Raksasa

jonng · 30th January 2008, 05:22 PM

Hi All,

I'm currently reading a picture book "Chinese Auspicious Pictures" and came across something interesting: "....Raksasa, a man-eating demon in ancient Indian lore. Converted from her evil ways by the Buddha himself, Raksasa vowed to be a kind-hearted deity and ensure the safety of women in child-birth and be the guardian of children. When the belief of Raksasa was introduced into China, this image merged with that of.....".
There were Hindu and Buddhist influences in Indonesia in the past. So when we talk about Raksasa in the Indonesian context, are we talking about the man-eating demon, the kind-hearted deity or something different?
I have 2 Raksasa hilts. One is smiling and looked like a good fellow. The other one, though stylized, seem to have an evil looking one carved at the back, which I found out only when I looked at it one night when the shadows "created" the eyes. Is that the reason why they carve 2 faces on some of these hilts?

Alam Shah · 31st January 2008, 12:02 AM

I don't know much. A quick wiki yields [ this ] .

Btw, that's a nice Putra Satu hilt, you have there.

tunggulametung · 31st January 2008, 09:07 AM

In modern bahasa, raksasa generally means giant or something big or bigger than usual, tend to describe demon or demon-like figure, but not always. Now in this context we surely refer to this giant figure with demonic appearance as in its original meaning.

As far as I know, even raksasa figure always being described with demonic appearance, there are good raksasa and bad raksasa. Example of well known good raksasa figures are the twin Cingkarabala and Upatabala (both known as Dwarapala or Gupala), the door keeper, the protector. In keris hilt context, I believe the raksasa is the protector, the good giant. But we should not forget that even the bad were worshipped in Hinduism so that the bad will be kind and protect the worshipper, which means its possibly the bad raksasa too. I believe it would be difficult to find which exact characters they are in modern explanation, maybe someone in this forum has a better explanation, if possible with older reference.

The face at the back generally regarded as Garuda, the good eagle. I'm not sure about the explanation, but possibly the watcher (of your back).

Now, I will leave the space for someone with a better knowledge within the subject, I would like to learn about this too, it is my favourite subject.

(I add some reference picture of good raksasa from the internet, one showing the garuda head at the back)

BluErf · 31st January 2008, 04:12 PM

The 'evil face' on the back of the head may be representing a garuda mungkur.

tunggulametung · 31st January 2008, 04:23 PM

Just to add a link about garuda mungkur to previous post within the forum.

jonng · 1st February 2008, 04:52 AM

Thank you guys for your kind input.
Any idea on which island those 2 Raksasa in the post card/ pic are from and their age?

30th January 2008, 05:22 PM	#1
jonng Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 41	Raksasa Hi All, I'm currently reading a picture book "Chinese Auspicious Pictures" and came across something interesting: "....Raksasa, a man-eating demon in ancient Indian lore. Converted from her evil ways by the Buddha himself, Raksasa vowed to be a kind-hearted deity and ensure the safety of women in child-birth and be the guardian of children. When the belief of Raksasa was introduced into China, this image merged with that of.....". There were Hindu and Buddhist influences in Indonesia in the past. So when we talk about Raksasa in the Indonesian context, are we talking about the man-eating demon, the kind-hearted deity or something different? I have 2 Raksasa hilts. One is smiling and looked like a good fellow. The other one, though stylized, seem to have an evil looking one carved at the back, which I found out only when I looked at it one night when the shadows "created" the eyes. Is that the reason why they carve 2 faces on some of these hilts? Attached Images

31st January 2008, 12:02 AM	#2
Alam Shah Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,248	I don't know much. A quick wiki yields [ this ] . Btw, that's a nice Putra Satu hilt, you have there. Last edited by Alam Shah; 31st January 2008 at 10:37 AM.

31st January 2008, 09:07 AM	#3
tunggulametung Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 238	In modern bahasa, raksasa generally means giant or something big or bigger than usual, tend to describe demon or demon-like figure, but not always. Now in this context we surely refer to this giant figure with demonic appearance as in its original meaning. As far as I know, even raksasa figure always being described with demonic appearance, there are good raksasa and bad raksasa. Example of well known good raksasa figures are the twin Cingkarabala and Upatabala (both known as Dwarapala or Gupala), the door keeper, the protector. In keris hilt context, I believe the raksasa is the protector, the good giant. But we should not forget that even the bad were worshipped in Hinduism so that the bad will be kind and protect the worshipper, which means its possibly the bad raksasa too. I believe it would be difficult to find which exact characters they are in modern explanation, maybe someone in this forum has a better explanation, if possible with older reference. The face at the back generally regarded as Garuda, the good eagle. I'm not sure about the explanation, but possibly the watcher (of your back). Now, I will leave the space for someone with a better knowledge within the subject, I would like to learn about this too, it is my favourite subject. (I add some reference picture of good raksasa from the internet, one showing the garuda head at the back) Attached Images Last edited by tunggulametung; 31st January 2008 at 09:21 AM.

31st January 2008, 04:12 PM	#4
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	The 'evil face' on the back of the head may be representing a garuda mungkur.

31st January 2008, 04:23 PM	#5
tunggulametung Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 238	Just to add a link about garuda mungkur to previous post within the forum.

1st February 2008, 04:52 AM	#6
jonng Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 41	Thank you guys for your kind input. Any idea on which island those 2 Raksasa in the post card/ pic are from and their age?