Tantric Temples: Eros and Magic in Java

445 Pages·2011·21.28 MB·English

by  Peter Levenda

Published in 2011 by Ibis Press An imprint of Nicolas-Hays, Inc.
P. O. Box 540206
Lake Worth, FL 33454-0206
www.ibispress.net

Distributed to the trade by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
65 Parker St. • Ste. 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright © 2011 by Peter Levenda
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from Nicolas-Hays, Inc. Reviewers may quote
brief passages.

ISBN 978-089254-169-0

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Levenda, Peter.
Tantric temples : eros and magic in Java / Peter Levenda.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: “A history of tantra in Java and its origin and practice and how it
has influenced and interacted with Tibetan Tantra, Hindu mysticism and Sufi
Islam and Western sexual magical practices. Illustrated with full color photos
of old and newly excavated and uncovered temples, along with with statues and
iconography dedicated to practices in shrines, cemeteries and secret
schools.”—Publisher's description.
ISBN 978-0-89254-169-0 (alk. paper) 1. Tantrism—Indonesia—Java—
History. 2. Tantric Buddhism—Indonesia—Java—History. 3.—Sex—
Religious aspects—Tantrism. 4. Hindu temples—Indonesia—Java. 5. Buddhist
temples—Indonesia—Java. 6. Java (Indonesia)—Religion. I. Title.
temples—Indonesia—Java. 6. Java (Indonesia)—Religion. I. Title.
BL1283.835.I52J335 2011
204'.46—dc23
2011033581
Book design by Studio 31.
www.studio31.com

Printed in China

FRONTISPIECE: This is a view of the volcanic eruption that struck Merapi in
2010 as the author was completing this book. The building in the foreground is
the Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), the “Harvard of Indonesia.” Many of
the Temples shown in this book were damaged by being covered in volcanic
ash. Experts grieve over the setback to their efforts in uncovering and
preserving these ancient treasures. The White Temple at Candi Kimpulan was
uncovered in late 2009 just before the latest eruption and has since been
covered again. Borobudur has also been damaged.

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Magic is merely eroticism applied, directed, and aroused by its performer.
1
IOAN COULIANO
1 Ioan P. Couliano, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1987), p. xviii.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This is always the trickiest part of any book. So many people have influenced
the process of writing a book that it is impossible to credit all of them. Like
most writers, I always credit family and friends … and then realize that I have
enlarged my social sphere in the act of creating a book to the extent that new
friends are made and new families formed, all while I wasn't looking.
With that in mind, then, I happily acknowledge the impact made on this
project by Donald Weiser and Yvonne Paglia, who recognized the value in such
a study very early on and encouraged me to write what would become an
investigation of Tantra as well as of the amazing Tantric temples of Java; and
by James Wasserman, whom I have known for more decades than either of us
cares to count, and whose unerring eye for the aesthetics of book publishing has
contributed to this volume in an immediately obvious way.
To Nina Rojas, for her early and steady support.
To Sophie Anderson, for the same.
To my two Indonesian colleagues, without whom I would have never known
that there were such things as “Tantric temples” in Java and who kindly and
patiently led me by the hand to visit them and photograph them: Sita Hidayah
and Wilis Rengganiasih Endah Ekowati, the former a brilliant professor of
anthropology and the latter an expert in the very strange and wonderful dance I
describe in chapter eight. Semangat!
To Jean-Pascal Elbaz, of Sangam Restaurant (easily the best Indian
restaurant in Yogyakarta), who co-authored a remarkable trilingual guidebook
to the temples and who suggested that I visit Candi Ijo … which I'm glad he
did, since it contributed some very strange experiences to this study.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brian Geubtner, of the Pittsburgh and Brooklyn Geubtners.
To Monstracita and her faithful if snide companion, Pit Pitico.
To the Luce Foundation, which financed my first academic trip to Indonesia
in 2007, and to the (sometimes) embattled Religious Studies Department of
Florida International University: ¡Venceremos!
And, in the same spirit, to Universitas Gadjah Mada—the “Harvard of
Indonesia”—which tolerates the intrusion of many dazed and inquiring minds
from abroad such as my own.
And finally to the people of Yogyakarta, Indonesia who suffered so much
during the devastating eruption of Mount Merapi that took place in October
2010 while I was finishing this book, I dedicate this humble endeavor and hope
that it will encourage more foreigners to visit Indonesia and especially
Yogyakarta.
CONTENTS
Introduction
A Note on Languages
SECTION I: THE TANTRIC CONTEXT
CHAPTER 1: An Introduction to Tantra
CHAPTER 2: Introduction to Javanese Mysticism
SECTION II: THE TANTRIC TEMPLES
CHAPTER 3: Borobudur
CHAPTER 4: Prambanan and Sewu
CHAPTER 5: The Temples of Mount Lawu and the Production of Amrita
CHAPTER 6: Candi Ijo and the Creation of the World
CHAPTER 7: Candi Kimpulan, the White Temple
SECTION III: TANTRIC PRACTICE
CHAPTER 8: Sacred Marriage and the Goddess of the Southern Ocean
CHAPTER 9: Love and Marriage in a Javanese Cemetery
CHAPTER 10: Kabbalah, Tantra, and Sexual Gnosis
CHAPTER 11: Tantra, Magic, and the West
CONCLUSIONS

Glossary
Bibliography
Index