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.