Kethek temple, unearthed near Mt. Lawu

Kethek temple, unearthed near Mt. Lawu

Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta

That afternoon saw a lot of visitors captivated by the beauty of
Cetho temple, which is located on the southern slope of Mount
Lawu, at a height of 1,500 feet above sea level.

The beautiful panorama of the mountain and the unique
architectural style of the temple makes it an attractive tourist
site.

Unfortunately, after having to go through a difficult route,
marked by sharp ascents that will sometimes cause vehicles to
break down, these visitors simply went past Kethek temple, a
newly excavated temple located not far from Cetho temple.

Indeed, not many people are aware that just a little above
Cetho temple to the northeast lies Kethek temple.

Even if they know of the existence of this particular temple,
which is located in Gumeng village, Karanganyar regency, Central
Java, locating it is quite difficult as 80 percent of the temple
building is still underground.

Several big pine trees grow on the temple building. Only the
piles of andesite rock that form a set of steps are visible.

Before a research team made up of the representatives of the
Center for Conservation of Archaeological Artifacts (BP3) of
Central Java and the archaeological department of Gadjah Mada
University (UGM) conducted research there between Sept. 5 and
Sept. 10, 2005, Kethek temple was practically invisible.

The temple that occupies a plot of land measuring 1,760 square
meters looked like a big mound of earth with thick bushes growing
on it.

In fact, several archaeologists and locals have known of its
existence for quite a long time. No one knows why the temple has
simply been forgotten. "They call it Kethek temple because a
statue of a kethek, the Javanese word for monkey, was found not
far from the site of the temple," said Patmawiyana, who was met
by The Jakarta Post while he was looking for firewood around the
site of the temple.

Unfortunately, the statue has now been stolen. "The statue was
lost in the 1970s," said Haryadi, who is responsible for the
protection program of Central Java's BP3.

Reportedly, he added, a lot of monkeys used to be found around
this site, too. However, Andi Putranto of the archaeological
department of UGM said that it was likely the statue was not of a
monkey but of a human being that in the classical era on Java
from the 8th to 10th century AD did look like a monkey.

Discourse about Kethek temple resurfaced when the Central Java
Tourism Office had a meeting with a German tourism expert in July
2005.

In this meeting, Haryadi said, the German expert said that
Kethek temple was found around Cetho temple. Having got this
information, BP3 immediately surveyed the area around the temple.

After conducting excavation at the site of the temple, experts
were of the opinion that Kethek temple was built as a terraced
holy site.

There are four terraces, the area of which becomes smaller as
they go higher. These terraces are connected by stone steps. The
excavation also shows that some of the rocks used to build the
temple were not first processed. The foundation was also very
simple because it went only to a depth of 40 cm.

A terraced holy site is the place where people living on Java
Island worshiped the souls of their ancestors.

The highest terrace was the holiest place. This architectural
style was also adopted for the Cetho and Sukuh temples, both
located around the site of Kethek temple. These three temples are
different in shape from the temples in Central Java, which were
built in the classical era which have their center or the holiest
part in the middle of the building.

In a terraced holy site, the holiest place is found at the top
and slightly to the rear.

Kethek temple was estimated to have been built in the late
15th century after Majapahit, a Hindu kingdom, collapsed because
it was attacked by Demak, an Islamic kingdom.

Experts believe Kethek, Cetho and Sukuh Temples were built by
Majapahit noblemen who fled their kingdom and wished to maintain
their Hindu culture. They went to safe places in mountainous
areas like the slopes of Mount Lawu.

The assumption that Kethek temple, like Sukuh and Cetho
Temples, is a Hindu temple is corroborated by the discovery of a
rock with a turtle engraved on it.

A turtle is the symbol of the deity Vishnu, the god of
preservation or sustenance in Hinduism.

Although those who built the Kethek, Cetho and Sukuh temples
were Hindus, they also worshipped the souls of their ancestors.

That's why they adopted the architectural style of a terraced
holy site for their temples. Andi said they hoped the souls of
their ancestors would save them and their people, who had been
politically and socially marginalized.

The excavation conducted at the site of Kethek temple also
uncovered the foundation of the temple's fence, a stone base and
fragments of terra-cotta for the roof.

The last two items indicate that Cetho temple used to have a
roof. Andi said that the roofed part of the temple was its top
terrace. If this assumption can be proven correct, Kethek temple
will be the only temple built as a terraced holy site that was
provided with a roof.

Another unique feature of Kethek temple is that the stones
used to make the building have little engraving. The only
engraving is found at the lowest step. As it is the only
engraving, it is highly likely that this denotes a chronogram.

"In our discussion we thought the engraved ornament was a
chronogram that indicates the year in which the temple was built.
However, we have yet to decipher it," said Mimi Sawitri, also of
the archaeological department of UGM.

As the temple has little ornamentation, Haryadi speculated
that the temple was a temporary place of worship used while Cetho
temple, the real place of worship, was still under construction.

Andi, however, said that given the unique shape of the temple,
it was likely that those who built the Kethek temple were
different from those who built the Cetho temple. "Perhaps, the
people who built the Kethek temple were an older generation than
those who built the Cetho temple," he said.

Kethek temple is still enveloped in mystery. That's why,
Haryadi said, a technical study of the temple will continue to be
made. However, he expressed pessimism that the temple, some 80
percent of which has been destroyed, could ever be reconstructed.
"Erosion has destroyed most of the temple structure," he
stressed. Besides, the roof, of which only the terra-cotta is now
left, is also difficult to reconstruct.

Besides further research, it is also necessary to keep the
artifacts of Kethek temple.

In future, it is not unlikely that the entire temple will
completely disappear because of erosion or a landslide,
especially given the fact that the trees growing on the slope of
the hill where the temple is located have begun to be felled. The
mystery of the temple, therefore, may also be buried for
posterity.