Magic cannon 'blasts away' infertility<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
This 53rd article on old and protected buildings in Jakarta is
\nabout a \"magic\" cannon called Si Jagur. The weapon's magical
\npower, according to believers, can make women fertile and have
\nthe children of their dreams.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The antique cannon that sits idle in Fatahillah
\nsquare in Kota, West Jakarta, is no ordinary weapon. Many believe
\nit was charmed and can render its magical power to help infertile
\nwomen.<\/p>\n
The cannon now receives less public attention, partly because
\nit is concealed in the growing number of vendors selling in front
\nof the Jakarta Museum of History. This makes supervision
\ndifficult and the weapon has already lost its famous cap, which
\nsymbolizes fertility.<\/p>\n
In the past, the cannon was worshiped like a god. Believers
\ncame and made offerings. Kneeling beside it, they prayed for
\nsuccess in their career and women who were childless wished for a
\nbaby.<\/p>\n
What women would do after praying was to climb on the cannon
\nand straddle it for a while. Then they went home to see if their
\nprayer was answered.<\/p>\n
The belief of its magical power of granting fertility may have
\noriginated from the cannon's cap, which was in the form of a
\nclenched fist with the thumb poking out between the middle finger
\nand the index finger, the symbol for sexual intercourse.<\/p>\n
Tales about its magical power circulated not only among those
\nwho believed in superstition, but it was also discussed in
\nnonfiction work.<\/p>\n
Like what always happens with things considered mystical, the
\nhistory of Si Jagur is vague because there are many versions. But
\nalmost all agree that the cannon was first found at the nearby
\nPasar Ikan (Fish Market) or Kota Intan area.<\/p>\n
\"Because it weighed so much, the cannon was forgotten or just
\nleft behind when the castle of Batavia was demolished by Daendels
\nin 1809,\" Adolf Heuken noted in his book Historical Sites of
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Archeologist Candrian Attahiyat said cannons were discarded
\nafter the rapid development of high-tech military weapons.<\/p>\n
\"That's why Daendels used most of them as mounds for the
\nconstruction of the new city of Weltevreden (around the present
\nCentral Jakarta area),\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said Si Jagur was recast from several cannons as expressed
\nby the Latin inscription on it: ex me ipsa renata sum (Out of
\nmyself I was reborn).<\/p>\n
There is no explanation why the cap of the gun was crafted in
\nthe fertility symbol.<\/p>\n
Heuken said it was a Portuguese cannon which was brought to
\nBatavia (the old name of Jakarta) by the Dutch after they
\nconquered Malacca in 1641.<\/p>\n
\"Then it was placed on a bastion of the old castle controlling
\nthe harbor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But another version was told by K.C. Kruq in his book De
\nGeschiedenis van het Heilig Kanon te Batavia (The History of the
\nHoly Cannon in Batavia).<\/p>\n
He referred to the Javanese story that Si Jagur was one of
\nthree magic cannons which were gifts of homage from a Portuguese
\ncompany to the Prince of Jakatra (the ancient name of Jakarta
\nbefore the Dutch era) during the era of the Javanese Demak
\nkingdom.<\/p>\n
The three weapons were named Ki Amoek, Kjai Setama or Si Jagur
\nand Njai Setomi.<\/p>\n
During the great King Sultan Agung era, Kjai Setama and Njai
\nSetomi were brought to the ancient Mataram palace in Central Java
\nand installed on the left and right hand side of the palace's
\nBrajanala gate.<\/p>\n
But Kjai Setama did not stay long in Mataram. It was brought
\nback to Jakarta, because on every Friday and Tuesday Kliwon (the
\nfifth day of a five-day week on the Javanese calendar) it
\nappeared in the dreams of the watchmen as continuously crying,
\nscaring those in charge.<\/p>\n
Njai Setomi, however, stayed in Mataram and did not cause any
\nproblems, so it became an heirloom of the Mataram palace.<\/p>\n
Kruq did not mention further about Ki Amoek, but a book titled
\nJakarta Tempo Doeloe (Jakarta in the Olden Days) says it is
\nlocated in the Banten area of West Java.<\/p>\n
Another version<\/p>\n
Heuken had another version which was also rooted in the
\nJavanese one.<\/p>\n
A king of the Sundanese Pajajaran kingdom once had a bad dream
\nin which he heard the thunder of a powerful weapon unknown to his
\npeople.<\/p>\n
He ordered his patih (prime minister) Kyai Setomo to look for
\nthe weapon. He even threatened to sentence him to death if he
\nfailed to produce the wonder weapon in the king's dream.<\/p>\n
The patih went home and discussed his sad fate with his wife.
\nThey then closed up their home to meditate. After waiting some
\ndays in vain for news from his patih, the king became angry.<\/p>\n
He sent his soldiers to search Kyai Setomo's house, but they
\nonly found two large, strange-looking pipes. When the king rushed
\nto see the strange objects, he immediately recognized them as the
\nweapons he heard in his dream.<\/p>\n
Kyai Setomo and his wife Njai Setomi were transformed into two
\ncannons.<\/p>\n
Not long after this happened King Sultan Agung heard about the
\ntwo cannons and ordered them to be brought immediately to the
\ncapital of Surakarta. But the male cannon, Kyai Setomo, could not
\nbe moved from the sultan's court and it fled on its own to
\nBatavia.<\/p>\n
Because it was night he could not enter the castle of Batavia,
\nwhich was closed. So he stayed at the gates. The next morning the
\npeople of Batavia were very astonished and regarded the cannon as
\nkramat (holy).<\/p>\n
The residents offered little paper umbrellas to protect it
\nfrom the day's heat. They called it Kyai Jagur. Nyai Setomi was
\ntaken to Surakarta.<\/p>\n
In 1971, Si Jagur was moved to its present site for display in
\nFatahillah square.<\/p>",
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