Ceto Temple, Harmony of Javanese

The prayers at Ceto Temple.

Vaguely heard a distinctive voice that Bali accent , "Ayo anak-anak sembahyang di althar Dewi Saraswati, biar kalian pinthar dan cerdas di sekolah" so said Pak Ketut to children and some nephews. The children immediately direct and immediately prostrate in front of the Goddess Altar of Dewi Saraswati. That is one part of the worship of Hindus who are far away from Bali to pray at  Temples on the slopes of Mount Lawu, Central Java. Before arriving here they had stopped and prayed from the temples scattered in several districts in East Java such as, Banyuwangi, Lumajang, and Kediri. Karanganyar regency becomes one of its aims, to go to Prambanan and Borobudur. Maybe if it may be termed, this is religious tourism.

This morning, misty still covered Kemuning tea plantation on the slope of Mount Lawu. The Sun is still hiding behind the majestic peak of Hargo Dumilah, which became the boundary of Central Java and East Java. Seen some tea plantation workers started to go to work. Down and down two-wheeled vehicles are modified into a trail bike with a roaring voice splitting the carpet of  Camellia sinensis. Slowly the rays of light from the eastern horizon on the back of Hargo Dumilah began to drill away into dim light. Welcoming the morning in the Kemuning tea garden with the sun getting warmer.

Slowly my vehicle was preceded by several mini buses DK police numbers. From inside the bus seen passengers dressed in black. The men were seen wearing a headband and women wearing buns. We are chasing to follow this group where to go. The Ceto Temple guide board bypassed the buses from Bali indicating they will worship in the temple.

In a parking lot had been lined buses  DK numbers and passengers have gone down. Some of its passengers are seen still cloaked the typical souvenir shop Candi Ceto at the entrance gate. Souvenirs of brass jewelry and precious stones, and all of the Hindu nuances. There is also a miniature statue of Lord Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Sarasvati, and Ganesha which is easily seen from its shape. This temple complex is used by local residents and also pilgrims who are Hindus as a place of worship / praying. In addition to Hinduism, Ceto Temple is also a hermitage for the Javanese / Kejawen (Javanese religion).

Slowly I follow this group while walking beside it while keeping the distance so as not to interfere. To the one in front of me asking if I can see the procession of praying and photographing it? My request was granted, but kept my distance so as not to disturb the worship. In the courtyard of the first temple they stopped and sat facing east on an altar. Seen they put out the offerings and some incense and then turned on. White smoke smelled of stinging smell and billowing fill the entire courtyard of the temple.

The prayer

"This is a good object if you want to be photographed" said a people while offering a bowl containing offerings. Looks like he understands what I want to take a picture of. Slowly I approached and some pictures I could get with a very close distance. I sat kneeling, taking pictures while listening to their prayers of spiritual aura. It appears that a worship leader, if not mistaken, is a pedande sprinkling holy water to the people. A moment of silence and the end of his worship then continue the worship at the place of another podiums.

Slowly they walked to the altar of Goddess Sarasvati located at the top end of Ceto temple complex. The flavor of puspa flowers (Schima wallichii) adds to the incense burning in some corners of the altar of the temple. After the prayer at the altar of Goddess Sarasvati then they headed to a spring and a house on stilts to put offerings. Not long they went down to the main temple at Temple. This time a guard came up to me and said, "Excuse me, other than worshiping enough to be here?" While pointing at a small gate as the entrance and exit from the altar. I sat with a guard while listening to the chanting of the prayers and the bells ringing.

Gate of Ceto Temple

Soon there came another group that wanted to pray, but they stopped at the pendopo to wait their turn. I then talked to one of the entourage. Apparently they are from a large family of Pasek scattered and live in Bali. This large family to do religious tourism, namely visiting the temples that exist in East Java and Central Java. They are all the way from Bali, which gets the nickname of the island of a thousand temples, but comes in a place where there are only a few temples. A brief conversation came to the conclusion that they wanted to make pilgrimages in their ancestors who were supposedly from Java and the consequences of civil war in Majapahit they had to move to Bali.

Ceto temple is one of the Hindu temple that was built around the 15th century during the Majapahit Kingdom. The historical record of Ceto Ceto was made by van de Vlies in 1842. In 1928 the buried temple excavation for reconstruction purposes and the discovery of a pent-up object was undertaken by the Archdiocese (Commissie vor Oudheiddienst) of the Dutch East Indies. This temple is estimated to be aged not much different from Sukuh Temple which is located not far away. Some of the statues found really show the nuances of Hinduism in this temple. Hindu aroma is more pronounced when at the completion of the restoration of a high gate built loomed similar to the existing gate in Bali. Construction of this gate is said to get opposition from archaeologists due to lack of attention to the original form of the temple.

Praying

Map of Ceto temple.

The temple is located in Ceto Village, Gumeng Village, Jenawi District, Karanganyar Regency. Karanganyar-Central Java regency becomes a place of worship and religious tourism. From Solo to the direction of Karang Anyar then proceed to Karang Pandan. A gate bearing Candi and Sukuh Temple will lead to the location. Eve is very cool to the location of Ceto Temple because it will pass through green Kemuning tea plantation at an altitude of 1400 m asl.

Hindu nuance is so thick considering the construction of this temple is when Hinduism gives a big influence on the Kingdom of Singosari and Majapahit. It is unique in Central Java with Hinduism being a minority but really giving color to its historical relics. The calendar of worship for Hindus is at the entrance of the temple, if you want to visit and want to see the process come in accordance with the schedule and feel the feel of Bali in the land of Java.