Monumental JavaScheltema, J. F. (Johann Friedrich )
History
Monumental Java
Scheltema, J. F. (Johann Friedrich )
Indonesia -- Antiquities; Java (Indonesia) -- Antiquities; Monuments -- Indonesia -- Java
Like the remains, near the _dessa_ Galang, of the _kraton_ of the kings
of the older empire of Daha, what has escaped total destruction of the
capital of Mojopahit is constructed of brick. The ruins are situated
about eight miles to the southwest of Mojokerto[92] in the valley of
the Brantas; near Ngoomplak was the site of a royal residence in the
building of which stone seems also to have been used. Raffles, visiting
those heaps of debris scattered over quite a large area, found but
scanty evidence of the fact that he trod the spot where great rulers
had employed great architects, raising great structures for posterity
to remember their great deeds by; Wardenaar, whom he had taken with
him as a draughtsman, might have stayed at Batavia, though in his
_History of Java_ he gives an illustration of “one of the gateways” and
says that the marks of former grandeur there are more manifest than at
Pajajaran, which, well considered, is saying very little. Now, a century
later, a century of continued neglect, the general impression is still
less calculated to prompt a vision of heroes subjecting thrones and
dominions in the short space left them by their ancestor Ken Angrok’s
murderous kris, defying the grave, unmindful of Mpu Gandring’s curse.
Walking round in an effort to fit the scenery to historical dramas of
love, hate and ambition, extreme care is necessary to avoid stepping
on snakes coiled in dangerous repose or crawling among the brickbats
which represent the foundations of princely mansions, digesting their
last meal or hungry after the lizards that move restlessly in and out
of chinks and crannies, lively beasties, enjoying the sunshine until
snapped up, far more interesting really than the piles of rubbish
bearing meaningless names. The natives one meets, will spin yarns _ad
libitum_ anent the numerous graves and crumbling substructures, but few
have an intelligible tale to tell. Here are portions of the city-wall;
there the remnant of the gate Bajang Ratu; half a mile farther the
_aloon aloon_, the _taman_ or pleasance, the tanks for bathing. A road,
in great need of repair, leads through the Trowulan, the interior;
exterior roads may be taken through ricefields and teak-plantations
to the tomb of Ratu Champa, distinguished by curtains which once may
have been white. Before a small building, enclosed by a fence, lies a
stone supposed to cover the entrance to a subterranean apartment, the
hiding-place, it is said, of the last king of Mojopahit when his capital
was taken by the Moslim enemy. More graves surround that cache, graves
without and, to intimate the pre-eminent importance of the elect thus
honoured, graves _with_ dirty curtains, narrow strips of soiled cloth,
sad offerings to the dead sovereigns of an empire of celestial fame. One
feels almost inclined to refuse credence to the grand past this ragged
display tries to commemorate and, from sheer disappointment, to join the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account