RECO LANANG
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Eight
kilometres west of Tretes, looking out towards the dome shaped
summit of Mt Penanggungan, is the small village of Trawas. Hidden
in the trees above the village is one of the largest statues
ever discovered in Indonesia. Known as Reco Lanang, the image
portrays a seated figure, probably a Buddha, almost six metres
in height. Close by, in a clump of pine trees, is another enormous
rock called Watu Meja (stone table), which is round and flat
and may possibly have been intended as a base for the statue.
Scattered further away on the hillside are two more carved stones;
one, a gigantic headless image lying upside down in a private
garden, the other a stone pedestal (yoni) similar to those commonly
found in Hindu/Javanese temples, but unusually large.
Who commissioned these huge images; when were they carved and
for what purpose? Why,too, were they never completed? These are
questions which have no certain answer es yet. A possible suggestion
is that they date from the reign of King Kertanagara of Singosari
in the 13th century, a period of war and invasion, which could
have been a reason for halting construction. The only other comparable
statues are the two giant guardian figures at Candi Singosari,
near Malang.
Until recently, Reco Lanang could have appropriately been called
Java's 'Reclining Buddha', since for as long as anyone can remember
the statue has lain, moss covered, in the spot where it was probably
carved. A few months before this book began to be written, however,
the statue was cleaned up and lifted into its correct sitting
position from where, after centuries of neglect, it now looks
out across the valley towards Mt Penanggungan. |
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