archaeology

Majapahit
    
    The city of Majapahit prospered during the fourteenth century and was the largest of the old cities on Java. In comparison with Sriwijaya it is well documented, especially because of the work of Prapanca, the Nagarakrtagama, translated and commented upon by various scholars among others N.J. Krom, W.F. Stutterheim, Th. Pigeaud, Supomo S. and S. Robson. The archeological remains have been described by H. Maclaine Pont and the staff of the Indonesian National Research Centre for Archaeology. I will draw a sketch here, based on the works of Pigeaud.

    The kraton of Majapahit was called pura by Prapanca, the core of the kraton puri, and the capital (kraton including environments) negara. Pigeaud presents quite a detailed description of all these parts and also of the state as a whole. Majapahit was situated west of present-day Mojokerto on the river Brantas, East Java. The city had no bastions and may be considered as a complex of compounds separated by wide roads and large squares and open fields. The compounds had several courtyards with trees and open pavilions. The compounds and courtyards were encircled by walls and fences. In the central part the family of the head of the household lived. Other less central parts were occupied by servants and guests or used for ceremonial activities. The squares in the city were used for public activities such as the market, public gatherings, festivities and plays. The city was very spread-out, it was more like a large park than a compact city and its fringes imperceptibly merged into the countryside.

    Pigeaud made the daring effort to construct a map of the city of Majapahit. The kraton had a high, thick wall of red bricks with a gate in the northern part giving access to the royal compound. In this compound a great, white tower was located. Within the walled area there were other compounds for the family of the king, royal guards, court officials and so on. In front of the northern gate was a large field with more to the west a ring for cock fights and east of the field a redoubt. At a somewhat greater distance a meeting hall and a market were situated. Outside the other walls laid the dwellings of the religious authorities attached to the court: to the east the Shivaite and the south the Buddhist monks. The houses of the royal kinsmen were found at the west side. There was no alun-alun south of the kraton. Beside the kraton there were other compounds.

    This reconstruction of the map of the city is a very provisional one, as the translation of the Nagarakrtagama comprises many uncertainties. Science goes on and Supomo and Robson have made a large number of critical remarks about the representation made by Pigeaud. One speaking example is the sentence element that is refers to the ring for cockfights, but according to the critics should mean something like encircled by water. From these and other substantial points of disagreement the conclusion should be drawn that at the present state of knowledge it is impossible to construct an unambiguous map of the city of Majapahit. Yet, it is clear that the build-up areas comprised the palace of the king, living units of the common people, ceremonial centers, and artisanal zones, and that the palace was walled. Furthermore that different groups such as the Shivaite and Bhuddist monks were concentrated at particular places. Soejatmi Satari adds to this the existence of a elaborate canal system. Such an extensive system proves that the city of Majapahit comprised a large settlement with considerable population.

    The city was not planned, for town planning was only introduced by foreigners later. The city was not built arbitrary, however. Its morphological structure was mainly determined by the cosmic and dualistic tradition, stressing the directions of the compass, the contradistinction between the western royal and eastern princely kraton relating to each other as sun and moon, the contradistinction between religious and profane authority and so on. The social structure and religious ideas became clear within the lay-out of the city.

    Majapahit was located at some distance from the river Brantas. Its port on this river was called Bubat, which was inhabited by foreign traders from e.g. India and China, probably living in separate wards. Other ports which were part of the state were Surabaya, Gresik and Tuban. Smaller settlements were Singasari, Bayalanges, Patukangan, Sadeng, Keta, Pajarakan and Gending. The state territory of Majapahit was divided into two parts, Janggala downstream and Kadiri upstream. These parts were associated respectively with rural communities and aristocratic domaTransport in Majapahit was mainly carried out by water: sea and river. The river Brantas which was particularly important for the transportation of goods to Bubat from the sea, must have been much larger in those days than it is now. Because of deforestation the flow of water has certainly decreased. Transport over land mostly took place by ox-cart, which covered long distances in numerous caravans. Persons and goods were transported, as well as rice, spices, meat, fish and valuables. Toll-money was levied on roads and waterways.

    According to Burger, Majapahit has to be considered both a land and a maritime power. Its influence covered almost the total area of Indonesia to-day with in addition parts of the Malay Peninsula with the exception of West Java, the southern part of Central Java and North Sulawesi. Subordination meant that a tribute had to be paid, but the areas located at a great distance were merely spheres of influence. Majapahit had a strong fleet to conquer other territories and send out punitive expeditions. It was a mercantile imperium incorporating coastal cities with a transit function. This went together with a strong agrarian basis of sawah and ladang cultivation. So Legge states that Majapahit combined in its political aspect the characteristics of a mercantile empire and an agrarian state. However, the aristocrats of Majapahit were not traders. Royalty and trade were considered incompatible. Primarily they relied on agriculture.

    Pigeaud discusses four ranks, namely the aristocracy, clergy, peasants and bond-slaves. Foreigners and outcasts were not included in these categories, while craftsmen and artists were not considered a separate group. The social structure in the country was more diverse than is generally assumed. Isolated tribes existed, beside communities of craftsmen and traders, and industrial (salt, sugar) and agrarian villages. Moreover, the royal domains and the estates of the aristocracy and clergy have to be taken into account.

    The political organisation was quite centralized. All the members of the royal family, as well as the most important functionaries, the vizir and the higher clergy lived in the capital. The state was divided into provinces, the most important being Janggala and Kadiri. Outside the capital authority was vested in the hands of local governors and vizirs for worldly matters, and judges and their assistants for spiritual-legal matters, who in their turn most probably had their own clerks. At the court spiritual and worldly matters were clearly separated and moreover were graded.

    The expenditure of the court with its luxurious feasts and abundance of functionaries, soldiers and servants might have been a heavy burden for the peasants who had to produce the surplus. However, the royal and princely activities benefited the countryside also because of the protection given and the incentive for economic development they supplied. In principle the royal family was a unity with at its head the king. Internal disputes formed a threat to this unity and to the survival of Majapahit. After the death of King Hayam Wuruk the factions tried to gain advantage for themselves at the cost of the others and the prosperity of this state and its capital came to an end.