Jawi Temple

In 1359, on his return from an extended tour of eastern provinces, King Rajasanagara of Majapahit Stopped off at the temple of Jajawa,Located on the slopes of the holy mountain Kumukus. His purpose was to place offerings at the shrine of his great grandfather Kartanagara, Last king of Singosari, in whose memory the monument had been built. According to the Nagarakertagama, which recounts at length the king’s visit to Jajawa, the royal party remainedthere for two or three days, making short excursions into the surrounding countryside. The magnificence of sacred compound was described in detail. The principal monument was said to have been a siwaite sanctuary crowned with the Buddhist ornament, in keeping with the religious philosophy expounded by Kertanagara, who is recorded as having returned, on his death, to the realm of Siwa-Buddha.

The Jajawa of history can be identified today with Candi Jawi at Pandaan, in the foothills of Mt Welirang. The site was formerly much larger than its present size. Entrance to the inner compound was from the west, via a split gate ( Candi Bentar) built from brick, the remains of which can still be seen in the south western corner of the site.

The principal monument, which was restored to its present condition between 1976 and 1980, is a tall, slender stone building, consisting of a base made from andesite bloks, upon which rest the body and roof, both constructed of limestone. Surrounding the building is a moat built from brick, measuring 50 metres square an some two metres deep. The walls of the base are decorated with relief carving, displaying a seemingly unbroken narrative, the contents of which may illustrate an historical event connected with the site.

Built in around 1300, Candi Jawi provides a clear example of classical architecture from the East Javanese period, which saw a move away from the massive structures favoured by the Sailendra dynasty some five centuries earlier, towards more slender buildings displaying tall, spire like roofs. While we do see a foreshadowing of this later style at the Central Javanese comlex of prambanan, a scarcity of remains in stone from yhe intervening period has made it difficult to trace the development which followed.

Among the earliest monuments in East Java exhibiting this new style is Candi Kidal, which lies to the south east of Malang. Mentioned in ancient literature as the memorial shrine for King Anusapati of Singosari, and thus datable to about 1250, Kidal has undergone partial restoration. Although the roof has been found impossible to reconstruct, the base of the monument displays some exceptionally fine images of the legendary hero Garuda, carved in high relief.

Other surviving structures which show a similarity of from to Candi Kidal include the gateway of Bajang Ratu at Trowulan and the ‘dated temple’ at Penataran, both of which have been restored. In addition, there are a few buildings whose once towering roofs have long sice collapsed and are no longer retrievable, among them Candi Ngetos, Candi Bangkal, Candi Sawentar and Candi Sumberjati.

From around the middle of 14th century another type of building appears to have become popular. This consisted of a stone platform, often terraced, upon which rested a structure which was either partially or completely built from perishable materials. At Candi Jago, as well as at Candi Penataran, for example, there is the likelihood that the roof above the main shrine resembled the meru towers found today in the pura of Bali, constructed from wood and palm fibre.

The temples of Surawana and Tigowangi at Pare, Kediri, both of which date from the late 14th century, likewise display a solid, stone base, yet the type of structure they supported, if any, is difficult to ascertain. In some cases, a rather simple platform of bricks was apparently sufficient for a statue of obvious importance. At Candi Gayatri, transcendental wisdom, possibly representing King Rajasanagara’s grandmother the Rajapatni (d. 1350), sits exposed on a tiered, brick foundation, all evidence of its original, probably wooden shelter having long since disintegrated.

The classical architecture of East Java is characterized further by a shift of perspective in the formal arrangement of spice. In early Central Java, the layout of a temple complex tended to be symmetrical, with the principal building located in the centre, aligned with the cardinal point. With the temples of East Java, however, there appeared a new orientation, where the most sacred enclosure frequently came to occupy a place at the rear of the building or compound. This idea is perhaps best illustrated at Candi Panataran, where the site is divided into three separate courtyards. The main building, which itself recerdes as it rises on a system of terraces, is to be found at the far eastern end of the complex, closest to the summit of Mt Kelud

Photo from: www.eastjava.com
Text source: Historic Is Java Remains in Stones