Mountains and Caves in Art: New Finds of Terracota Miniatures in Kudus, Central Java

Early in 1978 an archaeologicalteam of the National Research Cen-tre of Archaeology was sent on anexpedition to the north coast ofCentral Java. They came back witha report that they had found manyterracotta fragments in the villageof Jurang, about 10 km. north ofthe town of Kudus. As a result,another team was sent to undertakean additional survey and excava-tion at Jurang, hoping to find theclue to the identity of the finds.Here follows the account of theresearch undertaken during a periodof two weeks.

The Site and the Finds

kudus, the capital town of theregency, was once the bustling cen-tre of Moslem religious activities.Derived from the word al-kuds meaning holy or pure1, Kudus is,according to Poerbatjaraka, theonly town in Central Java bearingan Arabic name. However, Kudusmust already have existed beforethe Moslem period2. Some of itsarchaeological remains still showtraits of Hindu influence, such asthe minaret of Kudus with its de-coration of pottery dishes and thewinged gateway.

A reprint of the Monograph No. 15 of the Bulletin of the Research Centre of Archaeo-logy of Indonesia, Jakarta 1981. The author heads the Classical Department of The National Research Centre of Archaeology, Jakarta.

Site of finds at Jurang Kudus: earthenwares are found half-buried in the ground.

The 14th century Nagarakarta-gama mentions names of simas be-longing to the Majapahit domains,among which is the sima Suci3which also means pure or clear.Some of the place-names may referto Central Java. Since none of thenames mentioned, including Suci,can yet be identified, even thoughKudus and Suci have the samemeaning, it would be rash to as-sume that Suci and Kudus are one.

by Sri Soetjami Safari

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Other towns in the area still retaintheir Old Javanese names suchas Demak, Lasem, and Juwana.A thorough investigation of thegeographical names mentioned inthe Nagarakartagama is still to bedone.

The terracotta miniatures arefound on the slope of a hill whichpeople called the punden (holyplace) of Pundisari and is still consi-dered to be sacred. On special oc-casions, such as a wedding celebra-tion or when someone has just re-covered from a serious illness, peo-pie make offerings in the form ofearthenware plates or pots withcovers containing coins and flowers.Thus, with the passage of time, a huge pile of earthen plates, halfburied in the ground, was formedon the slope beneath a tree, nearthe place where the miniatures werefound

Despite the promising surround-ing, the results of the excavationproved to be very disappointing.Only a very small number of uniden-tified potsherds were dug out fromthe five excavation boxes measuring2 x 2 metres. Tne team becameconvinced that the miniatures hadactually originated elsewhere. Frominformation gathered from theeldest man in the village, it came tolight that Lhey were transportedfrom the surrou/3djngs_.of a nearbymosque which was'rebuilt in 1940.The peculiar offering of plates alsoseemed to be a tradition at theplace where a saint called KyaiSukun was entombed.

About 90 large and small frag-ments of terracotta have been ex-cavated and all are shaped in theform of hollow mountains or hil-locks and made of bricks carvedwith caves and small holes. The fol-lowing pieces are the most interest-ing finds in Jurang:1. A fragment 37 cm. long, 33 cm.

high and 19 cm. thick depicts a mountainous scenery. The largemountain top has collapsed, buttwo hill tops still remain, stand-ing side by side. The base of thehills is decorated with a pair ofcaves, topped by a stylized in-tricately carved kala head. Thiskala rests on a bed of rocks in-dicated by small holes on thesurface; behind the rocks, on the

Above : Terracota depicting hills with floral decoration. Below : Terracota decorated with stylized kala head.

body of the mountains, incisedlines are carved to denote creep-ers.

2. A fragment (length 28cm., height23 cm., 8.5 cm. thick) representsoblong cave-openings which de-corate the base of the mountains,framed by straight stemmed curlyfloral top. The mountain top hasthe form of a stylized elephanthead, beautifully carved. Morethan five fragments decorated inthis manner have been found.

3. A fragment (23 cm. long, 25 cm.high, 24 cm. thick) represents a scener-y of small mountain peaks.A five-pillared hanging structureon a platform seemingly squeezedbetween the mountains iscarved on the slope It has a square roof with diamond-shapedtiles, but only the frontsides arecarved. The four ridges of theroof with their uptilted ends aredecorated with rib-formed orna-mentations as we still see inKudus today.

These five-pillared structuresare sometimes depicted on Hindutemple reliefs4 and sometimesused as decorations on mosquesbuilt in the transition period suchas Mantingan, Sendangan andSendangduwur5. They representa sacred building.

4. Another fragment shows tracesof a platform with six pillUnlike the five-pillared structure,this one denotes a living quarteror a profane building6 .

5. An interesting fragment forms a part of a side corner where a single mountain is depicted: twosides of the base are hollowed torepresent caves. The caves arenot carved at the base of the cen-tral mountain, but at the hase oftwo hills, having respectively theform of a sitting owl or bull (partof the head is damaged) ana anunidentified animal sitting dos-a-dos entwining their tails toge-ther .

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6. Naturally shaped animals alsoenliven the scenery. A deer isseen sitting on top of a hill andanother fragment shows a sport-ing dog leaping up toward thebushes.Although throughly fired, not all

of them are carved on the entiresurface. A part of the terracottawhich is supposed to be hiddenfrom the public is sometimes deli-berately left plain, or is left unfi-nished except for some incisedoutlines.

Based on these descriptions, wecan conclude that:1. All miniatures depict mountain-

ous scenery or gunungan de-corated with stylized floral pat-terns.

2. Parts of the gunungan consist-ing of hills or hilltops are some-times shaped into animal forms,such as an elephant's head, a lionand other fauna which usuallvframe a cave, thus replacing thefloral motifs.

3. The reliefs of fauna which aredetached from their decorativefunction and depicted as livingcreatures in the woods are shapedin their natural forms.

4. The five-pillared structure repre-sents a hermitage, whereas thesix-pillared pavilion depicts a resting place.The questions that these evoke

are: when were these terracottaminiatures produced, what in-fluenced their form and style and

what was their purpose? Theanswers require a deep penetrationof the cultural and spiritual life ofancient Indonesia.

Cosmic Mountains

From the beginning of the firstcentury, Indonesian culture hasbeen exposed to Indian influence.Indian religious systems and valuesmeryed and fitted smoothly intothe already formed Indonesiancommunity. This influence extend-ed also to other forms of religiousexpression such as language, archi-tecture and the arts. The adapta-tion of the Indian culture in eachregion occured in different ways.Central Java for instance displayeda mastery in handling and modify-ing Indic-tradition and styles7 , whereas East Java showed more in-digenous traits.

One common feature foundthroughout Asia was the impor-tance placed on the role of themountain which symbolized thecosmic mountain. The Hindusbelieved that the axis of the uni-verse is centered around the cosmicmountain, called the Mahameru, ontop of which stood the palace ofBrahma. Indra, lord of the heavenlybeings, had his grove on MountSitanta, on the slope of the Himala-

Left : A stylized elephant's head and a fragment of a pavilion. Right: A "hanging hermitage" looking over the hills

ya, whereas different classes of godshad their abode in rocks and cavehouses. The caves were also placesof worships, retreat and congrega-tion8 . The ancient Chinesethought the earth to be square andflat, marked by five divine moun-tains, placed at the four corners ofthe earth, and one at the centre.The gods were thought to walk ontheir summits9 . The Cambodianbelieved that the mountain was theaxis of the universe. It was symbol-ized by a temple built on top of a natural or a constructed moun-tain10.

The Indian tradition regardingthe cosmic mountain underwentsome modification in Indonesia.The candi became a symbol of thecosmic mountain as well as the seatof the gods. A special form of theMahameru with either five or nine peaks was much preferred. Thereeven existed the legend on the tran-sportation of the Mahameru toJava, the top of which became thenine-topped Mount Penanggun-gan11 . A smaller replica of the

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An armta container with a mountain-top shaped cover from Blambangan, East Java

nine-topped mountain was found otthe bathing-place of Jalatunda. Ithad the form of a central spoutsurrounded by four medium-sizedsmaller spouts. Between the smallspouts, four other still smallercolumns were placed crosswise12

Mountain — shaped objects usedfor religious purposes were alsofound. In China there _was thetypical 'h i l l ' jar,"a'burial "pot fromthe Han period13 having a coverrepresenting the magic mountain.Religious significance expressed inarts and crafts can also be perceived,for instance, in the bronze water-jars and bronze ewers dating fromthe Singhasari period14 . The water-jars consists of a globular body anda mountain - shaped lid decoratedwith rocks, whereas the ewer orthe water vessel has a lid with manytiers suggesting the replica of MountMahameru. A naga spout and rockmotifs complete the ornamenta -tions.

A similar example is provided bya terracotta amrta container fromBlambangan, East Java. The bodyof the pot is decorated with hil-locks and lotus plants shaped intofive stylized garuda heads and withthe figure of a hermit sitting infront of a cave. A mountain withmany peaks tops the whole piece.

Mountain, rock and vegetationmotifs weie also a much preferredornamentation of other objects,such as dagger sheaths, batiks,the gunungan for wayang perfor-mances, etc15

The religious value attached tocertain kind of art objects seemedgradually to decrease at the onsetof the Majapahit period. A terracot-ta miniature from Trowulandepicts a landscape with a hermitsitting in front of his hermitage andawaiting the arrival of a visitor.The latter is approaching through a path leading up to the hermitage.Round stones and trees adorn thescenery. The square base and thehollow interior is similar to thoseobjects from Kudus. This piecemust have graced some nobleman'sabode, though. The sacred charac-ter of the artifact is obviously lesswhen compared with the amrtavessels.

Majapahit Art

The period of the Majapahitempire corresponded with thebloom of the second phase of clas-sical art when indigenous charac-teristics prevailed in architecture,sculpture, literature and other arts.It also witnessed the flourishing of'miniature' art. Artists created smallobjects made of stone or terracot-ta, shaping them into figurines ofmen, animals, shrines and housessimilar to those depicted on the ter-racotta of Kudus. Sometimes theywere modelled in a very livelyfashion.

In the Indus valley, where manyterracotta figurines have beenfound, the objects were generallyused for worship16 Terracottafigurines and miniature shrines andhouses were used in China as burialgifts17 This seemed also to be thetradition in several places in EastJav3 and Bali. In the surroundingsof the stupa of Sumberawa inMalang and the cave of Siti Jedog,Blitar, both in East Java, for in-stance, were found terracotta figu-rines which appeared to be used asofferings for deceased persons18 InBali, people still offer figurinesmade of flour and terracotta duringtemple festivals. However, this prac-

tice has gradually declined, and thefigurines have become mere decora-tive art objects.

However, no painting of the periodsurvives20 It is plausible that theabsence of painting is due to theperishable materials that were used.There are, nevertheless, prehistoricpaintings still in existence in otherareas of Indonesia, such as the caveand rock paintings in South Sula-wesi and West Irian?1 Paintings fromthe Islamic period known as wayang beber or scrolls depicting puppetplay stories also exist.

Kalangwan is a song in praise ofnature19 The beauty of naturehas always attracted painters andpoets not only of ancient Indonesiabut of the world. We have ampleproof of the existence of poems orkakawins from the classical (Hindu-Buddhist) period in which the poetslavishly glorify the beauty of naturein their songs.

The old Javanese poets used toroam the country-side with theirwriting instruments, consisting ofthe tanah (a kind of writing slate)and the karas (a board or tablet). Inpraising the beauiy of the lands-cape, they frequently alluded to itas being in human or animal forms.Sometimes, they used the reverseallusion: the animals appeared asvegetation. In the Arjuna Wiwaha,

A terracota incense burner from Camara, Ceribon

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The winged gateway at Sendangduwur, Lamongan, East Java

for instance, the mountain wasdescribed as an ascetic wearing a robe of clouds and a large capresembling a breadfruit tree22. Thecharms of nature were not onlysung by the poets, they were alsocarved on temple reliefs and sculp-tures such as at Prambanan, Pana-taran and other temples.

The tradition persisted in theensuing period, when Islam religionand culture became integrated intothe existing societies. Islam did notbring about much change in thecultural life of the people. Althoughmasques started to be built in thecoastal area in the sixteenth cen-tury, the builders of these religiousedifices still employed sculptorswho used to do the carving of thetemples. It was, therefore, not sur-prising to find several parts of a mosque or a tomb decorated withmotifs which were popular in theprevious period.

The stone medallions on thewalls of the old mosque and ceme-tery of Mantingan, about 12 km.south of Japara, Semarang, aredecorated with reliefs depictingmountainous sceneiy with fauna,flora and pavilions which remind

us of irowulan. Since orthodoxIslam forbids the representation ofliving beings, only the plants retaintheir natural form. The animals aredepicted in a stylized form andseem to mingle with the foliage sur-rounding them23

Similar decorations are found atthe cemetery of Sendangduwur,Tuban, East Java, where they arecarved on wood. Reminiscent ofclassical art are the winged gate-ways, which symbolize a flyinggaruda and at the same time a mountain and a tree of life24

The art of Majapahit expandedalong the north coast of Java,where it is called the art of pas/sir (coastal area)25 , and so similarartistic traits are found in Trowu-lan, Sendangduwur, Tuban, Kudus,Japara, Ceribon, and Banten. In thepalace of Kasepuhan in Cirebon,for instance, we find a sculpture ofa mountain of rocks as decoration.Sunyaragi has a rock garden wherethe rocks in some places are shapedlike an elephant.

The elephant-rock which slightlyresembles the elephant-shaped hills

on the relief of Kudus is also foundon a terracotta incense-burner fromCeribon The space between itslegs are filled with reliefs of plantson hillocks. The legs look more likelotus tubers from which the elepanthas pulled out a blooming lotusstalk.

Date and Function ofTerracotta Miniatures

Before considering further thefunctional significance of the terra-cottas, we will place them in thesequence of art history in accor-dance with their physical features.On account of the iandscapesdepicted, adorned with pavilions,mountains and caves which areshaped into an animal or othercreature form, the terracottas couldbe considered a continuation of theMajapahit art. The tradition mustdate from the hightide of the OldJavanese literary life, when the deerwas inseparable from tne hermi-tage's life and the dog from thehunting scenes in the woods.

For comparison, we will refer tosome lines mentioned in Oid Java-nese kakawins, which range in datefrom the tenth to the eighteenthcenturies. The relief of the 'hanginghermitage' which seems to besqueezed between the mountains

•will fit nicely into the fat±o«/in§canto(sorandaka: 1939:1:5):Liwat ing margasengkamanggih pajajaran/lilangungang kaaksi/ri wijil ing arka/ri agra ning parwa-ta...

Its English translation follows:Leaving the steep path behind, upona recluse they came/how beautifulhe looked, like peeping down onhis surroundings it seemed/atsunrise/(when the sun) emerged(behind) the mountain-top.. .

The Arjuna Wiwaha (1926:11:2)also mentioned the existence of a resting pavilion: alas katemu sang-graheng tamuy an amalaku jawuh tanggaling kapatj1 translated as:In the woods they found a restingpavilion provided for the guestswho might be caught in the rainwhile travelling in the rainy season.

Elephant-shaped rocks were com-mon features in the kakawins, asshown in canto XV:9 of the same

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poem... ring mapasir mapandan akarangs liman asemu leyep tining-ha/an.2e .The translation follows ...the beach, the pandanus shrubs,and the rocks resembling elephantswere nearly too hazy to behold.

Aftif icial mountains and caveswere also known by poets asdescribed in the Smaradahana, can-to IV: 16: Kulwan-kidulnyagainaga linurah hawanya. Endah gunungn-na, gin awe minaha guhanya2S

It is translated as follows: in thesouthwest part was laid out a dryricefield with a cleaned-up path.The (artificial) mountains and cavesbeing beautifully shaped.

Since some animals are depictedin a natural manner, which Islamwould never allow, the miniaturesmust have originated from the clas-sical period. Some of their charac-teristics, such as the floral elements,are closest to the art of the six-teenth century Mantingan. Hence,it can be concluded that they weremade in the late classical or thetransitional period, the approxi-mate date being the late fifteenthcentury.

This corresponds with the factthat the site of Jurang lies onlyabout 12 km. south of Kudus,where the Islamic culture flourishedin ihe sixteenth century, and onlya few kilometres north-east of Demak, the first Moslem kingdom tosucceed the Hindu kingdom ofMajapahit.

Just as the Majapahit period mi-niatures depicting a mountain be-came a more decorative element forhomes and other structures after-wards, the terracottas of Kudusmust have also served a similarfunction. They were put inside a niche or against a wall to show onlythe ornamented part. The gununganor miniature mountain, at first a symbol of the holy cosmic moun-tain, became a mere ornamentation,the dream of a poet made concreteby the hand of an artist.

Notes

1. Vide Salam, Solichin, Kudus Purbakala Dalam Perjungan Islam. 1977, p.55.

2. Jasper, J.E. "Het stadje Kudusen zijn oude kunst" Neder-landsch Indie — Ouden Nieuw. 7e jaargang afl 1, 1922, pp 3 ff.

3. Pigeud, Th. Java in the four-teenth century. Vol. I canto78: 4:3, 1960. p.60. Here Suciis mentioned together with thesimas Nadi, Abhaya, Tiyah,Pakuwukan, and Kiyal.

4. Galestin, Th.P. Houtbouw op OostsJavaansche tempelre/iefs. 1936. Hoofdstuk IV pp.

5. Ibid. The diamond-shapedrooftiles resembiing those de-picted at Sendangduwur, pp120 ff.

6. Ibid.op. cit. pp. 121 ffpl V I .7. Bernet Kempers, A.J. Ancient

Indonesian Art. 1959. p12.8. Kramrisch, Stella. The Hindu

Temple. 1956.pp. 169-170.9. Schafer, Edward H. Ancient

China. 1974.pp. 102-103.10. Lee Sr,ermanf E, A History

of Far Eastern Art. pp.229-230.

11. Bernet Kcmpers, A.J. op.cit,p.20-21.

12. Bosch. F.D.K., Selected Stu-dies in Indonesian Archaeolo-gy. 1961 .pp 51-52.

13. Lee Sherman. E. op.cit. p.67p.170.

14. Fontein, J; Soekmono, R-Tulaiman,S.Sesen/a/7 Indonesia Purha 1971.pp.156-157. pits.70 and 73.

15. Hoop, A.N.J. Th. a Th . vander, Indonesische Siermotie-ven. 1949,pp.232-289;

16. Lee Sherman, E. op.cit.pp.18 ff.

'17. ibid op.cit.pp. 18ff.18. Satari, Soetjami "Some notes

on terracotta objects in Indo-nesia" . Paper presented at theVl th IAHA conference inJog-yakarta, 1974. Unpublish-ed.

19. An elaborate treatise on thissubject-matter has been dealtwi th by Zoetmulder, P.J.Ka/angwan: A survey of OldJavanese Literature, 1974.

20. We only know from theKidung Sunda (Berg.C.C.1927b) how King HayamWoruk of Majapahit fell inlove with the Sundanese prin-cess after one of his court

artists brought back a portraithe painted of the later.

2 1 . We know not for sure whethersome of the Balinese drawingson lontar dated from thisperiod.

22. Arjuna Wiwaha, canto II : 1.23. See plates 17,18 and 20 of

the Oudheidkunding Verslag 1930.

24. Tjandrasasmita, Uka, Sepintas mengenai peninggalan kepur-bakalaan Islam di Pesisir Utara Jawa 1976.p.6.

25. Ibid."Art de Majapahit et Artdu Pasisir". Archipel 9 1975.pp.93 ff.

26. Berg, Dr.E.J. van den, De val van Sora. Verhandelingen vanhet Koninkli jk Institut voor detaal-land-en volkenkunde vanNederlandsch Indie.

27. Purbatjaraka (Lesya). Dr.R.Ng,Arjuna Wiwaha. Tekst en Ver-taling 1926.

28. ibid. op. cit.

29. ibid. Smaradahana. Bibliothe-ca Javanica, 1931.

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