Trowulan, remnants of Majapahit grandeur

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.