The tree of life (pohon budi), a leaf-or tree-shaped puppet carved from skin or leather which opens and closes all performances of the shadow puppet play (Wayang Kulit). It is sometimes also utilized during a performance as a stage property to represent a tree, a forest or a mountain. From the collection of master puppeteer Pak Dollah of Kelantan. Photograph by William Ha raid-Wong.
JEBAK PUYUH (QUAIL TRAP) (FL010)
Restored in Kelantan, late 20th c., angsana wood, bamboo floor, ivory door, ribu-ribu ribs, kapas binding, 33.4 x 30.8 x 23. 1 cm
Restored by Nik Rashiddin Nik Hussein, this old quail trap features a new front of angsana wood and ivory. Bunga tanjung motifs decorate the panels flanking the door. Leaves of the saga kenering, a type of creeping plant with black-spotted red beans, are used to form the gunungan. Two mythological sea monsters (makara) with ruby eyes are carved on the stepping board which triggers the net trap when a bird alights on it. The original basketwork cage (not visible) is very finely woven. (See also pages 100-3.)
The ketam guri motif used on the gunungan of the mosque pulpit on pages 26-7. Drawing by Norhaiza Noordin.
Petals of the bunga teratai (lotus) form the decoration at the foot of the grave of Che Ku Tuan Nawi at Makam di Raja, Langgar, Kota Bharu (see pages 60-1).
The concept of semangat serves as our starting point. Semangat has been (sometimes erroneously) translated as 'spirit', 'life force', 'soul' or 'essence'. None of these translations is entirely correct. An understanding of the concept of semangat first requires an understanding of the cardinal concepts of Malay cosmology itself. Scholars like Skeat (1900), Maxwell (1907), Endicott (1970) and others have attempted to construct a rational typography of concepts and values found in Malay metaphysics. Although there remains much work to be done to fully enumerate and classify the components that make up this manifold universe, we are now better able to speak about the hierarchy of concepts and values that make up the order of knowledge in the Malay metaphysical system at least.
From the Malay point of view, the universe is made up of a myriad of elements and objects that all come from one common source, the Creator itself. Mere existence in the world is already a miracle that testifies to the presence of a Creator and the link between creation and its Creator. Even a speck of dust owes its existence to this point of origin and prime mover of all things. Everything that exists, living or inanimate, bears the mark of the Creator in some way or other. This understanding of the process of creation, and of the link between human beings and the Creator, had existed even in the pre-Islamic era, but with the coming of Islam it was revised and developed further under the rubric of the concept of Tauhid, or the Unity of God.
The most rudimentary trace of this link to the Creator is what Malays refer to as the semangat or the 'vital force' of all things. It is a form of primal energy and vitality, invested in all things that are created as a result of the act of creation itself. It resides in all things that exist, and it disappears only when the object it belongs to is finally reduced to non-existence or non-being. At the most fundamental level, all things possess semangat to some degree or other.
Semangat is, in turn, linked to two other vital forces: nyawa (breath of life) and run (spirit of life). Living things possess the latter two elements while inanimate objects possess at least semangat. Human beings possess semangat, nyawa and ruh, the combination of which bestows man with rational agency, reflective intellect and creativity. It is also this that allows man to think and to realize his station in the universe, and through this knowledge to try to come to a better and more direct understanding of his relationship with creation and the Creator. Other living things may possess semangat and nyawa, but lack the intellectual and emotive capacities of human beings that allow for reflection and moral consideration. In the universe of the Malays, there are numerous lesser evolved spirit entities that may well react and interact with human beings, but without the moral considerations and deliberation of rational agents. At times they appear as naively benevolent, while on other occasions they manifest themselves as amoral malevolent forces bent on mindless destruction and violence. Endicott (1970) has noted that for the Malays, living trees are of particular importance as they often serve as an abode for such spirits, good or bad.
CEILING PANEL OF PULPIT (RT019F)
Surau Langgar, Kelantan, 1874, cengal wood, 21.8 x 21.8 x 1.29 cm
This small panel from the ceiling of a mosque pulpit (mimbar) comprises entwined stems carved with Langkasukan motifs. The carving style is the same as that on the tomb of Che Ku Tuan Nawi (pages 60-1). The outline of each corner takes the shape of a lotus bud or stupa.
The living tree is therefore of particular importance to the Malays. In the past, they regarded trees as being hosts for spiritual entities and forces that were capable of interacting with the world of men. Trees were the homes of spirits, and they became the focal point of devotional rituals (puja) which were directed to the spirits contained within them. Malays regarded some trees as being particularly powerful and endowed, and the cult of trees and wood emerged as a result of this deeper understanding and appreciation of the tree as a key element in the configuration of the esoteric and exoteric Malay world. There evolved an adab of trees—a correct way of dealing with them—and Malays learnt how to speak, communicate and relate to trees in a way that was unique to them. Boys, from the time they were young, were taught to recite special prayers (doa) when entering a forest, to ensure that the trees would protect them and that they would not be accosted by any malevolent spirits that might be lurking in the wilderness. Up until today, these beliefs endure and there are still many of those who feel that certain trees such as the kemuning (Murraya paniculata) and the waringin (banyan) host powerful spirit entities that should not be provoked or offended unnecessarily.
GUNUNGAN OF PULPIT (RT019A)
Surau Langgar, Kelantan, 1874, angsana and cengal woods, 148 x 69 x 20 cm
Depictions of a gunungan are often placed over mosque pulpits. Carved following the natural curve of the wood, stems of the ketam guri are here treated like ropes woven around flowers of the same plant. An inscription from the Koran forms part of the notched and curving lintel, reflecting the essence of Malay design, where alternating convex and concave curves represent the unity and balance of life. This fine carving (see also pages 64-5) is on loan to the Kandis Resource Centre from Surau Langgar, Kota Bharu.
KORAN (RT005)
Kelantan, late 18th-early 19th c.
The opening pages from an early handwritten and illuminated Koran. Gunungan motifs encase the calligraphy on all sides. The corners are decorated with rosettes of daun sesayap, a motif described as a wing-like leaf also known as daun Melayu, and bunga tanjung.
Wood, on the other hand, possesses only semangat. After the death of the tree, the spirit force of the living organism often leaves it for good in search of other hosts. (Only in rare cases does the spirit choose to remain in the wood, in which case it becomes highly prized, revered and, at times, feared for its inherent spiritual power.) Yet the semangat of the wood endures, as it still bears the traces of its Creator and the miraculous event of creation itself. This semangat of wood also happens to be the one element that is shared in common with