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July 7, 2010 edition

Panji (translates as “flag or standard”) is a popular East Javanese love story from the 14th century. It tells the story of Prince Panji Inu Kertapati who goes in search of his beloved, Princess Candra Kirana, who he has lost. To this day, the story of Panji is still very much alive in the art of the masked dances of East Java.
German archeologist named Lydia Kieven became interested in studying the reliefs of Panji on the ancient temples of East Java. For years she climbed up and down the East Javanese mountains in order to be able to carry out her study in this iconography. Her dissertation on Panji which she finished last year in Australia has produced voices both against as well as in favor of her thesis.
According to Kieven, the story of Panji is merely a symbol of the Tantric religion which was developing in East Java at the time. Tantrism is a religious belief which stresses that in order to reach God, a person must practice a certain manner of physical love ritual. Kieven was present at the Panji Arts Festival held in the front compound of the Penataran Temple in Blitar, East Java, in mid-June. The following is Tempo’s report on this new interpretation of Panji which also includes a report on the condition of the temple sites of East Java where Panji reliefs are located.

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More Interlude articles in other editions

June 30, 2010 edition

“This is not a novel but an indictment,” was more or less the theme of the 190 years’ celebration of the birth of Douwes Dekker also known as Multatuli, the former Assistant Resident of Lebak who later wrote the book Max Havelaar. In Holland the name is currently used by a tourist ship, a road, a discussion group, and a host of other things.
The Universiteit van Amsterdam has proposed the novel Max Havelaar as part of world heritage literature. The following are several articles based on Tempo’s reports covering Havelaar in Amsterdam and in Lebak.

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