Preserving ancient sites, a slow and hard process

Anis Suryani and Sulistyo Budi N, Contributors, Yogyakarta

Hundreds of historical sites scattered all over Java reveal the long journey of Javanese culture. At least 460 sites with historical buildings are also found in Yogyakarta, long recognized as the center of the development of Javanese culture.

The historical sites found in the province include 90 temples, while others are just simple stone constructions from pre- historic times, such as dolmen and menhir. Some are inherited from the early Islamic period, including mosques, palaces and tombs, and more recent sites originate from colonial times, such as fortresses, buildings and landmarks.

The sites classified as temples are usually stone Buddhist or Hindu constructions built between the 8th and 15th centuries.

One of the biggest and most important temples found in the area is Prambanan temple, the country's biggest Hindu temple. Located next to the Buddhist Sewu temple site, the Prambanan compound consists of some 240 temples. From that number only 18 temples have been restored. Other temple sites still being restored include Ratu Boko, which is located some 10 kilometers south of Prambanan, and the Barong and Ijo temples which are not far from Ratu Boko.

According to the chairman of the Yogyakarta Historical and Archeological Heritage Reserve (SPSP) office's restoration working group, Bambang Prasetya, out of 90 temples found in Yogyakarta, only 4 percent have been restored or are currently undergoing restorative work. Others have barely been touched, mostly due to the lack of adequate funding.

Limited funding, he explained, is the biggest constraint in the effort to restore temples. The state budget, the main source of money for the restoration works, has continually decreased, especially after the economic crisis hit the country.

"The largest level of funding we ever received from the budget for the restoration was Rp 750 million a year. That was in 1985. Then it got smaller and smaller. First 300 million a year, now it's only some 30 million," Bambang said.

The money is far from enough, he said, as most of the materials needed for the restoration process were imported.

"For this year alone I can say there is almost no restoration project at all as the existing funds are only enough for four months of restoration work," Bambang said.

The way the central government distributes restoration funds for a particular region is another problem, he added.

"Instead of using the number of archeological remains found in a region, the government bases the funding on the width of the province. This is ridiculous. The Yogyakarta Special Territory is a tiny province but it has so many archeological and historical remains like temples," Bambang said.

If nothing is done, some temples in Yogyakarta might vanish. For instance, Ijo temple in Sambirejo village in Prambanan, Sleman regency.

The Ijo temple is unique because, unlike most temples which are built in flat areas with the main building located right in the middle of the complex, Ijo temple was constructed on a hilly, terraced site with the main building located on the highest terrace and a gate on every terrace of the complex.

Unfortunately, just some 500 meters below the complex, the presence of a white stone quarry that many locals use as their main source of income might eventually affect the land that supports the temple complex.

"If nothing can be done about it, it will be difficult to carry out the restoration project as the temple's foundations will keep sinking and it will endanger the entire building," Bambang said.

Anticipating the worst, SPSP offices and authorities in Sambirejo village and Prambanan district worked to move the location of the quarry outside the temple complex's zone. In this case, two hectares of replacement quarry area have also been prepared.

"Hopefully, the community is willing to move there," said Bambang, adding that a counseling program on safe quarrying was also provided by the Sleman government.

Excavation of Ijo temple was first conducted in 1985. Apart from its uniqueness, it is also considered important because it represents the final period during which temples were constructed in the region. However, information about when exactly the temple was first built is not yet available.

It is acknowledged that the temple had something to do with an ancient epigraph kept at the Jakarta Museum of History.

Historian Rouffaer made the connection with the epigraph, which was first discovered by a Dutchman named Holle, as it mentioned the name of a village, Erhijo (air hijau or green water), as translated by another historian Soekerto Atmojo. Ijo is the Javanese word for green.

The epigraph, dating back to the year 906 according to the Christian calendar, mentions that Kandangan village and its sub- village of Erhijo were declared as perdikan (excused from the payment of taxes as a result of assuming some burden or responsibility) by a palace official named Rakryan I Wungkal Tihangpuwira Krama.