Archeological relics discovered in Banyumas
By Agus Maryono
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): Two statues of Buddha, possibly made of pure gold, were recently discovered in a grave in a forest near Cikakak village in Banyumas district.
The statues, 9 cm and 7 cm tall respectively, were discovered at around 2 a.m. on Kliwon, the most sacred day in Javanese culture, by Muchamad Ruchiyat, who has spent almost half of his life in pesantren (boarding schools in which the Koran is studied).
This find was followed later by the discovery of other items of archeological interest, also assumed to be made of pure gold. Two 4-cm statues of Semar, a character from traditional Javanese shadow puppetry, with eyes made of shiny reddish gemstones; a 5- cm statue of emban (a Javanese nursemaid) made of yellow metal; and a number of other artifacts made of a yellow colored metal, including two in the shape of a matchbox, a 15-cm statue of a snake, and a metal object in the shape of an egg. Javanese script has been engraved on all these objects.
Ruchiyat, 33, a father of one, said that he received a divine message while meditating that told him the two statues had been buried for 1,873 years.
When The Jakarta Post reporters met him in his house on June 9, Ruchiyat, born in Garut, West Java, described his tiring spiritual journey before finally discovering the treasures in a site 300 meters away from his house.
"I had to spend 40 nights reciting passages from the Holy Koran and meditating on a Buddhist grave before I was finally directed by divine hand to the site of the treasures," he said.
He claimed that he uses his supernatural powers when digging for archeological objects and said that in doing so he had often been disturbed by other supernatural phenomena which almost caused him to give up his attempt.
Another divine revelation has told him of the presence in the same cemetery of two Buddha stone statues inlaid with jewels, measuring 2 meters and 70 cm respectively, he said.
He said he had asked a Buddhist monk in Yogyakarta for his help to locate the two Buddha statues after a monk from Cilacap whom he had approached said that he was unable to help.
He has been searching for these two statues for some time now. With the help of nine villagers, he has dug two holes, 8 meters and 3 meters deep respectively. However, his search has temporarily come to an end because he feels that there is a flow of unfamiliar supernatural power at the digging site.
Process of discovery
Wirid (the recital of Koranic passages) is part of Ruchiyat's life because he has spent so many years in pesantren. One of his spiritual teachers has taught him a special kind of wirid, one that helps him to achieve the results which he gets.
Saka Tunggal Mosque, in which Ruchiyat usually conducts his wirid, lies on the opposite bank of the river which flows past his house.
On one occasion of wirid and meditation, Ruchiyat receive a divine message saying that some valuable objects were to be found in the vicinity of the mosque and that it was his duty to recover and look after them. The divine revelation clearly showed the site where the objects were located, but gave no clues as to what these objects looked like.
He discovered that the site was a Buddhist grave, of which there are a further four in the area, then went to see Kartani, 50, the owner of the land in which the graves are located, to seek permission to begin excavating the site.
Kartani told the Post that the black slabbed graves had existed for a long time, and that although he did not know whose graves they were, had decided to look after them.
Before the dig began, Ruchiyat conducted a spiritual rite. He and five locals spent a total of seven days meditating and reciting Koranic passages on the Buddhist graves in a rite which ended on May 15.
After an agreement with the souls guarding the grave was reached, the dig began. During the first stage of the excavation, two statues of Buddha were recovered. Then the other objects, 13 in total, were reclaimed from the earth over a one month period. The last find, a statue of a snake, was discovered on Friday, June 5. During the course of the excavation, Ruchiyat and his assistants dug three holes, one to a depth of 6 meters .
One of the diggers, Japon, 40, who also participated in the meditation beforehand, admitted that while digging the holes he felt a hot sensation. On account of this, Ruchiyat asked all nine diggers to hold their breath for four minutes upon each occurrence after which they recite certain passages from the Koran. This drove away whatever was causing the supernatural phenomena an any natural gas that was present.
The diggers have been taking turns to meditate on the graves in the area. They said that during their meditation they received guidance on how to conduct their excavations. Japon followed this guidance and found two yellow metal pieces in the shape of a matchbox.
Strange
According to Ruchiyat, the items recovered are strange.
"The two Buddha statues, for example, shine and radiate different colors at night -- burning red, dazzling yellow, amazing blue or turning pitch black," he said.
He himself has no knowledge of the meaning of these different colors. That's why he cannot be sure whether these statues are made of gold or another type of metal. He has yet to take them to an expert to ascertain their composition.
Another strange phenomenon is that these artifacts from time to time send out a stream of hot air which can cause burn wounds, he said, showing his two thumbs which were burnt black when he touched the two statues.
Ruchiyat also said that the divine guidance he received also told him that these objects could not be taken out of Cikakak village. So, he and his assistants have made an oath, the "Oath of the Discoverers" that they will ensure these objects stay in the village and will resist any attempts to remove them to the last drop of blood. The oath has been put into writing and signed by Ruchiyat and his eight assistants.
The head of the culture and archeological relics section in the Banyumas office of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Fauzan, said that his office had sent a team to the site of the discovery to study the objects.
However, the team's efforts were thwarted by the "Oath of the Discoverers". Therefore they contacted the Central Java archeological research office and the management of Prambanan temple to ask for help in gaining access to the Cikakak village artifacts.
A further study of the objects revealed that they apparently had significant historical values related to the teaching of Buddha in the southern part of Central Java, according to Yusmanto, from the Banyumas culture office. It is also assumed that they might have something to do with a kingdom in Banyumas, Kadipaten Pasir Luhur, which was the origin of the town of Banyumas. So far, there is no official data or historical reports about the kingdom.
Gutomo, the head of the team, believed that the metal object in the shape of an egg, which was also discovered in the village, was made during the era of either the Mataram kingdom or the Pajang kingdom in the 17th century.
What surprised them was the discovery of two Buddha statues and a Semar statue in the same location, even though they were from different histories. Buddha and Buddhism are related to India, while Semar is known to be part of Javanese culture.