Candi Sukuh carving, keris mythology

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

A good beginning to the study of Candi Sukuh is this article:-

http://cip.cornell.edu/DPubS?service...ndo/1107006615

Stanley O'Connor does not have all the answers by any means, but he does give us some insight into the problems that are faced by anybody attempting to understand the messages of Candi Sukuh.

Thanks Alan, that was a very interesting article with much food for thought. Most of us who have been studying keris for some time have, of course, seen this image of the Candi Sukuh before as it is often used to trace the origins of the keris at least back as far as we can date this temple. We can look at it and say with some confidence that the keris was an accepted part of the culture at least as early as 1437. However, most of us have not had the opportunity to actually travel to this place and for the most part it is just this one photograph that we refer to, without applying it in context to the place as a whole. Out of context we might ascribe many ideas to this scene in the smithy. As you say, Mr. O'Connor does not have all the answers, but i find his line of thought very intriguing.
One thing i am feeling more and more certain about is that this relief was not meant to depict or commemorate any divine figure instructing the first empu in the creation of the first keris. Why? Firstly what we assume to be a keris (and most probably is) does not have any central significance in the sculpture. It is in the background with other weapons and tools that are all given equal prominence. The blade that the smith is holding does not appear to be a keris to me, but is more likely a pedang of some sort. At least it does not seem to have the specific features that we recognize as a keris (asymmetric blade and gonjo). So the central message of this relief is not specifically about keris at all. The thing we all identify as a keris is merely one more object on the smith's wall of finished items.

[Pusaka]

However David if you knew the mythology you would know the first empu was responsible for creating not only keris but the keris was one of 15 weapons he made. Hence the reason why the smith is surrounded by the verity you observed. Secondly according to the mythology he used his fist as a hammer, his breath to blast heat the metal, his tong to quench the metal, his fingers to shape the metal and his knee as an anvil. As you will see that is all shown in that image.

[Pusaka]

Whilst I agree with J. O'Connor that smiting was used as an analogy of self transmutation through alchemical knowledge I disagree with the flavour he attributes to these alchemical teachings ie boozing, demonic gods (Ganesha), spirit possesion, death cult, sex orgies and dogs enveloped in hell fire.

Those things are to be avoided by those who study Ilmu, Kibatian, Kejawen

[David]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

Those things are to be avoided by those who study Ilmu, Kibatian, Kejawen

These are spiritual philosophies that were developed long after the period in which this temple was built. Kejawen and Kebatinan were not studied by the people of this era.

[Pusaka]

Originally Posted by David

These are spiritual philosophies that were developed long after the period in which this temple was built. Kejawen and Kebatinan were not studied by the people of this era.

Then I have to disagree they were studied in that period

[David]

Originally Posted by Pusaka

Then I have to disagree they were studied in that period

Well you are welcome to disagree, however the practice of Kejawen could not possibly exist in Jawa before the Islamic era as it is a syncretic system that is deeply based in Islam (specifically sufi) as well as elements of animistic, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.

[Pusaka]

Originally Posted by David

Well you are welcome to disagree, however the practice of Kejawen could not possibly exist in Jawa before the Islamic era as it is a syncretic system that is deeply based in Islam (specifically sufi) as well as elements of animistic, Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.

It has its origins in pre Islamic Indonesia. It is a melting pot of all those ideals but clearly Islam is the most recent addition. The Javanese did not need to wait for the coming of Islam to have a scene of morality (kejawen) or meditative/yogic practices (kabatinan)

[David]

Pusaka, perhaps you are familiar with Niels Mulder's book Mysticism in Java. If not you might find it a very good read.
http://tinyurl.com/jlhpd6w
"Kebatinan mysticism, as we know it, is clearly the product of late colonial society as it existed in the principalities, or sultanates, of South Central Java."

Here is another account from an article in New Dawn Magazine that clearly places the development of Kebatinan in the late colonial period of Java.
"The Javanese Science is a syncretic blend of Hindu-Buddhist, Sufi, Taoist and ancient animist strands, and evolved in the royal courts of Solo and nearby Jogjakarta in Central Java as a system of self-transformation confined solely to the aristocracy. But since the Revolution that ejected the Dutch rulers from the country after the Second World War, the Science emerged into the popular culture in the form of hundreds of kebatinan (or inner-being) sects, each one of which celebrates some aspect of the royal mother tradition. These esoteric sects have drawn a very large minority of the Indonesian population into their sphere, forming an immensely creative and diverse subculture at the leading edge of national life, very much as happened in Japan after the Second World War."