Semar, the Guardian of Nusantara

Tauhid Nur Azhar

Whenever I have the opportunity to work in Solo, I always choose a simple guest house near the West City Field for a simple reason. It’s close to the Sriwedari Cultural Park, because I want to visit and watch the wayang orang performance there as much as possible.

The Sriwedari wayang orang has a long history that dates back to the 19th century and is usually performed regularly in the Puro Mangkunegaran area. However, after the death of Mangkunegoro V in 1896, the Sriwedari wayang orang group lacked financial support and had to perform in various neighborhoods.

Fortunately, they were eventually taken in by Bon Rojo, now known as Taman Sriwedari, thanks to the initiative of Sunan Pakubuwono X. In 1928–1930, the wayang orang group was built a performance hall with a capacity of 500 spectators. In 1951, the capacity of the performance hall was increased to accommodate 1,000 spectators.

As a collective, the Sriwedari wayang orang group began to have an official organization in 1911, but only started commercializing entertainment in 1922. The development of Sriwedari wayang orang in the community became more popular with the emergence of wayang broadcasts on Solosche Radio Vereeniging.

Today, Sriwedari wayang orang has started to transform and utilize various technological developments, from showing synopses and narrative translations on the side screen with the help of LCD Projectors to using social media for promoting programs and performance schedules. Now, Sriwedari wayang orang is active on Instagram. Generation Z and millennials are also starting to attend its performances because they’re curious or have FOMO, right?

From the schedule displayed on IG, I know that on October 23 this year, there will be a performance of Semar Tigas Kuncung. From that information, I started searching for information on KA Lodaya tickets from Bandung to Solo and back on Access by KAI. Plus, I opened the Red Doorz app to book my favorite guest house. Why? Because Semar is so special.

For me, regardless of the wayang performance or the model of wayang from any region, the presence of Semar, the Karang Tumaritis village head, is always something I look forward to. The goro-goro scenes in wayang orang or kulit, including those rich in edutainment, such as those often performed by the late Ki Enthus Susmono, a renowned dalang who was also the Regent of Tegal, who was very skilled in playing Slenteng and Lupit with a genius narrative, as well as Ki Seno, the late dalang, and the “kecanggihan” of wayang Golek Giri Raharja Kang Asep Sunandar Sunarya, the late dalang, who could “muntah-muntah”, always captivate me with great attention.

But Semar’s presence in the goro-goro scenes of WO Sriwedari is truly special. He’s a quiet speaker and often teased by his children, but Semar appears wise, as well as very down-to-earth and humble.

But in a more esoteric context, Semar is a character with a story background that is so special, especially in the cultural context of Java. Who is he, exactly?

Janggan Smarasanta, Ki Lurah Badranaya; Ki Lurah Nayantaka, Tualen, Bathara Sang Hyang Ismaya, Batara Iswara, Jurudyah Punta Prasanta, and several other nicknames are attached to the figure known as Semar in Javanese and Sundanese wayang traditions.

This character was originally born from the womb of the pewayangan Nusantara universe and does not exist in any other wayang tradition except in Indonesia. His presence is like a personification of a bridge connecting the sacred world of the gods with the profane world of humans.

According to historian Prof. Dr. Slamet Muljana, the character of Semar was first found in a literary work of the Majapahit era titled Sudamala. In addition to being in the form of kakawin, the story of Sudamala was also carved as a relief in Candi Sukuh, dated 1437.

Other literary sources about the character of Semar include several ancient manuscripts from Java. For example, in the Purwacarita manuscript, it is told that Sanghyang Tunggal married Dewi Rekatawati, the daughter of Sanghyang Rekatatama. From this marriage, a glowing egg was born.

The egg then hatched and became three parts: the yellow yolk, the white yolk, and the eggshell. Where the eggshell became Antaga, the white yolk became Ismaya, and the yellow yolk became Manikmaya.

Because Antaga and Ismaya disagreed over succession, they were punished to descend to the earth and lose their privilege as the sons of the gods. Antaga then became known as Togog, who partnered with Bilung Sarawita, and Ismaya became known as Semar, the Lurah Badranaya, who was accompanied by his three children: Nala Gareng, Petruk, and Bagong.

In the ancient manuscript Serat Kanda, it is told that the ruler of the heavens, Sang Hyang Batara Nurrasa, had two sons. The first son was Sang Hyang Batara Tunggal, and his brother was Sang Hyang Batara Wenang/Sang Hyang Asip Prono or Sang Hyang Asip Rono.

Sang Hyang Batara Wenang later became the king of the gods in the heavens, where he would later inherit his throne to his son, Betara Guru. Meanwhile, Sang Hyang Batara Tunggal descended to the earth and became the guardian or caretaker of humanity. He would later be known as Semar.

However, this charismatic figure from Java also has a genealogical source that is quite diverse, because there are other manuscripts that tell about his origin in a different version, although there are some common points on crucial issues.

For example, in the Paramayoga manuscript, it is told that Sang Hyang Tunggal was the son of Sang Hyang Wenang. Sang Hyang Tunggal then married Dewi Rakti or Batari Rakti, a daughter of the king of the crab, Sang Hyang Yuyut. From this marriage, a glowing egg was born, which later became two men.

The two were given the names Ismaya for the one with black skin, and Manikmaya for the one with white skin. Ismaya felt inferior and made Sanghyang Tunggal unhappy. The throne of the heavens was then inherited by Manikmaya, who became known as Batara Guru.

Meanwhile, Ismaya was only given the position of ruler of the Sunyaruri world, or the place of residence of supernatural beings. The eldest son of Ismaya, Batara Wungkuhan, had a son with a round body named Janggan Smarasanta, or Semar. He became the caretaker of the descendants of Batara Guru, including his grandchildren.

But there’s something unique, the genealogical origin of Semar from several manuscripts has some similarities, such as the presence of a crab goddess named Dewi Rekatawati or Dewi Rakti, the daughter of Sang Hyang Yuyut, the crab king. This means that the crab has a certain symbolic meaning related to the origin of the universe.

In the field of astronomy, it is known that there is a nebula called the Crab Nebula, which is about 6,500 light-years away from Earth and is part of the constellation Taurus. Observations of the Crab Nebula were made using the James Webb telescope with its MIRI and NIRCam facilities.

According to NASA’s observations, the Crab Nebula is the result of a supernova caused by the death of a massive star due to its core collapse. The supernova explosion itself was visible on Earth in the year 1054 AD and was bright enough to be seen during the day. The fainter remnant observed today is a shell of gas and dust that is expanding, and a wind powered by a pulsar, a rapidly rotating and highly magnetized neutron star.

But is there a connection between Dewi Rekatawati and the Crab Nebula? Wallahualam bissawab, what is clear is that many phenomena in the universe can be a learning medium for us all, especially in the context of seeking the essence of existence and giving meaning to the process of its journey.

Let’s go back to the topic of Semar again. In wayang golek, the character of Semar is depicted as having black skin, a white face, 99 strands of hair, and fingers that are clenched except for his index finger, which is raised like when performing tasyahud in prayer. With a sturdy body and black skin that is grounded, Semar is considered to be in control and skilled in the arts of Saepi Geni (fire), Saepi Bayu (wind), Saepi Banyu (water), and Bumi (earth). (Permana FE, Literat Republika, 2022)

Semar seems to be a symbol of anthropology that represents the cultural values that are believed and are the accumulation of communal ideas of a population that is located in a specific habitat with a unique ecosystem that requires a unifying method that is also a virtual guide in processing wisdom and managing various problems related to the dynamics of reality in the same dimension of space and time.

Perhaps it’s a bit close to some hypotheses about conspiracy theories and why we or a group of people easily accept conspiracy theories. In Douglas et al. (2019) quoted by Gilang (2022), there are at least three motives related to why a condition is easily believed to be a conspiracy, namely the epistemological motive, the existential motive, and the social motive.

The epistemological motive is related to cognitive aspects. In other words, a person believes in conspiracy theories to get an answer to an uncertain situation, to complete limited information, and to reduce the confusion felt.

The existential motive is related to the need to feel safe in an environment and the desire to be able to control a situation in an environment.

When someone or a group does not have control over something, they tend to believe in conspiracy theories.

The third motive is the social motive, which is related to the desire to maintain a good reputation. A person or a group that is isolated and lacking in everything tends to use conspiracy theories as a reason to maintain their good reputation.

Then, Wanodya (2018) explained three other factors that make people believe in conspiracy theories, namely the hyper-logical factor, anxiety relief, and western phobia.

Hyper-logical is a behavior that has been carefully calculated from the actions that will be taken. As a result, the goal, action, and effect can be well connected without any gaps. People who have this way of thinking do not have a place for things that cannot be predicted. For them, there is no such thing as coincidence, and everything happens according to the plan of a bad person or group.

In the approach of anxiety relief (anxiety relief), conspiracy is closely related to positions, roles, and interests. As a result, there will be a party that is considered to be a threat or a hindrance to the conspirators achieving their goals. As a result, conspiracy is considered a way to eliminate the tracks of the conspirators.

Westernphobia usually occurs in countries that were once colonies and often believe that the superiority of Western countries is involved in various events that affect the region or area.

The discussion above related to conspiracy theories and motives is not an attempt to discredit the importance of the presence of cultural and spiritual figures like Semar. Rather, it is more of a tool that functions as a construction of thought about the emergence of a need for a concept of hope that is “grounded” and can become an anchor or a cultural anchor that can navigate in the midst of the ocean of life that is full of turmoil of interests in various forms of inter-acting relationships that are colored by power control transactions.

The importance of the presence of a symbol of hope and reference related to the manifestation of values of life may be categorized as part of the conspiracy of the universe that has brought about the machine of perception in our minds. Where the machine with cognitive and emotional technology or affectivity makes us always construct information into knowledge that is believed and determines attitudes and decisions that are lived.

As a result, a model of interaction is created because cognition in turn will develop communication and literacy as an effort to disseminate perception through a mechanism of projection.

Therefore, the presence of the character of Semar, which physically represents all the semiotic symbols related to communal values that have accumulated and are agreed upon below the surface as the core value that was born through acclamation and consensus, is part of the subconscious wisdom that should be given space, because it is a representation of intelligence and wisdom that is the result of the integration of the peak of super-cognition and affectivity in the conscious dimension that is rich in various information.

So, if I’m asked personally, is there a good conspiracy? I will answer: of course, there is. One concrete example is the presence of the character of Semar. A clever and wise effort to build a collective awareness about the importance of internalizing noble values that were born from the womb of culture as it has matured a civilization over time.

For those who don’t know Mbah Semar, let’s watch Wayang Orang, Wayang Kulit, or Wayang Golek. You can watch it at Sriwedari Solo, or at a village festival, it’s the same, because there is a tradition that ensures that the communication channel is open, but there are values that will always emerge through various choices of words and ways of speaking in processing the narrative.