A Short History of Indonesia

9. A Short History of Indonesia Portraits of the Ancestors WC 4001 In 1930 the American painter, Grant Wood, was inspired by a small cottage in Eldon, Iowa, to paint what has become one of the icons of American painting ⎯ and incidentally, once of the most satirised paintings in history. Known as American Gothic, the painting shows the kind of people the artist believed would live in such a house. The fact he used his sister and his dentist as models for the man and woman in the painting has long since been forgotten: instead, what we see is what we believe a certain class of conservative, plain-­‐living hard-­‐working God-­‐fearing Americans were like a long time ago, and if we were Americans, we might even equate them in some way with our own ancestors of that era. If we did, it would not be because we thought our ancestors really looked like this couple but rather because the painting reminds us of some aspect of life, some set of cultural values we believe existed in the past. Ancestral Figure (Korwar) Cenderawasih Bay, Irian Jaya1 Around about the same time Grant Wood was painting American Gothic, a carver in the Cenderawasih Bay region of Irian Jaya (now Indonesian New Guinea) created this image of his ancestors. Known as korwar, these small sculptures2 are believed to keep living descendents in contact with their dead ancestors and able to secure their powerful blessings. Americans who might find something “ancestral” about the American Gothic painting would not assume Wood’s sister and his dentist were a “good likeness” of their own particular forebears. And for that matter, neither would the people of Cenderawasih Bay think their ancestors had such square jaws and elongated noses they saw in the carving. Rather, both the painting and 1
Collection of Brooklyn Museum http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/80174/Ancestral_Figure_%28Korwar%29/image/10945/o
verall
2
This is 8 3/4 x 6 x 5 1/4 in. (22.2 x 15.2 x 13.3 cm)
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the korwar serve two purposes: first, to jog the memory of the viewer and remind him or her of their forebears to whom they owe their very lives and much of their lifestyles; and second, through symbols incorporated in the works of art, to reinforce particular cultural values. So, for example, it is said the man’s pitchfork in American Gothic symbolises masculine virtues including hard, manual work while in the korwar, the couple seem to be holding what was originally a snake (now eroded), for them signifying the rejuvenation and regeneration which were basic values in their religion. So, when we look at what museums and art galleries call “ancestor figures” we should not dismiss their makers for having insufficient skill to achieve a life-­‐like representation or a “good likeness” as we might expect from a photograph or ⎯ if our own ancestors were wealthy enough ⎯ a portrait of someone who died centuries ago. Ancestor figures are reminders, not just of important figures in the past but of what we, the living, owe the dead and how they expect us to live our lives. Ancestor Worship It is not really possible to define “ancestor worship” as a religion although early
anthropologists3 considered that this and animism were the first forms of religion
to emerge among humans and were ways in which “savages” sought to explain
what they could not comprehend. Animism, you will remember is the attribution
to just about everything of a soul or spirit as a way of explaining how things
happen. So for example, a stone might roll down a hill because its spirit decided to
do so… We also noted a variation as in Japanese Shinto where the stone itself had
no spirit but served temporarily as a home to one.
There are two basic principles in what we commonly call “ancestor worship”.
These are, that
1. that the dead have a continuing interest in their living descendents and in
how they are behaving themselves; and 2. the dead need to be placated with sacrifices or other ritual practises, not only to persuade them to grant blessings to the living but also to prevent them doing harm. In Indonesia the dead are thought to be always close by ⎯ eg, living in the waringin trees around the village ⎯ and to be intent on ensuring the traditional ways are preserved. The ancestors have a vested interest in ensuring the continuation of these traditional ways, so the living believe, because it was they who devised them and then handed them down to the 3
For example Edward Burnett Tylor, Herbert Spencer, and Frank Byron Jevons
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village or clan. So the ancestors are in essence, not just the progenitors of the living but more importantly, the origin of their way of life Marapu Earlier, when discussing ikat weaving in Sumba, we mentioned the marapu religion still practised there by a significant portion of the population and the incorporation of many of these beliefs into their lives of even Christians and Moslems on the island. This marapu is a good example of religion which includes animism, ancestor worship and to some degree, the ancient megalithic traditions, elements of which are also found in many other places including Sumbawa, Timor, Flores and other islands in the region. Dayak drawing on bamboo container showing village life in the after-­life4 Marapu holds that life on earth is only temporary and that there is an eternal life in the world of the spirits. There, in this Prai Marapu or spirit heaven, the ancestors lead their lives in the same way as their descendants do on earth. Although not Sumbanese (but Dyak of Kalimantan), the illustration shows how busy life can be for the occupants of the spirit world as they go about their eternal life. Living in the Prai Marapu are all the spirits in the universe among whom, of course, are those of the ancestors who founded the particular family or clan, spirits of other relatives, the spirits of the ancestors of unrelated people, and all the other non-­‐human spirits whose behaviour cause events in the natural world. In this parallel world the spirits of the ancestors live much as they did in life, including living in couples. One such couple are believed to be the ancestors who founded the lineage or clan, the original mother and father of all the Sumbanese. They are known as Ina Kalada (Great Mother) and Ama Kalada (Great Father) and are respectively the Moon and the Sun. The Sumbanese honour Marapu with offerings called Sirih Pinang, dishes of betel nuts and leaves and lime, on stone altars. When greater honour or propitiation is required, cattle are sometimes sacrificed. Wooden statues are 4 Catalogue of Art of the Archaic Indonesians, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts 1982, p. 8. The bamboo container was collected in 1904. Much of this Unit is taken from entries in this catalogue. 3
also placed in front of the family house, a practise found as far west as the island of Nias ⎯ which we will consider a little later. Sumba village with megalithic altars in foreground5. Anyone who has been to Bali will undoubtedly have heard of, and maybe even seen, the elaborate cremations practised there and noticed that these are happy occasions, not the sad events funerals are in the West. Not only are the Balinese relatives happy that the spirit of the deceased is at long last freed of its earthly ties, but the cremations usually takes place a long time after the person died, sometimes even decades later during which time the body is buried among the frangipani in one of the local graveyards. Sumba village: preparation for a funeral6. The same procedure is followed in Sumba where, after a person dies, the body is kept in the home of the living relatives, wrapped in many layers of ikat textiles, sometimes for many years until sufficient money has been raised for the elaborate ceremonies, sacrifices and traditionally, stone sarcophagi required. In modern times, even Christian or Moslem relatives living in distant islands will contribute to the costs involved and probably travel to be present on the given day. It is not uncommon, given the costs incurred, for several generations of the one family to be buried in the same tomb although, in this case, care is taken to preserve the incest taboos. 5 Photo: Anders Poulsen, http://picasaweb.google.com/tessellar/Sumba#5115670862101813122 6
Ibid, http://picasaweb.google.com/tessellar/Sumba#5115670544274233186
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The last of the megalithic builders Although vestiges of an ancient megalithic culture are still found in many of the islands, it is on Sumba that the impressive stone tombs and memorials are still constructed even in modern times. This involves huge slabs of rock, some weighing more than 70 tons, being transported over long distances to the burial site. Although today heavy moving equipment is often used or, as a more convenient alternative, the tomb is cast in concrete on the site, the traditional method is still sometimes used to move the gigantic slabs of rock from the quarry to the burial site. This involves hundreds of people from the deceased’s family, village and clan, and even neighbours from adjoining villages, pulling or pushing the slab on top of log rollers across the countryside in the way megalithic builders have used all round the world for many thousands of years. This ceremony, on Sumba is called tarik batu (literally “pull stone”) has to be “done right” if the ancestors are not to be annoyed so many buffalo, pigs, cows and sometimes horses are sacrificed to placate them. On Sumba the megaliths take the form of dolmens7 on top of which …a menhir called penji was set up, sculpted with various decorations. These dolmen decorative patterns show human figures, fauna, flora, man-­
made and natural items and geometric patterns. According to local traditional chiefs, dolmens with statues especially are considered as bodyguards of the dead person’s soul or his own soul personification8. On Timor in a few remote parts stones are found arranged in circles with one or two doorways to the sacred place within. Called ksadan, these circles often enclose a menhir or standing stone which is believed to represent the chief when villagers gather to make a decision. In some ksadan there is a whet-­‐
stone (batu asah) which traditionally was used to sharpen weapons before going into war. Such ritual sharpening was believed to help make a warrior victorious9. Myths of Origin In Australia we have become accustomed to the term “sacred place” meaning that location where some important and defining event took place in the 7
Definition from Wikipedia. Dolmen are also known as cromlech, anta, “stone tables” and so on. When covered
with earth, as in Megalithic Britain, they are called “barrows”. The word dolmen comes from Breton taol maen
meaning stone table. Although these archaeological terms are used to describe megaliths in Indonesia, no
Indonesian megalithic cultures were as old as those in Europe, the Indonesian dating only from about the Metal Age
in Southeast Asia.
8
http://www.indonesianorphans.com/indonesia_mega.htm#Sumba
9
http://www.indonesianorphans.com/indonesia_mega1.htm#Timor
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“Dreaming” of the Aboriginal people. Anthropologists call these accounts “myths of origin”. While I have mentioned aspects of Sumbanese beliefs earlier on, I want now to recount the “myth of origin”, the story these people tell to explain how they and their ancestors came to be in Sumba. This account is taken from The Monumental Stone Tombs of Sumba by an unnamed writer providing background for tourist hotels in Nusa Tenggara Timor10. He or she explains that in Sumbanese oral tradition the first ancestors lived in the eight spheres of heaven. These were divided into darkness and light. The all-­‐powerful founding father and mother, as mentioned earlier, were the sun and the moon who dwelt in the first of these heavenly spheres. But there was also an over-­‐riding Supreme Being who, interestingly, is nameless and so is called Ina Ama (“No Name”)… I don’t know if this was the reason in Sumba but it is fairly commonly believed in many cultures that to know the name of a person or spirit is to have control over them: see for example, the prohibition on naming God in Judaism. The story continues: According to the myth, eight males (maramba) and eight females (ratu) were born from the divine couple and generated the people of Sumba. The Sumbanese identified their first ancestors as being the children of the moon (ana wula) and the sun (ana ladu), After descending to the lower spheres, they finally settled in the eight level, talora mbidahu mau mundi, bangga bila mau njati ( under the mundi (orange) and teak tree, a flat ground and a bright place) where they remained for some time. On this last heavenly sphere they came to learn all knowledge, and carried out the first ceremonies and rituals that were to be brought down to earth. Soon the marapu decided to come down to Earth, but there was no land only water. Then the marapu conveyed their wish to the Ina Ama, and they were given stones and soil to form the land on the waters. When the land was formed, the marapu came down by ladder made of wood….11. Another account says the ladder was made of buffalo horns and that when they die, the Sumbanese will ascend once more by the same ladder to the spirit world. The anonymous author continues: The Sumbanese call their land Tana Humba, which means the Homeland, and believe their ancestors not only came from the lesser Sunda islands, but also further westward from the Malay peninsula. They came in groups and landed in Tanjung Sasar, northeast of the island. According to their beliefs, in ancient times a stone bridge (Lindi Watu) once connected the 10
11
http://www.balizones.com/travel_destination/nusa_tengara/monumental_stone_tombs.php
Ibid.
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island to Bima and Manggarai on the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. But through a natural catastrophe, the bridge was destroyed, and Sumba became separated and isolated from the rest of the islands. The new settlers then went … their own way after their first landing, and founded their kabisu or clans. Each of these clans began to build up social structures with complexities of rituals in birth, marriage, initiations, and funerary ceremonies. Up till today such traditions are still highly respected. The ancestors, known as marapu, are believed to have brought civilisation to the homeland12. The term marapu, as I said earlier of ancestor worship, is not readily defined as a religion in Western terms. Clearly marapu means ancestors, as well as the myths of origin which surround them and the many rituals and observances which both commemorate and propitiate them. Although stone altars and other megalithic constructions play an important part in special celebrations, the house and other mundane sites are also important places of the practice of marapu. Small effigies known as katoda are placed in front of houses, at the entrance of a village, and in the rice fields. Katoda may also take the form of simple branches or an undecorated upright stone carefully chosen by the rato when performing specific ritual, the rato will first bless and “cleanse” the stone to be used as the dwelling place of the spirit. He will invoke the spirits of ancestors, through sacred chants to enter the stone. When the spirits are believed to have entered the stone, it is then given offerings of betel and areca nut13. As far west as Nias It is intriguing that the Sumbanese believe their remote ancestors came from the west via the islands to their north, Sumbawa and Flores. There are many features of the culture remaining on the island of Nias (off the southern coast of Sumatra) which are reminiscent of that of Sumba and even further east, of Savu and Timor. Nias is famous for its carving tradition in both wood and stone. Perhaps it is fortunate so much of this artistic treasure has been removed and placed in museums because probably much was lost in the recent earthquake and tsunami. 12
13
Ibid.
Ibid.
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Ancestral father and mother statues in front of a house on Nias. One reason for this concern is that most of the megaliths on Nias are (were) found on lowland and coastal areas. They usually take the form of menhirs and large flat stones as well as more recent carvings of humans and animals. Large standing stones are erected amidst great ceremony, including the sacrifice of many buffalos, to commemorate the power and prestige of great leaders. Symbolically, standing stones are regarded as male and the flat stones as female although small upright sculptures, such as those outside the house in the illustration, are of female ancestors as well as male. However, the gender of these ancestors is always clearly shown… Although I have not repeated here the ancestor worship and the tau-­tau among the Toraja of Sulawesi, there is a communality of such traditions, including the megalithic, from as far west as Nias and through the Toraja, Sumba, Savu, Flores and Timor. It is tempting to see these as vestiges of the culture of the early Austronesians as they came down from the north sometime during or after what Bellwood called the Early Metal Phase of Indonesian history and which remain even today as the Archaic Indonesian cultures as here we have called those cultures which have their roots in the very distant past. Representations of the Ancestors Ancestor figure, Timor early 20th Century14. Ancestral figures or abstract representations of them are a common theme throughout the archipelago, both in stone and where they have survived, in wood. Although ancestor figures in wood vary from highly sophisticated and detailed carvings to others which are perhaps best described as more like art brut or outsider art in that they are roughly done but often naïve in their representation of the human figure. A few examples are given here: 14
http://theshamangallery.art.officelive.com/oceanic.aspx
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(1)
Above, an ancestral figure from Timor carved in the early 20th Century. (2)
(4)
Ancestor of high rank ⎯ gowe salawa ⎯ Eastern Central Nias. The inscription on the chest commemorates the statue’s relocation to a new village. (3) Two female ancestral figures holding small bowls ⎯ Gunungsitoli Village on the island of Nias, off the southern coast of Sumatra15. Called Adu Bihara, such figures are carved to hold the souls of departed ancestors. These figures are often found tied together to symbolise a lineage. Nias is famous for its powerful sculpture tradition but whether that will survive after the 2005 tsunami has yet to be seen. An ancestral couple, Ana Deo ⎯ Nage people, Central Flores, 19th–early 20th Century16. Of this piece, the Metropolitan Museum of Art says on its web page: 15
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/43611/Ancestor_Figure_%28Adu__Bihara%29/image/1
4216/overall
16 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/10/sse/ho_2006.510.htm 9
Probably depicting the illustrious founders of one of the village clans, this extraordinary couple from the Nage people of the island of Flores gaze serenely over all they survey. Among the Nage, human images (ana deo) representing ancestors and other supernatural beings were frequently associated with ancestral shrines (heda). The original context of the present work is uncertain. (5)
(6)
Funerary rider on horseback ⎯ Batak, probably near Salak, Sumatra17. The “horse” is curiously little like a horse so it might have been carved more from reputation than from life. The same is true throughout the archipelago where so-­‐called “lions” (singa) bear little resemblance to the animal the Indonesians of course had never seen. Horses were not common in the archipelago but appear in some regions in sculptures and weavings from historical times. “Leti Box”, island of Leti (collected 1913)18. The island of Leti is situated in the Banda Sea not far from Timor but part of the Province of Maluku. The islanders grow rice, coconuts and tobacco as well as fishing and some animal husbandry. There are no natural harbours on this volcanic island so it is cut off from outside world during the monsoon. The unusual artefact known as a “Leti box” is probably an altar, the “box” part holding small offerings, in this case to Huchtalinna-­‐Huchrainna, a female ancestor of the Halupnu lineage19. Dr. de Hoog says of this beautiful work that her head is decorated with the Tree of the Universe while around her neck “is a fertility symbol in the shape of a new moon (also a head-­‐hunting 17 Art of the Archaic Indonesians, op. cit., p 21. 18
Ibid, p.91
Dr. J. de Hoog: “Sunda Islands and Moluccas”, in Art of the Archaic Indonesians, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts,
1982, p. 141
19
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symbol)20.” He also explains that the ancestor figure is a personification of procreation and the survival of the tribe combined into the one object. My Leti box (the horizontal parts of the box are removed and kept in a safe place while the figure adorns my bedroom wall). (7) Iene, ancestral figure from Leti (20th Century)21 A wooden figure kept in the family house to accommodate the soul of ancestors. The headdress probably indicates some kind of rank. Masks ⎯ Scary faces of the spirit world Barong There is a strong tradition of masks throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Many of these are associated with dances performed for special events and some are far more sophisticated and “finished” than others. So for example the extraordinary masks one sees still in use in Bali, and not only for tourist entertainment but sometimes serving their ancient purpose. I mentioned at the beginning of this course a mask dance I had seen in the fields of Central Java; two or three years later I saw another, more elaborate ceremony in which a Barong, the legendary lion, was 20
21
Ibid.
Collection: Brooklyn Museum,
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/54323/Ancestor_Figure_%28Iene%29/image/14219/overall
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paraded around the perimeter of a field to chase away evil spirits just as the performers had done in Desa Tlogo.. Barong, which probably owes much to the southern Chinese lion dance as to Balinese myth, is used to exorcise evil although these days, also to earn tourist dollars. At its roots it blends history with myth, recounting how Ranggda, the wife of the king of Bali, practised black magic. Her husband, the king, condemned her for this, but after he died, she summoned all her black arts and sought revenge on her son, Erlangga. Erlangga was an important figure in Javanese history who, although born in Bali in 991 AD, was variously the ruler of an important Hindu-­‐Javanese kingdom, a hero warrior and respected aesthetic recluse. He is believed to have died in about 1049. According to the myth, however, his mother’s demons and evil spirits were defeated when Barong came to his aid and caused Rangda and her spirit army to run away. The masks of both Barong and Rangda are considered so holy in Bali that they are sprinkled with holy water from Mount Agung and special offerings made before they are worn in a dance. But not all masks are as sophisticated and complex as those among the Hindu-­‐
Balinese. For example, still on Bali, masks by the Bali-­‐Aga are much rougher but in some ways, more commanding than the Hindu-­‐Bali ones. For example here are two I collected in 1969… Two masks by Bali Aga, coll. BH 1969 12
Another which in some ways reminds me of the Bali Aga masks is one from Timor. Very rough-­‐
hewn and with little detail, this face nonetheless succeeds in being menacing. Mask, Timor Equally discomforting in its way is this mask from Central Sumatra, from the Batak people around Lake Toba. Mask, Batak, Central Sumatra Mask, Toba Batak, Samosir Island. Mask, Nias Island. 13
Less threatening perhaps is this extremely rare “mouth mask” from Leti22, only three of which are known to exist in the world. This piece is in the Dallas Museum of Art. Mouth mask depicting the head of a bird, Leti, Luhuleli village, 19th century Costume, Wood, boar tusks, clam shell, mother-­of-­pearl, buffalo horn, resinous material, pigment Overall: 5 1/2 x 6 3/8 x 5 3/4 in. (13.97 x 16.19 x 14.6 cm) Dallas Museum of Art There is a tab at the back of the mask which is held in the performer’s teeth. The dance is performed as part of a fertility ritual called porka the aim of which was the increase of not just humans but also of animals and plants and the whole of creation. In olden times, the ritual usually began with a head hunting raid. It was also a time when unmarried people were permitted sexual freedom ⎯ which given that these communities were small and isolated gene pools, was probably a benefit to future generations. It is thought the last of these ceremonies was carried out in the middle of the 19th Century but vestiges of it have continued until the present day when it is more or less a New Year festival. Finally, not all masks are used in ritual although the celebration of ancient traditions and myths of origin are usually involved. A good example is the Sundanese version of the highly sophisticated wayang wong seen throughout Java. This, known as wayang topeng is performed by dancers, not puppets as in other forms of wayang, wearing masks to denote their characters. In this antique photo23 dating from about 1880 you can see the masks held in the hands of the beautifully dressed dancers. 22
http://www.framemuseums.org/jsp/fiche_oeuvre.jsp?STNAV=&RUBNAV=&CODE=O1150379932123221&LA
NGUE=1&RH=UsaFRAMEMuseums&OBJET_PROVENANCE=COLLECTION
23
Albumen print, http://www.iphotocentral.com/showcase/detail.php/114/1/1/0/15034
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