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.

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