Arca Totok Kerot or Recå Thothokkerot IPA: ətʃɔ ʈɔʈɔʔ kərɔtis a statue (Jav. ''arcå'' or ''recå'' means "statue") located in Bulusari Village, Pagu District,

Kediri Regency Kediri Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') located in East Java province, Indonesia. It is one of two ' Daerah Tingkat II' that has the name 'Kediri' (The other is the City of Kediri). It covers an area of 1,523.92 km2 and had a population ...

, Indonesia; about 2 kilometers north-east of Simpang Lima Gumul. It is made of

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

stone, depicting a giant with a terrifying face. The style is that of a

dvarapala A Dvarapala or Dvarapalaka (Sanskrit, "door guard"; IAST: ' ) is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or fearsome giant, usually armed with a weapon - the most common being the ''gada'' (mace). The dvarapala statue is a widespre ...

. Based on the style, it is suggested that it was made in the 10th century.

Physical features

The face and other ornaments also suggest that it is a representation of a female ''butå''. This is unusual since most dvarapala statues show male characteristics. Arca Totok Kerot is 3 meters tall. The hair is matted, covering the upper part of the back. A kind of tiara with a glimpse of skull is seen above the forehead covering the ears. The eyes are protruding, creating a terrifying effect, as if it were angry. Like many other dvarapala statues, it kneels on one knee. The left knee touches the ground while the right knee is erected, on which the right hand is laid. The left hand is missing, so it is unknown if it originally held a ''gådå'' (mace) like other dvarapala statues. All hands and legs are wearing ''binggêl'' (bracelets). The nipples are clearly shown on the breast, another indication that it is female. It wears a necklace of skulls, usually worn by worshipers of

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. A girdle is encircling its waist, on which some kind of skirt is hanging.

Discovery and excavation

The statue was discovered in 1981. In 2013, due to an imminent plan by the local government to enlarge the road near Arca Totok Kerot, an excavation was hastily carried out searching for other archaeological remains. The excavation was conducted by the East Java Hall of Cultural Heritage Preservation (''Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Jawa Timur''). The possibility was considered because

statues were usually placed to guard a temple complex or other important sites. The excavation took place for six days. The team dug an average 1.5 meters into the surrounding ground, in some points even 4 meters. However, no other archaeological remains were found. Eventually, the excavation was terminated and the cavities were filled. The road in front of the statue was then enlarged.

Folklore related to the statue

Tales were abound surrounding the statue. Some were already documented and many others were still transmitted orally. Some tales related the statue to the legendary character

Calon Arang Calon Arang is a character in Javanese and Balinese folklore dating from the 12th century. Tradition calls her a witch, a master of black magic. It is unknown who composed the story, but a manuscript of the Calon Arang text (written in the Latin ...

, but such connection was refuted by Timoer (1981). Others were connected to the legendary king

Jayabaya Jayabhaya or Jayabaya ( Javanese spelled: Ratu Jayabaya) was the Javanese King of the Kediri Kingdom in East Java, Indonesia which ruled around 1135-1159 CE. With the title of ''abhiseka'' used is Sri Maharaja Sang Mapanji Jayabhaya Sri Warmesw ...

(Santosa, 2005).

Notes

References

* Timoer, Soenarto (1981). ''Thothokkerot; Cerita Rakyat sebagai Sumber Penelitian Sejarah'', Balai Pustaka * Santosa, Edy & Oemaryanto (2005). ''Cerita Rakyat dari Kediri, Jawa Timur'', Grasindo

External links