Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri or Shridevi is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. She is often associated or equated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the shakti of Vishnu.
History and origin
The worship of the primordial rice goddess has its origin in the prehistoric domestication, development and propagation of rice cultivation in Asia, possibly brought by Austroasiatic or Austronesian population that finally migrated and settled in the archipelago. Similar but slightly different rice spirits and rice deity mythologies are widespread among Indonesian ethnicities and also in neighbouring countries, e.g. in Thailand and Cambodia.The name "Sri" was derived from Sanskrit which means wealth, prosperity, health, beauty, good fortune and also the other name of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
Denys Lombard in his book Le Carrefour Javanais. Essai d'Histoire Globale argues that the mythological character of Dewi Sri was originated from India. In Hinduism, the goddess Sri is known as Lakshmi, the shakti or consort of Vishnu. However, the worship of the rice goddess in the Indonesian Archipelago, which is associated with Dewi Sri, has widely spread even in the areas that were not exposed to Indian influences.
Titi Surti Nastiti, a researcher of Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional however, suggests that the veneration of the goddess of rice has older origin, the rice goddess has been worshipped from the prehistoric period prior of Hindu-Buddhist influence in the archipelago. Several statues made from stone and bronze identified as "Dewi Sri" were found in Indonesia, more specifically from ancient Java. Examining the mudra and lakshana of the statue, Indonesian Dewi Sri iconography is different from the murti of goddess Sri Lakshmi found in India. In India, the depiction of Lakshmi often shows her holding padma in her hands. The depiction of Dewi Sri in Indonesia has always been related to the goddess of rice. The practice of paying homage to the goddess of rice or the goddess of fertility had already existed before Hindu-Buddhist influences to the archipelago.
Therefore, the siplin of ancient Java often depicted the goddess Sri as the goddess of rice. The siplin in ancient Java has a different concept of the goddess Sri as the shakti of Vishnu. The depiction of the goddess Sri is inseparable from the concept of her as the goddess of rice that has been worshipped from the prehistoric period. Therefore, Dewi Sri has a distinctive attribute that depicts this, which is her left hand holding a sprig of rice. In Indonesian society, the veneration of the goddess of rice is very closely related to the fertility worship and its important role in agriculture.
Regional variants
The mythology of Dewi Sri is native to Java, among Javanese and Sundanese populations, also linked to Hinduism in the archipelago since early as the first century. She was equated with the Hindu goddess Shri Lakshmi, and often regarded as an incarnation or one of her manifestations. The goddess is also associated with wealth and prosperity.In Java, the oldest Javanese manuscript that mentioned about the legend of Dewi Sri is Tantu Pagelaran. Tantu Panggelaran is a Javanese literary work in the medieval Javanese language, which is a transition language between ancient Javanese and modern Javanese. It is estimated was written in the Majapahit era, circa the 15th century.
In West Java Dewi Sri is known as Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri. Sundanese manuscripts that mentions the legends of Nyai Pohaci among others are Wawacan Pohaci, Cariyos Sawargaloka, Wawacan Sanghyang Sri, Wawacan Puhaci Dandayang, Wawacan Dewi Sri, and Wawacan Sulanjana.
Meanwhile, one of the legends related to Dewi Sri in Central Java is Sri Sedana. In Madura island, the figure of Dewi Sri is identified as Ratna Dumilah. In Bali, Dewi Sri is also known as Sri Sadhana, Rambut Sadhana, Dewi Danu, or Dewa Ayu Manik Galih. In North Sumatra, the mythological figure of Dewi Sri appears in the Daru Dayang story.
The Buginese of Southern Sulawesi has a myth about Sanging Serri
written in the ancient manuscripts Sureq Galigo. The main theme of Sangiang Serri story is actually almost the same as the story of Dewi Sri in Java. As in Ende, the story of Dewi Sri is present in the story of Bobi and Nombi. Dewi Sri is also known as Ine Pare or Ine Mbu. There is also a story that refers to Dewi Sri on Kei Island, Maluku, through a story about a young man named Letwir. Javanese and Balinese influences are believed to be behind the existence of this story, because paddy and rice are not the staple food of the Kei people.
Attributes and legends
Dewi Sri is believed to have dominion over rice, the staple food of Indonesians; hence life and wealth or prosperity; most especially rice surpluses for the wealth of kingdoms in Java such as Sunda, Majapahit and Mataram; and their inverse: poverty, famine, hunger, disease. She is often associated with the rice paddy snake.Mythology
Most of the stories regarding Dewi Sri are associated with the mythical origin of the rice plant, the staple food of the region. Examples of this can be found in the "Wawacan Sulanjana":Once upon a time in heaven, Batara Guru, the highest god, commanded all the gods and goddesses to contribute their power in order to build a new palace. Anybody who disobeyed this commandment would be considered lazy and would lose their arms and legs. Upon hearing the Batara Guru's commandment, one of the gods, Antaboga, a Nāga god, became very anxious. He didn't have arms or legs, and he wasn't sure how he could possibly do the job. Anta was shaped like a serpent, and he could not work. He sought advice from Batara Narada, the younger brother of Batara Guru. But unfortunately, Narada was also confused by Anta's bad luck. Anta became very upset and cried.
As he was crying, three teardrops fell to the ground. Miraculously, after touching the ground, the teardrops became three beautiful shining eggs that looked like jewels or pearls. Batara Narada advised him to offer these "jewels" to the Batara Guru, hoping that the gift would appease him and he would give a fair judgment, taking into account Anta's disability.
With the three eggs in his mouth, Anta went to the Batara Guru's palace. On the way there, he was approached by an eagle who asked him a question. Anta kept silent and could not answer, as he was holding the eggs in his mouth. Because of his perceived unwillingness to answer, the bird thought Anta was being arrogant, and it became furious and began to attack Anta. As a result, one egg fell to earth and shattered. Anta quickly tried to hide in the bushes, but the bird was waiting for him. The second attack left Anta with only one egg to offer to the Batara Guru. The two eggs that had fallen to the earth became the twin boars Kalabuat and Budug Basu.
At last, he arrived at the palace and offered his teardrop in the shape of a shiny egg to the Batara Guru. The offer was graciously accepted, and the Batara Guru asked him to nest the egg until it hatched. Miraculously, the egg hatched into a very beautiful baby girl. He gave the baby girl to the Batara Guru and his wife.
Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri was her name, and she grew up into a beautiful princess. Every god who saw her became attracted to her, even her foster father, Batara Guru started to feel attracted to her. Seeing the Batara Guru's desire for his foster daughter, the gods grew worried. They feared that this scandal might destroy the harmony in heaven, so finally, they conspired to separate Nyi Pohaci and the Batara Guru.
To keep the peace in the heavens and to protect Nyi Pohaci's chastity, all the gods planned for her to die. She was poisoned, and her body was buried somewhere on earth in a far and hidden place. However, because of Sri Pohaci's innocence and divinity, her grave showed a miraculous sign; for at the time of her burial, some plants grew from the ground that would forever benefit mankind. From her head grew coconut; from her nose, lips, and ears grew various spices and vegetables, from her hair grew grass and various flowering plants, from her breasts grew various fruit plants, from her arms and hands grew teak and various wood trees, from her genitals grew Kawung, from her thighs grew various types of bamboo, from her legs grew various tuber plants, and finally from her belly button grew a very useful plant that is called padi. In some versions, white rice grew from her right eye, while red rice grew from her left eye.
All of the useful plants, essential for human needs and well-being, are thought to come from the remnant of Dewi Sri's body. From that time on, the people of the Island of Java venerated and revered her as the benevolent "Goddess of Rice" and fertility. In the ancient Sunda Kingdom, she was considered the highest goddess and the most important deity for agricultural society.
Most Dewi Sri myths involve Dewi Sri and her brother Sedana, set either in the kingdom of Medang Kamulan or in Heaven or both. In all versions where Sedana appears with Dewi Sri, they end up separated from one another, through either death, wandering, or a refusal to be married.
Some versions make a correlation between Sri and the large Rice Paddy Snake and Sadhana with the paddy swallow.
The nāga or snake, particularly the king cobra is a common fertility symbol throughout Asia, in contrast to being considered representative of temptation, sin or wickedness as in Judeo-Christian belief.
Depiction
Dewi Sri is always depicted as a youthful, beautiful, slim yet curvaceous woman, with stylised facial features idiosyncratic to the respective locale, essentially a woman at the height of her femininity and fertility. In Javanese iconography, Dewi Sri is usually depicted wearing green, white or golden yellow clothes with regal jewelry attire, similar to Hindu goddess Laxmi, and holding a rice plant with full rice grains in one of her hands as her attribute.High Javanese culture reflecting the wayang aesthetic dictates she is depicted with a white face, thin-downward cast eyes and a serene expression. There is much cross-pollination between the qualities, aesthetics and so forth between the deity Dewi Sri and the wayang character Sinta in the Javanese version of the Ramayana and the same for Rama with Sedhana.
The loro blonyo statue also has some overlap with Dewi Sri and Sedhana. Balinese people have certain rituals to rever Dewi Sri by making an effigy as her representation from janur, lontar leaf, or from cakes made of rice flour.