The figure of Semar is local creation
The figure of Semar is local creation
By M.M.S. Marthawienata
JAKARTA (JP): In 1970, former Singapore ambassador to Indonesia, Lee Khoon Choy, wrote in his book entitled Indonesia between Myth and Reality that Semar was a Javanese creation and was much more interesting than any other character in the Ramayana and Mahabarata epics.
After visiting the Semar cave in the Dieng plateau and Gua Ratu at Srendang mountain in Central Java, Lee came to the conclusion that this form of indigenous culture has been developing since 1,500 years BC.
Semar is the guardian spirit of Java, the guard of the archipelago, wrote the former ambassador. His conclusion was supported by interviews he had with local spiritual leaders.
A. Adi Sukadana, deputy dean of the faculty of dentistry at the University of Airlangga in Surabaya, also reached the conclusion that Semar was Indonesian creation and had been around for about 4,000 years. He presented his conclusion at a lecture on The Ritual Meaning of the Panakawan Masks in May 1985. According to Adi, one of the universal characteristics of the panakawan (company servants) masks was a mouth with two incisors on top but no gum at the bottom. This mutilation resembles Semar and was a ritual that demonstrated maturity. It resembled the prehistoric skulls found in Liang Bua in Flores and Melolo in Sumba.
As a guardian angel or teacher, Semar taught humans to respect God the Almighty, who in the original Javanese language was called Sang Hyang Taya. The word taya means "non-existent".
In his book Kapustakan Jawi, Prof. Dr. R. M. Ng. Poerbotjaroko states that the book Kurawakrama, which was written after the book Tantu Panggelaran, mentioned that Sang Hyang Taya was above other gods, but when Hinduism was at its peak the original god of the Javanese must have been pushed aside.
In the wayang world, Sang Hyang Tunggal is described as "unlimited but always close to humans".
The book Tantu Panggelaran, which was written in the 15th century, contained not only Indonesian mythology but also cosmogony and theogony. From an egg, both the earth and sky was created, with the help of Semar.
Semar had many children. His presence in the Javanese version of the Ramayana story is acceptable since he became the guardian for his offspring. However, what about the presence of Semar in the Pandawa family, who all shared the Barata blood? He appeared in a different motivation, namely, as the servant and guardian of the Pandawa quintet.
Another version
Another version of the account says that Semar was the second son of Hyang Tunggal whose wife was mother Dewi Rakta or Rekathawati. Hyang Tunggal ordered Semar to govern the Sunyaruri universe, and he became leader of the genies on Hansa planet.
Legend has it that his ancestor was also a human, Sayid Anwar. Sayid got rid of his human identity and became the spirit Jan Banujan.
Still another story, written in Jawi Arabic, tells us that the King of Turk, or Raja Rum Asia, ordered Syekh Subakir to fill up empty Java with 20,000 husbands and wives as the ancestors of the humankind.
With his powerful mantras, Syekh Subakir created forceful storms on top of the mountains, with the Tidar mountain as the center. On top of the Merbabu mountain, two creatures kept sitting without being swayed by the storms. They were Semar and Togog.
Having fought each other and having deliberated, Semar, Togog and Syekh Subakir agreed to live together peacefully. Semar's descendants would continue to live on the land of Java as spirits, while the actual life would be filled by the human beings that had been planted by Syekh Subakir. Subakir later went back to Turkey.
This story indicates that Semar is Javanese. As a guardian of Java, this ancient figure is present in all eras, spreading and teaching truth according to the religion of the time. Semar was also there when Buddhism entered Java.
In the book Di Sekitar Kebatinan (About Mysticism), Wasisto Suryaningrat writes that Semar appeared as Jnanabadra, a native Javanese scholar who became a monk of Budha Hinayana, and held the position of Emban Tuwanggana and Mahapatih Mangkubumi. He was claimed to live during the era of a Hindu Agastyan king, Sanjaya (723-744), who was a descendant of foreign Aryan blood.
According to the Budha Mahayanan book, Semar was a servant who always brought knowledge.
Punakawan
In the puppetering discipline, panakawan means company servants who are extremely smart and trustworthy and have broad horizons and a very keen observation. In Javanese literature, such traits are referred to as responsive to cues and smart at choosing tact.
The figure of Semar, whose name is claimed to have originated from the word samar-samar, 'obscure' or 'vague', did not have a distinct form. He was neither a male nor a female. He was called Ki Badranaya, which meant somebody who had an illuminating moon- shaped face. But he was also called Nayantaka, which meant that he had a face as pale as the face of a dead body.
Pujowiyatno, professor of philosophy at University of Indonesia, once said that in the wayang world Semar took up a rather strange form. He was not a knight, he was not bad looking but he was not handsome, either. His nose looked like any other's nose, although a little bit flatter. His eyes always produced mucus. He had a ponytail, his breasts were large and plump.
The description of Semar as a dwarf represented the smallness of human character compared to the universe. His rounded body shape represented the earth, and his belly and buttocks were of the same size -- representing the division of the world into East and West.
Such a division represented two ends that would never meet. In this relation, Harun Nasution, in his book Filsafat Agama ('The Philosophy of Religion'), (1973), states that this reflects the fact that East and West will never converge in the areas of philosophy, ideology or culture.
In addition to giving advice at the time of trouble or at the time the knights acted too aggressively and emotionally, Semar also gave them consolation when they were feeling low. He even rescued them when the knights whom he guarded were in a really serious danger.
In the book Kita dan Wayang (We and the Wayang), Franz Magnis Suseno writes that Semar is a symbol of God who guides the knights, protect them and become a model for them. However, historian Onghokham believes that viewing Semar as Vox Dei (voice of God) is every bit as speculative as viewing him as Vox Populi (the voice of the people).
Furthermore, based on the meaning and the artistic content of wayang stories, writes S. Haryanto in the book Bayang-bayang Adiluhung (1992), panakawan are the symbols or visualization of the Javanese society concept. He quotes Dharmoyo WS who says that the figure of Semar is the child of an era, borne by the era.
Semar is the aspiration of human struggle that incorporates two aspects, namely, spiritual and physical. In worshiping God, people tend to give priority to the philosophy of the power that controls nature, and this leads to an ever-changing philosophy that is forever under development.
As a leader, according to Soenarto Timur in his paper titled The Philosophy of the Characters in the Wayang World, Semar based his leadership on five principles of sangkan paraning dumadi (origin and destination of humankind), namely, the ultimate truth, ultimate conscience, ultimate reality, ultimate knowledge, and ultimate senses.
An everyday life marked by the presence of Semar is charac terized by the ultimate (the deepest) conscience. The Javanese call this rasa eling, which leads and protects human beings from temptations and troubles. This ultimate conscience is Semar, the leader that exists within every individual.