Trowulan, remnants of Majapahit grandeur

Ade Tanesia, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Trowulan is one of the most important historical sites in Indonesia, featuring artifacts that show the Majapahit kingdom, of which Trowulan was the capital, had developed sophisticated technology.

Located in the regency of Mojokerto, some 70 kilometers southwest of Surabaya, Trowulan retains some of the grandeur of the former kingdom.

The Trowulan ruins are not as imposing as Borobudur Temple in Central Java, because this ancient town was constructed from bricks and is therefore not as durable as Borobudur or Prambanan Temple, which were constructed from rock.

If you trace the ruins and reconstruct the entire town, you will discover the organizational skills and technology employed by the Majapahit kingdom to build Trowulan.

The Majapahit kingdom enjoyed prosperity thanks to its utilization of water. For this kingdom, water was not only important for shipping but also for agriculture.

Ying-yai Sheng-lan, a chronicle dating back to 1416, writes of a port called Canggu, which was constantly crowded with traders wishing to visit the capital of Majapahit, only a half-day's walk away. These people came from foreign countries and wished to do business with locals. The chronicle also tells the story of a Persian noble man coming to this place, along with some giraffes.

Because the Majapahit kingdom controlled most of the important ports of the day, it was able to raise a lot of money by collecting taxes on goods and produce. The kingdom also expanded its agricultural land, and sent rice to regions in the eastern part of the archipelago in exchange for spices.

The kingdom then sold the spices to China. In the Trowulan Museum, you can see small human statues from areas such as Arabia, India and China. These small statues show that the Majapahit kingdom enjoyed trade and cultural ties with various countries.

Also interesting to see is a stone scale in the museum, showing the measurement system used during the Majapahit era.

The kingdom enjoyed great prosperity thanks to its ability to build an irrigation system. It built dams, ponds and canals, not only for irrigation purposes but also as flood control when the Brantas River overflowed.

Several sites in the former kingdom show that irrigation technology was prioritized over other matters. One example is the Tikus Temple, which is, for the most part, still intact today.

Located in Dinuk hamlet, Temon village, this temple was actually built to hold run-off water from Mt. Penanggungan for sanctification rites.

There is also a water channel used to irrigate the surrounding rice fields. This square-shaped water-controlling structure measures 22.5 meters-by-22.5 meters. In the center there is a small temple and a water pipe.

That the Majapahit kingdom was serious in handling water is also clear from some of the official positions in the royal palace: the matamwak, in charge of all irrigation pipes, the hulu wuatan, assigned to manage bridges, and the hulair, a position related to water processing. In the era of the Majapahit, these officials supervised the flow of water from one dam to another, and made sure there were no water shortages in the entire area.

To facilitate trade, the Trowulan Plaque (1358) mapped out 44 crossing points on the banks of the Solo River, and 34 on the Brantas River.

Another particular legacy is Segaran, a pool measuring 375 meters-by-175 meters. It was part of a waterway system that encompassed ancient dams like Baureno, Kumitir, Domas, Kraton, Kedungwulan and Temon, and ancient canals with lanes measuring between 35 meters and 45 meters in width, with the canal walls reinforced by brick.

This water infrastructure was extremely important, given that the availability of groundwater in the area controlled by the kingdom fell during the dry season. That's why there had to be enough water stored to ensure the rice fields and the irrigation channels would continue to get the water the Majapahit people needed.

When it rained hard and the Brantas River overflowed, floods would hit the area. The Baureno Dam was built specifically to control floods and catch run-off from Mt. Anjasmoro.

From Baureno Dam cleaner water would flow to Domas Dam, as flood control, and to Kumitir Dam, for irrigation purposes. Afterward, the pipes in these two dams would channel water to the Segaran pool and to the Kraton Dam, to supply water to the territory around the Kraton.

Then there was Temon Dam, which was an area of water springs. The ancient canals were likely used as defense trenches, as well as serving to channel excess water the dams could no longer accommodate in times of flooding.

Dams, an artificial pool and canals are located close to together, and are inter-connected with water-channeling pipes.

Majapahit is also thought to have had an underground water channel, although the remains of such a channel have not been discovered. One of the water channels that has been discovered is in Blendren hamlet, Trowulan.

The intake of this channel measures 50 cm x 75 cm. It was constructed of bricks and produced pristine water.

Also interesting to note is the discovery of remnants of a sewage channel or ditch, indicating that even during the time of the Majapahit efforts were made to improve sanitation and prevent water channels from being clogged up with garbage, which would increase the likelihood of flooding.

With its excellent water management system, the kingdom of Majapahit could ensure successful harvests, overcome floods, build its own defense system and bring itself closer to seaports.

While this skillful water arrangement played a significant role in turning Majapahit into a great kingdom, it was also water that sealed its doom. In 1451, Mount Anjasmoro erupted, destroying many dams, canals and water channels.

The situation was aggravated by rampant tree felling by royal officials. Meanwhile, a struggle for power was taking place, and Majapahit began to lose its shine. The royal seat was pushed ever backward into the rural areas, increasing the distance from the water that gave it life.

If information about archaeological finds were neatly arranged, the Trowulan site could be turned into an attractive tourist attraction for those people heading to Bromo or Bali.

This site could be even more attractive because the story of the Majapahit kingdom is directly linked with Bali, and also because many of its temples resemble the Balinese temples.