remaining bases of numerous walls
shew the division of the surrounding court into many compartments, and
the whole adjoining territory was included within a wall constructed of
brick, of which I found the vestiges in various points, and numerous
separate foundations and detached fragments of chiseled stone remain
within the exterior wall in the confines of the chúnkup.
In proceeding from _Séntul_, in an eastern direction, to the extremity
of the province of _Kedíri_, solitary remains of antiquity are
occasionally found; and it is probable that these extend, without
considerable interruption, towards the celebrated antiquities of
_Málang_. Among these, _túgus_ or landmarks are also observed.
The _chándi_ of _Prúdung_ is situated about eight miles south-west of
_Séntul_. Though constructed entirely of brick, this edifice deserves
particular notice. It exceeds in its dimensions and importance all
other edifices built of the same materials that I have seen. Besides
a principal apartment, the entrance to which is from the west, it
contains in the east, the north, and the south, smaller apartments
on the same floor, whose entrance corresponds to the niches usually
observed in the walls. The projecting base containing the stairs has
been destroyed, and one ascends at present to view the interior of the
_chándi_ by a ladder, the height of about twenty feet. The dimensions
of the ornaments and figures on the sides correspond to the size of the
building, and the sculpture is executed in a superior style. Following
a southern direction, _réchas_, reservoirs of water, mortars, fragments
of buildings and ornaments, are found at almost every village. Near the
boundary, but within the province of _Sreng'át_, a _chándi_ of brick,
of the usual size, still remains entire near the village _Genéngan_.
The _réchas_ which have been accumulated at the capital of
_Sreng'át_ from the vicinity, indicate the condition of the ancient
establishments, as the general review of the antiquities found in
this province, strongly points out that its former culture was very
different from its present rudeness. Places which are now covered with
almost impenetrable forests, like those surrounding the _chúnkup_ of
_Séntul_, the first appearance of which would indicate an undisturbed
growth from the origin of vegetation, are found to conceal the
most stupendous monuments of human art and labour. During various
botanical excursions which I made through this province, I discovered
(or rather was led to them by the natives) the _chándi_ of _Gedóg_,
the antiquities at _Penatáran_, and various monuments covered with
inscriptions, which I shall separately enumerate below.
The _chándi_ of _Gedóg_ is a structure in the usual style of brick, but
executed with superior excellence, while much of the ornamental work is
supplied of stone. Several of the sides are still entire, but the base
of the entrance or steps has gradually separated. _Gedóg_ is situated
near _Blitar_, formerly a capital, but now reduced to a simple village.
Here, also, interesting antiquities are found, among which the site of
a deserted capital, with its walls and many stone pedestals, attract
the notice of the traveller.
Proceeding in a nearly north-east direction, I visited the antiquities
at _Penatáran_. These, if not of the first rank, must doubtless be
considered as belonging to those of second importance and interest,
both on account of extent and execution; but a complete and accurate
description would require a detail too extensive for my present
purpose. The greatest part of these antiquities is now in ruins.
Their general plan indicates an appropriation both to purposes of
devotion and habitation. They comprize an extensive area of an
oblong form, which was surrounded by an external wall of which the
foundations can be traced throughout, and the whole was divided into
three compartments. The principal edifice is situated in the eastern
compartment, and was only accessible after passing three separate
gates, which are all discernible, although much decayed. They are
individually guarded as at _Chándi séwu_ and _Sínga-sári_, by porters
resting on their hams, while a knee is drawn up to support the hand
clasping a club of proportionate size. The principal gate, in ancient
times probably the only entrance, is of huge dimensions, and guarded
by porters of gigantic size. This led to the first subdivision of the
whole area, in which two elevated plains, of an oblong form, confined
by walls rising above the surrounding territory, and in all probability
the floors of former places of dwelling, are the most interesting
objects that now remain.
One of these plains extends to the north-east extremity, having been in
contact with the external wall, as appears from its relative situation
to the gate, and to the foundations that still exist; this is of great
dimensions: the other inclines more to the middle of this compartment,
and is somewhat less in extent. Both exhibit the appearance of having
supported a building, and are elevated at present about three feet
above the level of the surrounding forest, while the same depth is
concealed by a layer of vegetable mould, accumulated during many
successive ages. The sides of the smaller plain are covered with
elegant sculpture in relief, the detail of the design of which would
alone require a considerable time. Four entrances are indicated by as
many flights of steps, the sides of which are elegantly decorated, and
the pedestals still remaining at regular intervals along the confines,
having the form of truncated pyramids, appear to shew that it was
covered by a roof supported by wooden pillars, somewhat in the style of
the _pasébans_ of the present Javans. Similar pedestals are likewise
placed in regular order along the sides of the large plain, which has
the same number of entrances as the smaller, of which those in the
north and south are guarded by porters of comparatively small stature.
The second compartment is less extensive than the western: a small
_chúndi_ of excellent workmanship, built of stone, here attracts
particular notice. The remains of various buildings, pedestals, and
broken ornaments, are also observed, and it is probable that others are
concealed by the forest and mould which covers this compartment, which
must be considered as the vestibule to the third or eastern division,
containing the principal edifice: this of the various remains of the
whole area deserves the most attention. It is indeed a surprising and a
wonderful work: both the labour required in the construction, and the
art displayed in the decoration are incalculable. The general base is a
large square, but each of the sides has a particular projection in the
middle, the largest being in the west, where the ascents are placed, by
which the outline exhibits twelve angles. It belongs to the same class
of buildings as that at _Séntul_, containing no chamber or vacancy
within, but exhibiting a solid mass, highly decorated at the sides, and
affording externally places of devotion. It consists of three different
compartments, successively of smaller dimensions. Two pair of steps,
one to the north, the other to the south of the most projecting part of
the western side, lead to the area furnished by the lower compartment,
the form of which agrees with the general base. From the middle of the
most projecting part of the western side of this area, a single flight
of steps conducts to the second, and is immediately continued to the
third area on the summit of the whole building. The second compartment
does not agree in form with the general base, but by means of the
diverging of the sides in a direction opposite to the most projecting
parts of the lower area, it furnishes in the west a plain before the
steps, and in the north, the south, and the east, extensive areas or
squares, which were probably destined for particular worship. By the
form of the second compartment the second area is likewise modified;
but to demonstrate this a plan would be required; and I shall only
add, that the upper area was a regular square, but as appears from the
remains of various foundations, subdivided into partitions.
Here the figure of _Bráma_ (the _récha_ with four faces) is placed
alone, of a workmanship and finish superlatively excellent. It is to
be remarked in this place, that besides this, only one image is found
on this structure, attached to the walls of the second compartment,
facing the smaller area on the base, from which it appears to have been
worshipped. I shall not enter into a detail of the sculpture which
covers all the sides of the three compartments: its diversity far
exceeds the bounds of my examination or description. In the intelligent
visitor it excites astonishment, and displays a degree of art and of
taste, equal, as far as my opportunities for observation have extended,
to that of any of the other remains of antiquity found on Java.
In clearing up part of the rubbish that surrounded the southern sides
of this edifice, I was fortunate enough to discover a monument covered
with an inscription of the usual size and form; but the characters have
suffered much from time.
Of other antiquities which fell under my observation in the province
of _Sreng'át_, I shall only mention those at _Semánding_ and
_Sangráhan_. These, from their semblance to the edifice at _Séntul_,
appear to have contained the remains of the dead, and to have been
employed to celebrate their memory. They are considered as _chúnkups_
by the natives. Each has something particular in its structure and
appropriation; but I shall not extend these details. Various spots
were mentioned by the inhabitants, which are now covered with a close
forest, in which less considerable remains, _réchas_, &c. are found,
and others are probably concealed or unknown. They existed also on the
south side of the large river flowing from the east, a branch of the
river of _Kedíri_ and _Surabáya_, in the tract of _Ludáya_, celebrated
at present only on account of the wildness of the territory. Among
these I visited a monument covered with inscriptions in a highly
preserved condition. In my botanical excursions through this and the
neighbouring districts, I also met with various caverns and other
remains, the retreat of _fakirs_, hermits, &c. to which the approach
is difficult or painful: they are distinguished by the denomination of
_Ber-tápa_.
Proceeding further east, the ruins in the district of _Málang_ next
attract our attention. These I visited in 1815.
RUINS AT SINGA SARI, &c. IN THE DISTRICT OF MALANG.
We first proceeded from _Pasúruan_ to _Láwang_, mounting our horses at
the ruins of a fort, which for some time withstood the Dutch arms on
their first taking possession of these districts. Further on, between
_Láwang_ and _Málang_, the scene of a famous battle fought at that time
was pointed out to us. The family of the present Regent were first
appointed to the office for services rendered on that occasion. The
road from _Pasúruan_ to _Láwang_ lay principally through forests, in
which we observed the _waríngen_ to predominate.
On the next morning we visited the ruins of _Singa Sári_, which are
situated a few paces within the entrance of a teak forest, about four
miles from _Láwang_, and on the right of the high-road leading to
_Málang_.
The first object which attracted our attention was the ruins of a
_chándi_ or temple. It is a square building, having the entrance on the
western side: its present height may be about thirty feet. Over the
entrance is an enormous gorgon head, and a similar ornament appears
originally to have been placed on each of the other sides of the
building, over the niches, which correspond with the entrance on the
western side. In one of these niches we observed an image lying flat on
the ground, with its head off: in another, the pedestal of an image,
which we were informed had been taken away by Mr. Engelhard; and where
the traces of a third niche appeared, the stones had been removed, and
a deep hole dug, so as to disfigure, and in a great measure demolish,
this part of the building. This was also attributed to Mr. Engelhard's
agents.
On entering the _chándi_, to which we ascended by stones which
had evidently been once placed as steps, we observed a very deep
excavation, and a large square stone upset and thrown on one side. We
ordered it to be filled up and the large stone replaced. There was a
round hole passing completely through the centre of this stone, which,
whether it had been an altar, the pedestal to some image, or a _yóní_,
we could not ascertain.
Without the building, on part of the ruins which appeared to have been
the lower terrace, we noticed two porters, with clubs in their hands,
resting on the shoulder. The features were entirely defaced, and the
images rude; but we easily recognized their similarity to the porters
at _Brambánan_. They were, however, not above three feet high.
The devices, ornaments, and general style of this temple are not very
different from those of the great temple at _Brambánan_: the cornices
and mouldings are no less rich and well executed. The external form of
the building may differ, but the recess, or chamber within, seems on
the same principle. There is no inlet for the light from above.
Proceeding a short distance further into the forest, we found several
images of the Hindu mythology, in excellent preservation, and more
highly executed than any we had previously seen in the island. In the
centre, without protection from the weather, was the bull _Nándi_,
quite perfect, with the exception of the horns, one of which was lying
by the side of it. This image is above five feet and a half long, in
high preservation, and of excellent proportion and workmanship.
Near the bull, and placed against a tree, is a magnificent _Brahma_.
The four heads are perfect, except that there is a mutilation about the
nose. The figure is highly ornamented, and more richly dressed than is
usual.
Not far off we noticed _Mahadéwa_, known by his trident. On the stone
from which this is cut in relief are several _Devanágari_ characters.
Another stone, with a figure nearly similar, stood by it. A Hindu
Sepoy, who accompanied us, asserted that it represented a Bramin, but
it was too mutilated for us to ascertain the point.
A car or chariot of _Súria_, or the sun, with seven horses, of which
the heads were wanting, was the only other object of antiquity in this
groupe. The horses are at full speed, with extended tails, and the
square of the chariot seems to have once formed the pedestal of an
image.
At the distance of about a hundred yards from this spot, we were
conducted to a magnificent _Ganésa_ of a colossal size, most
beautifully executed, and in high preservation. The pedestal is
surrounded by skulls, and skulls seem used not only as ear-rings, but
as the decoration of every part to which they can be applied. The head
and trunk are very correct imitations of nature. The figure appears
to have stood on a platform of stone; and from the number of stones
scattered, it is not improbable it may have been inclosed in a niche or
temple.
Still further in the wood, at a short distance, we found another
colossal statue, of the same stamp as the porters at _Brambánan_. This
statue was lying on its face at the entrance of an elevated stone
terrace: but the people having excavated and cleared the earth around,
we were enabled distinctly to examine the face and front. It measures
in length about twelve feet, breadth between the shoulders nine feet
and a half, and at the base nine feet by five, and is cut from one
solid stone. The figure is represented as sitting on its hams, with the
hand resting on each knee, but no club, although it is not impossible
it may have been broken off. The countenance is well expressed and the
nose prominent; but this feature, as well as the mouth and chin, have
suffered injury from partial mutilation.
The statue seems evidently to have fallen from the adjacent elevated
terrace, which is about eighteen feet high in its present dilapidated
state, and is built of stones, the upper ones being immense slabs of
five feet by four, and three feet thick. A second figure of the same
dimensions was afterwards found in the vicinity; these were no doubt
porters who guarded the entrance to these temples.
Having visited all that could be traced in the vicinity of _Singa
Sári_, we proceeded on to _Málang_, distant thirteen _palls_ from
_Láwang_, and in the evening we visited the ruins of _Súpit-úrang_,
usually called _Kótah Bédah_, or demolished, fort, the site of the last
establishment of the refugees from _Majapáhit_.
The wall of this fortification is of brick, and the foundation is
traced without difficulty. We rode round it within side, and as far
as we could calculate it could not measure less than two miles round.
It is of an irregular figure, but in a position rendered remarkably
strong by two rivers, which run their course round three-fourths of
the wall, and then unite. The depth from the wall to the rivers is
from fifty to a hundred feet, and in some places still more; in many
parts the descent is nearly perpendicular. Where the rivers do not
encircle the walls, a deep moat is cut from one river to the other,
which is easily flooded by stopping the course of either river. It is
about seventy-five feet wide and not less than fifty deep, even in
its present state, filled up no doubt considerably, and in many parts
cultivated. There appear to be several dwellings, if not villages,
within the walls, and a good deal of cultivation, principally of
tobacco.
The next morning we proceeded to visit the ruins at _Kédal_ and _Jágu_,
the former about seven miles, the latter nearly four from _Málang_, in
a south-easterly direction.
At _Kédal_ are the remains of a very beautiful temple of stone: its
present height about thirty-five feet. The building is supported by a
lion at each of the four cornices, and one on each side of the steps of
the entrance. In the centre of each of the lower departments, between
the lions, are figures in relief upon the wall. The mouldings and
sculpture on this temple are in the same style as those of _Brambánan_
and _Bóro Bódo_, but of still greater beauty. The building is
surrounded by a square wall, and in the front is a raised terrace. The
chamber appears to be of the same form as most of the temples in Java.
Over the entrance is an immense gorgon head, and in the chamber itself
a deep hole.
There are no Hindu images or other traces of Hindu mythology, except
what may be afforded by the lions, and the figures in relief above
mentioned. These represent the same principal figure, but with
different attributes. On one side three immense serpents entwine over
the head, the tail of one of them evidently held in the right hand; on
another a water-pot, with a serpent's head attached to it, is on the
head of the figure; and on the other there is a female figure with a
serpent, the female reclining over the head.
This temple is just within the skirts of a forest.
At _Jágu_, also, we found the ruins a few yards within a forest, but
these appeared to have been more extensive than the preceding.
The base of the principal building is much larger than any of the
temples we visited in the eastern part of the island, and there
appeared to have been originally two or three terraces rising one
above the other to the height of thirty feet. The form of the entrance
still appears, but the roof, sides, and back part of the building,
have entirely given way. Behind the ruin, and apparently in the same
spot on which it originally fell, lies a dilapidated image of a Hindu
deity. The pedestal of this image is perfect, and lies near it. The
head had been carried to _Mélang_ some years ago by a Dutchman. On the
back stone we observed an inscription, evidently in the _Devanágari_
character, and which the Sepoy who accompanied us declared to be
Sanscrit. The characters on each side were extremely distinct, but
those at the back of the head of the figure were defaced.
This building is most richly ornamented with carved work, and various
devices in relief are cut in the first, second, and third stories. One
of these relievos represents a battle between an army of apparently
polished people and an army of _Rasáksa_. The figures are very rudely
carved and disproportioned, but in general richness of effect may
be compared to the style of the ornaments at _Bóro Bódo_. There are
a variety of processions and achievements represented in different
parts, but no where could we observe any image or particular object
of devotion. Along the cornices, which are most splendidly rich, we
noticed birds and beasts of various descriptions interwoven. In one
part a palm tree between two lambs approaching each other, in another a
perfect boar, apparently led to the sacrifice.
At a short distance from this principal building, say fifty yards,
stands the remains of what would appear to have been an elevated
terrace of about twelve feet high. The ascent is on one side, by
regular stone steps, still perfect.
Previously to leaving _Málang_ we took sketches of two images brought
in from the fort, and also of the image of a man, peculiar from the
manner in which the hair was tied. At _Málang_, also, I received
from the _Tumúng'gung_ a small square stone-box, containing a golden
_lingam_; this had been discovered three months before, about a cubit
under ground, by a peasant, while digging for stones to build his
cooking place. The _lingam_ had originally two very small red stones
within it, something like rubies; one of them was lost before it was
delivered to me, the other by the party examining it.
TEMPLES AT SÚKU.
The remains of antiquity still existing at _Súku_, though not to be
compared with those at _Brambánan_ and _Bóro Bódo_ in extent and
magnificence, seem to claim a peculiar interest, on account of the
indication they afford of a different form of worship. These ruins
were not known to Europeans until a short time previous to my visit to
the central districts, in May 1815. When I visited them, the native
inhabitants of _Súra-kérta_ were also ignorant of their existence,
and we are indebted for the discovery to the British Resident at that
court, Major Martin Johnson.
They lie in an eastern direction from _Séra-kerta_, and are distant
from that capital about twenty-six English miles, being situated on
the summit of one of the smaller hills to be found on the base of the
mountain _Láwu_. From _Súra-kérta_ our road was a continued ascent,
which increased as we approached the hills: the country most highly
cultivated, and in the immediate vicinity of the hills, where the dry
cultivation predominated, beautiful beyond description.
_Súku_ is the name of the village to which the lands in the
neighbourhood of these ruins are annexed; and we were not able to
ascertain that they were designated by any other name, or that the term
_Súku_ had any immediate reference or application to the buildings.
The principal structure is a truncated pyramid, situated on the most
elevated of three successive terraces. The ruins of two obelisks,
having the form of the section of a pyramid, are also observable in the
vicinity of the principal building, and on each side of the western
front appear several piles of ruinous buildings and sculpture. The
length of the terraces is about one hundred and fifty-seven feet; the
depth of the first, eighty feet; of the second, thirty; and of the
highest, one hundred and thirty feet.
The approach is from the west, through three porches or gateways, of
which the outermost alone is now standing; but enough remains of the
second and third to indicate a similarity of construction. This porch
is a building of about sixteen feet high, in tolerable preservation,
of a pyramidal form. The entrance is seven feet and a half high,
and about three feet wide; a gorgon head forms the key-stone of the
arch. The ascent is first by seven, and shortly after by three steps;
and in relief, on the centre of the flooring under the porch, is a
representation of the male and female pudenda.
On the outer face of the porch several figures are sculptured in
relief. On the right side, the principal figure is that of a man of
monstrous appearance devouring a child: to his right a dog sitting, the
head wanting, and a bird of the stork kind near the root of a tree,
on one of the branches of which a bird not unlike a dove or pigeon is
perched; over the figure is a bird on the wing, either the hawk or
eagle. Above the figure of a man with the tail of a writhing snake in
his mouth, is another which appeared to us to be that of a sphynx; it
is however represented as floating in the air, with the legs, arms, and
tail extended. The tail is similar to that of the lizard species, and
the hands appear to be webbed claws, but the body, limbs, and face, are
human: the breasts distinguish it as female. Over this again is a small
curling reptile, like a worm or small snake, reminding us of the asp.
On the north and on the south face of the gateway there is a colossal
eagle with extended wings, holding in its talons an immense serpent,
plaited in three folds, its head turned towards the eagle and
ornamented with a coronet.
It was impossible to reflect on the design of these sculptures, without
being forcibly struck with their reference to the ancient worship of
Egypt. The form of the gateway itself, and of all the ruins within
our view, was pyramidal. In the monster devouring the child we were
reminded of _Typhon_; in the dog, of _Anoubis_; in the stork, of the
_Ibis_: the tree, too, seemed to be the palm, by which the Egyptians
designated the year; the pigeon, the hawk, the immense serpents, were
all symbols of Egyptian worship.
Lying on the first terrace we observed several scattered stones, having
various devices sculptured on them, some of human figures, one of a
tiger wanting the head, which had been broken off, and several of
elephants and oxen. On one we noticed the representation of a man on
horseback, followed by five spearmen and a _páyong_ bearer. We then
ascended by five steps to the second terrace, on which were also some
scattered ruins of buildings and sculpture. Ascending again three steps
we came to the third terrace, when the principal building appeared in
front, at the distance of about ninety feet. The ruins of several other
temples and buildings also appeared in irregular heaps on each side of
its front.
This building is on the centre of the terrace. Its base is a perfect
square, of forty-three feet and a half to the side, decreasing in
size at each successive layer of stones, so as to form steps to the
height of nineteen feet; above this is a sort of cornice, four feet
nine inches high. The roof is twenty-one feet two inches from north
to south, and nineteen feet nine inches from east to west. In the
centre of it we observed a part raised, of about a foot square, pierced
by a small round hole. It had the appearance of being intended as a
pedestal, or step, to some object which had been removed.
The sides of the pyramid face the cardinal points. The western side
contains a flight of narrow steps. At the top, in the front of the
building, we noticed two serpents, which appear to have been used for
water-pipes; with this exception, the whole building was plain and
unornamented by sacred emblems. The sides of the staircase are faced
with flat stones. The upper story or cornice is constructed with
greater delicacy than the building generally. We were not able to
ascertain whether there was any chamber within, and the point cannot be
decided without material injury to the edifice. The eastern side seems
to have suffered most from the effects of time.
Upon the ground on each side of the ascent is a large stone, in the
shape of a tortoise, measuring not less than eight feet in length; the
back flat, but the head well executed. A little advanced in front there
is a third of the same description.
Near these, on the south side of the entrance, stand the remains of
two temples, in one of which we discovered the ashes of fire recently
kindled. The natives who attended informed us that the peasantry of
the neighbouring villages were still in the habit of burning incense
and kindling fire in this temple, and that when they suffered under or
dreaded any misfortune, they made an offering of this nature in the
hope of averting it. The building is about seven feet square, and on
all sides various images are sculptured on it.
The other building, which is still further south, has a terrace in the
centre, the steps ascending to which are still perfect. The building
appears to retain nothing of its original pyramidal form, except at the
south-east corner.
On different sides of this pile of building we noticed two
inscriptions, each consisting of four characters. As they both agreed
with various other inscriptions in this neighbourhood, except in the
last character, which was different in all, we concluded that they were
dates. To the north of the principal building, and almost contiguous
to it, is an oblong structure, running east and west. On this there
has evidently been a low terrace with a raised wall at the back. On
the upper part of this terrace, and near the principal building, is a
raised platform, from which rises an obelisk, somewhat similar to that
noticed in the south, but of a much larger base, and ornamented with
various devices on all sides. The spiral top is incomplete. Resting
inclined upon the west front of the obelisk, is a statue, about four
feet high and three feet broad[214].
On each side of the terrace, which is narrow and long, we observed,
both above and below, various devices cut in relief; also a stone vase
for containing water, respecting which a tradition runs, that it could
never be empty. We also raised from the ground and took sketches of
several slabs and stones in the vicinity, which had been thrown down on
their faces. Of these, one represents a horned boar[215]. On another is
an elephant, tolerably well executed. In another the chief figure is
represented striking off human heads[216]. On another there is a dog
standing erect, and dressed like a man, with some buildings remarkable
for the correctness of the perspective. On another is a representation
of the monkey flag[217], the standard of _Arjúna_, and even used at the
present day by the _Gládak_[218] established at _Súra-kérta_.
We discovered, nearly buried in the ground, two gigantic statues
with human bodies and limbs, but winged from the arms like bats, and
with spurs above the heel like those of a cock. This figure occurs
frequently in relief with some variation: sometimes with a fan-tail,
and its wings extended, so as almost to form a circle[219]; in another
the face appears devoid of flesh, and the figure is standing with one
foot on an elephant and the other on a tortoise[220].
On the lappet of the waistband of one of these colossal statues we
noticed an inscription of several lines; but the most interesting and
perfect was discovered on the back of the other, after we had with
much difficulty raised it to an erect posture. This last inscription
is in excellent preservation, and consists of lines, in each of which
there are characters. The perfect state of this part of the stone must
be attributed to its having been protected from the weather by its
position along the ground. This inscription, as well as all the others
which we discovered, are raised from the stone in relief, in the same
character as that first noticed, which differs from most which had
previously been discovered on the island[221].
We noticed particularly, as forming an exception to the sculptures in
general, another figure with four hands. It has a coronet on the head,
and ear-rings, and from the back of the ear on each side appear to
spring wings, which are half expanded over the back of each shoulder.
The arms and hands were too mutilated to enable us to distinguish the
attributes.
A little nearer to the north of the tortoises, in front of the
principal building, stands a large erect statue[222], apparently in
its original position; at the back of which, on a scroll hanging from
the waistband, is an inscription of several lines; a figure holding
a double-headed trident in each hand and having three spikes on each
elbow, rudely executed, and elsewhere a _phallus_, upwards of six feet
long and not less than five in circumference. It had been broken in
halves, but the two parts were easily brought together: round the upper
part are four large balls of equal dimensions: along the urethra is an
inscription in two lines, the letters being one above the other, and on
the upper part of one of these lines is the representation of a _kris_
blade, and two squares crossing each other just above the point, with
a circle and other ornaments in the centre, so as to represent the
sun; to the right of this is a representation of the moon in the first
quarter; and further again to the right a small circle, representing
a star: the whole in relief, very correctly executed, and in good
preservation.
On one of the temples adjacent there are representations of a similar
symbol cut in relief.
We observed several monstrous figures with clubs of different sizes.
One in particular fronting the principal building, grinning most
horribly, and two near the steps leading to the upper terrace from the
south.
Below the upper terrace, on the south side, we noticed the foundation
of a building of an oblong shape, with three large slabs, on which
were sculptured several objects which appeared much to interest the
Javans. On one we observed a manufacturer of _kris_ blades in the act
of striking the steel. Above him are placed, as in his workshop, among
several blades of different forms, a trident, a water-pot, a pair of
shares, and something not very unlike Mercury's wand. On another stone
is seen a man with the proboscis of an elephant, and in his hand a dog;
on the third is a man blowing a Javan bellows.
The natives informed us, that the country people were in the habit of
making offerings to these sculptures, which they highly esteemed, from
a tradition that they represented the original Javan _túkang bési_, or
workman in iron and steel.
The workmanship is ruder than that in the temples at _Brambánan_, _Bóro
Bódo_, or _Málang_, and the worship must have been different.
Most of the images which are not in relief have been decapitated, and
the heads are not to be found; but there still remains enough to enable
a person well acquainted with heathen mythology, to decide on the
classes to which they may generally be referred.
I could find no traditions regarding these temples; but subsequent
examination has enabled us to decide that the character found in the
inscriptions is an ancient form of the Javan, and that the dates are,
on one of the stones, 1361, and on the larger phallus, 1362.
Besides the ruins of temples in brick noticed by Dr. Horsfield in the
eastern provinces of the native princes, numerous buildings constructed
of similar materials, are found extending from the site of _Majapáhit_
eastward as far as _Probolíngo_, near which, a few yards off the high
road, are situated two temples in brick. The larger temple may be about
sixty feet high.
All the temples of this class (that is to say, constructed in brick,
for they all vary in their style) were probably built during the
latter years of the Hindu religion. Those constructed of stone must be
referred to a much earlier period.
Near Buitenzorg, and also at _Récha Dómas_, a few miles further inland,
both places adjacent to the site of the ancient capital of _Pajajáran_,
are found several rude images in stone, and among them a figure with
three faces (_trimúrti_). Images of the same kind, as well as casts
in metal, are also found in _Chéribon_. The latter are particularly
prized by the chiefs of _Telága_, who are descended from the princes
of _Pajajáran_, and consider these relics as representations of their
forefathers. In the possession of the present _Tumúng'gung_ of _Telága_
is an ancient manuscript written on Javan paper, and folded up in the
manner of the manuscripts of Ava. The characters appear to be ancient
Javan or _Káwi_, but ill written. This manuscript contains drawings of
deities, of the signs of the Zodiac, and numerous other astronomical,
or perhaps rather astrological devices[223]. Of the history of the
manuscript nothing is known, further than that the _Tumúng'gung_ and
his family believe it to have come with the relics before-mentioned
from _Pajajáran_. A copy of it has been brought to England.
Besides the extensive remains of temples and other edifices already
mentioned in the districts east of _Chéribon_, where alone the
antiquities deserve attention as works of art, there are to be found
on the mountains of _Ung'árang_ the ruins of several very beautifully
executed temples in stone, with numerous dilapidated figures, and among
them several chariots of _Súría_, or the sun. Most of them are sadly
mutilated, but enough was left to authorize a sketch of their original
design[224].
The _Chándi Banyukúning_ (yellow water), which are so called from
their vicinity to the village of that name, are situated within a few
yards of a small volcanic crater, which at the time I visited them was
in many parts too hot to be trodden with safety. They appear to have
been built on extensive terraces cut out of the mountain, and rising
one above another at intervals of some hundred yards. The natives
assert, that the temples were formerly far more extensive, and that
near the summit of several of the adjoining peaks other temples are
to be found. But here, as in most parts of Java, the mountains for a
considerable way below the summit have been covered for ages, with
an almost impenetrable forest: and where this is not the case, the
mountains have either been rent near their summit, or are covered
with lava or ashes from volcanic eruptions, so that whatever may have
formerly been the extent and grandeur of the edifices which once
crowned these towering heights, they are at present either concealed or
more frequently destroyed. Notwithstanding the diligent search made by
the British during the short period of their stay on Java, there are
doubtless many very interesting discoveries to be made.
In _Banyuwángi_, the most eastern province of the island, besides
figures of Hindu deities, several others are to be found of
extraordinary and grotesque appearance, which appear to represent the
local deities of the island, and corresponding with those which are
still worshipped on _Báli_. But whether they are to be considered as
the deities of the Javans or Bálians is doubtful, as the Bálians long
had possession of this province; and it is remarkable, that no such
figures are to be found in the provinces further westward.
The traditions of the country concerning the former seats of
government, enable us to trace at this day the site of _Médang
Kamûlan_, _Jang'gála_, _Gegélang_ or _Sínga Sári_, _Dahá_ or _Kedíri_,
_Pajajâran_, and _Majapáhit_, existing in remains of immense tanks,
heaps of building materials, and other unequivocal vestiges of former
cities.
_Médang Kamúlan_[225] was situated in the district of _Wirasába_, where
in the centre of an extensive forest is pointed out the site of the
_Setíngel_, distinguished by heaps of stones and bricks; and at no
great distance from it are the walls and excavations of an extensive
tank, several hundred feet in length and breadth. These ruins, of
which little more can be said than that they are clearly discernible,
are situated between _Penwadádos_ and the most eastern of the volcanic
wells alluded to in a former part of this work. The natives have a
superstition, that the site of this ancient capital cannot be visited
without some misfortune attaching to the party who undertake the visit.
Those whom I had, with some difficulty, induced to accompany me to the
spot, did not fail to assure me that I should lose my government within
the year. As the event justified the prediction, it is probable that
the superstition has rather gained ground than otherwise. Many Javans
maintain, that _Brambánan_ was the original of _Médang Kamúlan_; it is
at least highly probable that it was once the seat of empire.
The site of _Jang'gála_ is still pointed out in the district of
that name in the division of _Surabáya_, and the country around is
strewed with antiquities. The same may be said of _Síng'a Sári_ and
_Kedíri_. At _Pajajáran_, a heap of stones is pointed out as the ruin
of the _Setíngel_, and numerous lines crossing the country between
rivers, attest the care with which this position was entrenched. They
may be seen close by the road side, at a few hundred yards from the
governor-general's country residence, and in many places they have been
cut through to make a passage for the high road.
At _Majapáhit_, in the district of _Wirasába_, the marks of former
grandeur are more manifest. Here the walls of the tank, upwards of a
thousand feet in length, and not less than six hundred in breadth, are
quite perfect. They are of burnt brick, and about twelve feet high. The
whole area of the tank, when I visited it, was one sheet of beautiful
rice cultivation, and almost surrounded by a noble forest of teak.
A village adjacent is called _Tra Wúlan_, or _Tráng Wúlan_ (the light
of the moon): here we found the tomb of _Pútri Chámpa_. Proceeding
through three regular squares, each enclosed with a wall, and in each
of which were erected several _pendápas_ or sheds, we came to the
interior on ascending a few steps. On the right side of this enclosure,
and elevated a few feet, was the tomb of the princess and her nurse;
the tomb being in the Mahomedan style, and having upon it, in ancient
Javan characters, the date 1320, perfectly distinct and in relief.
On the other side are the tombs of _Kiái Tumúng'gung Jáya Báya_, _Den
Mas_, and nine other chiefs whose names are mentioned. The tomb is
religiously guarded by several priests.
The ruins of the palace and several gateways of burnt brick are to be
seen; but the whole country, for many miles, is thickly covered with a
stately teak forest, which appears to have been the growth of ages, so
that it is difficult to trace the outline of this former capital. Ruins
of temples, mostly executed in brick, are scattered about the country
for many miles, and attest the extent and grandeur of this "pride of
Java."
I observed near the former site of _Majapáhit_ two images of _Ganésa_,
and some other mutilated deities of the Hindu mythology. Near the tank
was the figure represented in one of the plates[226], partly human and
partly of the form of a bird, and a distorted figure, which the Javans
called _Ménak Jing'ga_; but in general the vicinity of _Majapáhit_ is
remarkable for the absence of any representations of the Hindu deities.
The temples are beautifully decorated with representations of flowers,
and other peculiar ornaments, which it would be difficult to describe.
The only collection which appears to have been made by Europeans of
these interesting remains of antiquity, previously to the establishment
of the British government in 1811, was by Mr. Engelhard, formerly
governor of _Semárang_. In the garden of the residency of that station,
several very beautiful subjects in stone were arranged, brought in from
different parts of the country. Of them, and of several others, which
appear to have been brought into some of the native villages from the
vicinity of the different temples, drawings have been taken, and the
representations of _Ganésa_[227] and _Dúrga_ (called _Lora Jóngran_),
both from subjects as large as life, wrought in close-grained stone,
will serve to convey some notion of the beauty and delicacy with which
they are executed.
I shall conclude this very general and imperfect account of
sculpture on Java, by referring the reader to the plate, containing
representations of several subjects in stone[228], collected and
arranged in the Chinese temple of worship in the neighbourhood of
Batavia. The period at which they were collected is not known, and the
subjects in general are not so well executed as those found in the
eastern parts of the island; but it is remarkable, that the Chinese,
whose form of worship is at present so different from that of the
Hindus (however similar it may have been formerly) should in a foreign
land thus prize and appreciate the idols of the people whom they affect
to hold in contempt[229].
Another plate exhibits several subjects in stone, collected from the
vicinity of _Bóro Bódo_ in _Kedú_. The originals are as large as life,
and the sculpture and ornaments are executed with great skill. No. 2 is
an image with three heads (or _trimúrti_,) similar to one on _Gúnung
Dieng_. No. 3 is a mutilated image of _Bráhma_, having four faces; this
was found in a field within a few hundred yards of the great temple of
_Bóro Bódo_. The image No. 4 also occurs on _Gúnung Práhu_.
The casts in metal which have been discovered in the central districts
of Java are numerous. The subjects represented in the plates annexed
were selected from a collection of about a hundred brought by me to
this country. They had most of them been found at different times
near the ruins of the temples, and preserved in the families of the
petty chiefs. I am indebted to Mr. Lawrence, the Resident of _Kédú_,
for many of them, which were brought in to him by the natives, on its
being generally known that subjects of the kind were interesting to the
British authorities.
These casts are generally of copper, sometimes of brass, and rarely of
silver. The majority and best executed were found in the vicinity of
_Gúnung Dieng_; and it is asserted that formerly many gold casts of a
similar description were discovered, which have been melted down. The
village of _Káli Béber_, situated at the foot of the mountain, is said
from time immemorial to have paid its annual rent, amounting to upwards
of a thousand dollars, in gold, procured by melting down the relics
of antiquity discovered in the vicinity; but for some years past, no
more golden images being found, the rents are paid in the coin of the
country.
Among the casts which are now exhibited will be observed two images of
_Bráhma_; one with eight arms, standing upon a male and female figure;
the other with four, on a pedestal surmounted by the lotus, having a
fragment of the goose in front. The former, in particular, is most
beautifully executed.
The casts vary from three to six inches in height, and abound in a
variety of delicate ornaments, which it has not been attempted to
represent in the plates.
Several copper cups, varying from three to five inches in diameter,
and having the signs of the zodiac and other designs represented upon
them in relief, have likewise been discovered in different parts of the
island. A fac simile (reduced) of them is given in the annexed plate.
As the Javans of the present day attach no particular designation
to the different deities, except that of _Gána_ and other terms to
_Ganésa_, and that of _Lóro Jóngran_ to _Dúrga_, I have not thought it
necessary to attach to all the representations the names which some of
them may bear in the Hindu mythology of continental India. Many of them
do not occur in Moor's Pantheon: some are decidedly Braminical, others
Budh, and some it is difficult to class under either head.
A variety of bells, tripods, and ornaments of various descriptions,
occur in casts of metal, and form part of the collection brought to
England. These are of a small size, seldom exceeding a few inches in
length, although bells sometimes occur much larger; several of them are
represented in one of the plates.
The inscriptions engraved on stone, and in characters no longer
understood by the people of the country, are innumerable: similar
inscriptions engraved on copper have also been found in particular
districts. The whole may be classed under the following heads:
1. Inscriptions in the ancient _Davanágari_ character of continental
India.
2. Inscriptions in characters which appear to have some connection with
the modern Javan, and were probably the characters used by the people
of _Súnda_.
3. Inscriptions in various characters, not appearing to have any
immediate connection with either the _Davanágari_ or the Javan
characters, and which it has not been practicable to decypher.
4. Inscriptions in the _Káwi_ or ancient Javan character.
Of these the first seem to lay claim to the highest antiquity. The
principal inscription of this kind, and indeed the only one of any
length, is that found at _Brambánan_, and noticed by Colonel Mackenzie
in his interesting account of the ruins of _Brambánan_, as a real
Hindu _Sassanum_. The stone, which is now broken into six parts, was
originally six feet nine inches long and three feet six wide, in the
shape of a tomb-stone, and the whole of one face is covered with
characters, which appear to have been very well executed.
Fac-similes of this inscription having been brought to Europe, the
characters were immediately recognized by Mr. Wilkins as an ancient
form of the _Devanágari_, in use upon the continent of India, probably
about eight or nine centuries since. It is to be regretted, that from
the constant exposure of the stone, and the fractures which it has
received, the characters are in many parts effaced, so as to render it
almost impossible to connect the sentences. No date can be discovered,
nor any name which might afford a clue to the object or origin of the
inscription. From such detached parts as are legible, it appears to be
a record of some grant of honour or riches to the party whose praises
it records. A specimen of a sentence from this inscription, of the same
size as the original, with the corresponding characters in the modern
_Devanágari_[230], appears in the chapter on Language and Literature.
Similar characters, though apparently somewhat more modern, are found
on several images at _Sínga Sári_, transcripts of some of which will be
seen in the plates to this work.
Of the second class are the inscriptions on the _Bátu túlis_, or
engraved stone, standing near the ruins of the ancient capital of
_Pajajárán_, and those found at _Kwáli_, in the province of _Chéribon_,
to which place it is related that some of the princes of _Pajajárán_
fled on the overthrow of that capital by the Mahomedans. The characters
on these inscriptions appear very nearly to resemble each other.
The stone at _Pajajárán_, as far as I could decypher it, with the
assistance of the _Panambáhan_ of _Súmenap_, appears to be a record in
praise of a certain _Maharája_, whose name is not mentioned. One of
these at _Kwáli_, a fac-simile of which is exhibited in the plate, we
were enabled to translate as follows:
"The _Pandíta_ is able to check the evil course of men, by washing
away their evil inclinations, and he can shew them the right way, and
prevent covetousness and slander by his good advice. 1363."
At _Kwáli_ there are several other inscriptions in the same character,
but in common with the whole of this class very rudely executed.
Several of the characters and signs were found, on strict examination,
to be on the same principle as the Javan.
Of the third class the reader will find a fac-simile on a reduced
scale[231].
But the inscriptions of the last of these classes are the most
numerous, the best executed, in the highest state of preservation, and
as they admit of translation, are of perhaps higher interest than the
others. Of these some have been already noticed in Dr. Horsfield's
account of the remains of antiquity in the vicinity of _Kedíri_
(formerly called _Dahá_); many have been found in the vicinity of the
supposed site of the ancient capital of _Jang'gála_, in the division of
the modern _Surabáya_, and some at _Bátu_, near _Sínga Sári_. These are
invariably engraved on large flat stones, in the shape of tomb-stones,
resting upon a kind of throne of lotus leaves[232]. Fac-similes of the
whole of these have been brought to England, and several have been
translated into English.
In the collection of inscriptions at _Surabáya_, the following dates
appear:
On a stone found near _Jang'gála_ 863
On another found near the same place 845
On another from the _Kendang_ hills 865
Several prior dates, as 116, 363, 647, 773, are mentioned in the body
of these inscriptions, which seem to refer to historical events of
preceding centuries; but the dates above mentioned, with some others,
appear in the usual place to shew the actual date of the inscription
itself.
The date of a similar inscription found in _Kedú_ is 505, and of
another stone found in the central districts, 506; but it has not yet
been ascertained what particular events these inscriptions record. The
annexed translations from three of the stones collected at _Surabáya_,
were made by Captain Davey at my request, with the assistance of the
_Panambáhan_ of _Súmenap_[233].
Inscriptions in the same character have likewise been found on copper,
very beautifully executed, and in a high state of preservation. The
date on one of these has been ascertained to be 735, and on another,
865. I found several collected in the Museum of the Society of Arts and
Sciences at Batavia[234].
The _Panambáhan_ of _Sumenap_ was able to read the latter without
difficulty; but finding them to be filled with terms of praise and
devotion which he could not comprehend, it was not attempted to render
a literal translation. One of the plates (No. 3), to which at my
request he devoted particular attention, contains an invocation to
_Sang yang Bráma_, to favour and prosper the country of _Gegélang_
(_Sínga Sári_), and to give assistance, by means of _Jáya Kátsang_,
in repelling all evils and attacks, so that the country may become
celebrated and flourishing.
The country of _Gegélang_ (_Sínga Sári_) flourished in the time of
_Pánji_.
Another of these plates (No. 9) contains an invocation of a similar
nature, in favour of the country of _Dahá_ (_Kediri_), which flourished
at the same time.
In some of the eastern districts of the Native Provinces and at _Súku_,
near the mountain _Láwu_, inscriptions on stone occur in relief. Some
of them occupy stones several feet high, and are written in well
executed letters, above an inch square. The date of one of these is
1363. A fac-simile of another of the same kind reduced, is given in the
plate[235].
The following is a translation of this inscription, as far as it could
be rendered into modern Javan by the _Panambáhan_ of _Súmenap_.
"This is an advice to mankind, whose ignorance arises out of a covetous
desire to obtain more than they possess. If mankind were not by their
disposition inclined to be covetous of what others possess, and to
scandalize each other, where would be the use of advice; when they are
receiving advice, they have a confidence in doing what is right, but
afterwards they follow their natural inclinations. Therefore, oh ye
men of the city, be advised by this, not to follow such dispositions,
but to do what is required of you by the times and the customs of the
country, and be not singular."
In the present burial place at _Grésik_ are the tombs of several of
the early Mahomedan missionaries, most of them of stone, bearing
inscriptions with dates. That of _Sheik Mulána Ibrahim_ is in marble,
and in good preservation, having the date 1334 (409 years since).
Here is also the tomb of _Mulána Mach'ríbi_, who was antecedent to
_Ibrahim_. This has, however, fallen to decay, and has no legible
inscription.