Posted by PD USA on 4/11/2007, 5:42 am, in reply to "Re: KUJANG KHAS SUNDA"
Message modified by board administrator 4/11/2007, 5:54 am
> Written by Guru Brandt Hassan Ali and Guru Sean Stark
> Copyright 2003 Silat now! e-zine
> www.combat-silat.net
Kujang--the Talismanic Sickle
>
> There is a unique weapon that originates in Western
> Java, in the Pasundan (Sundanese) region. This
> weapon is called "kujang," (pron. "koo-jaang.")
> Lacking the proper English equivalent for this we
> have used the term, "sickle," eventhough its form
> somewhat deviates from the true shape of a sickle.
> Neither does it resemble the "scimitar" which curves
> convexly. In Indonesian a sickle is actually called
> "chelurit." The Javanese living in the eastern half
> of the Java island refers to the kujang as "kudi."
> To those who are uninformed, the indigenous people
> of the island of Java are not all "Javanese." The
> western part of the island is populated by a major
> ethnic group called "Sundanese." The kujang is the
> sole monument of the city of Bogor here in
> Indonesia.
>
> The kujang is filled with mysteries. It is said that
> it carries within its form a magickal force with a
> mystical purpose. Embodied within its original
> figure lied the philosophy of the ancient Sundanese
> with its Hindu heritage. It is evident from the
> foregoing that this mystic blade was created to be
> more of a talisman, a symbolical objet d'art, rather
> than a weapon. This is especially so regarded in
> contemporary times.
>
> The original creation of the kujang was actually
> inspired by a utensil used in farming. This utensil
> was widely used in the 4th to 7th centuries AD. The
> newly created kujang differed slightly from the
> tilling implements fashioned by the famed
> blacksmiths, Mpu Windusarpo, Mpu Ramayadi, and Mpu
> Mercukundo, as can be seen in the local museums. It
> was only in the 9th to 12th century that the form of
> the kujang took the shape that we are so familiar
> with today. In the year 1170 there was a change in
> the kujang. Its value as an amulet or talisman was
> gradually being recognized by the rulers and
> nobilities of the Pajajaran Makukuhan kingdom,
> especially during the reign of Prabu Kudo Lalean.
> During one of his spiritual retreats, Kudo Lalean
> was instructed through a psychic vision to re-design
> the form of the kujang to conform to the shape of
> the island of "Djawa Dwipa," as Java was called in
> those days. Immediately the sovereign king
> commissioned the royal blacksmith, Mpu Windu
> Supo, to fashion the blade seen in his vision. It
> was to become a weapon embodying mystical qualities
> and a spiritual philosophy; a magickal object,
> unique in its design, one that future generations
> would always associate with the Pajajaran Makukuhan
> kingdom.
>
> After a period of meditation, Mpu Windu Supo
> confirmed the vision of Kudo Lalean and commenced
> with the fashioning of a prototype of the Kujang. It
> was to have two prominent characteristics: the shape
> of the island of Java and three holes or round
> notches somewhere in the blade.
>
> Constructing the kujang blade into the shape of Java
> was interpreted to mean the ideal of unification of
> all the petty kingdoms of Java into a single empire,
> headed by the Makukuhan king. The three holes or
> round notches was to represent the Trimurti, or the
> three aspects of the godhead of the Hindu religion,
> of which Kudo Lalean was a devoted votary. The three
> aspects or gods referred to are Brahma, Vishnu, and
> Shiva. The Hindu trinity was also represented by the
> three major kingdoms of that era, respectively, the
> kingdom of Pengging Wiraradya, located in the east
> of Java; the kingdom of Kambang Putih, located
> north-east of the island; and the kingdom of
> Pajajaran Makukuhan, located in the west..
>
> The shape of the kunjang evolved further in later
> generations. Different models appeared. When the
> influence of Islam grew upon the masses, the kujang
> was re-shaped to resemble the Arabic letter "Syin."
> This was largely the stratagem of the sovereign of
> the Pasundan region, Prabu Kian Santang, who was
> anxious to convert the populace to Islam.
>
> Knowing that the kujang embodied the Hindu
> philosophy and religion of the existing culture, the
> muslim rulers, imams and teachers, anxious to
> propagate Islam and dessiminate its doctrines,
> re-modeled the kujang to represent the basis of
> their religion. Syin is the first letter of the
> syahadat verse of which one testifies to the
> witnessing of the sole God and the Prophet Muhammad
> (blessed in his name) as the messenger. By reciting
> the syahadat verse, one is automatically converted
> to Islam. The modification of the kujang broadened
> the area of the blade which geographically
> corresponds to the Pasundan or western region of
> Java to conform to the shape of the letter Syin. The
> newly-designed kujang was supposed to remind the
> possessor of the object of his allegiance to Islam
> and to the obedience of its teachings. Five holes or
> round notches in the kujang replaced the three of
> the Trimurti. They represented the five pillars of
> Islam.
>
> With the influence of the Islamic religion, some
> kujang models portray the inter-blending of the two
> basic styles as designed by Prabu Kudo Lalean and
> Prabu Kian Santang.
>
> Nowadays, the kujang is often decorated in homes as
> it is believed to bring about luck, protection,
> honor, etc. They are displayed in pairs on walls
> with the inner edge facing each other. There is a
> taboo, however--no one is to be photographed
> standing in-between them as this would somehow cause
> the death of that person within a year. I have been
> assured by a senior practitioner of Kejawen the
> truth of this, as he had witnessed this himself. Why
> this occurs is not known for certain, we might shrug
> it off as superstition, coincidence or synchronicity
> but behind every phenomenon cosmic laws and
> intelligences are at work; we just need to discover
> what those laws are and the mind-set of those
> metaphysical intelligences directing those laws to
> know the reason for the anomaly.
>
> From the occult side, like the keris, another weapon
> used by the indo-malayan natives, the kujang was
> often consecrated with magickal power and familiar
> spirits attached for specific purposes, such as the
> protection against psychic attack. Because of the
> inherent power of the kujang in conjunction with the
> presence of its spirit guardians, the well-informed
> natives revere them as sacred objects.
>
> Written by Guru Brandt Hassan Ali and Guru Sean
> Stark
> Copyright 2003 Silat now! e-zine
> www.combat-silat.net
>
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