archaeology

Written by DR. Haris Sukendar
Director of Research Centre for Archaeology

Some heritages that can be grouped into the age of Megalithic tradition are "teras berundak" (platform with stairs), "batur punden" "lumping batu" "batu berlubang" (stone with hole), "batu bergores" (stone with scratch) "menhir arca batu" (stone statue), sarcophagus, etc. The word Megalithic comes from mega, which means "big" , and lithos, which means "stone" . In other words, Megalithic can be defined as a tradition whereby a society has built many tools made of big stone. Those tools were used for their daily life activities.

The origin of Megalithic tradition has made some controversial debate with some different opinions. There are still some discussions on the existence of cultural diffusion. Some say that the Megalithic tradition was started in Egypt and spread to eastern areas as their society looked for their needs such as pearls, gold, etc. This opinion has been brought by McMillan Brown. This idea was not as popular as the opinion of Von Heine Geldern, the expert from Germany who said that those traditions came from Asia, especially South China, and continued onto southern and eastern areas. This theory has been written in his paper entitled "Prehistoric Research in the Netherlands Indie" ( 1945). And, it has received a positive response from other experts like Van Heekern, R.P. Soejono, Teguh Asmar, etc. Furthermore, he said that the spreading or the migration of people from Megalithic culture happened in the Neolithic age which was approximately from 2500 BC. This migration of Austronesians also brought Megalithic culture, which included the expertise to make the stone tools. At a later time, this culture produced "beliung" (stone pickaxe), "belincung gelang batu" (stone bracelet), etc.

At a later time, precisely in the Bronze-iron age, the spread of these states brought also Metal tools (bronze) which were created with the idea of making the big stone tools. Some forms of Megalithic culture in this age were the "waruga" sarcophaguses that functioned as a grave on Bali island. They contained a human skeleton inside, hence functioning as a grave. There were also items like "tajak", "kapak" (axes), "gelang" (bracelet), "tombak" (spear), and bronze sticks. It showed this culture had been influenced by Dongson culture.

1 ) Teras Berundak

These items vary in size from big to small. The "teras berundak" was also the result of creativity of the people of Megalithic tradition, and it can be grouped as Old Megalithic. These platforms were spread across some of Indonesian, together with "batu datar" (the flat stone), "dolmen", and "menhir". According to Von Heine Geldern, those items appeared together in the Neolithic age. It means that "teras berundak" "dolmen", "menhir" and "batu datar" were recognized by Megalithic people since 2500 BC. Some "teras berundak" at Pungung Raharjo were built with special meanings related to ancestor worship. "Teras berundak" was formed like a pyramid and it reminds us of the type of worship in Sumeria (Middle East) . It was called "Zigurat" by the local people. This Zigurat is a symbol of a holy mountain. Megalithic people believed that higher places like mountain were also holy.

These people also believed that souls continued living in the spiritual world. Mountains are usually treated as sacred places and the existence of mountains is always connected to the direction in which Megalith face. Many of the stone graves face the mountains or the top of the highest hills. It was done as a way to worship ancestors who dwelled there. In some research on places where Megalithic tradition still survives (study of Etno-archaeology), it was discovered that mountains still hold an important role on Sumba island, especially in relation to their beliefs. In this "living Megalithic tradition" where people still have their Megalith beliefs, like in East Sumba, they believe that the ancestor’s soul still dwells on the highest hill at the top of Sasar mountain. In west Sumba, people of the Marapu culture (belief in the soul) also believe that the ancestor’s soul dwells on Pornombo hill. These two mountains are still treated as sacred and scary places. The people do not even have the courage to go there.

2) Menhir

The word menhir originates from men which means "stone", and hir which means "standing". Generally, it means "standing stone" . Menhir is a heritage from Megalithic tradition found abundantly in different ages, even until the age of Hinduism and Islam in Indonesia. Menhir still has an important role and is evolving even today. In this long term of development, menhir ultimate has a lot of variations.

At some Megalithic sites in Tundrombaho (Nias), Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta), Sukasari (Bondowoso), Middle Sulawesi, there are menhir of long rounded form with a picture of a human face at the top. This kind of menhir form is called "Arca Menhir" (menhir statue) because this form can be said a transition irom menhir to Megalithic statue (Van der Hoop 1932, Van Heekern 1931, Kaudern 1938, Sukendar 1980).

The other interesting menhir is that in the form of a "phallus". This kind of form is not found much and appears only at a later age — the age of Hinduism. The more recent menhir are rectangular or rounded and decorated with desigus. They were found at younger sites which, according to Von Heine Geldern, can be grouped into "living Megalithic tradition" (Von Heine Geldern, 1945). This kind of menhir can be found in Nias, Toraja,  Sumba, Flores, etc.

Based on some archaeological research, in several archaeological sites, menhir functioned as a  boundary between sacred places. It can be seen in Ciarca and Tenjan. Moreover, there are some other functions; for example, it was used as a tool for worship, or as burial ceremony, to inflict punishment, and as a symbol of ethnic or cultural leaders. This kind of menhir can be seen in Nias, Minangkabau, Lampung, West Java and Middle Java.  As for menhir in Europe, Ferguson has brought a theory that menhir were built to commemorate victories and as symbols for marking graves. Furthermore, in the same book, Van der Hoop has written about one idea from Major Godwin Auston, which mentions that menhir were a symbol of gratitude made after escaping from illness or ethnic difflculties on Khasia hill (Van der Hoop 1932).

3) Dolmen

Dolmen in Indonesia can be grouped into two types. Simple dolmen were made from used stones. The first dolmen were usually found in living megalithic tradition, such as in Sumba and several places in Eastern Indonesia. Meanwhile, the second type is usually found in regions where megalithic tradition has died, i.e., South Sumatra, Lampung, Kuningan, etc. The differences of those dolmens are closely related to the age when dolmen existed. They were certainly connected to the advancement of technology. That is why in living megalithic tradition, the form of dolmen is more advanced and accompanied by various decorative desigus, Iike the ones in Sumba. This is also based on research of dolmen in South Sumatra, Lampung, Jawa, Sumba, Sabu, etc. And, geographical factors did not influence the form of dolmen in Indonesia. This can be proven by the fact that the two types have been found together.

Dolmen that were made from monolith stone were not only found in Sumatra, but also on other islands in Eastern Indonesia. Similarly, dolmen made irom board stone that were found in Eastern Indonesia can also be found in Cidaresi, Pandeglang. In the study of typology, those types are grouped into a Sumatran type (West Indonesia) and an East Indonesian type.

Dolmen in Indonesia were not always used as burial sites, but also as a place of worship. Dolmen used in burial sites have different forms based on the social status of the deceased. The living megalithic tradition in Sumba clearly marks the form of graves by social status. A dolmen for a king or nobleperson of Sumba usually has a magnificent and beautiful form. The figurative differences of dolmen, such as the size of the foot-stone, does not indicate a difference in function. But, excavation is still needed to understand the background of these differences in the above dolmen.

Some dolmen are used for burial ceremonies, while others have nothing to do with that purpose. Dolmen in Sumba are big and shaped by carving the stone. On the body, there are various decorative designs, which look like humans (anthropomorphic) , animals, plants and other geometrical forms. And, there are some other natural items like stars, the moon and the sun. The decorative design in Sumba usually has a meaning, which sometimes is related to religious magic, while others are a description of the leader’s attitude or character. The decorative design of a turtle represents the smooth attitude of the king, a crocodile bravery, and a horse or buffalo symbolize wealth. In contrast, the geometrical forms only function as decoration or for esthetical purposes. A dolmen for burial putposes in Sumba has four feet and six feet. But, there was also a dolmen without any feet (its feet were buried  underground). Those dolmen originate from prehistory or megalithic tradition. Many dolmen used as burial tools have been found in continuing megalithic sites such as in Sumba, Flores, and Timor.  

4) Arca Menhir

"Arca menhir" is a monolith statue which was carved in the form of a human being. This "arca menhir" usually represents an ancestor’s soul, or even an ethnic leader, king or respected cultural leader. "Arca menhir" come in different shapes from simple to complete. "Arca menhir" in Indonesia have the form of an oval stone. At the top of this menhir is a carving of a human face including the eyes, nose and ears. But, sometimes it is not complete. This form was made for worship only (not for burial purposes) , but others are for burial purposes, too. "Arca menhir" that served for burial purposes were found in Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta) , Sumba, Flores and Timor. Statues that were used for burial purposes were found at stone-grave sites, dolmen and burial platforms.

"Arca menhir" used for worship purposes were "temugelang" stones, "teras berundak" and piles of soil made to look like mountains. The interesting thing is that "arca menhir" from prehistory until living megalithic tradition (until now) have not changed significantly. In general, "arca menhir" are usually described with the head, neck and footless body. The "arca menhir" from Corsica, Europe and Pacific or even from South Arnerican have a similar form.  

5) Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a stone grave that consists of one basin and one cover. Sarcophaguses in Indonesia have been found in Bali and Bondowoso. Sarcophaguses are from the lron-bronze age. In excavations, experts found various items made of bronze. The bronze tools functioned as burial provisions. The purpose of them was to help the soul of the deceased make the journey and reach the final resting place in the spiritual world. The burial provisions were usually in the form of bronze "tajak", bronze "tapak", decorative bracelets, finger protection, etc.

On the sarcophagus, there are usually some carvings of human faces (masks), sometimes scary sometimes funny. These faces are tools for warding off evil spirits. The grave of a sarcophagus was used for one or more people. Based on the analogical study of ethnography in living megalithic tradition in Sumba, Flores and Timor, it was learned that the persons buried in sarcophagus were family related. The stone graves with sarcophaguses in East Java and Bali have a similar form to the sarcophaguses (stone grave) of Japan.

Some of sarcophaguses have forms like a boat, while others are carved with decorative designs of "manusia kangkang" (human Kangkang), and also pictures of buffalos.  

Conclusion

The megalithic tradition in Indonesia originated from the Asian mainland (South China) and began to develop in the Neolithic and Paleometalic ages around 4500-2500 BC. The background of megalithic heritage is ancestor worship. It was a belief that the ancestors ‘ souls were still dwelling in the mountains. Therefore, many megalithic heritages face toward the mountains, i.e., the grave stones in Pasemah, Kuningan and Bali face the mountains of Demph, Ciremai and Agung.  The megalithic heritage has continued until today. A strong base has kept megalithic tradition alive during the development of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. And, it sometimes brought unity amongst those three religions through cultural articles.

The megalithic tradition in Indonesia was grouped into two types: prehistoric megalithic and advanced megalithic. The advanced megalithic is marked by a society who still makes and uses stone for worship and burial tools. Over time, the form of megalithic varied and became full of decorative designs. 

Megalithic Statue of Pasemah plateau, South Sumatera prov.