Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T00:14:49.343Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An Enclosure in the Garden of Love1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Robert Wessing
Robert Wessing
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In a recent article I looked at the Gunongan (Plate 1) in Banda Aceh, Indonesia in the context of both the stories surrounding this structure and its symbolism. Space did not permit an analysis of a second structure, the kandang (enclosure) that stands slightly to the north of the Gunongan. In this paper therefore I will take a closer look at the kandang and some of the stories surrounding it.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

2 Wessing, R., “The Gunongan in Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Agni's Fire in Allah's Paradise?”, Archipel 35 (1988): 157–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 Iskandar, T., Kamus Dewan cetakan ke 2 (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1984), p. 341Google Scholar.

4 Anonymous, Beschrijving van den kraton van Groot-Atjeh (Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, 1874), pp. 9–10Google Scholar.

5 Kruijt, J.A., Atjeh en de Atjehers. Twee jaren op Sumatras noord-oost kust (Leiden: G. Kolff, 1877), p. 122Google Scholar.

6 Jacobs, J., Het familie- en kampongleven op Groot Atjeh, vol. 1 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1894), p. 298Google Scholar; Djajadiningrat, H., “De stichting van het “Goenongan” geheten monument te Koetaradja”, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië 65 (1916): 563Google Scholar; Kreemer, J., Atjeh, vol. 2 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1922), p. 52Google Scholar; Lombard, D., Le Sultanate D'Atjeh au Temps D'Iskandar Muda 1607–1636. Publications de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, LXI (Paris: Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient, 1967), p. 134Google Scholar; Brakel, L.F., “State and Statecraft in 17th Century Aceh”, in Precolonial State Systems in Southeast Asia, ed. Reid, A. and Castles, L., Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, no. 6 (Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1975), p. 61Google Scholar.

7 Zainuddin, H.M., Srikandi Atjeh (Medan: Pustaka Iskandar Muda, 1966), pp. 26 & 39Google Scholar.

8 de Saint-Pol Lias, B., Chez les Atches. Lohong (Paris: E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie, 1884), pp. 15–16Google Scholar.

9 Kruijt, , Atjeh, p. 122Google Scholar.

10 Smith, I.G., “Achin”, Inter-Ocean 12, no. 10 (1931): 449Google Scholar.

11 Iskandar, T., Nuru'd-din ar-Raniri Bustanu's-Salatin. Bab II. Fasal 13 (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1966), p. 50Google Scholar.

12 See also Djajadiningrat, , “De Stichting”, p. 563Google Scholar.

13 Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

14 Wessing, , “The Gunongan”Google Scholar.

15 Kruijt, , Atjeh, p. 122Google Scholar.

16 Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

17 Lias, Saint-Pol, Chez, p. 15Google Scholar.

18 Kruijt, , Atjeh, p. 122Google Scholar.

19 Anonymous, Beschrijving, mapGoogle Scholar.

20 Melantjong, , Atjeh a vol d'oisseau (Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff, 1881), p. 26Google Scholar.

21 Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

22 Djajadiningrat, , “De stichting”, p. 564Google Scholar.

23 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-din, p. 50Google Scholar.

24 Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, p. 1055Google Scholar.

25 Jentara mula means early or original wheel and may refer to Siva's cakra or even the cycle of rebirths.

26 “Dan ada di-sisi gunong itu kandang baginda, dan dewala kandang itu di-turap dengan batu puteh, di-ukir pelbagai warna, dan nakas, dan selimpat, dan tembus, dan mega arak-arakan. Dan itu (a)dalah ia menguchap selamat akan Nabi s.m. Dan ada-lah dewala yang di-dalam itu beberapa beteterapan batu puteh belazuwardi, perbuatan orang benua Turki. Dan tiang ka(n)dang itu bernama Tamriah, dan Naga-Puspa, dan Dewadaru, dan pegawai-nya daripada kayu jentara mula. Dan ada-lah hatap ka(n)dang itu dua lapis, sa-lapis daripada papan di-chat dengan lumerek hitam, gemerlap rupa warna-nya, saperti warna nilam, dan sa-lapis lagi hatap ka(n)dang itu daripada chat hijau, warnanya saperti warna zamrud. Kemunchak daripada mulamma dan sulor bayong-nya daripada perak dan di-bawah sulor itu bayong-nya itu buah pedendang daripada chermin, kilau-kilauan di-pandang orang. Dan di-hadapan kandang itu sa-buah balai gading….”

27 Iskandar, , Nudu'd-din, pp. 69–70Google Scholar:

“…pertama-tama diperbuat-nya batu terhampar kira-kira dua belas depa pada suatu sagi. Maka ada-lah perbuatan itu empal persagi, dan batu mengampar berkumai saperti perbuatan peterana. Dan ada-lah pada empat penjuru-nya itu berchanggai, berukir awan, dan mega, dan beberapa kalok. Maka di-atas batu mengampar itu-lah di-tambak-nya tanah kira-kira dulapan hasta tinggi-nya. Maka sakalian-nya itu di-susun dengan batu yang berbagai-bagai warna-nya, ada puteh, ada kuning, ada hijau, ada merah, ada hitam, ada ungu, ada jingga, ada ablok, ada berkurai, ada biru, ada pancawarna, ada saperti warna paru-paru. Maka di-perbuat-nya maka di-kerawang-nya pada lingkar tepi-tepi kumai itu, dan beberapa perhisannya terkena.”

28 Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, p. 379Google Scholar.

29 Ibid.

30 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-din, p. 70–71Google Scholar:

“Shahdan ada-lah perbuatan arah ka-paksina itu suatu pintu, bergelar Seri Muka. Maka ada-lah perbuatan pintu itu berkerawang…. Maka ada-lah segala pegawai Raja Kandang Daru'd-Dunia itu daripada kayu jati, dan gaharu, dan chendana, dan kelembak, dan kayu harang. Diperbuat-nya hatap Raja Kandang itu tiga lapis, salapis yang pertama daripada papan berchat merah, dan ada-lah perselangan-nya hatap-nya itu di-rapat-nya chermin atas angin berkeliling. Dan lapis yang kedua di-perbuat-nya daripada batu yang di-susun. Ada pun batu itu ada merah, ada puteh, ada kuning, berbagai-bagai warna-nya. Dan lapis yang ketiga daripada afdah perbuatan Andalus…. Maka adalah kemunchak Raja Kandang itu daripada perak, dan sa-genap penju(ru)-nya di-bubohnya buah berembang.”

31 Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, pp. 193, 306, 519Google Scholar.

32 Ibid., p. 121.

33 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-din, pp. 62–69Google Scholar.

34 Ibid., p. 63.

35 Ibid., pp. 67–68.

36 Ibid., p. 69.

37 Ibid., pp. 67–68.

38 Ibid., pp. 49–50.

39 Ibid., p. 69.

40 Djamil, M.J., Gadjah Putih (Kutaradja: Lembaga Kebudajaan Atjeh, n.d.), p. 71Google Scholar; Djajadiningrat, H., Atjehsch-Nederlandsch Woordenboek, vol. 1 (Batavia: Landsdrukkerij, 1934), p. 285Google Scholar.

41 Kamus, Tim Penyusun, Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1988), pp. 400, 934Google Scholar.

42 Echols, J.M. and Shadily, H., An Indonesian-English Dictionary (Jakarta: Gramedia, 1987), p. 170Google Scholar; Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, p. 502Google Scholar; Winstedt, R.O., An Unabridged Malay-English Dictionary (Kuala Lumpur: Marican and Sons, 1965), p. 118Google Scholar.

43 Cf. Wessing, , “The Gunongan”, p. 174Google Scholar; Anonymous, Beschrijving, mapGoogle Scholar.

44 The grave today indicated as sultan Iskandar Muda's is a recent, symbolic construction. His body does not lie there.

45 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-dinGoogle Scholar.

46 Ibid., p. 50.

47 Ibid., p. 99.

48 Ibid., p. 55.

49 Ibid., p. 87, notes 13 and 17.

50 Ibid., pp. 50, 56, 69.

51 Echols, and Shadily, , Dictionary, pp. 163–64Google Scholar.

52 Wilkinson, R.J., An Abridged Malay-English Dictionary (London: Macmillan and Co., 1961), p. 117Google Scholar.

53 Winstedt, , Dictionary, p. 159Google Scholar.

54 Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, p. 483Google Scholar.

55 Compare Poerwadarminta, W.J.S., Kamus Umum Bahasa Indonesia (Djakarta: Balai Pustaka, 1966), p. 388Google Scholar; Penyusun, Tim, Kamus Besar, p. 385Google Scholar.

56 Anonymous, Petunjuk Singkat Museum Negeri Aceh. Seri Penerbitan Museum Aceh 8 (Banda Aceh: Museum Negeri Aceh, 1982), p. 51Google Scholar.

57 Cf. Wessing, , “The Gunongan”Google Scholar.

58 Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

59 Wibowo, A.S., “Makam Keramat Banjak jang Kosong?”, Intisari 8, no. 91 (1971): 4–8Google Scholar.

60 Wessing, R., “The Position of the Baduj in the Larger West Javanese Society”, Man 12, no. 2 (1977): 298CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Wessing, R., “Spirits of the Earth and Spirits of the Water: Chthonic Forces in the Mountains of West Java”, Asian Folklore Studies 47, no. 1 (1988): 51CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

61 Mabbett, I.W., “The Symbolism of Mount Meru”, History of Religions 23, no. 1 (1983): 73–74CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

62 Eliade, M., A History of Religious Ideas, vol. 2. From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity, Trask, Willard R., tr. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), p. 9CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

63 O'Flaherty, W.D., Other Peoples’ Myths (New York: Macmillan, 1988), p. 83Google Scholar.

64 Wessing, , “The Gunongan”Google Scholar.

65 Mabbett, , “The Symbolism”, pp. 74–75Google Scholar.

66 Wessing, , “The Gunongan”, pp. 171–77Google Scholar.

67 Hurgronje, C. Snouck, The Acehnese, vol. 2 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1906), pp. 59–66Google Scholar.

68 Melantjong, , Atjeh, pp. 57–58Google Scholar.

69 Zainuddin, H.M., Djeumpa Atjeh (Medan: Pustaka Iskandar Muda, 1958), pp. 65–66Google Scholar.

70 van Eerde, J.C., “Investituur-steenen in Zuid-Celebes”, Tijdschrift van het Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap (ser. 2) 47 (1930): 821Google Scholar; Hooykaas, J., “Upon a White Stone under a Nagasari-Tree”, Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 113, no. 4 (1957): 325–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar; McKinnon, E.E., “Early Politics in Southern Sumatra: Some Preliminary Observations Based on Archaeological Evidence”, Indonesia 40 (1985): 10, n. 18CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

71 Swinhoe, R., Narrative of the North China Campaign of 1860 (London: Smith Elder and Co., 1861), pp. 293–337, 359Google Scholar; Danby, H., The Garden of Perfect Brightness (London: Williams and Norgate, 1950)Google Scholar.

72 Cf. Leigh, B., “The Garden of Paradise in Acehnese Embroidered Cloths”, paper presented to the Asian Studies of Australia Bicentennial Conference,Canberra,11–15 February 1988Google Scholar; The Qur'an, tr. Palmer, E.H., The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VI, ed. Müller, F. Max (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1900), pp. 220, 249, 263Google Scholar; Lombard, D., “Jardins a Java”, Arts Asiatiques 20 (1969): 135–83CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

73 Veldhuisen-Djajasoebrata, A., Batik op Java (Rotterdam: Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde, 1972), pp. 39–40Google Scholar.

74 Snelling, J., The Sacred Mountain (London: East West Publications, 1983), p. 28Google Scholar.

75 Hasjmy, A.H., Hikajat Perang Sabi Mendjiwai Perang Atjeh Lawan Belanda (Banda Atjeh: Pustaka Paraby, 1971), pp. 100 ffGoogle Scholar.

76 Danby, , The Garden, pp. 69–89Google Scholar; Hooykaas, , “Upon a White Stone”Google Scholar.

77 Zainuddin, H.M., Tarich Atjeh dan Nusantara (Medan: Pustaka Iskandar Muda, 1961), p. 376Google Scholar; Danby, , The Garden, p. 31Google Scholar; Swinhoe, , Narrative, p. 359Google Scholar.

78 Zainuddin, , Djeumpa, pp. 65–66Google Scholar.

79 Hooykaas, , “Upon a White Stone”Google Scholar.

80 Compare de Houtman, F., Cort verhael vant gene wedervaren is Frederick de Houtman tot Atchein, enz. (n.p.: B.G. van Goor Zonen, 1880), pp. 18–19Google Scholar.

81 Danby, , The Garden, pp. 90–91Google Scholar.

82 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-din, p. 48Google Scholar.

83 Milner, A.C., Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on the Eve of Colonial Rule, The Association of Asian Studies Monograph No. XL (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1982), p. 97Google Scholar; Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

84 Wessing, , “The Gunongan”Google Scholar.

85 Danasasmita, S., Atja, and Darmana, Nana, Babad Pakuan atau Babad Pajajaran, vol. 1 (Jakarta: Proyek Pembangunan Media Kebudayaan Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 1977), p. 286Google Scholar; Crawfurd, J., History of the Indian Archipelago, vol. 1 (London: Frank Cass and Co., 1967), pp. 163–64Google Scholar; Sentot, J.S., “Algoyo itu Priyayi”, Liberty 37, no. 1713 (1989): 36–37, 98Google Scholar.

86 Iskandar, , Nuru'd-din, p. 50Google Scholar.

87 Bosch, F.D.K., The Golden Germ. An Introduction to Indian Symbolism ('s-Gravenhage: Mouton and Co., 1960)Google Scholar.

88 Bosch, , The Golden Germ, pp. 57, 63Google Scholar; see the illustration in Snelling, , The Sacred Mountain, p. 27Google Scholar.

89 Bosch, , The Golden Germ, pp. 52–53, 81Google Scholar; compare Zimmer, H., Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization, The Bollingen Library (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), p. 51Google Scholar.

90 Langewis, L. and Wagner, F.A., Decorative Art in Indonesian Textiles (Amsterdam: C.P.J. van der Peet, 1964), p. 23Google Scholar; Wessing, R., “Wearing the Cosmos: Symbolism in Batik Motifs”, Crossroads 2, no. 3 (1986): 49–52Google Scholar.

91 Iskandar, , Kamus Dewan, p. 922Google Scholar.

92 Monier-Williams, M., A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960 [1899]), p. 533Google Scholar.

93 Steinmann, A., “De op de Boroboedoer afgebeelde plantenwereld”, Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 74, no. 3/4 (1934): 609–610Google Scholar.

94 See also Monier-Williams, , Sanskrit, p. 533Google Scholar.

95 This dewadaru tree in Yogyakarta is said locally to have fallen down at the death of Sultan Hamengku Buono IX on 3 October 1988. It is said that the tree died of old age. Tempo, , Sri Sultan. Hari-hari Hamengku Buono IX (Jakarta: Grafiti Pers, 1988), p. 152Google Scholar, says that the tree fell in 1985 and that the planting of a new one had been planned for 1 October 1988, but was delayed. Many in Yogyakarta see the death of this tree as a sign that the kraton (palace) and the royal lineage have lost authority. A new seedling has now been planted in the place of the old tree. It should further be pointed out that while the dewadaru on Mt. Kawi stands near a grave, the dewadaru should not for that reason be seen as primarily associated with graves. The dewadaru in Surakarta and Yogyakarta represent the axis mundi of these two realms (Wessing, R., “A Tiger in the Heart: The Javanese Rampok Macan”, paper given at the conference on Man and the Animal World,Nijmegen, Netherlands,22 and 23 September 1988Google Scholar). The significance of the one on Mt. Kawi is its location on the top of the mountain, similar to its location next to the Gunongan in Aceh.

8 Zimmermann, V., “De Kraton van Soerakarta in het jaar 1915”, Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 58 (1919): 308Google Scholar.

97 Winstedt, R.O., “Kingship and Enthronement in Malaya”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3/4 (1945): 136Google Scholar; compare Van Eerde, , “Investituur-steenen”, p. 822Google Scholar.

98 Walker, B., The Hindu World, vol. 2 (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1968), p. 216Google Scholar.

99 Monier-Williams, , Sanskrit, p. 493Google Scholar; Turner, R.L., A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages (London: Oxford University Press, 1966), p. 373Google Scholar.

100 Walker, , The Hindu World, p. 216Google Scholar.

101 Gatwood, L.E., Devi and the Spouce Goddess. Women, Sexuality, and Marriage in India (Riverdale: The Riverdale Press, 1985), p. 119Google Scholar.

102 Walker, , The Hindu World, p. 216Google Scholar; MacDonnell, A.A., A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (London: Oxford University Press, 1929), p. 247Google Scholar.

103 Monier-Williams, , Sanskrit, p. 856Google Scholar.

104 Stutley, M. and Stutley, J., Harper's Dictionary of Hinduism. Its Mythology, Folklore, Philosophy, Literature, and History (New York: Harper and Row, 1977), p. 351Google Scholar.

105 Stutley, , Harper's Dictionary, p. 146Google Scholar.

106 Dowson, J., A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972), pp. 132, 294–95Google Scholar; Wessing, “Sri and Sedana”.

107 Stutley, , Harper's Dictionary, pp. 146–47Google Scholar.

108 Paranavitana, C.B.E., “Ploughing as a Ritual of Royal Consecration in Ancient Ceylon”, in R.C. Majumdar Felicitation Volume, ed. Sakar, Mimansu Bhusan (Calcutta: K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1970), p. 31Google Scholar; Heine-Geldern, R., “Conceptions of State and Kingship in Southeast Asia”, Far Eastern Quarterly 2 (1942): 17CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

109 Crawfurd, , History, pp. 164, 166Google Scholar; Danasasmita, , Babad Pakuan, p. 286Google Scholar.

110 Zimmermann, , “De kraton”, p. 308Google Scholar.

111 Compare Wessing, , “The Gunongan”Google Scholar.

112 Stutley, , Harper's Dictionary, p. 198Google Scholar.

113 Eliot, C., Hinduism and Buddhism. An Historical Sketch, vol. 2 (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1921), p. 164Google Scholar.

114 Ibid., p. 181.

115 Stutley, , Harper's Dictionary, p. 35Google Scholar.

116 Bosch, , The Golden Germ, pp. 100, 135Google Scholar.

117 Kruijt, , Atjeh, p. 122Google Scholar.

118 Anonymous, Beschrijving, p. 10Google Scholar.

119 Cf. Wessing, “Sri and Sedana”.

120 Iskandar, T., De Hikajat Atjeh. Verhandelingen van het Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 26 ('s-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff, 1958), p. 20CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

121 Dowson, , A Classical Dictionary, p. 176Google Scholar.

122 Bosch, , The Golden Germ, p. 81Google Scholar. Southeast Asian rulers were sometimes said to co-habit nightly with snakes in order to promote the welfare of their realms (Bosch, , The Golden Germ, p. 26Google Scholar). We have no indication that Acehnese rulers were thought to do this.

123 Wessing, , “The Gunongan”, pp. 177–78Google Scholar.

124 Coomaraswami, A.K., History of Indian and Indonesian Art (New York: Dover Publications, 1965), pp. 22, 185Google Scholar; compare Eliot, , Hinduism and Buddhism, vol. 3, p. 116Google Scholar.

125 Mabbett, , “The Symbolism”, p. 74Google Scholar.

126 Eliot, , Hinduism and Buddhism, vol. 3, p. 116Google Scholar.

127 Hillenbrand, R., “The Symbolism of the Rayed Nimbus in Early Islamic Art”, in Kingship, Cosmos, The Yearbook of the Traditional Cosmology Society, vol. 2, ed. Lyle, E. (Edinburgh: Traditional Cosmology Society, 1988), p. 24Google Scholar.