Antaboga
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King of Worldly Serpents | |
 A 19th century Balinese-style drawing by I Ketut Gedé, depicting a Balinese man named Juarsa worshipping Antaboga. | |
| Other names | Anantabhoga (in Kawi) |
| Javan-Bali scripts | |
| Venerated in | Javanism, Sundanism, Balinese Hinduism |
| Texts | Wawacan Sulanjana |
Antaboga (from Kawi Anantabhoga; Javanese: ꦄꦤ꧀ꦠꦨꦺꦴꦒ; Sundanese: ᮃᮔ᮪ᮒᮽᮧᮌ; Balinese: ᬅᬦ᭄ᬢᬪᭀᬕ), or colloquially also known as the Javan Dragon Snake deity is a serpent deity in Javanism and Sundanism (later also adopted in Balinese Hinduism).[1]
Nomenclature
[edit]Antaboga was not originally called "Antaboga" natively. But the "Antaboga" nomenclature was derived from Javanese portmanteau term of Antaboga (inherited from Anantabhoga in Old Javanese) during the Hinduization era of Java, which might possibly be rooted from two Sanskrit words, namely Āṉanta (अनन्त, lit. ' the Divine Snake') and Bhoga (भोग, lit. 'coil').
History
[edit]Antaboga was originally a theriolatry form of the native Javanese dating back to ancient times or before the arrival of foreign religions (e.g. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islamism, Christianity, etc.) on the native Javan land. It is derived from the actual native Javan dragon snake (Xenodermus javanicus), originally and traditionally venerated in Javanism folk religious belief, widely practiced by the local Javanese since pre-Islamic era (before the Islamization of Demak Kingdom, which later transformed as Demak Sultanate). The Javan dragon snake is traditionally worshiped and held significant core values within the native Javanese and Sundanese ethnic communities.
According to the Sundanese historical ancient manuscripts which documented the native Javanese' beliefs, Antaboga was responsible for the birth of fertility goddess; one of the examples is as recorded in Wawacan Sulanjana, which mentioned that the Javan fertility goddess emerged from the tears shed by Antaboga that turned into an egg.[2][3]
After the Islamization of Java era, specifically within the society of Demak Kingdom, the worshiping of Antaboga was legally prohibited and the Demak Javans who still held on to their beliefs started to migrate from Java to Bali to survive their belief system. This migration led the nomenclature emergence of "Antaboga" itself, which assimilated the native Javanese folk belief with the Hinduism; the name itself derived or drew its inspiration from the Balinese Hinduism literature, which retells the story of Śeṣa (one of its names is Āṉanta), later adopted by the Javan-Balinese as the apposite of their own native Javan Dragon Snake-worshipping form.
According to the Demak Javans who have assimilated as the Balinese, Antaboga holds significant contribution in creatures-making process, believed to be the creator of Bedawang, from which all other creations sprang.[4]
Mythology
[edit]
At the beginning of time, only Antaboga existed. Antaboga meditated and created the world turtle named Bedawang from which all other creations sprang.[4] In Javanese and Balinese mythology, Antaboga has two offsprings, a male named Bambang Naga Tatmala and a female one named Dewi Nagagini.[1]
According to Sundanese myth, Antaboga was also responsible for the birth of Dewi Sri, the rice goddess of Java and Bali. According to Wawacan Sulanjana, Dewi Sri emerges from the tears that turned into an egg, shed by Antaboga.[5][6]
These days many of the old myths and legends are celebrated in the wayang performance that became a vehicle to combine the syncretic philosophies from outside with those philosophies and ideas already rooted within the local cultures and traditions.
Depictions
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In Javanese art, Antaboga is often depicted as a crowned serpent. As a divine serpent symbolism, it is applied into ornaments and decorative carvings. Generally it will appear on gong decorations as a symbol of the Javanese dragon. Artefacts of ancient objects are also generally decorated with Javanese dragon figures, such as keris, temple doors, stairs railings and other Javanese ornaments.[1]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Pranata, Galih (24 August 2021). "Mengenal Sang Hyang Antaboga, Naga dalam Mitologi Jawa dan Bali" (in Indonesian). National Geographic Indonesia. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
- ^ org/web/20120905215151/http://www.sunda.org/sundanese/myths.htm "Early Mythology - Dewi Sri". Sunda.org. Archived from .htm the original on 2012- 09-05. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help); Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|archive-date=(help) - ^ .com/mrtaufik/blog/2008/03/01/mitos-nyi-pohaci-sanghyang-asri-dewi-sri "(Indonesian) Myth Nyi Pohaci/Sanghyang Asri/Dewi Sri". My.opera.com. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ a b Tresidder, Jack (2005-03-03). [https ://books.google.com/books?id=MV25OktTqLIC&dq=Antaboga&pg=PA36 The Complete Dictionary of Symbols]. Chronicle Books. p. 36. ISBN 0-8118-4767-5.
{{cite book}}: Check|url=value (help) Cite error: The named reference "Chronicle Books" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ "Early Mythology - Dewi Sri". Sunda.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- ^ "(Indonesian) Mitos Nyi Pohaci/Sanghyang Asri/Dewi Sri". My.opera.com. 2008-03-01. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
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