25

A Few Observations on the Use of Ceramics in

by Satyawati Suleiman

In Indonesia the study of cera- toric and writing his doctoral shores, lakes or riverbanks, and in mics is still in its initial stage. Mr thesis, Dr. R.P. Soejono4, at pre- caves and rockshelters. Orsoy de Flines1 who started a col- sent the head of the National In the Gua Lawa cave near Pono- lection of foreign ceramics before Research Centre of Archaeology, rogo (Central ), cord-marked Worid War II wrote a few reports potsherds were found at a great 2 studied under van Heekeren for and a catalogue. Mr. Abu Ridho , many years. In his thesis, Dr. Soe- depth together with bene spatulas. who succeeded de Flines as curator jono describes the earthenware pots These spatulas, says van Heekeren, of the ceramics collection at the which served as funeral furniture in were used for peeling wild or Museum Pusat in , prepared graves together with other objects. domesticated yams and tubers. a few articles and the text of a Younger prehistorians are also There were also ill-preserved human large art album of the collection. studying ancient ceramics in great skeletons, but the only funerai gift Local pottery has been mention- detail. It is now accepted that other found was a necklace of drilled ed and described by some prehis- fields of archaeology can also bene- shells around a child's neck. It torians who made surveys and car- fit from the study of excavated cera- appears that at that stage pots made ried out systematic excavations. Dr. mics and ceramics sherds. Excava- by the paddle and anvil method H. R. van Heekeren3 was one of tions recently carried out by the were not yet used as funeral gifts. them. Many Indonesian archaeolo- Classical Archaeology Division, Kitchen utensils were of course still gists worked with and learned from headed by Mrs. Satari and by the in the form of leaves and bowls of him. When he was compiling his Islamic Archae6logy Division, coconut husk. Bamboo and gourds data on burial methods in prehis- headed by Mr. Hasan Ambary, have or, perhaps, large shells were used yielded many ceramic sherds as water containers. This is an edited version of which are now being intensively Progress in pottery manufacture the publication issued by the studied in order to date the exca- started at the neolithic stage when Pusat Penelitian Purbakala Dan vated sites. people lived in permanent settle- Peninggalan Nasional in 1980. An attempt is made in this paper ments and practiced agriculture. It came from a paper presented to collect data5 that relate pot- Van Heekeren found at Kendeng Lembu, , polished stone by the author at the Sympo - sherds with the historical sites rectangular adzes and a great num- sium on Trade and Pottery in where they were found. East and held ber of plain potsherds. However, in Hongkong on 4-8 September this site did not seem to have been Local Ceramics 1978. a neolithic settlement but the site The author is a Senior Prehistory of a neolithic workshop; no traces Researcher of the National of village life was found. Research Center of Archaeolo- Manufacture of earthenware pots In Kalumpang, upstream on the gy of Indonesia. She is also had already started in the mesoli- Karama river N.W. , 706 the SPAFA Governing Board thic or sub-neolithic stage (van plain baked brown potsherds were member for Indonesia. Heekeren 1972)6. In this period, found with rectangular adzes, people had already settled on sea- ground oval axes, spearheads, arrow 26

heads, knives, unfinished stone of Salayar. They contained broken carry small round pots on their adzes and "planks", one stone bark human bones and ornaments: beads heads. The Buddha, in another cloth beater, etc. One sherd had of semi-precious stones, a ring, scene, is presented milk in a pot by incised stylized human figures. three bracelets, an earring of Sujata before he reaches Nirvana. bronze, and a few golden leaves Another shows pots being stacked During the Bronze-Iron Age 8 which coincided with the first ap- (found only in one of the three in a shanty (Bernet Kempers 1977) , pearance of Indonesian toponyms urns). and on one other, pots being made in foreign records, around the be- A most important find was an by hand. ginning of the Christian Era, pot- urn cemetery in the island of Sum- Excavations on temple com- tery was evidently used for burial ba. The urns were all globular jars, pounds also yielded earthenware purposes. Prominent people seemed some with straight necks and pots. The sacred spot of the com- to have been buried in flexed mouths of varying width and others pound has a buried pot as a temple position in large jars, whereas com- with necks curving outwards to a depot. Also on eastern Javanese mon people were buried in lesser or greater degree. Their reliefs, local pottery are depicted as earth. Van Heekeren investigated covers were sherds, broken pots, in- water containers. , the site large ceramic jars found at Anyer verted jars or bottles. The flasks of the ancient town of 14th century (west coast of ). They were highly polished red or dark- , still has earthenware contained skeletons and gifts of brown with long slender necks. As pots in the soil. One excavation earthenware consisting of one jar, the jars were decorated with motifs produced a bottomless earthenware two 92 mm.-high dishes, and a usually found on bronzes, ' van pot which had been the top of a globular bowl. In the same area, a Heekeren dated this cemetery to the well. Trowulan is also famous for systematic excavation he carried bronze-iron age, though quadrangu- its terracotta figurines and orna- out yielded potsherds, probably be- lar stone adzes were' discovered ments which at one time embel- longing to urns, and fragments ot among the funeral gifts. A spindle lished the houses cf Majapahit. human bones and skulls. This site indicating the practice of weaving The statues from the Majapahit was obviously an. urn cemetery. was also found. There were many period which were intended as Van Heekeren dated this graveyard skulls among the human remains.. images of worship of deceased kings and queens had Ictus plants rising from pots flanking the royal figure9. In the case of royalty, ... the pots were associated with death and life lotus plants were seen rising from (lotus plants) rising from death. their tubers. It appears that the Majapahit statues had representa- tions of Chinese pots, apparently martavans, which in are back to the second or third century which was proof of a secondary still used as containers of human AD. (van Heekeren 1958)7 . burial remains. Perhaps the pots were Urn burials were also found in In Gh.manuk (Bali), Soejono associated with death (pots) and life (lotus plants) rising from SumaLra, in Lesung Batu, Tebing (1977) excavated graves filled with 10 Tinggi (S.W. ). The urns skeletons. Among the funeral death . On ancient mosques in contained human bones, and in one gifts were bronze axes, ornaments Java, the mastaka, the top piece of their many-tiered roofs, was made of them was an empty brown-red and earthenware pots. The excava- 11 beautifully polished jar. The de- tions were conducted several times from terracotta . coration of the jar consisted of throughout a period of more than meanders and fishbone motifs iden- ten years. Modern Times tical with motifs on bronze objects. In Sulawesi there were several Though modern technology has sites of urn burials. In Central Sula- History entered Indonesia, local pottery is wesi people were buried in stone still produced and used in large urns, called warugas, which were Local pottery was still produced quantities. In the markets, there found near stone statues. The dead and used in the period when there are always stalls which sell large were provided with pottery. A tall were already contacts with India earthenware pots as water contain- (111 cm.high) earthenware urn was and China and foreign ceramics ers. Dishes are often still cooked in found. It shows that secondary were already finding their way to earthenware pots (kendil). Certain burials, wherein the remains of a Indonesia, though still sporadically. dishes, such as the gudeg, a curry person were first buried or kept in On reliefs of temples in of young jackfruit specially popular some place and afterwards put in an , for example on the in , are said to taste urn, were practiced in the place. and , local better when they are cooked in an Van Heekeren also refers to a re- pottery is seen used as water con- earthenware pot. The serabi, a kind port by Schroder of 1912, concern- tainers. A famous scene on the of pancake, is baked in an earthen- ing three earthenware urns found in Borobudur relief _ is of women ware pan with a lid. The ikan pin- the southwestern part of the island fetching water from a pond. They dang is fish cooked in large earthen- 27

ware pots and kept inside for sale. Only later were imported ceramics Ceramics Reveal the Past Incense burners are also made of used as household utensils such as clay, and so are flower pots. The plates, bowls, vases, incense bur- kendil still keeps the drinking water ners, etc. These were then the chea- Ceramic pieces when whole are, cool in many households. per ware. of course, nice to behold, but they Ceramics are used in all aspects In some places, ceramics were cannot tell us where they were of a man's life. When a child is used for burying the dead. This originally used in Indonesia after born, the placenta is placed in an practice was found at Kalimantan having arrived from abroad. In the where whole cemeteries with mar- earthenware pot and buried. It is 13 course of time they could have considered to be the younger broth- tavans were excavated . These changed hands several times. In on- er or sister of the newborn baby. In martavans, originally used to fer- ly a few places, such as South weddings in Java, when the bride ment cassava or rice (tapi) or to Sulawesi, have ceramic pieces been and groom meet in the ceremonial contain food or water, were as- dug out from the soil. way, the bride has to wash the feet sociated with death in the tradi- of the groom. She oours water tion of the prehistoric Indonesian ancestors. It was also used in Sula- perfumed with flowers over the Ceramic sherds, if found in great groom's feet from an earthenware wesi but only for kings and promi- nent people. numbers on ancient sites, can help kendil after he has stepped on an date the site and reveal certain egg. Before a funeral, earthen- In Java, imported porcelains were aspects of the economic or social ware pots are broken and shattered used specially for decoration. Tiles life in the past. We have selected on the path where the body has tc were inserted in walls as decoration for discussion three areas where pass before entering the funeral car- in ancient Majapahit (found in many ceramic sherds have been 14 riage. Trowulan, see Abu Ridho) . The found and where actual research For sacrifices, earthenware pots walls of the mosques at Demakalso and excavations have been carried are still used. Sometimes only the had decorative tiles. In Cirebon, out. They are: South Sulawesi, potsherds are offered, as in the porcelain dishes were affixed to the Palembdng and Riau and the eas- "copper offering" in West Java. walls of the buildings on the Siting- tern part of the north coast of Cen- This offering is given when a house gil compound of the keratons of tral Java. is about to be built particularly when the ground slopes southwards. As the south is associated with Kala and the red colour, everything has In Java, imported porcelain wares were used to be red. Flowers are offered on a especially for decoration. red-copper plate, together with a red chicken and sherds of red pot- tery12. Local ceramics, besides the Sultan Kasepuhan and Kano- being household utensils, are there- South Sulawesi man. On the walls of 14th century fore also assesiatea with tradition, Candi Panataran in Blitar, East sacred places and sacred situations. Java,are medallions with decorative In 1948, Orsoyde Flines analyzed motifs mostly of mythical animals; ceramics and ceramics sherds Foreign Ceramics this could have been influenced by found in several parts of South the trend of using imported dishes Sulawesi. Most of the finds could 16 Foreign ceramics have been for decoration . The habit of in- be dated from the 13th till the 18th found all over Indonesia. A great serting porcelain dishes in walls is century; one, however, belonged to number of foreign ceramics, even a still prevalent in some temples of the period before the 10th century. few Han, are in the Museum Pusat Bali. In Bone, bowls, boxes and dishes in Jakarta. They have been describ- Foreign ceramics are among the from East China and Thailand ed by De Flines (1949 and 1974) heirlooms kept by Indonesians. manufactured in the 14th and 15th and by Abu Ridho(1977). It seems They receive the same treatment as centuries were found. A small urn that a great number were found in krisses and lances; at set times, they (half porcelain, oblong box) con- the islands where the much desired are taken out of storage and given a tained the remains of bones. The commodities were produced or bath in water perfumed with urn came from Fu-kien in the traded such as benzoin and cam- flowers. second half of the 16th century. phor in North Sumatra, pepper in Since when have foreign porce- In Watampone, 10 per cent of the , gold in Central lain pieces been used for daily and sherds were originally from finer and , spices in the ceremonial purposes in Indonesia? pieces from Central and Eastern Moluccas, and sandalwood and Does the presence of great numbers China — porcelain and porcelain- other aromatic woods in the is- o f porcelain sherds reveal the pre- like earthenware from the 14th and lands east of Bali. sence of the Chinese or is it only an 15th centuries of Lun Tsuan old Foreign ceramics were said at indication of an intensive trade Te-hua, Ying-tsing and Tze Tseu. "No ceramics for commoners", was first to have been used for barter or with China? These are the questions 16 as presents to prominent people. which will be discussed presently. de Flines'comment . 28

A systematic excavation was carried out in 1970 by Uka Tjan- drosasmita at Takalar. The dig was ... ceramics were ... also used to mark the closing sponsored by a group of distin- of a treaty between two kings. guished persons interested in the study of porcelain, several of whom later on joined or helped to found according to Noorduyn19since the Wolters) a few still seek the ancient the Ceramic Society. Though not so 25 many objects were found (the cera- Islamization of North Sulawesi had site in another place. Moens , mics being inexpensive wares), the then begun. Moslems do not cre- referring to l-tsing's information conclusion drawn from the research mate their dead, but bury them. that in the city of a man was quite important. It proved that cast no shadow at noon, located it the ceramics found indeed served as Hadimuljono, an archaeologist in Muara Takus near the equator now in charge of the conservation (0.20 N.W.) which fit the descrip- funeral gifts and were buried toge- 26 ther with the bodies. and safeguarding of the antiquities tion. Roland Braddell located of South Sulawesi, saw in Soppeng, Srivijaya in the Malay Peninsula, on the grave of a deceased king, a while M.C. Chand27 thought it was ceramic piece as a tombstone. Ac- in Southern Thailand, in the Chaiya Until that time illegal excavators cording to him, ceramics were in area. had dug up pots, in the process the past also used to mark the clos- scattering the human remains, ing of a treaty between two kings. thereby, dissociating them from the They were broken as an oath was In 1974,a team composed of In- funeral gifts. The ceramics from sworn. The words spoken were: "If donesian archaeologists and three this site were from the 15th-16th this treaty is broken, so will the archaeologists from the University centuries A.D.and included Sawang- party breaking the treaty be of Pennsylvania, including B. Bron- khalok and Annamese as well as destroyed for seven generations" son, carried out a systematic ex- Chinese wares. As the skeletons (Hadimuljono 1976)20 cavation in several spots of Palem- were furnished with inexpensive bang where they expected to find wares, it was inferred that com- The presence of many ceramics evidence of 7th century habitation, moners were buried in these graves. and fragments in the area clearly especially in the form of ceramic Prominent people were usually indicates the existence of a thriv- sherds. The results were negative buried in jars as noted in the jar- 17 ing trade with China.- As Sulawesi for testpits at Bukit Seguntang.. Air burials in Anyer was on the way to the spice islands Bersih, Geding Suro;

The problem of the age of these settlements was taken up in 197535 "... why [did] evidence of commercial contacts A team comprising archaeologists with China and India appear so late". from Indonesia and the USA carried out excavations in the area of Rembang. They examined 50 sites to expect Chinese and other porce- the 7th century one would expect and assembled 40 collections of lain as early as the 7th century? wooden buildings for temples and local and foreign ceramics. There We have some thoughts to bring monasteries. Again, even though were four groups of foreign cera- forward. Perhaps the thousand Muara Takus was the sacred place mics: late T'ang-Sung, late Sung- Ming, Ming and some Ch'ing, Ch'ing monks who, according to l-tsing, for worship and pilgrimages, the and European. were studying in Srivijaya at the capital was not necessarily there. In end of the 7th century were not Java, the capital of the 9th century The authors of the report won- Chinese, but Indonesians. They Sailendra kingdom was perhaps not dered "why evidence of commercial could have used bamboo and leaves near the Borobudur but rather in 31 contacts with China and India ap- as plates for their meals , and the plains of Prambanan. In 14th peared so late". In Thailand and coconut husks, seashells, gourds, century Majapahit, the royal South Vietnam such contacts were and bamboo as containers for their was near Trowulan while the king intensive as early as A.D. 200 when water. Neither did they build stupas went to pray at sanctuaries in large cities like Oc Eo had already of brick for in a tropical rain-forest and Blitar. Another possi- begun to develop. Is it possible that area wood was used. Hence, the bility is that the capital of Srivijaya 34 sanctuaries and monasteries were was not always in the same place. Indonesia lagged 400-500 years made of wood with grass and palm behind the mainland? (p. 112c). leaf roofs as those in Bali. The The team after researching the "cells" for the monk? would have Rinangun site thought mat this looked like the very simpie and The Northeastern Part cf part had been involved in foreign modest wooden huts on stilts which Central Java trade since A.D. 700. one still encounters in a few pesan- irens (Islamic boarding schools) in "!t is located in an area whicii is not good for farming. The team members believe North Sumatra (South Tapanuli). that the Binangun complex of sites was an Our survey team happened to pass Orsoy de Flines wrote a report in ancient trading port. It is the first to be by a very large pesantren at Purba Oudheidkundig Verslag( 1941-1947) located anywhere in Java that can be Baru, South Tapanuli, in July 1978. on a research he carried out in 1940 dated to the early or middle first millenium" (p. 112d). Some 20C0 students lived there. in some places at the Northeastern Every tvvo students shared a hut part of Central Java. The areas The Rembang teams also where they cooked, studied and where the survey was made consist- regarded the presence of numerous slept. Another pesantren oi^Sfe ed of the Kabupatens of Blora, sherds of local ceramics as an same style was found at Padang Rembang, Pati, Jepara, Kudus and evidence of settlements. However, Lawas in 1975.32 The compound, Grobogan. These enquiries were the Binangun, which is located on a with the same kind of modest huts, result of a request by Dr. Stutter- defensible hilltop and an area of was located near Biaro Bahal I, a heim, a former head of the Archaeo- flatland on the eastern and northern brick temple which dates back to logical Service, to examine the soil side of small bay west of Gunung perhaps the 13th or 14th century.33 around the legendary area of Lasem (Rembang Report 1975: (Medang) in the d), was reported by Orsoy de Flines The monastery or monasteries eastern part of Grobogan. (1941 - 1947) to be poor in foreign of Srivijaya, having been built in ceramic sherds. the same simple style, would not The results were negative: there leave much debris, nor would the were only a few ceramic sherds of The area surveyed by De Flines, "city" which was either on the the 9th to the 10th century. Sur- including Rembang, is indeed an bank of the river or even on the prisingly, however, numerous interesting part of Central Java. river. The people would have lived sherds were found in the teak There are toponyms which remind in the same way as the people of forest, datable from the end of the us of Chinese and local records. Waru is a name similar to that tran- Sungsang, a village partly on the 8th till the 11th century. In some 36 water and on the riverbank on the villages in the same area, there were scribed as Po-lu-kia-se , the place mouth of the Musi, 90 km. from many finds; in other places very situated in the east towards which Palembang. We visited Sungsang in few. Some finds were Chinese and the ancestor of the king of Ho-ling July 1978. As regards Muara Takus others, Annamese and Sawangkha- moved his capital. It was read as Waruh Yasik while Pelliot thought (Bernet Kempers 1959 pi. 198), the lok. The sherds could be dated it to be Waruh Gresik or beach of brick temples we see now are not from the 9th to the 17th century. sand. necessarily the same as those of the This evidence leads to the con - 7th century. The main compound elusion that the whole area had could have been somewhere else; in been inhabited for a long time. Laram Kulon37 in Kudus is the 30

same name as Luaram in the inscrip- by means of what is known of the not, however, imply the existence tion of Airlangga of 1041. It stated changing patterns of Asian trade, and of Chinese settlements. Boechari39 that the Palace of King Dharma- especially the growing importance of points out that in Java foreign mer- wangsa was attacked by the enemy Chinese overseas voyages. Dr. Wolters chants were engaged in internation- observes that, until the end of the al trade. The following were men- king of Wurawari who came out eleventh century,China was dependent from Luaram. This attack, which on foreign ships in the commerce with tioned in an inscription: , destroyed the palace, could have the Nanyang. Trade had to be carried Khmers, Thais, Burmese, Ceylonese been sponsored by Srivijaya on according to the 'tributary' system and Indians from several regions of through a local King of Java (Coedes laid down by the imperial court in its India (the so-caIIed wargga kilalan, 1968: 144). Wurawari is a place in dealings with individual foreign states. foreign settlers). Notice that no the Pekalongan area (Schrieke 1957 That is, trade with China was not open Chinese was mentioned among a: 21 Icf). and free to all merchants, Chinese or them. foreign. It was restricted to the 'Tri- Airlangga who ruled East Java bute' missions, sent to the emperor by 1019 to 1049 maintained a policy his vassal barbarian rulers, or at least by the so-called vassals". of balance of power with Srivijaya. Foreign Ceramic Sherd Dating In this atmosphere of peace, he promoted seaborne trade. His in- Dr Wolters suggests that the im- scription specified the following Two important problems arise portance of Srivijaya lays in its role foreigners40, Kling, Aryya, Simha- from the finds of foreign, ceramics as an entrepot needed by merchants la, Pandikiria, Dravida, Campa, in this area: Does the absence of trading to and from China. Remen, Kmir (and in another early Chinese ceramics imply the "All this changed during the period place: Karnataka). Here again we absence of ancient trade ports be- of the Southern Sung (1127-1278). see no Chinese on the list. Ap- fore the 10th century? What is Their dependence upon seaborne trade parently at that time, there were no the relationship between Java and Srivijaya? ... the importance of Srivijaya lays in its role as We indeed wonder why in genera! the foreign ceramic sherds, parti- an entrepot needed by merchants trading to and cularly those from China, appear so late in this part of the country. Was from China. there no trade with China? But the Chinese annais included embassies from the Indonesian Archipelago, lad them to open the trade to the Chinese settlers yet, though there unless of course all the famous Nanyang with Chinese vessels. There might have been a fewChinese tra- toponyms such as She-li-fo-she, Ho- was a great expansion of the_Chinese ders. Krom thought that the trade lo-tan, Ho-ling, She-p'o, etc. were mercantile marine and CKmTss^"veWls was in the hands of Chinese (Krom, outside Indonesia and perhaps on began t o trade directly with Southeast 1931: 226). the Malay Peninsula. Evidences of Asian ports. Chau Ju-Kua, for in- stance, mentions in 1225, that Chinese The presence of numerous Chi- some kind of contact with India nese ceramic sherds in a later period since the 5th century exist. They merchants were visiting Java, while another source mentions that they would, on the other hand, indicate are in theshapeof the 5th century were visiting the Gulf of Siam. Others the existence of a Chinese colony inscriptions of and West followed their example and we hear of called "Kola Cina" or "pecinaan". Java, early statuary and, later on, Tamil and Cairo merchants trading the fine architecture and sculpture directly with North Sumatrans for Relationship between Java and of Central Java and the inscriptions camphor." of the 8-9th centuries which some- Srivijaya times mention foreigners from In- It shows that prior to the 12th Having concluded that there were dia or Mainland Southeast Asia. century, the trade in the archipela- indeed ancient ports on the north The discovery of some ceramics go and perhaps even to China was coast of Central Java, we will now of even the Han period and many mostly in the hands of Indonesian discuss the relations between Java of the T'ang period all over Indone- traders and navigators. They pro- and Srivijaya in the light of the cera- sia is not enough proof of the exis- bably used their own earthenware mic sherds on the north coast of tence of either early settlements in and when clay was lacking (as on Central Java. The general assump- the area or trade with China. Wol- the Polynesian islands), leaves, tion is that Srivijaya was a "mari- ters' book on the fall of Srivijaya, wood, bamboo, and gourds38 as time" kingdom and Java an "agra- referred to by Hall (1970: 61-62) containers; it is probably why early rian" one, a view we cannot contains some explanation. Chinese porcelain sherds were not share. How could a maritime king- found in the ancient sites. dom live without a fertile hinter- "Dr. O.W. Wolters has recently The presence of early foreign land or how could an "agrarian" attempted to interpret the evidence ceramic sherds in some areas does kingdom such as the Sailendras' in 31

Central Java live, be wealthy and came king of Suwarnadwipa and his which was ruled by the Sailendras.'' build magnificent monuments with- name appeared in an inscription on Moreover, Java and Sumatra out the revenues of a seaborne copper found on the old site of the ware always struggling for hege- trade? It was not from rice alone extension he made to the monastery mony and competing for the trade that they built up their wealth. in . (De Casparis, 1956).42 with China. Their missions never overlapped, as Wolters remarked46 Inscriptions, most of which were After Rakai Pikatari, several Srivijaya (She-li-fo-che) sent mis- found in the same part of Central kings in Central Java were either his sions from 670 to 742, Java (Ho- Java where temples and statues descendants or their successors. ling) in 640, 648 and 666, and were found, could not be the sole Their inscriptions appeared until again as Ho-ling from 768-818 and source of information on the past. the beginning of the 10th century. afterwards, as She'-p'o from 820 till Without the study of ceramics, the Then suddenly after the last inscrip- 873. Srivijaya (San-Fo-ts'i) sent knowledge based on these sources tion of 929, no Royal charters ap- missions from 904 to 983 and often would be incomplete. The sherds peared from Central Java; instead, thereafter. There were six missions may supplement the data which are the first inscriptions of King Sindok between 960 and 988. A mission still lacking on the political and turned up in Eastern Java. Several then came from Java in 992, after economic life of Central Java. scholars speculated the reasons for which the missions ceased for this sudden transfer of royal power. another 100 years. Then Srivijaya 43 A very important historical pro- Van Bemmelen attributed this to sent missions between 1003 and blem has intrigued many scholars: a volcanic eruption at the time 1008. The absence of missions the sudden transfer of the centre of when Dharmawangsa's palace was from Java (873-992) occurred when attacked by the King of Wurawari the transfer of capital took place power from Central to East Java. A 44 brief account of the political deve- who came from Luaram. Schrieke and the kings from Sindok to Dhar- lopment in Central Java between considered the exhaustion of the mawangsa ruled East Java. The rea- sons for this transfer of power could have been a natural disaster and politics.

A very important historical problem has intrigued Boechari (1976) agrees with van many scholars : the sudden transfer of power Bemmelen that the eruption of caused the transfer. from Central to East Java. He disagrees, however, on the dating of the disaster. Van Bem- melen associates the disaster with 41 732 and 930 is needed to clarify population who had to carry the the pralaya which destroyed the this aspect. burdens of excessive temple build- palace of Dharmawangsa in 1016/ ing as the cause of the transfer of 1017. 8oechari places it around 45 Two dynasties or two branches cower eastwards. De Casparis 930, the time when the inscriptions of the same royal family ruled dur- suggested that the reason was a fear came to an abrupt halt in Central ing these two centuries. The family of the Sailendras, who had been Java. started with King Sanjaya, a fol- expelled from Java, and the consi- lower of a "Hindu" cult who issued deration that trade would be more We agree with van Bemmelen re- an inscription in 732 when he erect- profitable in the Brantas Deita garding the eruption of Mount ed a lingga on Mount Wukir. A few which was nearer the spice and san- Merapi, but with Boechari as decades later, the Sailendra inscrip- dalwood islands. According to De regards the period of transfer of tions began and continued until Casparis: the keraton to East Java. The Candi about 830. The Sailendras, in con- Sambisari47 which is in the plains trast with Sanjaya and his succes- "East Javanese merchants went to of Prambanan serves as a proof. It sors, were Buddhists; and they were Eastern Indonesia exchanging Javanese was excavated in 1969 from about associated with the Borobudur and rice and other products with spices four meters of volcanic ashes. The other magnificent sanctuaries. The and sandalwood. They took them to style of its ornaments and statues is "Hindu Sanjayas", though in a les- Srivijaya, where they met foreign mer- characteristic of the period of the ser position of power, still cooperat- chants, and exchanged their wares Prambanan temple or a little later. ed with them in their temple build- with foreign goods, such as gold, silk Other indications that an eruption ing. and porcelain from China, robes from of Mount Merapi had covered India, incense from Arab countries, whole areas with lava or ashes came Pramodhawarddhani of the Sai- etc. This kind of trade made East Java prosperous". from observations by geologists. lendra dynasty married in about When Mount Merapi erupts, fertile 830 a prince of the Sanjaya family, areas, villages, and roads can be . Her younger broth- De Casparis overlooked one destroyed in a minimum of time. er was expelled from Java point. If the Sailendras were fear- Even now, when we drive to the after he led a war against her and ed, how could the merchants from Borobudur after an eruption, we her husband. Rakai Pikatan De- Eastern Java trade with Srivijaya, 32

can see how roads and bridges have tral Javanese harbour princes in 175, 176s (Mendut) P1. 179, been damaged, but with modern league with Srivijaya. This could Prambanan, p 1 , 177 Bernet equipment new roads and bridges be why ceramic sherds are found on Kempers (1959) pi. 289-291, can be easily rebuilt , not so in the the northeastern part of Central 322. (Trowulan). 10th century. The road connect- Java. It would not have been the 9 Bernet Kempers, Ancient In- ing the capital, which was perhaps case if the prosperous trade had donesian art pi. 248. Portrait in the plains of Prambanan with the been entirely transferred to Eastern statue of a Queen of Majapahit. busy trade ports on the north coast Java. From Chandi Rimbi. of Central Java, was destroyed and 10 We wonder whether in Maja- remained so. The inscription of pahit the ashes of the kings Mantyasih, protected by xhepatihs, and queens were interred in indicates the existence of that road. Conclusion martavans or other foreign Boechari suggests that the road con- ceramics, as were the ashes of nected the Kedu plains with the chiefs in Kalimantan and north coast via Parakan (Boechari Sulawesi. Soekmono in his The presence of many ceramic 1976-9). dissertation: "Candi, Fungsi sherds in one place indicates the dan pengertiannya" (1976) We suggest that after the destruc- existence of settlements perhaps holds that the ashes were tion of this road, the harbour even a Chinese settlement. thrown away in the sea like in princes, now independent from the The absence of ceramic sherds Bali, but having seen the urns suzerainty of the kings in the in- prior to the Sung dynasty (1127- of the kings of Cambodia in terior, became free to trade with 1278), for example in Sumatra, the Royal Palace in Phnom Srivijaya. They were on a friendly does not mean that there were no Penh, we wonder whether the footing with the rulers of Srivijaya, settlements. The Indonesians made kings of Majapahit had follow- or to put it more strongly, they use of bamboo, coconut husks, ed the same custom. This were still loyal to the Sailendras. wood, gourds and shells for their would explain the appearance The kings, who were the succes- household utensils. A Chinese of the martavans, flanking the sors of Sanjaya, could no longer source recorded that P'o-Ni had no portrait statues of the Maja- enjc. the revenues of the seaborne clay, and therefore the inhabi- pahit period (14th-1 5th centu- trade. This was why they had to tants made use of bamboo and • y). In this case, the ashes transfer the center of power to East palm leaves for cooking purposes. were kept in urns and not in Java Their presence there would (Krom, (1931), p. 236). not imply a heightened trade on the temples. It would explain the eastern islands. It is possible Ceramic sherds are very useful in the absence of human ashes in that the harbour princes of the the dating of sites, and in determin- the stone boxes with nine north coast of Central Java prevent- ing the trade and political relations holes which were put in the ed them from trading with these is- of Indonesia at that time. shaft under the statue in the lands. The harbour princes were The use of local and foreign cera- cult temple. mics for ceremonies shows fiat In- the people who sent the commodi- 11 Uka Tjandrasasmita, Isla- donesians consider these wares as The ties to Srivijaya, which sent mis- mic objects to ward off evil influences Antiquities of Sendangdu- sions to China. p. 10. However the mas- and in the case of foreign ceramics wur taka of Sendangduwur was The interruption in Java's trade as status symbols. with China lasted until 992, when a made of copper. Chines merchant arrived in China 12 Mme Viviane Sukanda-Tessier with three Javanese ambassadors (1977) p. 1228: "Letriomphe and their retinue on board. This de Sri en pays soundanais. first mission after more than a cen- Notes 13 -De Flines (1949) p. 37-38; S. tury seems to coincide with the Adyatman 1977. agressive attitude by King Dhar- 1 Orsoy de Flines: 1941-1947; 14 Abu Ridho, (1977) pi. 88. mawangsa towards Srivijaya. The 1948;1949,1972. Berita Penelitian Purbakala Ambassador from Srivijaya who 2 Abu Ridho: 1977;1978. no. 1 (Denmak) pi. 122. happened to be in China could not 3 Van Heekeren: 1958;1974. 15 Bernet Kempers, (1959) pi.282. return to his country as it was oc- 4 Soejono:1977. 16 De Flines, 1950, p. 12. The cupied by Javanese troops from 5 Dates also obtained from appearance of fine porcelain in 990 till 992. One Javanese ambas- Martavans in Indonesia, a Bone makes us think that sador who arrived in the Chinese publication of the Ceramic Bone could have been the capital in 992 informed his hosts Society of Indonesia. most important part of Sula- that his country and San-fo-ts'i 6 Van Heekeren, Stone Age in wesi for centuries. We wonder were always at war with one Indonesia, p. 151. whether the toponym spelled another. 7 Van Heekeren, The Bronze- as P'o-Ni by the Chinese, The gap of one century in the Iron Age in Indonesia, p. 80- thought to represent Brunei in China trade could also have been 89: Urn cemeteries. Northwest Kalimantan, was ac- caused by themonopolyof the Cen- 8 Bernet Kempers, 1977, p.1. tually Bone in Southwest Sula- 33

WRSI. The description of the in the period of the Hindu and was considered ill luck to country and people suits Bone Buddhist Kings of Central remain in the same place where well. For example: "lacking Java, (8th-10th) century. We a disaster had happened. Per- earthenware they cooked in suspect that the inscriptions in haps they had. like the Javanese bamboo and palm leaves; they Old Malay were written by kings, also believed in cycle : sent a letter on a leaf to the princes with "foreign" blood, see Boechari 1977 who refers Emperor"(Krom 1931) p.236. who did not necessary hailed to Schrieke (1957) : Ruler and The king had a fleet of 100 from Sumatra, but perhaps Realm in Early Java. warships (Krom 1931) p. 305. from Sulawesi. The Buginese They were skilled in arith- could have been the mercena- 35 Laporan Penelitian Rembang metic and accounting (p. 399). ries at sea for the Javanese 1975. The facts are in accordance kings and could have inter- 36 Krom, (1931), p. 145. Coedes with this information: the married in the princely fami- (1968) p. 90, 107,301. Buginese have been sailors for lies. 37 Krom (1931) p. 239, 240. centuries, they have their own 22 see A.C. Kruyt 1933 p. 422- Boechari locates Luaram in script and their manuscripts 494. the area of Madiun as there is are called "lontara" which Sulawesi is a good example of still a place with that name. means, leaf of the tal (palm). a society which developed its Accounting would not be sur- own patterns of religion and 38 National Geographic Magazine, prising for a trading and sail- statecraft without being "hin- December 1940. p. 745 (op- ing nation. Cooking in bam- dunized".AIso the concepts of posite coloured illustration) boo and leaves is still practiced gods and divine powers of the "Provisions for sea: Roots, in Sulawesi. In an article by kings were original and per- fruits, nuts, dried fish and Grace Wong (1978) on blue- haps like those in Polynesia. water-filled gourds enabled the and- white porcelain appears a 23 Coedes: The Indianized States Polynesians to survive pas- list of ports visited by Chinese of Southeast Asia. sages as long as two months". ships when the eastern sea 24 Krom, (- 1931), De Casparis, 39 Boechari, (1977) p. 7. route already existed: 1956. 40 Krom, (1931) p. 264. Sanyu, Ma- n, Hai- dan (in 25 Braddell: Notes en Ancient 41 InscriptiesuitdeCailendra tijd. the Philippines), and after- Times in Malaya — (1951), 42 De Casparis (1950) compares wards: Bo-ni and Mao- iuo- ju p. 1 - 27. on p. 133 the list of the Sanja- (Moluccas). In another source: 26 Moens, 1937. yavamsa with that of the Cai- San-dao, Ma- li lu, Su-lu (in 27 M.C. Chand: paper presented lendravamca. The princes of the Philippines), Dong- chong- to the international Associa- the are men- yu- la (Tanjungpura? or Dong- tion of Historians on Asia. tioned in the inscription of gala?), Wan-nian-gang(P'o-Ni), (IAHA) Sixth International King Balitung, A.D. 907. Wen-lao-gu (Moluccas) sntl Conference. Yogyakarta, Indo- Wen-dan (Banda?) nesia, 1974. Krom 1931 p. 187. The impression that P'o-ni 28 Archaeological Research in Su- 43 Van Bemmelen, (1974), The was Bone in southern Sula- matra (1974) attack on Dharmawangsa's wesi is strengthened by its 29 Laporan Penelitian Arkeologi keraton was for a long time location between the Philip- di Sumatra- 1973. thought to be 1006 until pines and the Moluccas. 30 Report still in press. (Berita Damais revised the date to 17 Van Heekeren; (1958) p. 88. Penelitan Arkeologi). 1016/1017. L Ch. Damais, BEFEO0952) p. 64 n. 2. 18 Van Heekeren, (1958) p. 80. 31 Like the people of P'o-Ni in 19 Van Heekeren, (1958) p. 84. the 10th century-Krom (1931), 44 Schrieke (1941), 1957 b. p. 236. Noorduyn, (1955) p. 92. Hadi- 45 De Casparis: (1950) and (1958): 32 Survai Sumatra Utara. 1976. muljono 1972 p.7 mentions "Erlangga". the posthumous name of a raja pi. 14.; it could have been the 46 Wolters(1967) p. 214. of Bone: La Tenrirawe Bong- same place where the ancient kangngeri Gucinna "who sleeps Buddhist monastery 47 Sri Kusumobroto: "Prelimina- once stood. (lies to rest) in a pot". (From ry Note on ". 1969. Sejarah Wajo (1963) and Seja- 33 Biaro Bahal I. Survai Sumatra rah Goa (1967) by A.A. Pa- Utara pi. 16. Bernet Kempers- tunru. (1959) pi. 223. 20 Hadimuljono p. 12. He men- 34 The capital of Srivijaya could Bibliography tions other uses of ceramics have been moved several times also. in the course of centuries. Na- 21 Nagarakertagama, canto 14: tural disasters or destruction 4.5. Pigeaud( 1960) l,p.12. by the enemy caused the Addiyatma, Lammers Contacts with Java could have rulers to look for another 1977 Martavans in Indonesia. been existed even earlier, and place of residence. Moreover it Jakarta 34

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