Sunda: The account of Affirmative life

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Sunda The account of Affirmative life

• Mythological Worldview of the Contemplative Site
  Nagara Padang,West Java, Indonesia
• 2nd annual conference of IACM, 19 21 August
  2008 Ravenstein, The Netherlands
• by Stephanus Djunatan MA

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Cultural Setting

• The Cultural Site is located at Pasir (small
  mount) Pamipiran (1224 m) the southern part of
  Bandung Area, Regency of West Bandung.
• dry and wet padi fields, crops planted side by
  side with government owned pine plantation and
  human settlement
• One of these communities is Rawabogo Village. The
  first inhabitants came from the Regency of
  Sukapura in Dutch Colonial era at 19th Century,
  or today Regency of Tasikmalaya and Ciamis.
• The guardians of this site live in the village
  precisely at the kampong Ciparigi.
• Every guardian develops respective version of
  teaching narrative of pilgrimage. Some of them
  inherit this narrative for generations.

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Map of Indonesia
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The Map of The site
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• Cultural inheritances which have been embodied by
  the guardians comprise
• the primordial Sunda,
• Hinduism and Buddhism,
• and Sufism or Islamic mysticism.
• These three cultural heritages conjoin each
  other.
• One should notice that together these three
  heritages affects knowledge (the narratives)
  which is produced by the guardians.
• One could traces them by careful analysis.
• Islam mysticism affects implementation of
  symbolic elements the child, the name of stone,
  the name of legendary Pajajaran King, Prabu
  Silihwangi and the costume which the guardian
  wears.

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A skecth of pilgrimage tour
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• Legend
• Going up
• Going down
• Relatively flat pathway
• I s.d.VII the terraces
• A, B, C Three phases of life cyclic spiral
• The stages for praying and meditating session
  are
• Phase A Birth and Childhood, terraces I - III
• Cikahuripan (spring of life)
• A. Lawang Saketeng (the Entering Gate of
  Saketeng)
• B. Lawang Kadua (the exit Gate)
• Batu Palawangan Ibu (The stone of vaginal
  passage)
• Batu Paibuan (the stone of Motherhood)
• Batu Panyipuhan (the stone of formal education)
• Batu Poponcoran (the stone of final examination)

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• Phase B Adulthood, terraces IV - V
• Batu Kaca Saadeg (the stone of self-reflection)
• Batu Gedong Peteng (the dark cave)
• Batu Karaton (the stone of Royal Palace)
• Batu Kutarungu (the Stone of Ear)
• Phase C Maturity or sagacious selfhood, terraces
  VI - VII
• Masjid Agung (the Mosque of The Majesty)
• Batu Bumi Agung (the stone of Glorious Earth)
• Batu Korsi Gading (the Stone of Ivory Throne)
• Batu Pakuwon Prabu Siliwangi (The thumb-carved
  pillar phalic stone of Prabu Silihwangi)
• Batu Lawang Tujuh (the stone of the seven doors)
• Batu Padaringan/Leuit Salawe Jajar (the stone of
  rice barns, or the curved array of 25 stones
  array of 25 prophets )
• Puncak Manik (The summit of Light)

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The mythology of affirmative life

• I propose a definition of mythology as follows
• narrative of life cyclic spiral which attributes
  complexity and completeness of humane quality in
  order to attain sagacious selfhood so that each
  individual can arrange respective story through
  contemplating act.
• Thus, this definition suggest mythology as a
  story of the sagacious self which consider the
  pilgrim is the hero.
• It is important to notice Sufism affects the
  implementation of symbols in this myths of
  sagacious self instead of presence of non-human
  or deitic figures.

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• Example of the symbols is what my guardian said
  before I carried out a pilgrimage
• Ayeuna ceuna lamun rek naék ka gunung padang
  kudu mawa bakakak hayam. Tah padahal lain bawa
  bakakak hayam. Éta simbul jeung gambaran. ...
  Urang téh kudu lir ibarat hayam dibelah dua,
  dibakakak, saha badan urang, serah sumerah ka
  saha. Hiji menta pidua ti indung bapa, serah
  sumerah ka mahakawasa, boga tekad didinya. Geus
  serah sumerah ka nu Maha Kawasa, lir ibarat hayam
  dibelah dua, teu daya teu upaya, ujud paparin
  obah pangersa Gusti.
• (my translation Now, it is said when somebody
  wants to visit Nagara Padang, he or she has to
  bring a long chicken cut in half. This is a
  symbol for us. We have to be like such
  cut-in-half chicken so that we can resign
  ourselves, asking who are we? First, begging a
  prayer from to our mother and father, then
  knowing to whom we should entrust our live. Here
  is our commitment, to submit ourself to the
  Almighty. Like the cut-in-half chicken, we are
  nothing and have no competence before the will of
  The Almighty.)

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• The pilgrimage of selfhood starts with the
  initial phase of life birth and childhood (A).
• From the beginning a child has indispensable
  connectivity with parents (the living and the
  spiritual).
• Commemoration of parental nurturing and basic
  education is necessary condition in order to
  establish foundation of humane quality.
• The next phase describes the grown up child, to
  be an adult (B) after passing the final
  examination or initation.
• Adulthood associates with ability of doing daily
  works based on respective skill, having
  properties, and expressing competence and power.
  These refer to human capabilities.
• Human capabilities include quality of mind,
  affection and will, of the physical, and of the
  spiritual realms.
• Sufism nuance affects the idea of utilization of
  individual property. Property is used for
  charitable purpose. (the idea of having but not
  possesing).

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• The contemplation of the level of maturity C
  starts with acknowledgement by the grown up child
  that the Almighty is the proprietor of the
  universe.
• Sundanese worldview The triadic structure of
  Life or Tritangtu, which comprises the self
  (human being), The Universe (The Others) and The
  Almighty.
• This triadic worldview is foundation to
  explanation of Sunda virtues
• silihwangi (intersubjective dignification),
• welas asih (compassion)
• and Sunda cardinal principle of life
• silih asuh, silih asih, silih asah (to love, to
  nurture and to teach each other),
• sapajajaran (equality),
• nuhunkeun (gratefulness),
• and kaadilan (justice).
• These virtues and principle of life unfolds
  intentionality of the self to other fellow
  mankind or fellow creatures, correlation with
  them, and capability to be a mediator who
  connects oneself with the others and interweave
  connection for the others.
• This is the account of affirmative life.

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Interpretative discussion

• The contemplation also has to do with the name
  Nagara Padang.
• The name implies a riddle for term Nagara.
• This term originally should be read from back to
  front syllable by syllable (Sundanese letter by
  letter).
• It becomes ra ga na. Ra and Ga are combined
  so that one can read them as Raga or (human)
  body.
• These three syllables are accompanied with a
  preposition dina or in/into.
• Together the term should be conceived as Dina
  Raga Na, or in the body. While Padang as
  emic defines it denotes bright, illumination.
• Padang connotes illumination, enlightenment and
  wide perspective
• The riddle of Nagara Padang then can be
  resolved as follows
• the presence of the interwoven connectivity of
  human capabilities within the mind, affection
  and volition.
• Alternatively, the illuminated sagacious self
  with its wide perspective presents as the
  mediating subject who interconnects other
  distinct features in the tripartite structure of
  Life, the Universe and the Almighty.

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• Further explanation of the account of affirmative
  life which is related to the name Nagara Padang
  can be found at a Sunda phrase papat kalima
  pancer
• Term by terms, this phrase denotes four compass
  directions (papat), the fifth point or the
  nucleus (kalima) and the high noon (pancer).
• The first term, papat, the four compass points
  symbolize the universe or Mandala with complete
  compass direction.
• While the two latter, kalima pancer, should be
  read as compound term.
• These compound terms focus on Pancer.
• Pancer associates the high noon with a moment of
  lightening all compass points without any
  substantial shadow (wide persepcetive)

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• By this explanation, pancer also means tengah,
  the middle. The middle postulates comprehensive
  worldview.
• If one retains the center as proper connotation
  of tengah, this comprehensive worldview can not
  be unfolded
• Moreover the comprehensive worldview underlies
  the connectivity within the Mandala (universe).
  All compass points are intelligible due to they
  are affirmed by the middle.
• The connecting middle can be analogized for human
  awareness or conscience or hate, batin or
  jiwa in Sundanese lexicon.
• In Short, the middle or Tengah symbolizes the
  self who expresses affirmative function so that
  polarized sides or paradoxal pair are always
  correlated and explain each other.

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Sundanese way of affirmative thinking

• Acknowledgement to multiple presentations of
  manifestation of life. It is symbolically
  projected into Tritangtu, the self, the universe
  and the Almighty or experienced inwardly, that
  is, reciprocal correlation among mind, affection
  and volition.
• Assertion of self-identity of subjects. This
  assertion indicates a paradox. This assertion is
  necessary if one thinks of clear distinction or
  classification of identity for respective
  subject. That man is distinct from woman. That
  man occupies one side, woman the other. The
  classification presupposes negative function so
  that paradox obtains.
• Apposition of the paradox is reciprocal
  implication so that one subsist the other, or
  clarifies the existence of the other. Teaching
  myth of sagacity indicates this comprehensive
  explanation of being.
• Apposition is substantive operation of the
  Sundanese affirmative thinking.
• It explains comprehensive worldview, nuance of
  conjoining existence.

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• The guardian mentioned
• ...didinya memang éta jalan hadé jeung goréng.
  Ngan hadé nu mana goréng nu mana. Ulah gorengna
  goréng teuing. Hadé ge ulah hadé teuing. Sabab
  goréng teuing kacida, hadé teuing pare ogé loba
  teuing bera mah euweuh eusian, hapa. Euweuh
  araheun, hadé teuing. Siger tengah. (Handap)
  teuing bisi jongklok, tukang teuing bisi
  jongklok. Geura panggihan, geura tepungan anu aya
  dina wujud. Geura tepangan anu aya dina raga,
  geura wincik anu aya dina diri, geura papay anu
  aya dina rasa.
• (... there is good and bad. Yet one have to
  carefully understand both. It is better if it is
  not too bad or not too good. Because both are
  excessive, Too many grains of rice, they are
  empty. Too good is aimless. Be comprehensive. Too
  low one can fall, too high either. Find this out
  within. Discover this inside the body, perform
  self-management, be aware of your conscience)
• The guardian implements apposition of paradox
  like good/bad (hade/goreng), male/female
  (lalaki/awewe), day/night.
• This is not only about how to balance ones
  perception toward the paradox.
• One enables to perceive both sides simultaneously
  and that both are subsisted and correlated.

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• Awareness of this paradoxal correlation is
  symbolised in terms Siger tengah or in my
  translation be comprehensive. This term
  associates with the idea of inclusive middle.
  Here is the middle functioning as inclusive
  connectivity between what are regarded polarized
  pairs. This is not a third way exclusively
  presents side by side the other polars. The
  paradox is correlating insofar as they are first
  implied each others existence, alternatively
  they are affirmative.
• In another interpretation, Siger denotes
  crown or corona. Semiotically, this crown or
  corona symbolizes circle of light, something
  honored and perfect. Such a circle posits that
  comprehensive worldview which includes paradox
  and each side of paradox explains the others
  presentation. Man explains presentation of
  woman, and vice versa.

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A comparison with Dao De Ching chapter 2 the
development of the self

• Reciprocity and Correlative mind (Karyn L. Lai,
  2001)
• Therefore having and not having arise together
• Difficult and easy complement each other
• Long and short contrast each other
• High and low rest upon each other
• Voice and sound harmonize each other
• Front and back follow one another
• Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing,
  teaching no-talking
• (xiang) (?) each other, zhi (?)
  equivalence, wú wéi ??? ?doing nothing
• Paradox is interwoven.
• Comprehensive worldview,
• Wisdom of affirmative life.

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The vaginal passage
The Lawang Saketeng
Thumb-carved pillar of Prabu Silihwangi
The stone of motherhood
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