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8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple's Relief

8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple's Relief

Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021), 115-122 p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v21i1.28530

8Th Century on Temple’s Relief

Susilo Pradoko, Maria Goretti Widyastuti, Fu’adi, Birul Walidaini

Universitas Negeri ,

Submitted: 2021-01-17. Revised: 2021-03-23. Accepted: 2021-04-26

Abstract

This research aims to unveil the types, size, figures, and functions of musical instruments carved as reliefs of Kalasan Temple as a way to revitalize the from the 8th century. This research implements heuristic methods with Panofsky’s iconology analysis in three steps, which are pre- iconography, iconography, and iconology to analyse the reliefs of the Temple. The researchers validated the findings through forum group discussion with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board of Yogyakarta. The findings show that (1) the relief of musical instruments in Kalasan temple is located on the head of Kala; (2) the musical instruments on the head are two wind in- struments made of shells and a stringed instrument named vina; (3) there are two figures of musi- cians carved, which are two wind instruments players and a player of stringed instruments. The figures are depicted as heavenly creatures namedGandharva ; (4) the measurement shows that the wind instruments have 35.98 cm length and 12.85 cm width, another one has 23.13 cm length and 12.85 cm width. Meanwhile, the stringed instrument has a length of 92.52 cm and 12.85 cm width; and (5) the musical instruments were performed to worship the Goddess of .

Keywords: Kalasan Temple, musical instruments, relief

How to Cite: Pradoko, S., Widyastuti, M. G., Fu’adi, & Walidaini, B. (2021). 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 21(1), 115-122

INTRODUCTION the location, which is named . Both Kalasan and Sari have similarities in Kalasan temple is located in Kalibe- their fineness and sculptural subtlety. The ning, Tirtamani, Sleman, Yogyakarta. The specific character of the temple is that they place is specifically located 10 km south have vajralepa (bajralepa), which is a layer of Yogyakarta’s central business district that covers the ornaments and reliefs on and around 5 km from temp- the outer wall. le. In Kalasan inscription, Kalasan temple Apart from the characteristics, Kala- is named after its location. The inscription san temple displays musical instruments explains that the location is called Kala- on its south relief. The displays attracted san, and the place is blessed in a meeting the researcher’s attention when a musical involving important figures, such as pang- performance was held in the area in 2017. kur, tawan, and tirip (sets of local Javanese Hence, the researchers initiated this rese- leaders) along with the ancestors of the arch based on the curiosity to know detai- village (Source:Prasasti Kalasan BPCB DIY led information regarding the types, size, Inventory Number D 147). figures, and functions of musical instru- There is another temple not far from ments carved as reliefs of Kalasan Temple.

 Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]

115 116 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122

From the raised problem, it is a fact This research employed a musical that Indian culture’s influence in Indonesia archeology approach. Broadly speaking, reached its peak between the 8th and 11th musical archeology is an approach that centuries. During the time, there was a de- covers the history of musical sound art velopment of Javanese culture, especially phenomena. The research findings focus in architecture, fine arts, and music. As an on music that is dug and provide sound example, a lot of temples were built in the artefact (ancient musical and sound instru- civilization. ments), instrumental depiction, singer, There are many musical instruments dancer with musical instruments, posture displayed on the temples’ reliefs. Some of of performances, and real performance. the instruments came from or Indo- Archeological approach has already provi- nesia, such as kledi, flute, siter (Javanese ded a sociocultural presentation and histo- violin), , xylophone, sapeq, gen- rical meaning of (Both, 2009, dang, bells, , , , and several p. 1). wind instruments (Prier, 1991, p. 80). Prior studies have analysed some The character of a musical instru- temples in Indonesia. A research has been ment is based on the sound that it produ- conducted on a historical site in . ces or simply its timbre. According to Sach Kedulan contains the remains from the & Erick, musical instruments are classified 9th century on the Temple of Hindu Ma- based on how to use them: (1) taram Kingdom at Tirtomartani, Kalasan, (percussions), e.g., xylophone, angklung, Sleman , Yogyakarta. The temple Belyra; (2) (wind instruments), was found accidentally by a sand digger e.g., aulos/ flute/flauto, clarinet, fagot, on November 24th, 1993 under several me- french horn, trombone, tuba, and trumpet; ters of modern Merapi’s vulcanoic deposit. (3) chordophone (stringed instruments) Technical studies are required to dig the kecapi, siter, harps, , violin, cello, bass; temple carefully, specifically in geology (4) electrophone (electrical music instru- and geophysics. One of the geophysics ments), e.g., electric guitar, electric piano, methods applied on this study was by the and keyboard (Banoe, 2003). radar of soil penetration (georadar). The During the erection of Prambanan method used radar to get the profile from temple, Javanese Hindu has been identi- the sub-surface of the temple; thereby, the fied as using musical instruments like ke- scientists can explain the soil substrate capi, kinara, trumpet, drum, and symbals. based on the distinct dielectrical constant. The kecapi in ’s relief is slim Georadar investigation were conducted with different variations. It is predicted by Geological Engineering Department of that the kecapi entered during Syai- Engineering Faculty, Universitas Gadjah lendran age (c. 725 - c. 850). Kinara is a mu- , on Desember 4, 2007. The main aim sical instrument on the relief which shows of this is to identify the location of the sto- the advanced development of music in ne fence as the approximate measurement Java. There is a trumpet-like instrument of the whole temple’s location (Husein et made of shells which represent a vital sto- al., 2015, p. 47). ry of service and war during the time. The Research of the Goddess of Tara has instrument is mentioned in old Javanese been conducted by Gogaoi, who states that literature under the name of sangka, , the Goddess of Tara is the second of ten and sungu. The drum musical instruments (Great and Magical Goddes- on Borobudur and Prambanan were diver- ses in ) (Gogaoi, 2011, p. 233). . They were approximately coming from There is minimum information regarding the year 824 and the second half of the 9th the Goddess of Tara in , which century. Cymbals were found on Pramba- shows the origin of the Goddess or the nan and Borobudy with a trophy-like figu- influence of the Hindu and non- tri- re (Kunst, 1927, p. 56). be elements to the community (Jordaan, Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 117

1997). The rise of the cult was based on the written sources of history are important northeast India. There was not any litera- documents, inscriptions, scripts, charters, ture or archeological evidence regarding chronicles, newspapers, books, research the existence of the Goddess before Gupta reports, and academic journals (Herdiani, era or in between the third to the fifth cen- 2016). The understanding supports Gott- tury, despite being limitedly mentioned in schalk who mentions that heuristic action Indian literature. Asides, Javanese inscrip- directs research to an exploration, search, tion of Kalasan on the year 778 becomes the and collection of sources which is going to earliest epigraphical reference supporting be researched in the location, whether as her existence (Jordaan, 1997, pp. 286–287). an exact thing or only verbal explanation Brandes compared the portrayal which refers to the historical evident (Rah- of the Goddess of Tara on the Buddhist man, 2017; Wasino, 2018). Temples in , which are The heuristic data collection of writ- Temple, Temple, and Kalasan ten literature on this research cover: (1) Temple (1904). The portrayal in Mendut Kalasan inscription which comes from the and Kalasan were most relevant with iden- Saka year of 700; (2) the report of Kalasan tical shapes and decoration as clearly de- temple’s reconstruction; (3) the procee- picted in Brandes’ articles (Jordaan, 1997, dings from the Association of Archeologi- p. 289). cal Expert of Indonesia; (4) the internatio- The Goddess of Tara has become nal academic journals which cover Kalasan the main issue to reconstruct the religious Temple and Widya Prabha Journals of worship. According to Monk Atisa in Ti- Cultural Heritage Preservation Board of bet, the Goddess possess 21 characters of Yogyakarta; and (5) relevant reference in God. Based on the data, it is impossible to the library of the Cultural Heritage Preser- see whether the characters are completely vation Board of Yogyakarta (BPCB DIY). A represented on the reliefs in Kalasan. field study was conducted as a visit to the Beyer states that the 21 positions of Kalasan temple, Yogyakarta. Taras are usually depicted as people sit- The musical instruments on the re- ting on the same position which is stret- lief were analysed in three steps, which ched right leg and pulled left leg. The are pre-iconography, iconography, and visible difference is only on the colour of iconology. Pre-iconography is the study of bottles on their hands or the existence of the material object. The analysis of icono- lotus attributes (1978, 333-35, 470). In the graphy covers the historical contextualiza- other temples, the statues sit on the thro- tion of the object. Iconology refers to the ne and niche. The niches does not have the analysis which includes the elements of same size and decoration (Jordaan, 1997, p. values and symbols (Panofsky, 1955). 294). From the previous researches, this re- The description of musical instru- search identifies and focuses on the types, ments in Kalasan temple began with the figures, construction, and functions of mu- substantial analysis, followed by the me- sical instruments on the relief of Kalasan asurement of physical and material dimen- Temple. sions along with the articulation of the ob- ject. The substantial analysis is the process METHODS of describing objects aided with the criteria of human face average from the chin to the This research employs heuristic head, which is around 25. 7 cm (Panero, methods. Heuristic comes from Greek of 1979, p. 12). heuristiken which means collecting or fin- Before redesigning the musical ding sources. The remains of human ci- instrument in Kalasan temple, the resear- vilization, physical or nonphysical, are chers have measured the musical instru- the trails of which the historians should ments in centimeters. The researchers aim reconstruct (Pranoto, 2014, p. 29). The to ease the re-production of the instru- 118 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122 ments after the research. To ensure the dents of heaven play musical instruments. data validity, the researchers conducted a The identified musical instruments are focus group discussion with the Cultural gendang, rebab, and shells (Kempers, 1954, Heritage Preservation Board of Yogyakar- p. 24). ta. The relief of Kala on the southern re- mains of Kalasan was carved smoothly in RESULT AND DISCUSSION detail. The relief was big in size. The Kala was carved with a lower jaw and decora- The Identification of Musical Instru- ted with heavenly trees. Then, there were ments of the Relief on Kalasan Temple some elements of buildings, natural scene- After the literature study, field stu- ry, and some heavenly creatures playing dy, and study of documentation, the rese- wind instruments (sangkha) and stringed archers found several data regarding the instruments (vina) (Ferry, 2018, p. 1). types of musical instruments in Kalasan There is a difference between the two temple. The instruments were projected on references above. The first source mentions the southern relief of the temple, which is that the musical instruments on the reliefs on the head of Kala. are gendang, rebab, and shells. Meanwhile, The literature study was done by the second source declares that the instru- reviewing the book written by A.J Bernet ments were wind instruments (sangkha) Kempers which covers Kalasan Temple. and stringed instruments (vina). The dif- In general, Kempers mentions that the re- ference was mainly caused by the gap of lief in Kalasan temple is different from the time and publication between the first and relief in Javanese temples. Kalasan temple second research. displays lesser stories than other temples. A field study was conducted in June There is not any relief that provides local 2020 to strengthen the findings of the stu- stories as on Mendut temple and Sadjiwan, dy above. The pictures of Kala and the hea- showcases the history of Buddha as on Bo- venly figures playing musical instruments robudur, nor tells the stories of are still clear and in detail. The depiction and Kreshnayana as in Loro Jonggrang was that there was a kala without a jaw sur- (Kempers, 1954, p. 26). rounded by a heavenly tree. Around the si- Kempers also states interesting in- tuation, there are some heavenly creatures formation regarding the relief on the sout- bringing lotus and playing musical instru- hern part of the temple. He infers that the ments (figure 1). musical instruments on the head of Kala do not have a background of earthly trees, instead, the background refers to the trees in heaven. The statement is supported by the existence of clouds surrounding the crest of Kala. The situation means that Ka- lasan temple’s relief represents the set up in heaven (Kempers, 1954, p. 24). Following the statement, Bawono states that the temple is the replica of Meru mountain, which is the resident of God in Indian mythology. As the resident of Figure 1. Head of Kala (Dokumentation of Gods, the temple is built by including the BPCB of Yogyakarta, July 20, 2018). elements of heaven (Bawono, 2018). Besi- des, the temple is also strongly correlated There are two musical instruments with the concept of cosmology in Hindu on the southern part of Kalasan temple (Raharjo, 2011). and the depiction of three heavenly crea- Kempers also expresses that the resi- tures playing sangkha made of shells and Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 119 stringed instrument with a neck (vina) as Gandhabba/ refers to a resident seen in Figures 2, 3, and 4. of the heaven, or a of the hea- ven from the group of Sakka, which is also mentioned in Sakkapañha-sutta as gandhab- ba with the name of Pañcasikha (Anālayo, 2008, p. 97). The researchers quoted several state- ments that the creature is parivāradevatā or a group of Gods that are not positioned in garbhag ha or the temple’s main room, yet the corridor instead (Liebert, 1976, p. 214). Parivāradevatāṛ is divided into subs parivāra and main parivāra. The small parivāra have specific names, but their existence is not Figure 2. The sangkha played by a heavenly known specifically in the mythology of In- creature on the left of Kala’s head (Document dian Gods (Nugrahani, D.S, 2009, p. 9). of researchers, June 9, 2020) The small creatures are Apsarā, , Gandharva, , Vidyādara, and i (Rao, 1971). Gandharva is a creature livingGaṇa in heaven as the musician for Gods. Hence,Ṛṣ in the relief, the creature plays some musi- cal instruments (Liebert, 1976, pp. 89–90). Supporting the statement, Nugroho (2018) mentions that Gandharva is a half-man and half-god creature who plays music, dan- ce, and share the news to Gods (Nugroho, 2018, p. 1). Gandharva is also mentioned in a quoted praise for the Goddess of Tara in Figure 3. The sangkha played by a heavenly Tibetian as follows. creature on the right of Kala’s head (Document Chhag tshäl gya jin me lha tshang pa of researchers, June 9, 2020) Lung lha na tshog wang chhug chhö ma Jung po ro lang dri za nam dang Nö jin tshog kyi dün nä tö ma

Homage to you, Tara, venerated by , , , , and Ishvara, And praised by the assembly of spirits, raised corpses, , and all (Rigsel, 2014, p. 28)

Figure 4. A stringed musical instrument with The Construction of Musical Instruments a neck played by a heavenly creature on the in Kalasan Temple’s Relief right of Kala’s head (Document of researchers, The measurement of the instruments June 9, 2020) was done in four steps as follows. Step 1 The Identification of Heavenly Creature The researcher made a set of a square on the Relief of Kalasan Temple in the penile of relief based on the human The heavenly figure on the -sout head’s size under the scale of 1: 25.7 cm. hern relief of Kalasan temple is known as 25.7 cm is the average size of adult male’s Gandharva. Several references mention that head (Panero, 1979, p. 112). The square can 120 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122 be seen in Figure 5 as follows.

Figure 5. Square

Step 2 Figure 8. The example of measurement to the Dividing the square to 25 squares size of Sangkha Shell 1 (see Figure 6). After the measurement, the resear- cher then found the exact size of the instru- ments. The sizes are depicted as follows

The size of Sangkha Shell 1 The musical instrument of Sangkha shell 1 on Kalasan temple is 35.98 cm in length and 12.85 in width. The measure- ment is depicted in Figure 9.

Figure 6. The division of squares to 25 squares on the same size (5 x 5)

Step 3 Dividing the squares in the division to 100 box based on the same size as seen on Figure 7.

Figure 9. The measurement of Sangkha Shell 1 Figure 7. The sub-division of a square to 100 on the same size (small square 10x10) The wind instrument made of shell can be seen as in Figure 10 in real life. Step 4 Attaching the square on each box (Fi- gure 7) on the picture of the musical ins- turments’ relief. The following step is the measurement of the instruments’ length and width (Figure 8). Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 121

Figure 10. The imitation of Sangkha shell 1 Figure 12. The imitation to the stringed instru- The size of Sangkha Shell 2 ment (vina) Through the same measurement, the second Sangkha has the size of 23.13 cm in The Function of the Musical Instrument length and 12.85 cm in width. The second in the Relief of Kalasan Temple Sangkha is smaller than the first one. Based on the previous chapters, the musical instruments have a function as the The Size of the Stringed Instrument media of worship ritual to the Goddess of The stringed instrument was measu- Tara. Gogaoi explains in his article on the red in the size of 92.52 cm in length with worship for the Goddess of Tara as “Tara the width of resonance tube of 12.85 cm. was one of the most important goddesses The process of measurement can be seen in this tantric form of Buddhism. Tara, also in Figure 11. known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan, ap- . pears as a female Boddhisattva in Vajraya- na Buddhism. She is known as the “mother of liberation” and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements” (Go- gaoi, 2011, p. 232). Further, Goagoi states that “Tara is the savior; she protects her devotees from Astamhabhaya, the eight great fears. The Tibetan Tara has as many as 21 different manifestations, both fierce and compassionate” (Gogaoi, 2011, p. 232). In the relief, the musical players were the Gandharva, the actual of heaven. The kinds of music were played to praise the Goddess of Tara.

CONCLUSION

From the findings, it is concluded Figure 11. The process of measuring the scale that the relief of the southern part of Ka- of the stringed instrument lasan temple projects two musical instru- ments, which are Sangkha (aerophone The musical instrument has a real life made of shells) and a stringed instrument imitation as seen in Figure 12. with a neck (chordhophone). The finding is interesting since it provides more detai- led explanation comparing to the previous studies. Further, this research provides the real evident of the instruments which fill 122 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122 the gap of difference in the previous lite- Kidul: Images of the Divine Femi- rature. nine in Java. Asian Folklore Studies, The research identifies the existence 56(2), 285-312. of Gandharva. Gandharva, in the Kalasan’s Kempers, B. (1954). Tjandi Kalasan dan Sari. relief, is a new discovery since the previo- Dinas Purbakala. us research never came into such details. Kunst, J. (2013). Hindu-Javanese musical in- Further, this research finds that the musi- struments. Springer Science & Busi- cal instruments were used as the media to ness Media. worship the Goddess of Tara. Liebert, G. (1976). Iconographic Dictionary of Apart of the material and contextu- the Indian Religions. E.J. Brill. al problem, this research has proven that Nugrahani, D.S. (2009). Dewa-dewi : masa the scaling measurement can be used to re- klasik Jawa Tengah. Balai Pelestarian construct the musical instrument on Kala- Peninggalan Purbakala Jawa Ten- san temple’s reliefs. In the end, the resear- gah. chers could present the design of musical Nugroho, J. (2018). Genderuwo, Perjala- instruments on the relief based on the scale nan Sang Rupawan Menjadi Momok. of adult male’s head. https://geotimes.id/opini/gende- ruwo-perjalanan-sang-rupawan- REFERENCES menjadi-momok/ Panero, J. M. Z. (1979). The human dimen- Anālayo. (2008). and the Gandhab- sion. The Medical Malpractice Cost ba. Journal of 1(1), Containment Journal, 1(3). 91–105. Panofsky, E. (1955). Meaning in The Vi- Banoe, P. (2003). Kamus Musik. Kanisius. sual Art Papers in and on Art History. Bawono, A. (2018). Reflief Tokoh Berjeng- Achor Book. got Berpasangan: Studi Kasus pada Pranoto, S. (2014). Teori & Metodologi Seja- Kompleks Candi Prambanan. Jurnal rah (2nd ed.). Graha Ilmu. Widya Prabha, 7(1), 60–68. Prier, K. E. (1991). Sejarah Musik Jilid I. Both, A. A. (2009). : Pusat Musik Liturgi. Some Methodologycal and Theoreti- Raharjo, W. B. (2011). Keberadaan Relief To- cal Considerations. The Yearbook for koh pada Ambang Pintu dan Relung Traditional Music, 41(1), 1–11. Utama Candi II pada Kompleks Candi Ferry. (2018). Menelisik Alat Musik dari Za- . Jurusan Arkeologi, Fakultas man Klasik. Balai Pelestarian Cagar Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Gajah Budaya Provinsi D.I. Yogyakarta. Mada. https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud. Rahman, F. (2017). Menimbang Sejarah go.id/bpcbyogyakarta/menelisik- sebagai Landasan Kajian Ilmiah; alat-musik-dari-zaman-klasik/ Sebuah Wacana Pemikiran dalam Gogaoi, K. (2011). Envisioning Goddes Tara : Metode Ilmiah. El-Banat: Jurnal Pe- A Studi of The Tara Traditions In As- mikiran dan Pendidikan Islam, 7(1), sam. 72(1), 232–239. 128-150. Herdiani, E. (2016). Metode sejarah dalam Rao, T. A. (1971). Elements of Hindu Iconog- penelitian tari. Jurnal Seni Makalan- raphy Vol. II part II. Iconological Book gan, 3(2), 33–45. House. Husein, S., Samodra, S. B., Pramumijoyo, Rigsel, K. R. L. L. (2014). Praises to the S., & Astuti, W. (2015). Georadar In- Twenty-one Taras (L. Drolkar (ed.)). vestigation At the Kedulan Temple Amitabha Buddhist Centre. Excavation Site, Kalasan, Yogya- Wasino. (2018). Metode Penelitian Seja- karta. Journal of Applied Geology, 2(1), rah dari Riset hingga Penulisan. In 47–55. Metode Penelitian Sejarah. Jordaan, R. E. (1997). Tara and Nyai Lara

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