In the beginning, Java was an island floating on the ocean. The waves tossed it here and there like a piece of cork. To ensure that the unpopulated island remained in its position, a nail was needed to peg it into the earth. And this nail was in the form of a hill…

In Javanese mythology, this nail is believed to be Tidar Hill, located in Magelang. The notion that a mountain is a cosmic center is not uniquely Javanese. Expert in the histor