115 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief Susilo Pradoko, Maria Goretti Widyastuti, Fu’adi, Birul Walidaini Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia Submitted: 2021-01-17. Revised: 2021-03-23. Accepted: 2021-04-26 Abstract This research aims to unveil the types, size, figures, and functions of musical instruments carved as reliefs of Kalasan Temple as a way to revitalize the music from the 8th century. This research implements heuristic methods with Panofsky’s iconology analysis in three steps, which are pre- iconography, iconography, and iconology to analyse the reliefs of the Temple. The researchers validated the findings through forum group discussion with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board of Yogyakarta. The findings show that (1) the relief of musical instruments in Kalasan temple is located on the head of Kala; (2) the musical instruments on the head are two wind in- struments made of shells and a stringed instrument named vina; (3) there are two figures of musi- cians carved, which are two wind instruments players and a player of stringed instruments. The figures are depicted as heavenly creatures named Gandharva; (4) the measurement shows that the wind instruments have 35.98 cm length and 12.85 cm width, another one has 23.13 cm length and 12.85 cm width. Meanwhile, the stringed instrument has a length of 92.52 cm and 12.85 cm width; and (5) the musical instruments were performed to worship the Goddess of Tara. Keywords: Kalasan Temple, musical instruments, relief How to Cite: Pradoko, S., Widyastuti, M. G., Fu’adi, & Walidaini, B. (2021). 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 21(1), 115-122 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021), 115-122 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v21i1.28530 the location, which is named Sari Temple. Both Kalasan and Sari have similarities in their fineness and sculptural subtlety. The specific character of the temple is that they have vajralepa (bajralepa), which is a layer that covers the ornaments and reliefs on the outer wall. Apart from the characteristics, Kala- san temple displays musical instruments on its south relief. The displays attracted the researcher’s attention when a musical performance was held in the area in 2017. Hence, the researchers initiated this rese- arch based on the curiosity to know detai- led information regarding the types, size, figures, and functions of musical instru- ments carved as reliefs of Kalasan Temple. INTRODUCTION Kalasan temple is located in Kalibe- ning, Tirtamani, Sleman, Yogyakarta. The place is specifically located 10 km south of Yogyakarta’s central business district and around 5 km from Prambanan temp- le. In Kalasan inscription, Kalasan temple is named after its location. The inscription explains that the location is called Kala- san, and the place is blessed in a meeting involving important figures, such as pang- kur, tawan, and tirip (sets of local Javanese leaders) along with the ancestors of the village (Source:Prasasti Kalasan BPCB DIY Inventory Number D 147). There is another temple not far from Corresponding author: E-mail: susilo_pradoko@uny.ac.id p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122116 From the raised problem, it is a fact that Indian culture’s influence in Indonesia reached its peak between the 8th and 11th centuries. During the time, there was a de- velopment of Javanese culture, especially in architecture, fine arts, and music. As an example, a lot of temples were built in the civilization. There are many musical instruments displayed on the temples’ reliefs. Some of the instruments came from India or Indo- nesia, such as kledi, flute, siter (Javanese violin), angklung, xylophone, sapeq, gen- dang, bells, gong, saron, bonang, and several wind instruments (Prier, 1991, p. 80). The character of a musical instru- ment is based on the sound that it produ- ces or simply its timbre. According to Sach & Erick, musical instruments are classified based on how to use them: (1) idiophone (percussions), e.g., xylophone, angklung, Belyra; (2) aerophone (wind instruments), e.g., aulos/ flute/flauto, clarinet, fagot, french horn, trombone, tuba, and trumpet; (3) chordophone (stringed instruments) kecapi, siter, harps, rebab, violin, cello, bass; (4) electrophone (electrical music instru- ments), e.g., electric guitar, electric piano, and keyboard (Banoe, 2003). During the erection of Prambanan temple, Javanese Hindu has been identi- fied as using musical instruments like ke- capi, kinara, trumpet, drum, and symbals. The kecapi in Borobudur’s relief is slim with different variations. It is predicted that the kecapi entered Java during Syai- lendran age (c. 725 - c. 850). Kinara is a mu- sical instrument on the relief which shows the advanced development of music in Java. There is a trumpet-like instrument made of shells which represent a vital sto- ry of service and war during the time. The instrument is mentioned in old Javanese literature under the name of sangka, mara, and sungu. The drum musical instruments on Borobudur and Prambanan were diver- se. They were approximately coming from the year 824 and the second half of the 9th century. Cymbals were found on Pramba- nan and Borobudy with a trophy-like figu- re (Kunst, 1927, p. 56). This research employed a musical archeology approach. Broadly speaking, musical archeology is an approach that covers the history of musical sound art phenomena. The research findings focus on music that is dug and provide sound artefact (ancient musical and sound instru- ments), instrumental depiction, singer, dancer with musical instruments, posture of performances, and real performance. Archeological approach has already provi- ded a sociocultural presentation and histo- rical meaning of ancient music (Both, 2009, p. 1). Prior studies have analysed some temples in Indonesia. A research has been conducted on a historical site in Kedulan. Kedulan contains the remains from the 9th century on the Temple of Hindu Ma- taram Kingdom at Tirtomartani, Kalasan, Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta. The temple was found accidentally by a sand digger on November 24th, 1993 under several me- ters of modern Merapi’s vulcanoic deposit. Technical studies are required to dig the temple carefully, specifically in geology and geophysics. One of the geophysics methods applied on this study was by the radar of soil penetration (georadar). The method used radar to get the profile from the sub-surface of the temple; thereby, the scientists can explain the soil substrate based on the distinct dielectrical constant. Georadar investigation were conducted by Geological Engineering Department of Engineering Faculty, Universitas Gadjah Mada, on Desember 4, 2007. The main aim of this is to identify the location of the sto- ne fence as the approximate measurement of the whole temple’s location (Husein et al., 2015, p. 47). Research of the Goddess of Tara has been conducted by Gogaoi, who states that the Goddess of Tara is the second of ten Mahavidya (Great and Magical Goddes- ses in Hinduism) (Gogaoi, 2011, p. 233). There is minimum information regarding the Goddess of Tara in Buddhism, which shows the origin of the Goddess or the influence of the Hindu and non-Arya tri- be elements to the community (Jordaan, Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 117 1997). The rise of the cult was based on the northeast India. There was not any litera- ture or archeological evidence regarding the existence of the Goddess before Gupta era or in between the third to the fifth cen- tury, despite being limitedly mentioned in Indian literature. Asides, Javanese inscrip- tion of Kalasan on the year 778 becomes the earliest epigraphical reference supporting her existence (Jordaan, 1997, pp. 286–287). Brandes compared the portrayal of the Goddess of Tara on the Buddhist Temples in Central Java, which are Sewu Temple, Mendut Temple, and Kalasan Temple (1904). The portrayal in Mendut and Kalasan were most relevant with iden- tical shapes and decoration as clearly de- picted in Brandes’ articles (Jordaan, 1997, p. 289). The Goddess of Tara has become the main issue to reconstruct the religious worship. According to Monk Atisa in Ti- bet, the Goddess possess 21 characters of God. Based on the data, it is impossible to see whether the characters are completely represented on the reliefs in Kalasan. Beyer states that the 21 positions of Taras are usually depicted as people sit- ting on the same position which is stret- ched right leg and pulled left leg. The visible difference is only on the colour of bottles on their hands or the existence of lotus attributes (1978, 333-35, 470). In the other temples, the statues sit on the thro- ne and niche. The niches does not have the same size and decoration (Jordaan, 1997, p. 294). From the previous researches, this re- search identifies and focuses on the types, figures, construction, and functions of mu- sical instruments on the relief of Kalasan Temple. METHODS This research employs heuristic methods. Heuristic comes from Greek of heuristiken which means collecting or fin- ding sources. The remains of human ci- vilization, physical or nonphysical, are the trails of which the historians should reconstruct (Pranoto, 2014, p. 29). The written sources of history are important documents, inscriptions, scripts, charters, chronicles, newspapers, books, research reports, and academic journals (Herdiani, 2016). The understanding supports Gott- schalk who mentions that heuristic action directs research to an exploration, search, and collection of sources which is going to be researched in the location, whether as an exact thing or only verbal explanation which refers to the historical evident (Rah- man, 2017; Wasino, 2018). The heuristic data collection of writ- ten literature on this research cover: (1) Kalasan inscription which comes from the Saka year of 700; (2) the report of Kalasan temple’s reconstruction; (3) the procee- dings from the Association of Archeologi- cal Expert of Indonesia; (4) the internatio- nal academic journals which cover Kalasan Temple and Widya Prabha Journals of Cultural Heritage Preservation Board of Yogyakarta; and (5) relevant reference in the library of the Cultural Heritage Preser- vation Board of Yogyakarta (BPCB DIY). A field study was conducted as a visit to the Kalasan temple, Yogyakarta. The musical instruments on the re- lief were analysed in three steps, which are pre-iconography, iconography, and iconology. Pre-iconography is the study of the material object. The analysis of icono- graphy covers the historical contextualiza- tion of the object. Iconology refers to the analysis which includes the elements of values and symbols (Panofsky, 1955). The description of musical instru- ments in Kalasan temple began with the substantial analysis, followed by the me- asurement of physical and material dimen- sions along with the articulation of the ob- ject. The substantial analysis is the process of describing objects aided with the criteria of human face average from the chin to the head, which is around 25. 7 cm (Panero, 1979, p. 12). Before redesigning the musical instrument in Kalasan temple, the resear- chers have measured the musical instru- ments in centimeters. The researchers aim to ease the re-production of the instru- Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122118 ments after the research. To ensure the data validity, the researchers conducted a focus group discussion with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Board of Yogyakar- ta. RESULT AND DISCUSSION The Identification of Musical Instru- ments of the Relief on Kalasan Temple After the literature study, field stu- dy, and study of documentation, the rese- archers found several data regarding the types of musical instruments in Kalasan temple. The instruments were projected on the southern relief of the temple, which is on the head of Kala. The literature study was done by reviewing the book written by A.J Bernet Kempers which covers Kalasan Temple. In general, Kempers mentions that the re- lief in Kalasan temple is different from the relief in Javanese temples. Kalasan temple displays lesser stories than other temples. There is not any relief that provides local stories as on Mendut temple and Sadjiwan, showcases the history of Buddha as on Bo- robudur, nor tells the stories of Ramayana and Kreshnayana as in Loro Jonggrang (Kempers, 1954, p. 26). Kempers also states interesting in- formation regarding the relief on the sout- hern part of the temple. He infers that the musical instruments on the head of Kala do not have a background of earthly trees, instead, the background refers to the trees in heaven. The statement is supported by the existence of clouds surrounding the crest of Kala. The situation means that Ka- lasan temple’s relief represents the set up in heaven (Kempers, 1954, p. 24). Following the statement, Bawono states that the temple is the replica of Meru mountain, which is the resident of God in Indian mythology. As the resident of Gods, the temple is built by including the elements of heaven (Bawono, 2018). Besi- des, the temple is also strongly correlated with the concept of cosmology in Hindu (Raharjo, 2011). Kempers also expresses that the resi- dents of heaven play musical instruments. The identified musical instruments are gendang, rebab, and shells (Kempers, 1954, p. 24). The relief of Kala on the southern re- mains of Kalasan was carved smoothly in detail. The relief was big in size. The Kala was carved with a lower jaw and decora- ted with heavenly trees. Then, there were some elements of buildings, natural scene- ry, and some heavenly creatures playing wind instruments (sangkha) and stringed instruments (vina) (Ferry, 2018, p. 1). There is a difference between the two references above. The first source mentions that the musical instruments on the reliefs are gendang, rebab, and shells. Meanwhile, the second source declares that the instru- ments were wind instruments (sangkha) and stringed instruments (vina). The dif- ference was mainly caused by the gap of time and publication between the first and second research. A field study was conducted in June 2020 to strengthen the findings of the stu- dy above. The pictures of Kala and the hea- venly figures playing musical instruments are still clear and in detail. The depiction was that there was a kala without a jaw sur- rounded by a heavenly tree. Around the si- tuation, there are some heavenly creatures bringing lotus and playing musical instru- ments (figure 1). Figure 1. Head of Kala (Dokumentation of BPCB of Yogyakarta, July 20, 2018). There are two musical instruments on the southern part of Kalasan temple and the depiction of three heavenly crea- tures playing sangkha made of shells and Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 119 stringed instrument with a neck (vina) as seen in Figures 2, 3, and 4. Figure 2. The sangkha played by a heavenly creature on the left of Kala’s head (Document of researchers, June 9, 2020) Figure 3. The sangkha played by a heavenly creature on the right of Kala’s head (Document of researchers, June 9, 2020) Figure 4. A stringed musical instrument with a neck played by a heavenly creature on the right of Kala’s head (Document of researchers, June 9, 2020) The Identification of Heavenly Creature on the Relief of Kalasan Temple The heavenly figure on the sout- hern relief of Kalasan temple is known as Gandharva. Several references mention that Gandhabba/ Gandharva refers to a resident of the heaven, or a musician of the hea- ven from the group of Sakka, which is also mentioned in Sakkapañha-sutta as gandhab- ba with the name of Pañcasikha (Anālayo, 2008, p. 97). The researchers quoted several state- ments that the creature is parivāradevatā or a group of Gods that are not positioned in garbhagṛha or the temple’s main room, yet the corridor instead (Liebert, 1976, p. 214). Parivāradevatā is divided into subs parivāra and main parivāra. The small parivāra have specific names, but their existence is not known specifically in the mythology of In- dian Gods (Nugrahani, D.S, 2009, p. 9). The small creatures are Apsarā, Gaṇa, Gandharva, Kinnara, Vidyādara, and Ṛṣi (Rao, 1971). Gandharva is a creature living in heaven as the musician for Gods. Hence, in the relief, the creature plays some musi- cal instruments (Liebert, 1976, pp. 89–90). Supporting the statement, Nugroho (2018) mentions that Gandharva is a half-man and half-god creature who plays music, dan- ce, and share the news to Gods (Nugroho, 2018, p. 1). Gandharva is also mentioned in a quoted praise for the Goddess of Tara in Tibetian as follows. Chhag tshäl gya jin me lha tshang pa Lung lha na tshog wang chhug chhö ma Jung po ro lang dri za nam dang Nö jin tshog kyi dün nä tö ma Homage to you, Tara, venerated by Indra, Agni, Brahma, Vayu, and Ishvara, And praised by the assembly of spirits, raised corpses, Gandharvas, and all yakshas (Rigsel, 2014, p. 28) The Construction of Musical Instruments in Kalasan Temple’s Relief The measurement of the instruments was done in four steps as follows. Step 1 The researcher made a set of a square in the penile of relief based on the human head’s size under the scale of 1: 25.7 cm. 25.7 cm is the average size of adult male’s head (Panero, 1979, p. 112). The square can Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122120 be seen in Figure 5 as follows. Figure 5. Square Step 2 Dividing the square to 25 squares (see Figure 6). Figure 6. The division of squares to 25 squares on the same size (5 x 5) Step 3 Dividing the squares in the division to 100 box based on the same size as seen on Figure 7. Figure 7. The sub-division of a square to 100 on the same size (small square 10x10) Step 4 Attaching the square on each box (Fi- gure 7) on the picture of the musical ins- turments’ relief. The following step is the measurement of the instruments’ length and width (Figure 8). Figure 8. The example of measurement to the size of Sangkha Shell 1 After the measurement, the resear- cher then found the exact size of the instru- ments. The sizes are depicted as follows The size of Sangkha Shell 1 The musical instrument of Sangkha shell 1 on Kalasan temple is 35.98 cm in length and 12.85 in width. The measure- ment is depicted in Figure 9. Figure 9. The measurement of Sangkha Shell 1 The wind instrument made of shell can be seen as in Figure 10 in real life. Susilo Pradoko et al., 8Th Century Musical Instrument on Kalasan Temple’s Relief 121 Figure 10. The imitation of Sangkha shell 1 The size of Sangkha Shell 2 Through the same measurement, the second Sangkha has the size of 23.13 cm in length and 12.85 cm in width. The second Sangkha is smaller than the first one. The Size of the Stringed Instrument The stringed instrument was measu- red in the size of 92.52 cm in length with the width of resonance tube of 12.85 cm. The process of measurement can be seen in Figure 11. . Figure 11. The process of measuring the scale of the stringed instrument The musical instrument has a real life imitation as seen in Figure 12. Figure 12. The imitation to the stringed instru- ment (vina) The Function of the Musical Instrument in the Relief of Kalasan Temple Based on the previous chapters, the musical instruments have a function as the media of worship ritual to the Goddess of Tara. Gogaoi explains in his article on the worship for the Goddess of Tara as “Tara was one of the most important goddesses in this tantric form of Buddhism. Tara, also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan, ap- pears as a female Boddhisattva in Vajraya- na Buddhism. She is known as the “mother of liberation” and represents the virtues of success in work and achievements” (Go- gaoi, 2011, p. 232). Further, Goagoi states that “Tara is the savior; she protects her devotees from Astamhabhaya, the eight great fears. The Tibetan Tara has as many as 21 different manifestations, both fierce and compassionate” (Gogaoi, 2011, p. 232). In the relief, the musical players were the Gandharva, the actual musicians of heaven. The kinds of music were played to praise the Goddess of Tara. CONCLUSION From the findings, it is concluded that the relief of the southern part of Ka- lasan temple projects two musical instru- ments, which are Sangkha (aerophone made of shells) and a stringed instrument with a neck (chordhophone). The finding is interesting since it provides more detai- led explanation comparing to the previous studies. Further, this research provides the real evident of the instruments which fill Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 115-122122 the gap of difference in the previous lite- rature. The research identifies the existence of Gandharva. Gandharva, in the Kalasan’s relief, is a new discovery since the previo- us research never came into such details. 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