Wednesday, June 16, 2010

THE PARARATON OR THE BOOK OF KINGS

The Pararaton, also known as the Book of Kings, is a manuscript in the Kawi language. The comparatively short text of 32 folio-size pages (1126 lines) contains the history of the kings of Singhasari and Majapahit in eastern Java. The book is also called "Pustaka Raja", which is Sanskrit for "book king", or "book of kings".

The prelude of Pararaton is followed by the meeting of Ken Arok with Lohgawe, a Brahmana who came from Bharatvarsha to make sure that Batara Guru's instructions were fulfilled. It was Lohgawe who asked Ken Arok to meet Tunggul Ametung, ruler of Tumapel. Ken Arok then killed Tunggul Ametung to gain possession of Ametung's wife, Ken Dedes and also the throne to Singashari. Ken Arok (1182-1227/1247 A.D.), was also destined to bring stability and power to Java. His exploits are now popular children's tale in Central and East Java...

THE PIGGY BANK OF MAJAPAHIT ERA


Terracotta Piggy Bank of Majapahit Era, 14-15 century A.D., Trowulan, East Java. (Collection of National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta)...

THE GOLD COINS FROM JAVA


Earliest evidence of a currency system in Java. Javanese gold mas or tahil ingot, circa 9th century. During this time, Java was ruled by Sanjaya Dynasty.

THE TEMPLE OF PRAMBANAN


Prambanan in Java, built during the Sanjaya dynasty of Mataram, is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in South East Asia.
Indonesian 1st president, Dr. Sukarno once said, "Jangan sekali-kali melupakan sejarah!", meaning,"Never ever should you people forget your own history!"

History is a great inspiration for us. Without past, there is no future...and Indonesia has a glorious Hindu past...


ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE PHILIPPINES


The Laguna Copperplate Inscription dated 900 AD (Saka Era year 822) is considered to be the end of prehistory as far as documents are concerned. It was found in the Laguna de Bay of Manila. In 1989, the National Museum acquired it. The inscription forgives the descendants of Namwaran from a debt of 926.4 grams of gold, and is granted by the chief of Tondo (an area in Manila) and the authorities of Paila, Binwangan and Pulilan, which are all locations in Luzon. The words are a mixture of Sanskrit, Old Malay, Old Javanese and Old Tagalog. The subject matter proves the highly developed society that existed in the Philippines prior to the Spanish colonization, as well as refuting earlier claims of the Philippines being a cultural isolate in Asia; the references to the Chief of Medan in Indonesia claim the cultural and trade links with various other affiliated empires and territories in other parts of the Malay Archipelago., particularly the Srivijaya empire.By the 9th century, a highly developed society had already established several hierarchies with set professions: The Datu or ruling class, the Maharlika or noblemen, the Timawa or freemen, and the dependent class which is divided into two, the Aliping Namamahay (Slave) and Aliping Saguiguilid (common workers).One example of pre-Spanish Philippine script on a burial jar, derived from Brahmi survives, as most of the writing was done on perishable bamboo or leaves; an earthenware burial jar dated 1200s or 1300s with script was found in Batangas. This script is called in Tagalog Baybayin or Alibata.


Tondo, also referred to as Tundo, Tundun, Tundok, was a Philippine fortified kingdom whose capital is located in the Manila Bay area, specifically north of the Pasig river, on Luzon island. It is one of the settlements mentioned by the Philippines' earliest historical record, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. Originally a Hindu kingdom in the ... See More10th century, Tondo initiated diplomatic ties with China during the Ming Dynasty, and thus became a dominant force in regional trade.. Its regional prominence in trade and alliance with Brunei's Sultan Bolkiah in 1500 led to its peak age as a thalassocratic force in the northern archipelago. When the Spanish first arrived in Tondo in 1570 and defeated the local rulers in the Manila Bay area in 1591, Tondo came under the administration of Manila (a Spanish fort built on the remains of Kota Seludong), ending its existence as an independent state. The first reference to Tondo occurs in the Philippines' oldest historical record — the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI). This legal document, written in Kawi, dates back to Saka 822 - the year 900 AD. The first part of the document says that:"On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Bukah, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun, represented by the Lord Minister of Pailah, Jayadewa."The rise of the Ming dynasty saw the arrival of the first Chinese settlers in the Philippines. They were well received and lived together in harmony with the existing local population — eventually intermarrying with them such that today, numerous Philippine people have Chinese blood in their veins....


The "Philippines" was not discovered by Ferdinand Magellan. No individual in any age discovered the so called " Philippines", because that region was always known to the most of the world powers, including the Roman Empire and the Arabs....




THE KINGDOM OF NAMAYAN

The ancient Kingdom of Namayan, alternately referred to as the Kingdom of Sapa, Maysapan or Nasapan after its capital which goes by those names, was one of three major Kingdoms that dominated the area around the upper portion of the Pasig River and the coast of Laguna Lake in the Philippines before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s. Namayan is said to be the oldest of the three kingdoms, pre-dating the Kingdom of Tondo and Kingdom of Maynila. Formed by a confederation of barangays, it is said to have achieved its peak in 1175 A.D. Namayan's territory has been described bordering Manila Bay, the Pasig river, and Laguna Lake. The capital, Sapa, would later be called Maysapan, and then Santa Ana de Sapa, and is known today simply as Santa Ana, a district of the City of Manila. The natives brought their products to the capital of Namayan. Trading flourished during the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries. Merchants from the China, Moluccas, Java, Borneo, Sumatra, Bharat, Siam, and Cambodia came to trade with the natives. Merchants from these distant places traded colored blankets, dishes, wine jars, copper and tin, lances, knives, glass beads, cooking utensils, needles, porcelain, and cascades of silk satin which to the nobles was luxury itself. In exchange for these they sailed away with honey, coconut, livestock, cotton, palm wine, beetlenut, yellow wax, slaves, gold, pearls, and a kind of small sea shell known as sijueyes , which in Siam and elsewhere passed for money. In time the natives of Namayan held in highest esteem the eye-pleasing blue-and-white wares and the red-glazed porcelain and saw in them more fitting send-off gifts for the dear departed. Celadon jars of the Yuan or early Ming Dynasty, pendants from the Madjapahit Empire, and coins and other precious items were lowered into the graves as a reflection of the deep affection the living felt for the dead. According to Huertas, this kingdom was ruled by Lakan Tagkan or Takhan, and Lady Buan, whose primary residence was in Namayan or Sapa, the heart of the wide kingdom. The two had five children, the principal son Palaba, who sired Laboy, who in turn sired Calamayin, who then later sired a son later converted to the Catholic faith and named Martin. It was also said that Lakan Tagkan had another son, Pasay, by his Bornean slave-wife, to whom bequeathed the territory now known as Pasay. When the parish of Sta. Ana de Sapa was founded in 1578, the site was already ancient as a settlement, being the capital of a kingdom that claimed all the territories enclosed between Manila Bay and the Pasig, from Pasay to Makati. The First Franciscan missionaries to evangelize the region chose to build another settlement some distance away from the ancient town, which was called Namayan. The present church is thus on the site of that new settlement which is why there is some doubt that the graves that have been excavated there are pre-Hispanic.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN BORNEO : KUTAI

(A Yupa with inscription in the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta)

Kutai is the traditional name of a historic region in East Kalimantan in Indonesia on Borneo, a Dayak people of the region with a language of the same name and their historic states. Seven stone pillars, or YUPA (sacrificial posts), have been found in Kutai, Kaman Estuary, near the Mahakam River...The plinths bear an inscription in the Pallava script of Bharatvarsha, reading --"A gift to the Brahmin priests". The style of the script has been dated to the last half the fourth century. The names of three rulers are known from the inscriptions. The first ruler mentioned is Kuṇḍungga, the “lord of men” (narendra), his son Aśwawarman, styled the “founder of the dynasty” (vaṇśa-kartṛ) and grandson of the first and son of the later, Mūlawarman called the “lord of kings” (rājendra). It was Mūlawarman who let these inscriptions be made. While nothing of the military actions of his two predecessors is known, "Raja" Mūlawarman is stated to have conquered his neighbours in battle. The name of his kingdom is not mentioned on the inscriptions nor do any other documents in other countries relate to a kingdom at this time in this region. It is not known what became of the kingdom after these pillars had been erected. It may be possible that the name Kutai, as in Tuñjung Kute of the 1365 Javanese Majapahit poem Nāgarakṛtāgama is as ancient and reflects the original name used a thousand years earlier.






Monday, April 26, 2010

GAJAH MADA : THE MAN WHO UNITED NUSANTARA


(A statue of Gajah Mada in front of telecommunication museum )
He once took oath--"“Sira Gajah Mada pepatih amungkubumi tan ayun amukita palapa, sira Gajah Mada : Lamun huwus kalah nusantara Ingsun amukti palapa, lamun kalah ring Gurun, ring Seram, Tanjungpura, ring Haru, ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, samana ingsun amukti palapa “
"Gajah Mada, the prime minister, said he will not taste any spice. Said Gajah Mada : If Nusantara (Nusantara= Nusa antara= external territories) are lost, I will not taste "palapa" ("fruits and or spices"). I will not if the domain of Gurun, domain of Seram,domain of Tanjungpura, domain of Haru, Pahang, Dompo, domain of Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Tumasik, in which case I will never taste any spice."
He united the whole Indonesia under the Majapahit Empire, the last Hindu Empire to rule whole Indonesian Archipelago...Before he died in 1364 A.D. , the Majapahit Empire reached its peak. King Hayam Wuruk considered that the power Gajah Mada had accumulated during his time as Mahapatih was too much to handle for a single person. Therefore the king split the responsibilities that had been Gajah Mada's, between four separate new Mahamantri (equal to ministries)...
Gajah Mada's inspiration was Queen Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi ( 1328-1350 ). It was under her leadership that Gajah Mada was appointed Mahapatih in 1329, after the retirement of Arya Tadah.
Gajah Mada's legacy is important for Indonesian Nationalism, and invoked by Indonesian Nationalist movement in early 20th century. The Nationalists prior to the Japanese invasion, notably Sukarno, often cited Gajah Mada and his oath as an inspiration and a historical proof of Indonesian past greatness. That Indonesians could unite, despite vast territory and various cultures. Thus, Gajah Mada was a great inspiration during the Indonesian National Revolution for independence from Dutch colonization.

Monday, April 12, 2010

The Belanjong Pillar in Sanur


It dates back to 914 A.D., and testifies to the contacts between Bali and Bharatvarsha.