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5 February 2010 Solo Indonesia
Batik is king in Solo. There are even more shops in the city than Yogyakarta, if that is possible. It sounded like a good idea to look for a batik replacement in Solo for one of my T-shirts that is getting a little worse for wear. We started the search in the Batik Market. It was too much for me. We found our way to a huge indoor market packed to the gills with small stalls, all selling batik fabric and clothing. I could not image how a shop could possibly fit the stock they were selling into their small space, let alone add anything more. The choice was mind boggling and none of it suited my fashion sense. I gave up looking and just admired the variety.
Each state in Java was traditionally ruled by a "susuhuman" or prince. The prince of Solo State lived in Karosuro, a town about 10 km away from Solo until the town was sacked in 1742 by warring factions. The ruling prince heard voices saying the village of Solo was a "place decreed by Allah and it will become a great and prosperous city", so he moved everything, including the sacred banyan trees, to Solo in one day. The Kraton was built in 1785 and became the home of the ruling family. A subsequent prince built another palace, the Puri Mangky Negaran, in 1757 for his own use. Both complexes are now open to the public. We visited both.
The Kraton is now owned by the government and is showing its age and lack of upkeep. The displays are poorly labelled and dusty and the most important artifacts have been sold off or moved by the government. It was a bit of a disappointment.
The Puri was much more enjoyable. It is still owned and operated by the current prince, who retains only ceremonial duties. The prince used to reside in the complex but now lives either in a house in the more fashionable section of Solo or in Jakarta. The Puri is used for entertaining guests. We had a very knowedgeable guide for our visit to the Puri. She showed us through several of the official rooms and gardens and pointed our the many gifts from foreign governments and artifacts and souvenirs collected by the generations of princes. The mother of the current prince was revered for her herbal medicine knowledge. An elderly woman, a follower or the now dceased mother, sold several remedies in the Puri. There were lotions, powders and arromatic oils to sniff and try. I bought a small packet of powder guaranteed to repel insects from cloth. I plan to try out its effectiveness against moths that I cannot get rid of in our house.
We have been enjoying sampling the various local delicacies. We have tried Nasi Gudeg, a jackfruit curry, served with a hardboiled egg cooked in brown sugar and garlic. Ray liked Sop Matahari, a soup with mushrooms, chicken, biscuit croutons and the same kind of hardboiled egg. Chinese food is also popular, introduced to Indonesia by the generations of Chinese workers and businessmen. We went to a popular food stall and had a dinner of dim sum delicacies. Weplan to visit a street in Solo famous for its Nasi Liwet, which is rice cooked with coconut milk and served with side dishes. There is always something new to try.
The traffic getting out of Solo was the usual Asian crush of motorcycles all jockeying for position on a narrow two lane road. It was a relief to get into the countryside again. The rice fields spread ahead on either side of the road. Here the rice has grown tall and green and is starting to head up.
We were heading up the slopes of Gunung Lawu, a huge mountain of 3265 M. We were not going to climb the mountain, we were going to visit two Hindu temples, built in the 15th C, just before Islam swept the country. Candi (temple) Sukuh was built about 50 years before Candi Ceto, which would be our first stop.
As we got higher, the fields switched from rice paddies to market gardens. The soil is rich and fertile and the climate is temperate. Carrots, cabbages, beans, sugar cane, you name it, are grown in this area. Coffee plantations used to cover the slopes but the government decided that rubber trees would be more profitable so the coffee trees were torn out and new rubber trees planted.
We climbed through misty low clouds to the tea plantations where women were busy picking the tender top leaves and others were pruning the tea plants on adjacent hills. The minivan struggled up the steep inclines, there were few switchbacks to ease the drive, to a small community at 1400 M.
Two towering entry posts, stone blocks built in a series of steps with a saw-toothed edge facing outwards, marked Candi Ceto. A mixture of Shivaism and fertility worship, it was built by one of the Majapahit rulers who found himself the victim of warring factions at Candi Sukuh. He fled and found just the quiet, peaceful place he was looking for in Ceto where he built a meditation center for himself and a few of his loyal priests and guards. Th original temple had 14 levels with gates at each level reaching to Nirvana. By the time the ruler and his priests died, the countryside had converted to Islam and there were few people left who understood the meaning of Ceto, so the temple was abandoned. Rediscovered in this century, Soeharto decreed it must be restored. Archaeological studies had not yet commenced so Soeharto declared that he didn't care how it was restored, as long as it was symetrical. One of the 14 levels was eliminated and the first gate was built much higher than the others. The temple evolved into a rite to determine whether a young man was a virgin and would be able to marry his intended. While his intended watched, the young man would circle the largest level 50 times, then sit in the center. If he had an erect penis by that time he was a virgin. If not, he failed the test and could not marry!
With the rise of Islam, Hindu followers fled to Bali. Ceto is now a pilgrimage site for many Bali Hindus. As a result, many of the villagers in Ceto have converted to Hinduism and remain a small pocket of believers in an Islamic country. Locals come daily to place fresh flowers on the foot of the sculptures of their favourite dieties.
Candi Sukuh was 7 km farther down the mountain. We arrived to find it was not merely misty, it was raining. We sheltered under Ray's umberella and waited out the short shower.
Many of the sculptures are roughly carved, suggesting, according to our very knowledgeable guide Ajib, that it was built in a hurry using unskilled workers. More detailed sculptures were added as stone carvers were found. There are two themes to the temple. One is the lifting of a curse, depicted by sculptures relating to the story of Durga, a consort of Shiva being cursed for unfaithfulness and the subsequent lifting of the curse. Two large sculptures of headless Garudas, one half-human and half-bird, the other half-bird and half-human, tell a similar story of a curse and its redemption. The other theme is fertility, depicted by several lingam (penis) statues and figures with oversized erect penises. The favourite photograph taken by tourists is of a young man posing behind one figure that is headless. Ray wouldn't cooperate for a photo.
A rite evolved after the temple was built to determine if a young woman is a virgin. Wearing a sarong, she had to stride across a large lingam. If her sarong got caught on the lingam, she was a virgin. If not, she failed. We couldn't see how high she had to step as the lingam now resides in a museum.
The trip down the mountain was a lot quicker, even stopping for photos alng the way and a lunch in a small restaurant. It was an enjoyable day.