'Kudu' statues attract collectors, thieves

'Kudu' statues attract collectors, thieves

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Wonosobo, Central Java

For locals and adherents of Javanese mysticism, Bima Temple is
the most sacred of all temples on Dieng plateau here.

The temple is home to the famous kudu statues. Ancient myth
says the statues, which have the face of a woman, can blink their
eyes or even smile if you look at them for long enough.

The sacredness of the temple has led Indonesia's former
presidents, Sukarno and Soeharto, to visit and meditate at the
site.

Yet despite their mystical elements, kudu statues are in
danger, for their appeal not only to collectors, but to thieves.

Over the past twenty-five years, the theft of five kudu
statues had been recorded. The latest theft occurred on Oct. 31
this year. But just three days later the missing statue was
discovered among the bushes south of Telaga Warna (literally
means the colorful lake), not far from Bima temple.

Kudu statues are located on the four sides of the upper-part
of the Bima temple. Six statues were originally positioned on
each side. But, out of a total of 24 statues, only several remain
on the western and southern sides of the temple.

The statue which was located on the right lower part of the
temple was forcefully removed. The hollow space left behind by is
clearly visible from below.

From the way the statue was removed, it seems obvious that the
thief (or thieves) was highly skilled. An ordinary person would
not be capable of such a theft as the statue stood about six
meters from the ground and perpendicular to the temple. You can
reach its former position only with a ladder.

"Possibly, the thief climbed from the gate on the eastern side
and then crawled along the wall on the southern side. Given the
time when the statue was stolen, it was clear that the thief had
a good knowledge of the routine of the patrolling officers," said
Haryanto, chief of the management and maintenance board of Dieng
archaeological site and museum.

It was estimated, he said, that the theft occurred at about 10
p.m. on Oct. 31. It was a quiet, dark night, foggy and drizzling
with rain.

"When our men last patrolled the area at 6.15 p.m., everything
was still intact. During the next patrol, at about 10 p.m.,
however, our men found fresh footprints on the wet ground. When
they arrived at the southern yard of the temple, they found slabs
of temple-stone lying on the ground. When they pointed their
flashlights upward, they found the statue was missing." he said.

Haryanto, who has been assigned to this area since 1974, said
that there were probably at least two thieves because the statue,
made of andesite stone and measuring the size of an adult's head,
was too heavy for a single person to carry.

"Look at the way the back part of the statue was detached from
the temple, only a professional could accomplish this (removal),"
said Haryanto, presenting the recovered statue, which is now kept
at Dieng Museum.

The day after the statue was stolen, Haryanto contacted the
police and a psychic. The psychic told him that the statue was
still in the area.

The psychic's claim was accurate. On Nov. 3, 2003, an officer
at Telaga Warna resort area found a cardboard box containing the
missing kudu statue.

"It was put inside a cardboard box. The box was tied with
plastic string. Perhaps the thief hid the box until it was safe
for him to take it to another area. Or, perhaps, there was
another factor related to the local belief that the statue is
sacred (or has properties that protect it from theft)," Haryanto
said.

Several years ago, he continued, an attempt was made to steal
this particular statue. The thief had climbed up the temple, but
when he saw the patrolling guard, he jumped down and disappeared
into the darkness.

Bima Temple is located far from other temples on Dieng
plateau. It is situated in the east, close to Telaga Warna and
the Sikidang crater and far from locals' residences. On both
sides of the temple, there are only thick bushes.

The only lights provided for the temple's illumination have
been broken. The wooden fence securing it is only one-meter high
and is damaged in several places. It is therefore quite easy for
anybody to enter the temple area.

Haryanto said that kudu statues were targeted by thieves as
foreign collectors were very fond of them. The first theft, he
said, occurred in 1981, followed by the second, the third and the
fourth in 1984, 1991 and 1999 respectively.

"The thief that stole one of the Kudu statues in 1991 was
arrested a year later. He was a local and was then an elementary
school teacher. When he was arrested, the statue he stole was in
the hands of a collector in Singapore. I believe the recent theft
was committed by locals, but the collector must be someone from
outside Wonosobo," he concluded.

Kudu statues in the form of a women's face wearing a crown,
are considered rare items as they can only be found at Bima
Temple. Other temples on Dieng plateau, such as Arjuna Temple,
Gatotkaca Temple, Semar Temple and Dwarawati Temple have no such
statues.

"This statue may be taken as a depiction of an immortal but it
is difficult to find which immortal it is. What we know is that
Bima temple and the other temples in Dieng were built in about
the 7th century A.D. and were the first temples to be built in
Java. That's why Bima temple resembles a temple in India," said
Dwi O. Prasetya, an archaeologist from Yogyakarta.

He also said that the temple was built at a height of some
2,000 meters above sea level and close to an old caldera because
it was then believed that this site was a holy site, or a point
of contact with the immortals. That's why, he added, propagators
of Hinduism from India built a spiritual center at this location.

Bima temple is unique in two respects. Apart from its
resemblance to the temple architecture of India, Bima temple also
has a gate that looks to the east, while other temples on the
plateau looks toward the west.

Even today, there are people whose beliefs lie in Javanese
mysticism and carry out their rites at this temple. In 2004,
Haryanto added, the temple site in Dieng will be the location for
the observance of the International Meditation Year.