The History of Java, v. 1-2

by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

Before the native sovereign was under this restriction, he used to raise the requisite force by a demand upon the governor of each province for a specified number, to be furnished at a certain time, varying according to circumstances. The governor or chief of the province apportioned this demand among the subdivisions, and the village chiefs selected from among the villagers as many as were required of them; and thus, in a country where every man wears a kris or dagger, and the spear or pike is the principal military weapon, an army, or rather a numerous armed mob, was easily collected in a few days. The men furnished from the villages, and of whom the mass of every large army necessarily consisted, were distinguished from the soldiers by profession (prajúrit), by the term árahan, or prajúrit árahan. During their absence from home, they were provisioned by the sovereign, and their wives and families were maintained by the head of the village, who required of the remaining cultivators to assist in working their fields or gardens.

The sovereign, as the head of the military and the fountain of military honour, assumes among his titles that of Senapáti, or lord of war. When an army is to be raised, he appoints a certain number of his chiefs to be widánas, or commanders of corps of three hundred and twenty men. Under each widána are four lúrahs or tíndihs, who command companies of eighty men, and have each two subaltern officers, called babákals or sesábats, each having the command of forty men. The widánas were remunerated for their services by grants of land, to the amount of a thousand cháchas, from which they had again to make assignments for the maintenance of the inferior officers, who were always nominated by them.

When troops march through the country, or supplies are required, a demand is made upon the neighbouring districts, which are obliged to contribute according to their means, without payment. When in an enemy's country, the troops, of course, subsist by plunder, the disbursement of money for provisions or supplies being unknown.

The native armies of Java consisted chiefly of infantry, but the officers were invariably mounted, and when cavalry was required, each province furnished its quota: the troops, whether on foot or mounted, joined the army properly equipped for action. It was thus unnecessary for the sovereign to keep up a store of arms. Each village has its provision of spears, and sometimes of fire-arms; the officer of subdivision keeps a further reserve for contingencies; and as the chief of the province is responsible for the proper equipment of the men, he generally has also a further store to supply any deficiency.

Of the different weapons used in Java, the most important and the most peculiar to the Eastern Islands is the krís, which is now worn by all classes, and as an article of dress has already been noticed.

The Javan krís differs from the Malayan, in being much more plain, as well in the blade as in the handle and sheath: it differs also in the handle and sheath from the krís of Madúra and Báli, as may be seen in the plate. The varieties of the blade are said to exceed an hundred; and as a knowledge of the krís is considered highly important by the Javans, I have, in a separate plate, offered specimens of the most common.

In the plates are also exhibited the different kind of spears, darts, and other weapons, either said to have been in use formerly, or actually used at the present day. These are the bow and arrow (gendewa, pana) which are seldom used in modern days, except on state occasions. The arrows, termed chákra, paspáti, trisúla, waráyang, diwál, róda dedáli, and others of a similar form, as well as the clubs called indán, gáda, and dénda, are represented as the weapons used by the gods, demigods, and heroes of antiquity, and are constantly referred to in the mythological and historical romances of the Javans, and exhibited in their scenic and dramatic entertainments. The túlup and páser represent the tube and the small arrows which are rendered poisonous by the úpas: these have not been used on Java for centuries, but they are common in less civilized islands of the Archipelago, and particularly on Borneo. The gánjing is an iron bar, formerly used by the Javans. The bandríny, or sling, is still used with considerable effect, and was employed in resisting the British troops in 1812. The pedáng, bandól, badík, golók, mentók, lámang or klewáng, and chundrík, are varieties of the sword. The kúdí-tránchang is a weapon which was formerly general on Java, but not now much used. The wedúng is a peculiar weapon, in the shape of a chopper, worn on occasions of state by all chiefs when in presence of the sovereign. Of spears and darts, there are several varieties distinguished by different names. Small round shields are still in use; the long shield is not. The matchlock exhibited in the plate is a representation of a piece manufactured on Báli.

Besides these instruments of war, the Javans have long been acquainted with the use of cannon, muskets, and pistols. Previous to the reduction of Yúgya-kérta, in 1812, by the British forces, the Sultan cast brass guns of considerable calibre, and at Grésik they are still manufactured for exportation. Round the kráton of Súra-kérta are mounted several very large pieces of artillery, and great veneration is paid to some of them supposed to have been the first introduced on the island: two, in particular, are considered to be part of the regalia. For muskets and pistols they are principally indebted to Europeans. Gunpowder they manufacture, but to no considerable extent, and the quality is not esteemed.

From an army raised only on emergency, and composed of people who do not make the military life a profession, much discipline cannot be expected. The veneration, however, which the common people pay to their chiefs, the well defined gradations of rank, and the devotion with which all classes are willing to sacrifice themselves in support of their ancient institutions and independence, seem to render the Javan troops, while acting under their own chiefs, orderly and tractable. In their tactics and conduct they endeavour to emulate the examples given in their ancient romances; and in the plans for their pitched battles, the march of their armies, and the individual heroism of their chiefs, they strive to imitate the romantic exhibitions contained in the poems of antiquity. In the great Matárem war, for instance, the result of which was the establishment of the present family on the throne, the disposition of the army is said to have been in the form of a shrimp or prawn, as represented in the plate. This form is termed mangkára, or the shrimp which hides its soul, alluding to the sovereign who is in the centre and not to be approached. The plan of this order of battle is said to have been taken from the poem of the Bráta Yúdha, and was adopted by Bimányu, the son of Arjúna. The diráda máta is another form, said to have been used by the army of Astína, and has likewise been adopted by the modern Javans[91].

Of the bravery and heroism required of a soldier, some notion has been given in the account of the Javan ethics; and a reference to their history, for the last three centuries, will abundantly prove, that although unacquainted with those evolutions and tactics which contribute so largely to the power of an European army, the Javans, as soldiers, have not been deficient, either in personal courage, or in such military principles as might be expected from the general state of society among them, and as are well suited to the nature of the country and the weapons they are accustomed to carry[92].