Sengkalan: Mystery of words and forms

Sengkalan: Mystery of words and forms

Waluyo Wijayatno, Contributor, Jakarta

In past centuries, the Javanese -- particularly the scholarly
or the upper-middle tier of society -- had a unique way of
recording or remembering those calendar years in which important
events took place in their lives, such as births, marriages,
deaths, building constructions and the like.

They used certain objects as symbols of the numbers zero to
nine. The objects chosen were natural, universal and permanent in
their forms, characteristics as well as behavior, including
objects of nature, parts of the human body, animals and plants.

A general example, although there are many, of these numerals
and their corresponding symbols are: 0 = langit/sky, 1 =
bumi/earth, 2 = mripat/eyes, 3 = geni/fire, 4 = segara/sea,
5 = maruta/wind, 6 = rasa/feeling, 7 = giri/mountain, 8 =
liman/elephant, 9 = bolong/hole.

The number 0 is represented by the sky, because it is a
shapeless void. As there is only one earth in the universe, it
represents 1. Man has two eyes, thus they denote 2. Fire
represents 3, because it has three properties: to heat, to burn
and to illuminate. And so on until 9. Such are the root meanings
of the symbols as relative to the numbers they represent.

The Javanese words referring to these objects were then
composed into a phrase that apparently has a particular meaning,
but was, in fact, a calendar year. In Javanese, this is known as
sengkalan -- derived from the word kala, meaning time or moment
-- which is called a chronogram in the West.

The other unique feature of sengkalan is the arrangement of
words in reverse order. The first word in the sengkalan phrase
represents the last digit of the calendar year.

For instance, the chronogram Luhuring Sembah Trusing Allah,
when decoded, means 1920: luhur/noble = 0, sembah/respectful
gesture = 2, trus/deep = 9, Allah/God = 1, while Ganda Kusuma
Sekaring Bumi means 1999: ganda/scent = 9, kusuma/bloom = 9,
sekar/flower = 9, bumi/earth = 1.

Apart from phrases, images and illustrations could also be
used in representing a Javanese chronogram, and was known as
sengkalan memet, or complicated chronogram. Deciphering the
calendar year from such images involves some intricate thought
indeed.

An exceptional example can be found along the Bangsal
Kemagangan, or the Hall of Royal Novices, at the Sultanate Court
of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat in Yogyakarta, where two dragons are
arranged back-to-back in a painting, with one facing left and the
other right, with their tails entwined in the middle. Translated
as a sentence, the painting becomes Dwi Naga Rasa Tunggal -- two
dragons share feelings -- and thus represents the year 1682
according to the Javanese chronogram: Dwi = 2, Naga = 8,
Rasa = 6, Tunggal = 1. It records the year the court of
Yogyakarta was first established.

This same sengkalan memet, however, also has another
translation -- Dwi Nagara Satunggal, or two states unite.

Both translations, in fact, have almost the same meaning,
serving as a slogan to describe the existence of two states, as
symbolized by the dragons, which shared a common spirit in
opposing the Dutch colonizers of the time. However, this
opposition constituted a behind-the-scenes, or internal, policy
rather than open resistance. This is depicted by the entwined
dragon tails -- internal cooperation -- while their outwardly
facing heads represent the external diplomacy of hospitality
toward the colonizers.

Most of the chronogram symbols fall into the category of
candra sengkala. As candra means "moon", this type of sengkalan
is based on the lunar calendar, such as the Javanese and Islamic
or Hijriah years. The other group, following the solar calendar
based on the earth's revolution around the sun, is called surya
sengkala, with surya meaning sun. The Christian calendar is based
on this second type.

Though it may seem confusing at first glance, sengkalan
actually brings some benefits. It is easier to memorize sengkalan
phrases than the years themselves. Therefore, the last two digits
are mentioned first so that the crucial digits -- which people
tend to forget -- can be promptly recalled. Figures in the
hundreds and thousands are usually easier to remember or
estimate.

In addition, sengkalan phrases generally define or provide
clues as to the significance of the situation, impression or
expectation according to the moment in time for which the
chronogram was created. Sirna Ilang Kertaning Bumi, or gone is
peace on earth, represents the year 1400, signifying the fall of
the Majapahit Kingdom amid social chaos and political crisis.

Other examples include the year of national independence, or
the founding of the Republic of Indonesia, declared in 1945 A.D.
Its surya sengkala can thus be composed as Marganing Karya Ambuka
Nagari, 5-4-9-1, with the following phrasal meaning: By endeavor
rises the state.

The Bali bombing in 2002, on the other hand, can be recorded
in a solar chronogram as Sakedhep Sirna Tan Kaeksi, or literally
translated, disappeared in the blink of an eye...

... As with this glimpse of sengkalan, the Javanese scholarly
custom of "documentation".