A Short History of Indonesia - 14 - BobHay Short History of Indonesia - 14.pdf · !3...

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1 14. A Short History of Indonesia Early Kingdoms of East Java WC 3311 The influence of India had always been weaker in East Java than in the centre and west of the island so, when Sindok moved the court to the valley of the Brantas River near presentday Surabaya, the indigenous elements of Javanese culture arose once more to the surface. There, the Shaivite religion of the kraton combined comfortably with the indigenous beliefs in which ancestor worship of course, was central. Many parts of East Java are swampy and eminently suitable to growing rice. When brought under intensive cultivation, this land made the region extraordinarily rich. Commercial connections with the other islands, with the Malay peninsula and of course with Srivijaya brought traders to the coastal ports and spread the reputation of the kingdom abroad. It was at this time too that Bali for the first time came into the orbit of the Javanese kingdoms. Bali was not a single kingdom but a large part of the island was controlled by the Varmadeva dynasty. Late in the 8 th Century, the king Udayana Varmadeva 1 married Mahendradatta, daughter of Sri Isyana Tunggawijaya who ruled the kingdom of Medang 2 from 947 to 985 AD. On the death of their father, Mahendratta’s brother became king of Medang and ruled under the name Dharmawangsa. Gunung Kawi, Bali (photo: BH) Udayana and his queen, Mahendratta had at least three sons, the eldest of whom was called Airlangga 3 . Two younger sons, Marakata and Anak Wungsu are also known to have ruled as kings after Udayana. However Airlangga, 1 Also known as Dharmodayana – see Hall, DGE: A History of South-East Asia, Macmillan Student Editions (3 rd Edition), St Martin’s Press, 1970, p. 69. 2 Remember, this was the new name adopted for the old kingdom of Mataram when it was moved to East Java. 3 Also spelt Erlangga

Transcript of A Short History of Indonesia - 14 - BobHay Short History of Indonesia - 14.pdf · !3...

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14.  A  Short  History  of  Indonesia    

Early  Kingdoms  of  East  Java      

WC  3311    The  influence  of  India  had  always  been  weaker  in  East  Java  than  in  the  centre  and  west  of  the  island  so,  when  Sindok  moved  the  court  to  the  valley  of  the  Brantas  River  near  present-­‐day  

Surabaya,  the  indigenous  elements  of  Javanese  culture  arose  once  more  to  the  surface.  There,  the  Shaivite  religion  of  the  kraton  combined  comfortably  with  the  indigenous  beliefs  in  which  ancestor  worship  of  course,  was  central.      Many  parts  of  East  Java  are  swampy  and  eminently  suitable  to  growing  rice.    When  brought  under  intensive  cultivation,  this  land  made  the  region  extraordinarily  rich.  Commercial  connections  with  the  other  islands,  with  the  Malay  peninsula  and  of  course  with  Srivijaya  brought  traders  to  the  coastal  ports  and  spread  the  reputation  of  the  kingdom  abroad.      It  was  at  this  time  too  that  Bali  for  the  first  time  came  into  the  orbit  of  the  Javanese  kingdoms.  Bali  was  not  a  single  kingdom  but  a  large  part  of  the  island  was  controlled  by  the  Varmadeva  dynasty.  Late  in  the  8th  Century,  the  king  Udayana  Varmadeva1  married  Mahendradatta,  daughter  of  Sri  Isyana  Tunggawijaya  who  ruled  the  kingdom  of  Medang2  from  947  to  985  AD.  On  the  death  of  their  father,  Mahendratta’s  brother  became  king  of  Medang  and  ruled  under  the  name  Dharmawangsa.      

Gunung  Kawi,  Bali  (photo:  BH)  

 Udayana  and  his  queen,  Mahendratta  had  at  least  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  called  Airlangga3.  Two  younger  sons,  Marakata    and  Anak  Wungsu  are  also  known  to  have  ruled  as  kings  after  Udayana.  However  Airlangga,  

                                                                                               1 Also known as Dharmodayana – see Hall, DGE: A History of South-East Asia, Macmillan Student Editions (3rd Edition), St Martin’s Press, 1970, p. 69. 2 Remember, this was the new name adopted for the old kingdom of Mataram when it was moved to East Java. 3 Also spelt Erlangga

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their  oldest  brother,  was  never  king  in  Bali  but  became  one  of  the  great  folk  heroes  of  Java.  He  was  born  in  Bali  in  991  and  died  in  Java    at  the  age  of  58  in  1049  AD.      Travellers  in  Bali  are  always  taken  to  see  what  is  called  Gunung  Kawi,  near  Pejeng.  Here,  in  a  deep  ravine,  are  a  number  of  shrines  carved  into  the  cliff  face,  the  most  prominent  of  which  are  four  carved  in  relief  in  the  north  face.  There  is  a  fifth  off  to  one  side  and  five  other  temple  façades  found  across  the  little  river,  but  tourists  generally  don’t  get  to  see  these.  There  are  also  several  meditation  niches  and  a  cloister  for  ascetics.      Explanations  by  guides  vary,  but  these  temples  in  bas-­‐relief  are  actually  memorials  to  Airlangga’s  father,  Udayana  Varmadeva  and  his  wives  among  whom  of  course  was  Mahendradatta  ⎯  or  Gunapriya  as  she  is  often  called  in  Bali  ⎯  the  royal  mother  of  Airlangga.  His  two  younger  brothers  are  also  remembered  in  these  memorial  bas-­‐reliefs.        Although  Airlangga  never  ruled  in  Bali,  he  is  known  on  one  occasion  to  have  sent  an  envoy  of  Brahmin  priests  to  petition  for  the  installation  of  his  son  as  king  but  the  petition  was  rejected.  Instead,  Airlangga’s  younger  brother  became  king,  assuming  the  name  Dharmawangsa  like  his  maternal  uncle,  the  last  king  of  Medang  in  East  Java.  He  ruled  from  1022  to  1025  and  was  succeeded  by  the  third  brother,  Anak  Wungsu  (which  means  “youngest  son”).  This  last,  who  ruled  from  1025  to  1049  was  most  probably  the  king  who  completed  his  own  and  the  other  memorials  at  Gunung  Kawi  which  his  brother  had  commenced.    Accounts  vary;  some  say  Airlangga  spent  his  childhood  in  Bali,  others  that  he  grew  up  in  his  uncle’s  Watugaluh  Palace  in  Java  not  far  from  the  modern  city  of  Surabaya.  Dharmawangsa  ruled  from    c.985  to  1006.  The  historian  DGE  Hall4  says  that  Dharmawangsa  is      

…..the  first  historical  person  of  whom  we  have  more  than  a  dim  vision.  He  ordered  a  codification  of  Javanese  law  and  encouraged  the  translation  of  Sanskrit  texts  into  Javanese.  Among  other  works  parts  of  the  Mahabharata  were  translated  into  Javanese  prose  with  the  Sanskrit  verses  interpolated.  Thus  arose  the  oldest  prose  literature  in  the  language5.  

   During  the  990s  Dharmawangsa  was  strong  enough  to  establish  a  colony  in  West  Kalimantan  and  ⎯  foolishly  as  it  turned  out  ⎯      to  attack  the  interests  of  

                                                                                               4 Hall, DGE: A History of South-East Asia, Macmillan Student Editions (3rd Edition), St Martin’s Press, 1970. 5 Op cit p. 67

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Srivijaya.  Srivijaya  retaliated  in  1006  and  sent  one  of  its  allies,  Wurawari  who    sacked  and  burned  the  kraton.  Although  the  raja  Dharmawangsa  and  many  of  his  followers  were  killed  in  the  battle,  Airlangga,  who  was  16  at  the  time,  managed  to  escape  and  fled  into  the  mountains  of  East  Java.  There,  in  the  cloister  at  Wonogiri  he  lived  as  an  ascetic6  for  several  years  until,  in  1019  he  emerged  from  the  jungle  and  set  about  re-­‐gaining  control  of  the  region  his  uncle  had  once  commanded.      The  sack  of  the  kraton  and  the  death  of  Dharmawangsa  left  East  Java  in  chaos.  Without  a  strong  central  power,  local  chieftains  struggled  against  each  other  to  extend  their  own  small  territories.  Although  Airlangga  was  consecrated  as  king,  he  dared  not  try  to  extend  his  control  too  far  for  fear  Srivijaya  might    attack  again.  However,  Rajendra  Chola,  the  Chola  king  in  Coromandel  in  South  India  began  a  series  of  raids  upon  Srivijayan  ports  in  Southeast  Asia  when,  in  1025  he  conquered  Kedah.  These  raids  continued  for  the  next  two  decades  during  which  time,  of  course,  Srivijaya  turned  its  attentions  away  from  East  Java  and  whatever  Airlangga  was  doing.        Kahuripan    Airlangga  made  peace  with  Srivijaya  and,  that  threat  removed,  established  a  new  kingdom  he  called  Kahuripan.  As  the  power  of  Srivijaya  declined  during  his  reign,  Airlangga  expanded  his  sphere  of  influence  to  include  more  of  Central  Java  and  the  north  coast  where  Surabaya  and  Tuban  became  important  centres  of  trade.  He  also  seems  to  have  regained  some  control  of  

his  father’s  kingdom  in  Bali  although  he  was  not  himself  its  ruler7.      Mt.  Penanggungan  where  Airlangga  established  his  first  capital.  

   One  of  the  main  reasons  Airlangga  is  so  well  remembered  is  because  under  his  rule,  the  arts  and  

literature  flourished.  Among  the  greatest  of  these  was  the  Arjuna  Wiwaha,  an  adaptation  by  Mpu  Kanwa  in  1035  of  the  great  Indian  epic,  the  Mahabharata.  This  is  ostensibly  the  story  of  Arjuna,  an  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  but  is  also  an  

                                                                                               6 Many sources say he lived “as a hermit” but I think this is just a poor translation into English of a much more respected Hindu practice often involving seclusion, silence, self denial and discipline.. 7 DGE Hall, op. cit p. 69 suggests that in 1022 Airlangga may have succeeded his father in Bali. This would explain other suggestions by others that Bali exercised some suzerainty over East Java for some time.

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allegory  of  the  life  of  Airlangga  himself.  Versions  of  this  are  sung  in  special  clubs  all  over  Bali  to  this  day  where  it  is  known  by  the  full  name  Kakawin  Arjunawiwaha.    Furthermore,  a  version  was  also  adapted  and  used  even  to  this  day  in  the  Javanese  shadow  puppet  theatre,  the  wayang  kulit.      

Raden  Arjuna,  wayang  kulit8  

 Airlangga  is  also  remembered  for  his  religious  tolerance.  During  his  reign  Saivites,  Mahayana  Buddhists  and  ascetics  ⎯  known  as  Rishi  ⎯  all  enjoyed  good  mutual  relations.  Saivism  was  regarded  as  

the  first  stage  on  the  way  to  enlightenment,  followed  by  a  Tantric  form  of    Mahayana  Buddhism  which  had  become  a  secret  sect  popular  among  the  ruling  classes.  The  priesthoods  of  both  these  religions  became  so  powerful  Airlangga  had  himself  proclaimed  a  reincarnation  of  Vishnu,  in  part  to  bring  them  under  his  control  and  it  is  as  Vishnu  riding  Garuda  he  is  portrayed  in  the  Belahan  statue.  This  was  found  at  Belahan  on  the  side  of  Mt  Penanggungan,  the  site  where  Airlangga’s  first  capital  was  located.    Airlangga  depicted  as  Vishnu  mounted  on  his  steed,  the  bird  Garuda9  

   Kings  often  had  themselves  deified  as  reincarnations  of  Vishnu  so  that  they  could  be  worshipped  in  this  form  after  their  deaths.  This  version  of  ancestor  worship  allowed  the  Hindu  and  indigenous  religious  practices  to  merge  into  one,  the  king  obtaining  new  magical  powers  from  his  ancestors  who,  like  him,  were  then  part  of  the  same  ultimate  force  in  the  universe.  This  is  the  reason  there  are  so  many  candis  scattered  around  Central  and  East  Java  ⎯  dedicating  these  monuments  was  part  of  the  process  whereby  a  king  became  identified,  hence  “deified”  with  the  god  of  his  choice.      In  1045  Airlangga  relinquished  his  throne  and  retired  to  a  life  of  contemplation  as  a  Rishi.  He  also  changed  his  name  to  Jatiningrat,  emulating  his  Sanjaya  ancestor,  Pikatan.  Both  kings  passed  through  four  stages  in  their  lives,  starting  with  one  of  asceticism;  next,  of  warfare;  then  of  victory  and  rule;  and  finally,  of  retreat  and  contemplation10.                                                                                                  8 http://apdnsemarang.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/ki-narto-sabdo-abimanyu-krama/ 9 This sculpture was found in Belahan and is now in the collection of Trowulan Museum, East Java. Photo: Wikipedia. 10 For a discussion of this tradition and the events leading up to Pikatan’s “retirement”, read DGE Hall, op. cit. pp 49-51.

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In  an  act  which  seems  out  of  character  with  his  policies  throughout  his  reign,  before  he  retired  Airlangga  divided  his  kingdom  of  Kurhipan  between  his  two  sons.  Both  were  the  children  of  concubines  because  the  legitimate  heir,  Sanggramawijaya,  had  chosen  to  become  a  hermit  and  live  in  a  cave.    No  record  remains  why  Airlangga  should  have  done  this  although  it  is  believed  he  did  so  on  the  advice  of  his  long-­‐time  adviser,  the  ascetic  Bharada.  Historians  speculate  that  he  feared  if  he  had  not  done  so,  these  men  would  have  started  a  civil  war  of  succession.  The  two,  now  separate  kingdoms  became  known  as  Janggala  and  Kediri  with  the  Brantas  River  the  boundary  between  them.    Airlangga  died  at  the  age  of  58  in  1049  AD.  The  civil  war  he  perhaps  feared  did  not  eventuate:  the  two  kingdoms  merged  once  more  when  Bamesvara  (1182-­‐94)  of  Kediri  married  Princess  Kirana  of  Janggala.  Janggala  was  gradually  absorbed  into  Kediri  and  disappeared  from  history.      

Kediri    Although  the  Tamil  Chola  raids  on  Srivijayan  ports  in  the  long  run  proved  unsuccessful,  they  seriously  weakened  Srivijaya’s  hegemony  in  Southeast  Asia  and  allowed  the  successors  to  Airlangga,  especially  the  rulers  of  Kediri,  to  continue  to  expand  trade  relations  with  other  parts  of  the  archipelago    

Trade  routes  in  12th  to  early  13th  century  AD.  

 In  about  1200  AD,  the  Chinese  book  of  Chu-­‐fan-­‐chi  says  that  Java  was  ruled  by  two  powerful  kingdoms,  Srivijaya  and  Kediri  (the  Sunda  kingdom  we  will  study  later  was  by  that  time  under  Srivijayan  control).  The  territories  controlled  by  Kediri,  according  to  the  Chinese  observer,  included  not  only  Bali  and  large  areas  of  Central  and  Eastern  Java  but  also  parts  of  West  Papua,  Kalimantan,  Timor,  Sulawesi  and  the  Moluccas.  In  other  words,  what  began  as  an  essentially  agricultural  kingdom  in  the  basin  of  the  Brantas  River  had  become  a  maritime  power  controlling  most  of  the  eastern  half  of  Indonesia.      Kediri  left  few  monuments  and  inscriptions  and  nearly  all  we  know  about  the  10  kings  who  ruled  until  1222  are  their  names.  However,  this  was  a  time  of  great  literary  activity  and  is  remembered  by  the  Javanese  as  a  period  of  romantic  chivalry.  The  only  king  we  know  anything  about  was  Jayabhaya,  who  ruled  1135-­‐57,  who  correctly  prophesised  the  downfall  and  later  resurrection  of  his  country.  He  was  the  hero  of  a  poem  called  Harivamsa  written  by  Mpu  Panuluh.  Another  masterpiece  of  Old  Javanese  literature  was  

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the  Bharatayuddha  which  retold  the  story  of  the  great  battle  between  the  Pandavas  and  Kauravas  in  the  Mahabharata.  It  is  important  to  realise  that  these  adaptations  of  classic  Indian  stories,  as  were  the  bas-­‐reliefs  carved  by  Indonesian  stone  workers  into  the  walls  of  the  many  candi,    were  thoroughly  Javanese,  not  Indian,  in  their  presentation.    

We  are  fortunate  to  have  a  first-­‐hand  account  by  a  Chinese  visitor  to  Kediri  which  shows  us  what  every-­‐day  life  was  like  there  in  the  12th  Century.  Written  by  Chou  K’u-­‐fei  in  1178  the  book  was  called  Ling-­wai-­tai-­ta.    It  records,  in  part  that  people  wore  clothes  which  covered  them  down  to  their  legs  and  that  they  wore  their  hair  long  and  flowing.  The  houses  were  well  kept  and  the  floors  flagged  with  green  or  yellow  stones.  When  it  came  to  marriage,  the  groom’s  family  paid  a  bride-­‐price  to  the  bride’s  family.  People    relied  upon  prayers  to  the  Buddha  rather  than  develop  medical  treatments  for  when  they  were  sick.  There  was  no  torture  or  imprisonment  in  Kediri,  wrong-­‐doers  being  punished  by  being  made  to  pay  a  fine  in  gold,  that  is,  except  thieves  and  robbers  who  were  executed.      The  people  lived  in  rural  communities  where  they  grew  rice  and  raised  cattle,  pigs  and  poultry.  Silk  worms  were  cultured  to  produce  the  silk  from  which  some  clothes  were  made,  others  being  made  from  cotton.  A  variety  of  musical  instruments  were  played,  including  flutes,  drums  and  a  kind  of  wooden  xylophone,  probably  a  predecessor  to  the  gamelan.      The  king  dressed  in  silk  and  wore  leather  shoes  and  lots  of  ornate  gold  jewellery.  His  hair  was  worn  piled  high  on  top  of  his  head.  He  received  officials  while  seated  on  a  square  throne.  Officials  withdrew  after  an  audience  

having  bowed  three  times.  When  he  travelled  outside  his  kraton,  the  king  rode  an  elephant  while  accompanied  by  a  large  contingent  of  soldiers  and  officials.  The  people  prostrated  themselves  as  he  passed  them  by.    Festivals  played  an  important  part  in  the  ritual  life  of  the  kingdom.  Especially  important  was  a  water  festival  held  in  the  5th  month  of  the  year  while  in  the  10th  month,  another  festival  was  held  in  the  mountains.      Vajrasattva.  Eastern  Java,  Kediri  period,  10th/11th  century  CE,  bronze,  19.5  x  11.5cm.  

 It  was  during  this  time  also  that  the  value  of  the  spice  trade  came  to  be  recognised  by  the  kings  who  took  control  of  the  supply  of  cloves,  nutmeg  and  

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mace  as  well  as  dealing  in  pepper  and  scented  woods  such  as  sandalwood  from  Timor.  By  1222,  Ternate,  the  small  island  which  is  the  home  of  the  clove,  was  a  colony  of  Kediri.    Clove  tree  in  bud  with  insert  view  of  Ternate.      11  Singosari  In  1222  Kediri  fell  and  a  new  kingdom  called  Singosari  took  its  place.  Established  by  a  professional  criminal  known  as  Ken  Angrok  or  “he  who  upset  everything”,  this  

new  state  was  born  out  of  the  people’s  dissatisfaction  with  the  take-­‐over  of  the  old  Janggala  by  Kediri.  Of  lowly  origins,  Ken  Angrok  murdered  the  Regent  of  Tumapel,  one  of  the  Kediri  vassal  states,  and  married  his  victim’s  widow,  Ken  Dedes.    Using  a  quarrel  between    King  Kertajaya  of  Kediri  and  his  priests  as  an  excuse,  he  invaded  Kediri  and  defeated  its  forces  at  Ganter.  He  then  built  a  kraton  at  Kutaraja,  which  later  became  known  as  Singosari  and  assumed  the  throne  as  King  Rajasa.    All  this  is  retold  in  the  Javanese  Chronicle,  the  Pararaton    or  “Book  of  Kings”.  Written  sometime  between  AD  1481  and  1600,  the  first  half  of  the  book  gives  a  fanciful  and  mythical  account  of  the  early  life  of  Ken  Angrok,  how  he  was  the  son  of    the  god  Brahma  and  a  peasant  woman  who  laid  him,  as  a  baby  in  a  graveyard  where  he  was  found  by  Ki  Lembong,  a  professional  thief  who  brought  him  up  to  a  life  of  gambling,  rape  and  plunder.  He  is  saved  many  times  by  divine  intervention,  even  the  Lord  Siva  at  one  time  declaring  him  to  be  his  son…    The  end  finally  came  for  Ken  Angrok  ⎯  or  Raja  Rajasa  ⎯  after  a  reign  of  20  years  when  a  son  of  Ken  Dedes  by  her  former  husband  murdered  him.      The  new  king  was  then  in  turn  murdered  by  a  son  of  Rajasa  who  seized  the  throne  in  1242.  However,  he  did  not  last  long  either  and  was  succeeded  by  a  son  of  the  man  who  murdered  Rajasa…  King  Vishnuvardhana  ruled  for  twenty  years,  from  1248  to  1268  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  another  of  the  famous  kings  of  Java,  Kertanagara.    These  early  years  of  Singosari,  as  DGE  Hall  points  out,  are  lacking  in  detail  “save  for  the  sordid  list  of  murders  through  which  one  king  was  replaced  by  another.”12  However,  he  goes  on  to  add  that  archaeology  has  revealed  much  of  interest  about  the  period:                                                                                                    11 The inserted drawing was by Francois Valentijn (1666-1727), a missionary who worked at Amboina from 1684 to 1694 and from 1705 to 1713 he traveled extensively. An insert in the upper left corner depicts a plan of the Fortress Oranje. Image from http://www.maps-charts.com/Prints_books_photos2.htm 12 Op. cit. p 72

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In  architecture  and  art  the  purely  Javanese  element  has  come  into  its  own  fully.  In  religion  the  symbiosis  of  Saivism    and  Buddhism  has  become  a  marriage;  and  although  outwardly  in  the  sculptures  their  Hindu  or  Buddhist  characters  are  distinguishable,  their  real  significance  must  be  sought  in  native  folklore  and  legend.  They  personify  the  divine  and  magic  powers  worshipped  by  the  people.13  

 The  new  king,  Kertanagara  completed  the  process  of  unification  between  Saivism  and  Buddhism  by  practising  the  secret  rites  of  the  Tantric  cult.  This  enabled  him  to  protect  his  realm  from  demonic  powers  and  preserve  the  welfare  of  his  people.  How  he  did  this,  through  a  state  of  ecstasy  achieved  by  drunkenness  and  sexual  orgies,  shocked  the  writer/s  of  the  Pararaton  and  for  a  long  time,  Kertanagara  was  regarded  in  many  quarters  as  little  better  than  evil  debauchee.  The  alternative  view  however,  was  taken  by  Prapança  in  his  long  poem  the  Nagarakertagama  written  in  1365.  Prapança  was  the  head  of  the  Buddhist  clergy  renowned  as  an  ascetic.  The  great  Dutch  scholar,  CC  Berg  of  Leiden  University  argued  that  Prapança’s  estimate  of  the  king  should  be  taken  seriously  and  he  labelled  Kertanagara  “the  misunderstood  empire  builder.14    Berg  thought  that  Kertanagara’s  intention  through  these  mystical  practises  was  to  heal  the  rift  which  had  been  created  by  the  division  of  the  Kahuripan  kingdom  by  Airlangga  under  the  direction  of  his  advisor,  the  ascetic  Bharada.  To  combat  this,  he  had  a  statue  of  himself  in  the  form  of  another  ascetic,  Aksobhya,  erected  on  the  spot  where  Bharada  once  lived.  This  huge  statue  at  Candi  Jawi  is  known  affectionately  to  the  people  of  Surabaya  today  as  Djaka  Dolog  or  “Fatty  Daddy”….    Perhaps  more  importantly,  Kertanagara  attempted  to  unite  many  of  the  powers  of  Southeast  Asia  against  the  potential  threat  by  the  Mongols  from  China.  For  a  long  time  historians  accepted  the  view  that  in  1275  Kertanagara  launched  what  was  called  the  Pamalayu  expedition  against  Srivijaya  as  part  of  a  grand  imperialist  scheme  to  restore  Java’s  greatness.  Instead,  Berg  argues,  he  underwent  a  Tantric  consecration  as  the  Bhairava  Buddha  by  which  he  hoped  to  gain  powers  to  enable  him  to  offset  those  Kublai  Khan  obtained  by  his  consecration  as  a  Jina-­‐Buddha  in  1264  and  1269  and  that  far  from  being  an  aggressive  expedition,  his  envoys  were  on  diplomatic  campaigns  to  unite  Indonesia,  spiritually  if  not  necessarily  militarily,  against  the  threat  from  the  north.    

                                                                                               13 Ibid p. 72 14 Quoted in DGE Hall, ibid p 73.

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Whatever  interpretation  is  put  on  the  Pamalayu  ⎯  and  historians  have  been  arguing  about  it  for  years  ⎯  it  seems  certain  that  Kertanagara  was  a  ruthless  ruler  and  tolerated  no  dissent  in  his  kingdom.  Furthermore,  it  seems  he  was  right  to  fear  a  Mongol  invasion.  Kublai  Khan  eventually  sent  envoys  demanding  his  submission  ⎯  not  just  the  traditional  declaration  of  respect  for  the  Emperor  accompanied  with  presents  of  produce  from  the  region,  but  downright  submission  and  obedience.  Kertanagara  responded  by  “disfiguring  their  faces”.  The  meaning  here  is  not  clear:  it  perhaps  meant  he  had  the  noses  of  the  envoys  cut  off15  and  then  sent  them  back  to  Kublai  Khan.  Perhaps  this  expression  by  the  Chinese  scholar  recording  the  event  was  meant  figuratively,  as  in  “loss  of  face?  Whichever  way,  Kublai  Khan  was  incensed  and  despatched  a  huge  fleet  in  retaliation.    Meanwhile  yet  another  rebellion  was  brewing.  A  prince  of  Kediri  called  Jayakatwang  invaded  Singosari    and  killed  Kertanagara  while  he  was  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his  Tantric  orgies.  So,  when  the  Chinese  fleet  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Yi-­‐k’o-­‐mu-­‐su    arrived  at  Tuban  ⎯  about  145  km  west  along  the  coast  from    Surabaya  ⎯  he  found  the  kingdom  under  a  new  ruler.  At  this  point  the  former  Crown  Prince  of  Singosari,  Vijaya,  fled  to  Madura  but  was  persuaded  to  return  to  Java  and  make  submission  to  Jayakatwang,  which  he  did  and  was  rewarded  in  turn  by  being  made  governor  of  a  district.  He  then  turned  to  the  Mongols  and  sought  their  help  in  overthrowing  Jayakatwang  in  return  for  which  he  promised  submission  to  Kublai  Khan…    The  Mongols  did  as  he  asked,  Jayakatwang  was  easily  defeated  and  the  capital  returned  to  Vijaya.  He  then  turned  on  the  Mongols  who,  at  this  time  were    engaged  in  what  these  days  is  called  “mopping  up”  and  “pacification”.  He  was  so  successful  that  the  Admiral  abandoned  the  campaign  and  left  for  home.    Vijaya  now  became  king,  assuming  the  title  Kertarajasa  Jayavarddhana.  He  built  his  kraton  at  Madjapahit,  ironically  the  district  in  the  lower  Brantas  valley  to  which  Jayakatwang  had  appointed  him  when  he  falsely  made  submission.  The  kingdom  came  to  be  known  as  Madjapahit,  the  last  great  Hindu  kingdom  in  Java  and  the  greatest  empire  the  archipelago  had  known  before  Soekarno  united  the  islands  as  Indonesia.      

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                                                                                               15 or he had their faces tattooed