Gunung Kawi: East Java, Indonesia

I am a great admirer of Duncan Graham and his writings. He wrote an article for the Jakarta Post a while ago called ‘The Hills of Shared Faiths in East Java’. Duncan Graham is an award winning journalist residing in Surabaya and also has an excellent website, Indonesia Now.

The hill of shared faiths in East Java
Duncan Graham, Contributor, Surabaya

We’re not talking here about the dormant volcano of that name in Bali, but its namesake in East Java.

The roads up this mountain are a green delight with dense sugar cane, rice seedlings in rank and file, a snapshot of smiling sunflowers. Elephant ears nod in your slipstream. Fresh laundry clothes stone walls. Smoke wisps upwards from damp fires.

But if you’re driving don’t take your eyes off the narrow and twisting track to survey these pleasantries — or it may be the last thing you’ll see. The paths inside the complex are narrower still and the car parks chaotic. Take a calming pill or prepare to be tired, tense and mightily fractious.

Despite these corroding emotions the adventure will be worthwhile if you’re intrigued by the endless complexities of culture — and better still if your prayers are answered and riches tumble into your lap, like the leaves of the goddess tree.

Known to the secular as Equina uniflora, (to Javanese as Dewa Ndaru and Chinese as Shian Tho) this rare bush is supposed to give good fortune to those who catch not a falling star but a tumbling leaf.

In a fenced courtyard the true believers well fortified with patience squat on tiles waiting for the magic moment. For sceptics the exercise is as profitable as watching grass grow.
But the most remarkable thing is that the Chinese and Javanese share the sanctity of Gunung Kawi. Seeing Muslims cocooned in traditional Islamic dress mingling amicably with Chinese women flaunting their neon-white cleavages is one of the more pleasing sights in East Java.

The air is cool as the shrine is 650 meters up the 2,550 meter-high mountain. Enclosed by a shingle-roofed timber building are the tombs of the charismatic seers Kangdjeng Kjai Zakariake 11 (said to be related to 19th century rebel leader Prince Diponegoro) and Raden Mas Iman Soedjono.

The two men came from Central Java to meditate on the mountain inspired by the environment. They lie in an alcove looking much like an altar; food and flowers have been left as offerings.

The custodian Haji R Candra Yana, sits hidden from public view with his back to the darkened auditorium where Chinese Buddhists, Confucians, Muslims and maybe some Christians sit with Javanese Muslims in traditional peci (black hats) to worship. Men and women are together as equals.

“This is not a mosque, nor is it a temple,” said Yana. “There is no place like it anywhere in Indonesia. Everyone is welcome. Unfortunately Western tourists rarely visit, though Chinese come from all over the world.”

Outside a Muslim ladles well water with claimed special healing properties into plastic mugs for the pilgrims.

Locals explained that while the Chinese non-Muslims did ask for business blessings, the Muslims were seeking forgiveness and favourable intercession by the seers in the individual’s relationship with God.

Sadly, photography is forbidden so there’s no picture to illustrate this curious amalgam of faiths. This doesn’t get the approval of all Muslims, particularly those who adhere to the more arid Middle Eastern version of Islam, or who think fortune rewards only the diligent and tenacious.

For these people there’s a conventional mosque a few hundred meters from the tombs. Then there are temples for Buddhists. To visit these holy places means jostling along a narrow path of crippled beggars and equally aggressive vendors of charms and condiments, local handicrafts and the inevitable T-shirt and plastic toy trash.

There’s also a fortune-teller’s shop. Every year about 126,000 people visit Gunung Kawi.

Ririen, who runs the 16-room Roro Hotel on Gunung Kawi and is a prominent urger for better facilities, claims some success for her lobbying; this dry season the local government has promised to widen the access road.

Her persuasive powers are backed by formidable credentials: Her family came to the mountain from the
Yogyakarta kraton (palace) in the 18th century when the two mystics were mustering a following. Yogya is also the source of many Javanese rituals performed at Gunung Kawi.

“About 90 per cent of the people who stay in the hotels are Chinese,” she said. “The Javanese tend to pay a day visit. Most visitors are middle class and up. It would be good to broaden the tourist base.

“Apart from buying souvenirs and locally-grown cassava — which is the best in Indonesia — there’s not much to do when you’re not praying.”

With a colleague she’s put up a wish list of wanted facilities as investor bait, including a jogging track, camping ground, chair lift and fun-park. There are only eight hotels and most are small, so there’s a need for more accommodation.

It all sounds a bit Disney which would do little to enhance the sanctity of the place unless thoughtfully designed and kept well apart.

Gunung Kawi may have been established through divine direction, but a modicum of inspired planning and creation of space would do wonders.

(Gunung Kawi can reached from Blitar or Malang. Travel times depend on the day, the weather and start times. Allow two hours from Malang. There is no regular public transport.)