Indonesia.2005

Good Morning.

It's about 4 a.m. local time here In Yogyakarta. I'm trying to get the next post prepared before we head out to Mt. Bromo in Eastern Java. That's a volcano for those who haven't been following along. It will take us about 9 hours over "iffy" roads to get there, so we will have to get an early start.

  Yesterday we ventured out to Prambanan, a sprawling Hindu Temple complex about 45 minutes outside of Yogakarta. Similar to Borobadur, it was nearly destroyed about a thousand years ago and lay in ruins until recent times. It has been under reconstruction for the better part of the last hundred years and still has a long way to go to completion.

We paid the obligatory "Americans Only" high entrance fee and wandered through the complex led by our appointed guide who seemed to have a peculiar fascination with the more sexual aspects of the Hindu carvings. We tried to ignore his proclivities and took in the spectacle of Prambanan. The main Temple complex is centered around the three largest Temples: the Great Vishnu Temple in the center, the Brahma Temple on the left and the Shiva Temple on the right. In front of each of these are slightly smaller Temples devoted to the modes of transport for each associated god. The remaining two hundred or so lesser temples are in various stages of reconstruction.

The look of Prambanan is very different from that of Borobadur, but there were many similarities in the stories told in it's relief carvings. Just change the name from Buddha to various Hindu gods and you've got the idea. While trying not expire in the relentless midday sun, we went through the three main temples with exhaustive thoroughness. We left the remaining temples to the throngs of students that arrived later that afternoon.

After a gallon or so of water and a little rest, we cruised north to the outskirts of Solo to find Sangrain, the location of the archeological dig where "Java Man" was found. Java Man or Homo Erectus, was one of the earlier ancestors of modern humans whose fossils were found here in the early part of the last century. We thought we were going to simply tour a museum, but it turned out to be much more.

We arrived at the museum and trudged up about two hundred feet of steps to get to the main building. We were the only people there other than staff. There aren't many visitors to this part of Java save the occasional busload of Javanese students. Upon arrival, a tiny little young woman in traditional Muslim headdress appeared and introduced herself in English. She was very enthusiastic about her subject matter and even more interested in learning about where we were from and what we thought of Indonesia. We went through the tour of the sweltering museum stopping at every display as our young guide explained in deliberate English the finer points of the various bones and fossils we were looking at.

After the tour, to our surprise, she asked if we  would like to see the Laboratorium. We said sure and we went over to the museum's rooms for restoring and conserving the fossils found in the surrounding area. There we found a simple room with dozens of fossils and bones laid out in various stages of disrepair. She and the museum's head conservator went on to show us all the projects they were working on. Afterwards, they took us next door and led us into the warehouse of sorts they have for that part of the collection that is not on display. Piles and piles on shelf after shelf of elephant, rhinoceros, and cow fossils filled the room. Our little guide was very adamant that we get a good look at the specimens. Frequently admonishing us, "You can come closer."

Thinking that we were finished with our tour, they then offered to take us down to the actual dig where the fossils are found. So, we piled into our truck and with one of the museums staff as guide, bounded down what just barely passed for a road. In many ways, it was like going back in time. It certainly was a much more primitive area than we had seen to date. The area is still home to rice farmers and their families. Most of the fossils found are found and turned in by the local farmers. There is a great deal of erosion during the rainy season there and the fossils often just appear, sticking out of the sand and mud. After about twenty minutes of bouncing down and up the back roads of Sangrain, we arrived at a foot path and headed out on foot through rice fields and scrub. We stopped at a cliff face and the latest area of discovery was pointed out in the ravine below. We clambered down a gouge in the hillside and found ourselves in a sandy backwash littered with bits of fossilized bone, shell and ivory dating from about 750,000 years ago. It was surreal. They encouraged us to just pick up and take anything we wanted. There was plenty to go around. Granted, they were just bits and pieces, but still, it's not something you do everyday. When we made our way back up the hill, we were ambushed by a crowd of local farmers who had heard we were there and they proceeded to try and sell us the more choice fossils they had found themselves. I questioned whether they were real or not as the prices they were asking were ridiculously low. I had to be reminded that these people live off just a few dollars a month and what I might think a mere pittance would seem a fortune to them. So a few items were purchased and we were released.

Comfortably back in our truck, we dropped off the museum official and made the long journey back to Yogyakarta for dinner.

Another day of surprises. I wonder what today will bring at Mt Bromo. We'll just have to see.

I'll keep you posted.

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11,000-mile Conversation

This morning was spent carrying on an 11,000-mile conversation. I was speaking with our new friend Komang in Denpasar, Bali about helping us with our arrangements on Bali and Java through his new tour company bali-go-round.com. Komang was referred to us by our local Balinese friend Mady. John has previously been in contact with him about securing the manufacture of a Kris--see Eclectic and Odd? This was the first time that we have spoken to him directly though. He, like Mady, is all about helping ensure our trip is enjoyable and productive.

He has lined up someone formerly associated with Gedong Kirtya to translate our manuscripts in the Singaraja area. This would be terrific if we could get that part of the mission, our primary objective, completed early. I'm still looking to have backup sources for translation in case this one doesn't pan out, however. We'll try to see him within the first few days of our arrival on Bali.

As I've mentioned, we are also very interested in getting to understand the ways and practices of Dukuns--those who would employ a MS of the nature of our "Master" MS. Komang tells me that on Bali, Dukuns are called Balian and, from what I've told him about our MS, it would probably fall into the category of a Usada MS, or Usada Lontar. He is making arrangements for us to meet with a local Balian Usada to help achieve this second objective.

He tells me that the Holy Man slated to make the "Special" Krises for us is in Klungkung in Southern Bali.

The Java leg of our trip is less well-defined, but Komang is assisting there as well. I'm hoping he'll be able to get us close to the Tenggerese people near Mt. Bromo. These are still-traditional tribes left over from before the days of the Dutch Invasions. They are ostensibly Muslim, but seemingly only in name. They still practice many of the old ways and Dukuns play a major role in their culture. They still practice the Kasada Offering Ceremony each year which involves making offerings/sacrifices to the Volcano Bromo. In the old days, it was a human sacrifice. Today it is just livestock and foods. But Lacy is a bit nervous about this still. You see, the humans sacrificed were usually female, and with us being strangers in a strange land... well, you get the idea.:-)

This part of Indonesia is shaping up to be quite a mystical and magical place. A whole other world. I hope we will be able to do it justice here on the pages of SophiaQuest.com. To think that a casual conversation over lunch, nine years ago, would bring three ordinary people to the other side of the world in search of linguists, healers and lost tribes to learn the secrets of a pair of forgotten manuscripts says a lot about life I guess. You never know where it's going to take you. You just have to broader your horizons a bit and be willing to peek over the edge sometimes.

We're looking forward to telling you all about it.

I'll keep you posted.

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X Marks the Spot

Since the last installment, there have been several developments. One with which I’m pretty intrigued.

As I described in the manuscript section of the main site, there are two MS in our possession that are the focus of our expedition to Indonesia. The second, “Apprentice” MS has garnered very little attention until now. This past Easter weekend, John and I resolved to sit down with it and try to put it in some semblance of order.

Much of it is in poor condition: pieces missing, writing faded, and some leaves are greatly discolored. We were trying to order them based on numbers that had been scratched on the left end of each leaf. This had been done as well on the “Master” MS and it had been strung together with the numbers in sequential order. But the “Apprentice” MS had come un-tethered at some point in the past and was all in a jumble.

In the process of taking a close look at each leaf for the first time, we noticed that in this set of leaves there appeared to be what looked like a first and last page. They were blank on one side, while all the other pages from both MS had writing on both sides. What I took to be the last page was adhered to the wooden end-piece and had to be gently pried loose. What also suggested these may be the first and last pages of a MS was the fact that they had symbols on them that appeared no where else on any of the remaining one hundred-plus leaves. John, upon closer examination, observed that the symbols were slightly different on the last page.

The symbols in question were two x-like etchings with three prongs on each on the four legs on the “x.” (See image at right and CLICK TO ENLARGE) But, as John had observed, the two “x” marks on the last page were the same except that the center of the x had a bulge or a hole where the others had not. This struck us as significant. At the beginning of the document we saw the two “x” marks on what looked like a title page, and then after the ensuing text, a tale perhaps, the two marks appear again, only different. They had changed, evolved. We wondered if they were a symbolic representation on some change that takes place in the text or maybe a change that takes place after invoking the text.

We also noted the repetition, or near repetition, of another pair of symbols. These markings (see image) looked liked text of some sort. The difference we noted was in the second symbol of the pair on the last page. It had something added to it. A prefix of sorts. Again, a pair of symbols slightly changed over the course of the MS. These symbols do also appear in places throughout the body text of the MS whereas, as previously mentioned, the “x” markings only appear on the first and last pages.

It will be fascinating to learn what this says.

I’m not sure how we’re going to accomplish this however. We are not traveling with the actual MS’s. We have made three sets of high-quality color prints of the “Master” to bring with us for examination. Unfortunately the “Apprentice” MS is in such poor condition that it doesn’t lend itself to making readable color prints. The close-up images you see on this site were scanned and enhanced in PhotoShop to bring out the detail. We’re working the problem. I just don’t know what the solution is at this point.

I’ll keep you posted.

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Eclectic and Odd?

I was thinking about yesterday's Quest-bits and was struck by how eclectic and odd our agenda for this trip may seem to some.

I was talking with an Internet Cafe in Ubud discussing bandwidth and connectivity while John was writing one of our guides in Singaraja about having daggers made from meteoritic iron. Our interests are wide ranging, sometimes out of control I suspect. But, I have to admit... it's fun!

I was trading emails with an Internet Cafe in Ubud on Bali that the very-helpful Pat at Murni's recommended. I have been dwelling of late on how exactly we're going to pull off our ambitious plans of updating the web site with text, photos, and video from a country where broadband is still as rare as hen's teeth. Pat had asked around and discovered that one of the few places on Bali that has something akin to broadband was literally just around the corner from our rented home in Bali. The eternally optimistic staff at Highway Bali assures me there will be no problem. They have everything we need. No problem. Why am I still worried?

John meanwhile, was tasking our new friend, Komang in Denpasar, with finding a Master to fashion at least two Krises from 7 Kilos of Meteorites. A little explanation is necessary here I'm guessing: A Kris is a particularly Javanese/Balinese style of dagger. They are greatly prized and some are believed to be the dwelling place of powerful spirits. It is believed that the most powerful Krises are made from meteoritic iron. Consequently, the Sultan in Yogyakarta has many. The iron from meteorites has been imbued with all kinds of mystical and magical powers in many cultures throughout history. The metal from the "Star Stone" has been venerated since Biblical times.

OK you're saying, all this is very interesting, but why in the world do you want to have someone actually make some daggers from meteorites? Well, the answer is twofold.

John is, by his own description, an "accumulator." When we learned of this practice of making ceremonial daggers from meteoritic iron, John decided to have one. I don't know why. That's just his nature.

Secondly, the process of crafting the metal into a sacred object for a singular purpose is important for me to witness. In my book there is an metal device of an unusual nature and unknown origin that plays a pivotal role in development of the storyline. I need to understand how these mystical blacksmiths go about their business of creating a physical object infused with the powers of the gods. These makers of the Kris belong to the Pande caste, a special caste of mystical blacksmiths who in times past worshiped the fiery volcano Batur. Legend has it they stole the secrets of fire and metalworking from the gods--not unlike the myth of Prometheus I imagine.

That's just a brief glimpse into the menagerie of ideas that are constantly wandering in and out of our field of vision for the trip. Seems normal to us. ;-)

LATE BREAKING

John heard back from Komang in Bali about getting the Krises made. Here's an excerpt:

"Yes, you are right that there are still some people who make the Kris in Bali like in Celuk. I will find the information for the best Kris maker and will let you know when I find. One thing I should tell you is that The Kris is not only an art thing but it is a spiritual life thing. We do believe that the Kris has a spirit and of course a magic power. It will happen if the Keris is made by special person with special material, in certain time and special way. The power of the Kris depends on those things and when it finish there will be a special ceremony called "pasupati" to invite the divine magic power to come and stay within the Kris. But if you wish to make a Kris just for decoration, you do not need to make a ceremony for that but the Kris will be just an art work, not a spiritual thing."

Pretty interesting, isn't it?

I'll keep you posted.

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Java Connection

I woke this morning to a new email from a fellow I will hope be a new Java connection.

Five months ago, I ran across an online research paper by graduate student, Inez Mahoney from Australia, on Dukuns in Eastern Java. For the uninitiated, Inez described Dukuns as follows:

"The dukun, or shaman, is an important figure linked with the esoteric world of spirits and mysticism. They are practitioners in the areas of alternative healing, sorcery, and traditional ceremonies and have played a major role in Indonesian society. The dukun of Java base their practice on Javanese mysticism, which is an essential element of Java’s unique culture and identity."

This was encouraging at the time since I had not found much of anything on the subject less than twenty years old. I did my best to try to track the girl down, but could never find any contact information on her. However, I did find a reference to one of her advisors in the acknowledgement section of her paper. I was able to locate an email address for him and I fired off an email asking for any contact info for Inez and explained what we were trying to learn about our MS and Dukuns. Well, as has often been the case in my years of writing to faceless email addresses for information, I never heard from him.

But, a few weeks ago, I did here from a fellow in Malang, Java. His email said he had worked with Inez on her Dukun project in Java and was willing to be of assistance in our Quest. I guess the word had somehow gotten from our Professor in Australia to him up in Java.

I sent him a thumbnail sketch of what we were interested in doing in Java to get the conversation going and asked about the best methods of contacting him.

It took awhile, by U.S. standards--we're so impatient--to hear from him again. but hear from him again I did.

Here's an excerpt:

"Before you come to Indonesia, please send me your detail plan. It might be changing. going to Bromo, it is better start from Malang. So from Jogya you go to Malang. If I have time I will accompany you to Bromo. I think in some villages near Bromo you can find some dukuns who might be able to read you manuscript.

We can also discuss many things about dukuns."

Very Cool indeed!

I have a phone number for our friend in Java along with an email address. I guess it's time to give him a ring and set this up. I just have to remember they are 12-13 hours ahead of us when I call. :-0

I'll keep you posted.

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Welcome to Indonesia.2005

Welcome to the first installment of SophiaQuest Production's Indonesia.2005 weblog.

Well, here it is, just 66 days until we take off.  In the wake of years of research and months of preparation, it feels like tomorrow. There’s still a great deal to do.

We hope to use this blog as a vehicle to keep everybody up-to-date on our progress while in the field. It was something we really wanted to be able to do, however the logistics seemed problematic. But, using the technology supplied by TypePad, I believe we’ll be able to upload updates from Bali and Java with photos and video--I hope--from Internet Cafes and any local hookups we happen across in our travels without too much difficulty.

I’ll be posting updates about our continuing preparations in large part to work out any of the bugs I may find with the blogging tools. I’d really hate to be on the other side of the world and realize there was a problem. So, the look and content will certainly evolve as we go along.

Everyone is busily going about their appointed tasks: John is scouring the world for exotic materials--lapis lazuli and meteoritic iron--for some of our Bali projects; Lacy is honing her Bahasa Indonesia skills while giving her digital camera a daily workout;  and I'm going crazy trying to keep all the loose ends from tripping us up.

There are folks behind the scenes doing their thing as well: My friend Lisa is getting the logo'ed items for the trip pulled together; Our friend Mady is in Bali as I write, lining up contacts for us to meet with on the Island; and hopefully, Dr. Hinzler is getting her Java and Bali contact list together for us.

Things are moving forward for sure, but there's a long way to go before we even begin our trip to the other side of the world.

I'll keep you posted!

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