Kalingga ꦏꦫꦠꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦏꦭꦶꦁꦒ (Jawa) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th century–7th century | |||||||
 | |||||||
| Capital | Precisely unknown, suggested somewhere betweenPekalongan andJepara | ||||||
| Common languages | Old Javanese,Sanskrit | ||||||
| Religion | Hinduism,Buddhism,Animism | ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| Raja | |||||||
• circa 674 | Shima | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | 6th century | ||||||
• Disestablished | 7th century | ||||||
| |||||||
| Today part of | Indonesia | ||||||
Kalingga (Javanese:Karajan Kalingga;Chinese:訶陵;pinyin:Hēlíng;Middle Chinese: [hɑ.lɨŋ]) orShe-po orShe-bo (Chinese:闍婆;pinyin:Shépó;Middle Chinese: [d͡ʑia.buɑ]) in Chinese sources,[1] orHo-ling in Arabic scriptures ofUmayyad Caliphate era;[2] was a 6th-centuryIndianized kingdom on the north coast ofCentral Java,Indonesia.
It was the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Central Java, and together withKutai andTarumanagara are the oldest kingdoms inIndonesian history.
The archaeological findings and historical records from this period are scarce, and the exact location of kingdom's capital is unknown. It is thought to be somewhere between present-dayPekalongan orJepara. A place namedKeling subdistrict is found in northern coast ofJepara Regency, however somearchaeological findings near Pekalongan and Batang regency shows that Pekalongan was an ancient port, suggests that Pekalongan might be an altered name of Pe-Kaling-an. Kalingga existed between the 6th and 7th centuries, and it was one of the earliest Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms established in Java. The historical record of this kingdom is scarce and vague, and comes mostly from Chinese sources and local traditions.[citation needed]
The theory regarding contact between caliph Mu'awiyah with queen Shima of Kalingga has become a basis for further analysis about history of Islam inMinangkabau conference in 2011 and earlier conference about History of Islam in Indonesia in 1963, which researches suggested that the earliest contact ofNusantara civilizations with Islam were occurred in 7th AD century between Arabian peoples with southeast Asia, contrary to most popular belief that Islam were brought to Nusantara, particularly Java island, by Indian merchants and preachers.[3]
Azyumardi Azra, an Indonesian culture expert, accepted thisArab theory regarding the earliest contact of Islam in Java, although he also noted that the spread of Islam during queen Shima and Mu'awiyah era were not as vigorous as the later era in 15th AD century.[4] The denomination ofArab theory which introduced by Hamka were supported by researcher who linked the founding of Islamic tomb inBarus,Sumatra island which traced in 7th AD century, thus establishing the theory regarding the existence of trade route between Kalingga kingdom,Srivijaya empire, and Umayyad caliphate.[5]
The Chinese sources come from China and date back to theTang dynasty. In book 222 of theNew history of the T’ang dynasty, it is stated that:
Ka-ling (訶陵) is also called Djava (阇婆), it is situated in the southern ocean, at the east of Sumatra and at the west of Bali. At its south it has the sea and towards the north liesCambodia (真臘, Chenla).
The people make fortifications of wood and even the largest houses are covered with palm leaves. They have couches of ivory and mats of the outer skin of bamboo.
The land produces tortoise-shell, gold and silver, rhinoceros-horns and ivory. The country is very rich; there is a cavern from which salt water bubbles up spontaneously. They makewine of the hanging flowers of thecoco palm, when they drink of it, they become rapidly drunk. They have letters and are acquainted with astronomy. In eating they do not use spoons or chopsticks.[6]: 13 [7]
It is stated that the king lives in a town called Djava, Djapa, or Djapo (闍婆Shépó). There is also a district calledLang-pi-ya (郎卑野州Lángbēiyě-zhōu) on the mountains, identified by Groeneveldt asDieng. Groeneveldt argues that Djapa may be referring to Japara, but he does not hold a firm belief in that.[6]: 13–15
According to the Chinese Buddhist monkYijing, in 664 a Chinese Buddhist monk named Huining (會寧Huìníng) had arrived in Heling and stayed there for about three years. During his stay, and with the assistance of Jnanabhadra, a Kalinga Buddhist monk migrated from Kalinga Kingdom of Ancient India,he translated numerous BuddhistHinayana scriptures.[8][9]: 79
In 674, the kingdom was ruled byQueen Shima, famous for her fair yet harsh rule. According to tradition, one day a foreign king placed a bag filled with gold at the intersection in Kalingga to test the fame truthfulness and honesty of the Kalingga people. Nobody dared to touch the bag that did not belong to them until 3 years later when Shima's son, the crown prince, accidentally touched the bag with his foot. The queen issued a death sentence to her own son but was overruled by a minister who appealed to the queen to spare the prince's life. Since it was the prince's foot that touched the bag of gold, it was decided that the foot must be punished through mutilation.[8]
According to Indonesian historians seminar which organized byAceh provincial government,[10] andHamka, queen Shima has managed to establish contact withMu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan the firstUmayyad caliph and fifthQurayshite caliph.[11][12][13] According toReuben Levy, queen Shima regards Mu'awiyah asking of Ta-cheh (大食君Dàshí-jūn) in regards of Arab caliphate.[14] Both Hamka,[15] and Levy though that the envoys of Umayyad managed to reach Kalingga kingdom due to the improvements of caliphate maritime navigation, as Mu'awiyah were focusing theEarly Caliphate navy at that time.[14] Levy also gave figure that the Mu'awiyah possession of as many as around 5,000 ships in 655, were the reason why the caliphate envoys manage to safely reach Kalingga during queen Shima reign, despite the length of distance between two nations.[16]
According toCarita Parahyangan, a book composed in later period, Shima'sgreat-grandson isSanjaya, who is the king ofSunda Kingdom andGaluh Kingdom, and also the founder ofMataram Kingdom.[citation needed]
Between 742 and 755, the kingdom had moved further east from the Dieng Plateau, presumably in response to the expansion of the BuddhistSailendra dynasty.[9]: 90
The Tukmas inscription was estimated to be originated from Kalingga period. It was discovered on the western slope ofMount Merapi, at Dusun Dakawu, Lebak village, Kecamatan Grabag,Magelang Regency, Central Java, and is written inPallava script inSanskrit tells about a clear spring water that is so sacred that adored as the analogue of holyGanges's source in India. The inscription also bears Hindu signs and imageries, such astrisula,kamandalu (water jar),parashu (axe),kalacengkha (shell),chakra andpadma (red lotus), those are symbols ofHindu gods.[citation needed]
Another inscription dated from around the same period is theSojomerto inscription, discovered in Sojomerto village, Kecamatan Reban,Batang Regency, Central Java. It is written in the Kavi script inOld Malay language and is estimated to be from the 7th century. The inscription tells about a ruler named Dapunta Selendra, the son of Santanu and Bhadrawati, and the husband of Sampula. Indonesian historian Prof. Drs. Boechari suggested thatDapunta Selendra was the ancestor of theSailendras who later ruled in theMataram Kingdom.[citation needed]
Both inscriptions suggest that in the 7th century, a Hindu Shivaist kingdom flourished on the northern coast of Central Java, now identified as the Kalingga Kingdom. Some of the oldest Javanesecandis can also be found in the mountainous surrounding areas of northern Central Java, such as the Hindu temples ofDieng Plateau and theGedong Songo temples, but they were probably built in a later period, during the early Mataram Kingdom. Historians suggest that there was a link between this old kingdom and the later kingdom that flourished in the southern part of Central Java, specifically theKedu Plain, known as the Sailendra of the Mataram Kingdom.[citation needed]
