Ancient temple group hidden in Padang Lawas plain

By Bambang Budi Utomo

SOUTH TAPANULI, North Sumatra (JP): Sumatra is a large island of many mysteries, including that of its archeology. Few people know that there are three temple groupings on the island, scattered over the provinces of Jambi, Riau and North Sumatra. Of the three, the temple grouping in North Sumatra is the least known.

Near the Panai and Barumun rivers, which run through the Padang Lawas plain where the air is hot and dry, clusters of temple ruins are reaching for the sky. This vast and silent place was once a religious center during the Kingdom of Pannai -- one of the least heard about kingdoms in Indonesia's history.

The temples were built like odes of stone. Their pinnacles, high against the skies, are witnesses to the kingdom's past grandeur, of a religion that flourished for several centuries, and of its sculpting and building culture. All are proof of a culture of priceless value.

The temple complex in Padang Lawas contains 16 sites scattered around the Barumon and Panai rivers. Local belief has it that a region where rivers join is a holy place, such as the place where the Ganges and Indus meet in India. In Central Java, there is a place similar to those two aforementioned, where the Progo and Muntilan rivers meet. Temple complexes were usually built at such places.

The temple ruins of Padang Lawas are known as biaro, an adaptation from the Sanskrit word vihara, denoting a Buddhist or Hindu temple in Sumatra. In India, the word vihara means a monastery where priests of a certain order reside. In Sumatra, biaro is a holy place, in Java it is called candi.

The oldest records concerning the discovery of the temple complex in Padang Lawas were made by Junghun, a German researcher. He visited Padang Lawas in 1846. The next visitor was Van Rosenberg (1854), followed, in 1887, by Kerchoff, a Controleur (this was an administrative title during colonial rule) from Tapanuli.

Kerchoff wrote about the ancient site in Padang Lawas. His book, entitled Aanteekeningen betreffende eenige der in de afdeeling Padang Laras voorkomende Hindoe-oudheden (Notes Regarding Some Of The Ancient Hindoe Temples In The Sector Of Padang Lawas) referred to Si Pamutung biaro, and a graveyard on Gunung Tua.

More and more researchers came to Padang Lawas as more ancient sites were found. In 1920, Stein Callenfels was there. He mentioned several archeological sites on Gunung Tua; Si Topayan, Aek Biaro, Bahal I, Bahal II, Bahal III and Si Pamutung.

Krom, another Dutch researcher, wrote about Padang Lawas in 1923. In his writings, he called the archeological finds in Padang Lawas On Javaansch, referring to the dissimilarity of those buildings and the building style of Java. On the other hand, he discovered a great similarity with carvings from South India, and with those from the plains of Southeast Asia. Later, Krom connected the archeological finds in Padang Lawas with the Sriwijaya kingdom in South Sumatra.

Pannai Kingdom

Located in South Tapanuli, Padang Lawas is related to a kingdom whose name was carried by the nearby Panai River. The name of this river is connected with a kingdom -- the Pannai Kingdom -- attacked by Rajendracola I of the Cola Kingdom, South India, in 1023 and 1024.

The Tanjore inscription, written in Tamil in 1025 and 1030, mentions that several kingdoms in Sumatra were attacked. One of them was described as "Pannai watered by the rivers".

It appeared that the Kingdom of Cola did not immediately occupy Pannai after the attack. Pannai continued to exist and its government ruled on as before. This situation went on until the Majapahit Kingdom took over in 1365.

According to the Nagarakertagama book written by Prapanca, Pannai was one of the regions in Sumatra under the rule of Majapahit.

According to Satyawati Suleiman, an Indonesian archeologist, the center of the Pannai Kingdom should have been around Padang Lawas. There seems to have been a connection between Pannai, and the western coast of North Sumatra. The Barus harbor, for example, is located on the western coast, and its fame dates from the 2nd century, since it was mentioned in the Periplous and became known because for its abundance of camphor.

The kingdom enjoyed trade and political ties with Sri Lanka and South India and activities were maintained through the western coast. Proof of this can be found in two inscriptions written in Tamil and old Malaysian, which were discovered in Lubuk Tua. From this it can be assumed that the attack on Panai, by the Cola Kingdom, began from the western coast of North Sumatra.

Si Pamutung

The temple of Si Pamutung is the most important in the Padang Lawas group because of its size. It is located near where the Barumun and Panai rivers meet. To visit the temple, one has to cross the Barumun River, then walk the four-kilometer path to the village of Si Batuloting.

The temple stands isolated in a field of tall grass and dense shrubs. In its walled garden are six buildings. The buildings are piled up in two lines facing east and west.

The major temple, flanked by two smaller buildings, stands at the back of the complex. In the front line are three smaller constructions. A few meters in front of the surrounding wall are the ruins of the entrance gate. Nine meters are what is left of the main temple's original height, while the smaller constructions of red bricks measure about 1.25 meters to 2.5 meters high.

Two statues, each 1.50 meters high, are found in the yard of the Si Pamutung complex. It is thought that these statues depict Mahakala and Nandiswara, gate guards on the left and right of the entrance into the temple. There are also two stone crocodiles, two stone lions, and various other stone pieces.

The crocodiles are found on the east stairs of the main temple of Si Pamutung. These stone images have replaced the position of mythological creatures, which can usually be found in temples of Java. During an excavation conducted by Schnitger in 1936, a bronze statue of Buddha Amitabha, measuring 12.5 centimeters high, was found.

The Bahal temples

An outstanding group of temples was found in the hamlet of Bahal, near Portibi. This complex of red bricks is mostly in ruins. The Bahal site holds three temple groups, Bahal I, Bahal II and Bahal III. Each group is walled in by a fence of red bricks.

Of all the temple groupings in Padang Lawas, Bahal I is the most complete. It consists of six structures, including the entrance gate. The surrounding walls have succumbed to time, but the lines which used to form the yard, measuring 7,000 square meters, are still discernible. The entrance gate is located east of the complex.

The roof of the main temple is partly preserved. The roof's edges are decorated and garlanded with lotus flowers. The top of the roof is in the form of a stupa complete with sunshades. Fragments of these sunshades were found near the stairs leading to the temple entrance. On the steps of the northern part of the temple, a relief depicting a dancing giant can be viewed. The upper part of the steps is decorated with an image of a mythological creature.

The dancing giant is presumed to be a figure from the Bhairawa ritual, one of the Mahayana Buddhist rituals which enjoyed growth at the time.

The Bahal II temple group is located two kilometers to the east of Bahal I. This heritage was built as a temple group consisting of four structures, including the entrance gate. The walled garden measures 4,000 square meters.

The roof of the main temple is adequately preserved. It is assumed that it would have had the same shape as that of the main temple of Bahal I. The top was also completed with sun shades of andesite. A pair of mythological creatures adorn the upper end of the steps. This stone relief is still in good shape.

In Biaro Bahal II's garden were three giant statues, gate guardians known as dwarapala, fragments of statues, and one statue of Heruka. This statue is now missing. When a Dutch archeologist visited the sight in 1930, the statue was still there, and immortalized by the visitor with his camera.

To the east of Bahal II, the ruins of Bahal III are be found. These temple ruins are in far worse condition than the remains of Bahal I and Bahal II. One of the wall sides is clearly showing off white paste up marks.

In front of the temple ruins several large statues are found. The andesite statues are still in relatively good condition with only the feet missing. Judging from their faces, they must have been gate guardians at the entrance of the temple yard.

Other temple groupings found in the surroundings of Padang Lawas are Biaro Si Topayan, Biaro Pulo, and Biaro Bara.

Religion

The ruins of Padang Lawas are mostly remnants of temples and stupas of Buddhist origin. Various scriptures and statues bear proof that the people of Padang Lawas were believers of Wajrayana in times of old. The religion was an offshoot of Buddha Mahayana, whose followers were known as hard-liners. Wajrayana found a follower in Kertanegara of Singhasari in East Java. On Sumatra, Adityawarman from Malaysia was another follower. Outside the archipelago, the religion bloomed in Benggala, Nepal, China and Tibet.

One important thought proclaimed by Wajrayana is that a follower may find total liberation in this life by way of magic, through meditation (yoga), and from saying mantras.

An important ceremony of this Buddhist sect is Bhairawa, which was held in grave yards and places where the dead were collected before cremation. These sites were frightful places, believed to be gathering places for spirits. Adherents of the sect conducted a very secret ritual in these places.

In the Bhairawa rituals, Wajrayana followers conducted a terrifying rite. In graveyards and collecting places of the dead, the devout meditated, danced, said mantras, cremated the dead, drank human blood, as well as animal blood, and laughed a lot.

The Heruka statue in Padang Lawas features a practitioner of the Bhairawa ritual. The stone image shows a person treading on a pile of dead bodies. In his left hand he holds a cup, in the form of a skull. He wears a human skull as an adornment. The Bhairawa dance rites can also be observed on the wall of the steps of Biaro Bahal I.

This, in short, is the heritage handed down by the Pannai Kingdom, which existed in the interior of South Tapanuli. The name of this kingdom was never lost in history. It is immortalized in the name of a river, the Panai, that runs through Padang Lawas; by a district in the Simalungun region; an ancient Batak deity, Pane na Bolon; and in a family name of the Batak Angkola marga (clan) of South Tapanuli.