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".