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Sutopo’s heart beats for Prambanan

Without a doubt, scholars have done extensive studies on the architecture and religious significance of Prambanan. I know because I read some of the accounts prepared by those scholars.  I find, however, that the best account about Prambanan is that of Sutopo, who is by no means a learned scholar. Sutopo was our guide at Prambanan. He is a Muslim who lived all his life in and around the premises of Prambanan. While he may not have read scholarly accounts about Prambanan, he certainly supplied us with accurate information about it. More than that, his account contained something  missing in those scholarly accounts. That something is a heart that beats for Prambanan.

LS and I barely slept the night before our 6:00 a.m. flight to Jogjakarta. As soon as our plane landed, Danang took two sleep-deprived girls to Prambanan. We got there at 7:30 a.m. and were introduced to Sutopo in the receiving area, which was some distance from the temple complex. At that point, I was dreading the long walk to the temples on a hot day and wondering how soon the tour would end so I could get some shut-eye at our hotel.  Surprisingly, Sutopo later managed to stimulate my senses by introducing us to his beloved Prambanan.

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On Prambanan

In Paul Michel Munoz’ Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, he says that “Prambanan was a complex of temples dedicated to [the Hindu god] Shiva, which was built to celebrate the return to power of the Sanjaya Dynasty in Central Java around 825AD.” (at 354)

“As with the majority of Indonesian Hindu temples, the shrine of Prambanan presents typical cruciform, mountain-type shapes symbolizing Mout Meru, the residence of the Gods and the axis of the world in Hindu mythology.  The temple is divided by three concentric prescints with surrounding low walls which present openings for doors.  The external precinct was empty.  In the middle precinct were 224 small chapels or shrines disposed on four ranks…The inner precinct contained 16 cruciform temples.”  (Ibid., at 355)

The three main temples in the inner precinct are dedicate to the Hindu gods, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma.  In front of each temple is a smaller temple dedicated to the vahanas or mount of those gods.  The vahanas of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are the Garuda, Nandi Bull and Hamsa, respectively.  To read more about vahanas, click on this. (more…)