Chapter I Introduction | in Four Beautiful Relief Panels
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Chapter I Introduction Fig. 1.1 Upper row from left to right: Panji sculpture from Candi Selokelir (fig. 10.13a); Candi Panataran, Pendopo Terrace, panel 4 (fig. 7.6); Candi Panataran, Pendopo Terrace, detail of panel 54 (fig. 7.21) Lower row from left to right: Candi Jago, Kunjarakarna, initiation of Purnawijaya; Candi Jago, Tantri story (detail of fig. 6.5) © Lydia Kieven, 2013 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-NonDerivative 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) License. Lydia Kieven - 9789004258655 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 10:51:30AM via free access | Following the cap-figure in Majapahit temple reliefs introducing the subject The object of my study is a figure wearing a cap depicted in reliefs at East Javanese temples during the Majapahit period (ca. AD 1300-1500). I call this special figure the ‘cap-figure’ (fig. 1.1). The cap-figure con- stitutes one of many new features which were created in East Javanese art and were distinct from earlier Central Javanese art. In particular it represents an example of the richness and beauty of the Majapahit art. Majapahit was the last Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Java before the arrival of Islam. Centred in East Java, it was the last of a sequence of major dynasties which made up the East Javanese period of Javanese history after the centre of power had shifted from Central Java. The majority of the temples are scattered in an area roughly within a range of 100 kilometres to the west, south, and east of the former capital of Majapahit, located at the present-day town of Trowulan, around 70 kilo- metres south of Surabaya. Most of the East Javanese temples are of a rather small scale in comparison to the earlier Central Javanese temples. I have visited these temples over several years and have always been fascinated by their beautiful relief carvings and by the atmosphere of the temples. Initially I became interested in the depictions of the cap-figures and, particularly, of the Panji stories when my teacher of Old Javanese, the late Mbah Padmapuspita in Yogyakarta, one day showed me a picture of one of the panels from Candi Kendalisodo and explained to me that it depicted a scene from a Panji story. Panji, the hero of the story, wore a cap as a specific type of headgear. Mbah Padmapuspita advised me to research this topic at some point in the future. When a few years later, in 1996, I visited Candi Kendalisodo on the slope of Mount Penanggungan I was reminded of his advice. Originally I had climbed the moun- tain to look at the reliefs in this site, which contained scenes from the Arjunawiwaha, a topic which I had researched before (Kieven 1994). However, the scene with the temptation of Arjuna, which I only knew through photos of the Dutch Oudheidkundige Dienst (Archaeological Field Survey Department), had disappeared, as had the scene with a depiction of the Bhimasuci.1 My attention shifted from the character of Arjuna to the character of Panji, depictions of whom were still extant 1 During my last visit in 2010, the panel depicting the widadari (heavenly nymphs) adorning them- selves had also vanished. 2 Lydia Kieven - 9789004258655 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 10:51:30AM via free access Chapter I Introduction | in four beautiful relief panels. Since then I have systematically collected information about other depictions of Panji in East Javanese temples. From this I learnt that it is not only Panji who is depicted wearing a cap; other characters, such as simple commoners, also wore this headgear. Investigation of the particular figure wearing a cap, be it Panji or another character, has never been carried out in a coherent and com- prehensive manner. That the cap-figure is not only a minor element in the reliefs of the Majapahit temples, but did in fact have an important meaning and function, is evident through the frequency of its depictions. In this book I present the results of my studies, which have yielded new insights into the meaning of the cap-figure in narrative temple reliefs, and beyond this, of the Majapahit temples in general. Since 1996 my research has led me to well-known sites such as Candi Jago, Candi Surowono, and Candi Panataran, but also to remote sites such as Candi Selotumpuk, Candi Gajah Mungkur, Candi Yudha on Mount Penanggungan, and Candi Penampihan on Mount Wilis, where relief panels were stolen but were documented in photos by the Dutch Archaeological Field Service Department. Eventually I also found the well-documented Panji sculpture from Candi Selokelir on Mount Penanggungan, which is kept in the art library in the ITB University in Bandung. At the beginning of my research, I considered this cap simply to be an interesting new fashion of the time, and I was fascinated by the variety of the depictions and by the range of narratives in which the cap-figure appeared. Increasingly, my interest was directed to the various meanings of this figure, and to the question of its meaning and func- tion within the particular narrative being depicted. In a broader sense, I became intrigued by its meaning and function in the very temple or sanctuary itself. Finally, the question arose as to why this figure appears only in the temples of the Majapahit period and not in earlier periods. These questions are informed by the approach that I took in my earlier study of the Arjunawiwaha reliefs, which I discussed in the context of their symbolic meaning and function within the temples and within the historical time period. A statement by Stuart O. Robson referring to Old Javanese literature reflects this approach: ‘A fundamental assump- tion is that a poem expresses ideas indirectly, that is “a poem says one 3 Lydia Kieven - 9789004258655 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 10:51:30AM via free access | Following the cap-figure in Majapahit temple reliefs thing and means another”’ (Robson 1983:299, quoting Riffaterre 1978).2 This statement can be applied to objects of visual art, such as I discuss, to the narrative reliefs with cap-figures. In this sense, rather than only representing a contemporary fashion of headgear, the cap-figures tell us more about the culture of Majapahit. The interconnection between the literary and the visual form of art as two different kinds of medium for conveying a certain message is in fact crucial in my understanding of the ancient Javanese narrative art. My approach stands in the tradition of earlier scholars who have investigated narrative reliefs on ancient Javanese temples, for example Willem F. Stutterheim in the early twentieth century and, in more recent times, Kathleen P. O’Brien, Marijke J. Klokke, and Peter J. Worsley. They drew on the fact that the narrative reliefs were carved not only to decorate the temple or to entertain the pilgrims, but also to convey a certain symbolism. Based on an iconographic analysis we can, taking into account the broader context of art, religion, mythology, history, and politics, draw conclusions about the symbolic meaning of the reliefs. All ancient Javanese art and literature bears a deeper symbolism, and this deeper layer, this symbolism, is even today the basis of traditional Javanese culture. Myths, such as those performed in wayang kulit, are considered to have a deeper meaning in the teaching and understanding of ngelmu (mystic knowledge). P.J. Zoetmulder (1971:88) expresses this perception when, referring to the Serat Centhini, he describes the audience of a wayang performance: they ‘are not beguiled by outward appearances but see through them to what is hidden behind these stories of human events’.3 Thus Robson’s statement on Old Javanese literature, mentioned above, also holds true for the medium of wayang. Further on Zoetmulder observes: ‘perfect insight, the deeper meaning of the wajang, the inner- most truth and reality, which remains hidden to the common man, [...] reveals itself to the initiate only’. The same is true for the temple reliefs: only the initiated was able to penetrate to their deepest meaning. The belief that magic power does exist in ancient sites still today leads many Javanese people to visit these sites. From this living tradition, and from sources in Old Javanese literature, we can understand that this belief is 2 This statement stands in the tradition of Barthes’ theories of analysing texts. See my paragraph on methodology below. 3 See also Mangkunegara VII 1957. 4 Lydia Kieven - 9789004258655 Downloaded from Brill.com09/23/2021 10:51:30AM via free access Chapter I Introduction | deeply rooted in the Javanese culture. In a way, my research attempts to contribute to a greater comprehension of these roots. I am particularly happy that my interest and my research results are much appreciated by people in Java, and that my work has been able to contribute to their efforts of revitalizing their old traditions.4 Panji has become an icon of the specific cultural identity of East Java, which points to the long tradition of the ‘Panji culture’ rooted in this region. This development has to be seen in the larger context of retraditionaliza- tion against the background of western globalization and Arabization.5 I need to take into account that I, as a person who is remote, in cul- ture and in time, in relation to my research object, can only to a certain degree attempt to understand the deeper meaning of ancient Javanese art. However, my detailed and broadly acquired knowledge and analysis allows me to propose an argument. ‘Harus berani’ (‘You need to have courage’), as a Javanese friend said to me.