Preserving the tradition of fruit gardens in Indonesia
Preserving the tradition of fruit gardens in Indonesia
By Amir Sidharta
JAKARTA (JP): The opening of the extensive Taman Buah Mekarsari fruit gardens in Cileungsi, Bogor, yesterday illustrates the significance of fruit in many cultures of the Indonesian archipelago.
Various fruit trees have been cultivated for centuries by cultures throughout the archipelago for purposes ranging from ceremonial rituals to house building material. The significance of fruit in various cultural traditions is evident across society, from common compounds to royal courts.
"No region of the earth, can boast an equal abundance and variety of indigenous fruit," remarked Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles early in the 19th century.
The overwhelming lushness of the Indonesian environment has led to cultures based on the clearing of forests to make way for dwellings, vegetable gardens, orchards and rice fields.
The fruit trees used in everyday life as well as traditional and religious rituals are found in designated orchards near the dwelling compound. In Bali, fruit with ritual importance are grown in a teba orchard adjacent to the house. Recent discoveries suggest that the Dayak of Kalimantan also have walled enclosures in which they grow a selection of trees, among them fruit trees.
Communities often found that their land was conducive to cultivating a particular fruit. As a commodity fruit has therefore been organized for centuries in groves and orchards in Indonesia. Not surprisingly, fruit is used to name areas once famous for their specific groves. The port of Jakarta, was once called Nusa Kelapa and now Sunda Kelapa, "The Land of the Coconut Trees".
Other areas, like Duren Tiga (Durian "Three") and Mangga Dua (Mango "Two"), include numbers, perhaps indicating the number of prominent fruit trees which existed in the area. Some others are more descriptive. Kampung Rambutan may refer to a village once known for its rambutan trees and Kebon Nanas was most likely a pineapple grove. Mangga Besar was once either a vast mango orchard or an orchard of large mango fruits.
There are also places with fruit connected to the place name, like Cipinang Cempedak. Other places, like Menteng, Kemang, Gandaria and Jeruk Purut, only indicate the kind of fruit.
Fruit is found in names in other parts of the country as well. Jambu Air Bay in Aceh, Kotapinang in North Sumatra, Telukdurian and Pisang in Riau, Semangka Bay and Blimbing in Lampung, Mount Salak and Mount Ceremai in West Java, Sukun Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Cape Kelapa in North Sulawesi, Pisang Island in Maluku, and Valse Pisang Islands and Pisang Islands in Irian Jaya are examples.
The most important name based on a fruit is the Kingdom of Majapahit in East Java. Its territory once encompassed the present-day Indonesian archipelago. The name Majapahit, which means "bitter maja fruit" comes from a tale of Madurese laborers who were working under the instructions of Raden Wijaya, the founder of Majapahit in 1294. They found the luscious fruit to be bitter, contrary to their expectations.
According to Slametmuljana, an authority on Majapahit history, it is common toponymical practice to name a village after trees or other elements found in the area, and notes that aside from the legend, maja trees were common and therefore the region has many villages bearing the word maja, like Majakerta, Majawarna and Maja Agung.
History
Historically, the importance of fruit and fruit trees in Indonesia can be traced back to the Sriwijaya period. The inscription of Talang Tuwo, dated 684 A.D., contains the mention of the creation of the parlak or taman (gardens) of Sriksetra as a pranidha (act or vow) of Dapunta Hyang ri Jayanaga, the ruler of Sriwijaya, after the successful military expedition on Minanga.
Rejoice, on the Saka year of 606, on the second of the half- full moon of the Caitra month, this is the time the gardens of Sri-ksetra was completed, according to the orders of Hyang Sri Jayanaga. This was the vow of honor of His Majesty. Everything which was planted here, coconut, pinang, enau, sago palm, along with other trees, the fruits of which are edible; as well as bamboo buluh, betung, and so forth; and other gardens, which have ponds (and) lakes, and everything that can be used for good deeds, (shall) be used for the welfare of all living creatures, both which are mobile and immobile, so that they can achieve, happiness; and if hunger ever occurs in their journey, they (shall) get food to eat along with water to drink. (Shall) every crop from the fields and gardens be sufficient to sustain all types of animals, especially so that they will be able to reproduce and multiply...
From the inscription, which contains a clear description of the kinds of the fruit grown in the garden, it is known that this pleasure garden was a royal philanthropic institution which was open for public enjoyment. Meant to provide advice and guidance to acts of merit and piety reflecting Mahayana Buddhist teachings, this archaeological artifact offers a glimpse of the meaning of fruit and fruit trees in the 7th century court in the Sumatran kingdom.
The creation of special pleasure gardens as places of retreat have significance of spirituality and sovereignty.
In contrast to the Taman Sriksetra, many court gardens were created specifically for the use of the Sultan or his immediate family. The Taman Sari of Yogyakarta, for example, was constructed by Hamengkubuwono I in 1758 originally for his private use. It was planted with flowers, vegetables as well as many varieties of fruit, like mangoes, jambu and bananas, arranged in 18 extravagant gardens.
There are at least 10 varieties of mangoes, including lalijiwa, arum manis, si manalagi, kweni, golek, sungir, santok, pakel, and gedong or gadung. There are also different varieties of bananas, such as kepok, klutuk, rojo, mas, ambuan, susu, tanduk, and mangka. Among the varieties of jambu there are klutuk or biji dersono, dersono kecut, bol, and mede or monyet.
The Langen Harjo estate south of Solo, the pleasure gardens of the Sunan of Surakarta, is also planted with numerous varieties of fruit. The number of varieties of fruit trees planted in the gardens signify the status and importance of their proprietors in the political circle of the kingdom.
However, it is not only in pleasure gardens that fruit plays an important role. In certain Indonesian kingdoms, gardens sustained the notion of the kraton as a microcosm. In the kraton of Yogyakarta, fruit trees were planted in a distinct spatial order.
The Northern Kemandungan court is planted with keben trees. To the south of this court, other kinds of fruit trees are planted around the Bangsal Sri Manganti and the Bangsal Trajumas pavilions, within walled enclosures. Around the central Bangsal Kencono or "Golden Throne Pavilion" symbolizing the sacred Mount Meru, towering sawo kecik trees are planted in a sea of dark sand. While the sawo is associated with prosperity, the canopy of this particular sawo tree, believed to have the natural capability of avoiding structural obstacles, also offers shade. It common for the trees to serve both practical and spiritual purposes.
A number of the royal gardens have been transformed into charitable institutions for public enjoyment, like the Taman Sriksetra of Sriwijaya. The Kebon Rojo, a court garden initially created as an extension of the Keraton of Surakarta, was opened to the public as the Taman Sriwedari at the end of the 19th century. It later became the top amusement part of Solo.
The opening of the extensive Taman Buah Mekarsari fruit gardens in Cileungsi, Bogor, yesterday, continues a 14 century tradition of providing pleasure gardens to the public enjoyment.
Designed to foster the cultivation of fruit from Indonesia, the Taman Buah Mekarsari is believed to be the first of its kind in the world. The creation of this extensive gardens reasserts the importance of fruit and fruit trees in the numerous cultures of Indonesia.