The Wonder Messages from The Wonderland

I am really fond of any heritage stuffs for they contain historical value. And what is more essential of it, to me, is cultural message inside them all. As well as wayang symbolises main character of heroes, relief carves the tales of people or place histories, Batik’s pattern gives symbol  and philosophy to its wearers. It all is more than adornment, it tells a lot! Therefore, you would learn lots of things from it.

It would be a great pleasure as you learn the Mahabharata epic behind those heritage stuffs. They would help you find your own proverb of life instead. Take my chevaliers, like Wayang Arjuna that symbolises elegance of prince charming, Wayang Kresna that symbolises intelligence of war lord, Wayang Rama that symbolises faithfulness of love, and Wayang Gunungan that symbolises the start and end of life that contains philosophy of ‘sangkan paraning dumadi’ (the provenance of life) as it is used at the beginning and end of every shadow play theather. The last one attracts my curiosity deeply to know more about the essences of it.

What I learn a little from the maven is that Gunungan commonly used to represent a mountain, trees, water, a lake, sea and fire is a symbol of cosmos. It has three sides: the good (positive) side, the evil (negative) side, and the shadow. The good (positive energy) side is described as the mountain reveals at the base a number of steps leading up us to two temple doors. While the evil (negative) side is described as the mountain centred by a huge demonic face with its horrible sight reveals consuming flames and fire that represents energy turned negative. And the third, the shadow side which means spirit energy describes as we are the ancestral spirits returned to earth to be experienced on a cosmic plane.

One of my most favorite collection, Balinese Gunungan (called Kayon in Bali), symbol of spirituality. 

What we have to note here, that Wayang Gunungan is trying to portray our good and evil side. That good always triumphs, although evil is never destroyed as both sides are necessary parts of the whole and must exist in equilibrium. It is interesting to me. Makes me think that this kind of performing art is far more than mere entertainment, it teachs us morality and cultural messages.

But not only wayang that makes me psyched to go hunting. Relief is also kind of folk stuff that would flood my gallery since I adore how relief tells the ambience of place, the way of life of the locals, the story of the past, and how it draws the signature of its origins. It leads me to experience of tracing the phenomenon hidden within every carving shape. You may have often seen kind of ancient reliefs carved on temples that crack and fade by centuries. Now, you don’t need to go through the time machine to get them. No need to lift tons of stones to bring them home. Here are unique reliefs that make me fight to hunt for them! They have three dimensional shape and are nicely carved on wood by craftsmans that got their folk skill from their ancestors hereditarily.

Three dimensional wooden relief in miniature size (155 cm x 96 cm) tells a story about Rama hunting golden deer for her wife, Shinta.

Look more closer! Though it is carved in miniature size, detail complexity of Ramayana three dimensional wooden relief is expertly carved:

Rahwana, an evil giant, king of Alengka, who kidnapped Shinta:

This relief is actually a philosophy of our life. Shinta who was very interested by the golden deer asked her husband Rama to hunt it, is the representation of a woman allured with shimmering estae and Rama that portrays a man who would do everything for his someone he loves (it describes the faithfulness of husband to his wife). But, unfortunately his abundant love for his wife leads him to the perverted way, it is described as Rama pursued that golden deer till he found the danger. It is just like a reflection of our case nowadays that men pursue money for his beautiful ones by doing bad business that endangers his own life.

This story continues on Shinta that sent Laksmana to help her husband as her husband didn't go back ever since. Laksmana refused to leave Shinta since he had been asked by Rama, his brother, to save Shinta. But, Laksmana finally granted Shinta's entreaty and in order to save Shinta from evil, Laksmana encircled Shinta with a circle that protected her from evil and forbidden Shinta to not go out of the circle during he leaved her. Rahwana who wanted to kidnap Shinta, made a camouflage becoming a beggar, so that Shinta moved out the circle. In the end, Shinta was abducted by the evil giant.

Could you grope what this allegory is trying to tell us? Yes, you guessed it right. It is about a woman that breaks the rule, the circle! It is quite a real thing in our beloved planet nowadays that women go out of that circle for the shake of obsession that is portrayed as golden deer.