Resensi Dick van der Meij
Ann R. Kinney, with Marijke J. Klokke and Lydia Kieven (photographs by Rio Helmi), Worshiping Siva and Buddha; The temple art of East Java. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2003, 303 pp. ISBN 0824827791. Price: USD 60.00 (hardback).
DICK VAN DER MEIJ
Bijdragen, tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 160.2/3, 2004 pp. 552-555
The colonial rulers of the Dutch East Indies had a peculiar way of dealing with the temples and other monuments they found on Javanese soil. While ensuring that archeological sites were excavated and many temples and monuments restored and preserved, they also made sure that the temples would never again be seen in their original state: they often removed what they thought of as the most beautiful statues and by so doing scattered many of these around the world. In this way many statues of Hindu and Buddhist gods, goddesses, and deities found their way from the temples to the Museum of the Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen (now the National Museum) in Jakarta, to museums elsewhere in Indonesia, to the Museum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden, and to many other public collections all over the globe, not to mention private collections inside and outside Indonesia. Colonial administrators also saw no problem with presenting statues to visiting dignitaries such as the king of Thailand, who was given statues of the Buddha from Borobudur and a Ganesha from Candi Singosari; these statues are now in the National Museum in Bangkok.
A few of the relocated statues have since been returned to their original locations: the most beautiful of all temple statues, Prajnaparamita from the Candi Singosari complex, was returned to Jakarta from Leiden during a state visit of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in 1978 (p. 148). But others have been lost altogether: at least three vessels carrying statues to Europe sank (p. 148), and at least one statue was destroyed by fire during the 1931 Paris Exhibition (it puzzles me that a large stone statue can be destroyed by fire, but this is apparently what happened to the unfortunate Ternavindu).
Besides statues, many metal, gold, and silver artifacts, small statuettes, and other objects found at temple sites were also removed and scattered all over the world, often ending up in the vaults of museums which rarely display them. These objects are also keenly collected by private individuals all over the world.
The aim of the book under discussion is to survey the sites of the temples of East Java and to reunite - in book form - the temples with their original statues to provide an impression of their original grandeur and beauty. I think this was an excellent idea, and the result is a book that is more than beautiful. Lavishly illustrated (300 photos, most in full colour) and beautifully presented, in this respect the book does what it sets out to do. However, the proposed survey and evaluation of recent research in the field (p. 9) has not been done exhaustively. Understandably, no attempt has been made to include the smaller artifacts in the picture. This would have required a completely different setup, and might have been a distraction from the main aim of the book.
The book contains four sections and ends with two appendices, a glossary, a bibliography, an index, and photography credits. Section 1, 'Introduction to the religion and art of East Java', contains a chapter on 'Hinduism and Buddhism in Indonesia' by Marijke J. Klokke, alongside 'The architecture and art of ancient East Java' by Lydia Kieven. Klokke's piece should be on the reading list of everyone interested in Hinduism and Buddhism. Concise, to the point, and wonderfully clear, it explains the gist of what the reader needs to know in order to understand the rest of the book. However, the division of ancient Indonesian history which she mentions (p. 21) should more correctly be viewed as a division of ancient Javanese history. Other areas in Indonesia had their own histories apart from what was happening in Java. Kieven's introduction to art and architecture is unfortunately too short, and the architecture is dealt with in just a few pages. It is also unfortunate that no references have been provided to the illustrations in the book. Had they been added, the examples she mentions could easily have been coupled with the relevant illustrations; trying to find them via the index proved difficult.
Sections 2 to 4 cover respectively the temples built during the three dynasties that ruled in East Java: from 929 to 1222 in Kadiri (Candi Jolotundo, Candi Belahan, Selomangleng Kediri and Selomangleng Tulungagung); the Singasari period from 1222 to 1292 (Candi Kidal, Jago, Jawi, the Singosari complex); and the Majapahit period, 1293-1519 (the kraton or royal palace complex, Candi Panataran, a number of major commemorative candis, Candi Surowono, Tigowangi, Kedaton, Kendalisongo, and finally Sukuh - actually in Central Java, and as such technically a little beyond the scope of the book). Each section contains a brief introduction on historical and political developments, following which the monuments are described. Appendix A presents (very) brief summaries of selected sites not elaborated in the book, and Appendix B a note for photographers by professional photographer Rio Helmi.
The book endeavours to look at the sites in a comprehensive way. Architectural elements, reliefs, iconographic peculiarities, statues and their positions in the temples are all dealt with in varying levels of detail. This may lead to some disappointment among specialists in the various fields, but for the general reader what is provided is sometimes perhaps even more than adequate. For me, the details provided on texts and their contents are somewhat disappointing and indeed contain some errors. I was, for instance, surprised to read about the existence of 'various versions' of the Nagarakertagama (p. 83), about 'Tantri Pancatantra' (p. 95), which does not exist, and about 'medieval Kawi', also a concept new to me. Some of the fables mentioned are not from the Tantri Kamandaka as claimed, and the synopsis of the Angling Dharma is also not quite accurate. On the other hand the many fine photographs of the temple reliefs, at last collecting the details of the many stories in one volume, is a welcome addition to the library of anyone interested in the field.
The two-page appendix by Rio Helmi on how to photograph temples and reliefs, and the detailed geographical information provided on the locations of the temples, give welcome practical information for prospective visitors. Ann Kinney shows her modesty by crediting all photos to Rio Helmi, whereas many are in fact taken by Kinney herself.
The book expertly shows the richness of the East Javanese temple tradition and temple arts. It also emphasizes once again the importance of viewing the monuments as totalities of architecture, sculpture, and textual iconography. It is of course not exhaustive, and many a statue has not been mentioned or visually presented. Sometimes this is a pity, as for instance in the case of the fourteenth-century statues depicting Mahakala, Mahisha, and Siva which are now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. These would have fitted in superbly - the more so since their particularly beautiful style is represented as things stand by only a single photograph (p. 160). However, this is excusable: the book, after all, covers a lot of ground.
In conclusion I would say that there is no doubt in my mind that we are richer in having this marvelous book. We definitively need more like it to enhance interest in, and enjoyment of, this particular field of religious and art history.