Gajah Mada
gigatos | March 9, 2022
Summary
Gayamada (Gajah Mada, d. 1364)) was a celebrated military man and advisor to Emperor Hayam Wuruk of Mayapajit. He was, after the emperor himself, the most powerful and popular person at court, holding the title of patih or prime minister.
During his lifetime the Mayapajit Empire occupied most of the Indonesian archipelago and some territories beyond it, reaching its splendor precisely thanks to Gayamada”s fleet, which conquered places from parts of New Guinea to the east to islands of the Philippines to the north, including unidentified territories that could even belong to the northwest coast of Australia.
In the mid-twentieth century his idealized figure was turned by Indonesian nationalism into a national hero, symbol of the first unification of the vast island nation.
Not much is known about Gajamada”s early years, but he was born into an ordinary family. Some chronicles mention his career as a commander of the Bhayangkara, an elite royal guard for the king of Majapahit and the royal family.
When Rakrian Kuti, one of the officials in Majapahit, rebelled against King Jayanegara (ruled 1309-1328) in 1321, Gajamada and the then mahapatih Arya Tadah helped the king and his family escape from the capital city of Trowulan. Later, Gajamada helped the king return to the capital and crush the rebellion. Seven years later, Jayanegara was assassinated by the court physician Rakrian Tanca, one of Rakrian Kuti”s aides.
Another version suggests that Jayanagara was killed by Gajamada himself in 1328, who had arranged for the surgeon to assassinate the king while pretending to perform surgery.
Jayanegara was immediately succeeded by his half-sister Tribhuwana Wijayatunggadewi (ruled 1328-1350). It was under his leadership that Gajamada was appointed mahapatih (prime minister) in 1329, after the retirement of Arya Tadah.
As a mahapatih under Queen Tribhuwana, Gajah Mada succeeded in suppressing the rebellion of Sadeng and Keta in 1331.
It was during Gajamada”s rule as mahapatih, around 1345, that the famous Muslim traveler, Ibn Battuta, visited Sumatra.
It is said that during his appointment as mahapatih under Queen Tribhuwanatunggadewi, Gajah Mada took his famous oath, the Palapa Oath or Sumpah Palapa. The oath is described in the Pararaton (Book of Kings), an account of Javanese history dating from the 15th or 16th century:
“Sira Gajah Mada pepatih amungkubumi tan ayun amukita palapa, sira Gajah Mada: Lamun huwus kalah nusantara Ingsun amukti palapa, lamun kalah ring Gurun, ring Seram, Tanjungpura, ring Haru, ring Pahang, Dompo, ring Bali, Sunda, Palembang, Temasek, samana ingsun amukti palapa “
“Gajah Mada, the prime minister, said he would not taste any spices. Gajah Mada said: If Nusantara (Nusantara= Nusa antara= outer territories) is lost, I will not taste “palapa” (“fruits and
While it is often interpreted literally to mean that Gajah Mada would not allow his food to be spiced (palapa is the combination of pala apa = any spice, palapa is the combination of pala apa = any spice, palapa is the combination of pala apa = any spice, palapa is the combination of pala apa = any spice.
Even his closest friends at first doubted his oath, but Gajah Mada continued to pursue his dream of unifying Nusantara under the glory of Majapahit. Soon he conquered the surrounding territory of Bedahulu (Bali) and Lombok (1343). Later he sent the fleet towards the west to attack the remains of the thalassocratic kingdom of Srivijaya in Palembang. There he installed Adityawarman, a prince of Majapahit as vassal ruler of the Minangkabau in western Sumatra.
He then conquered the first Islamic sultanate in Southeast Asia, the Kingdom of Samudra Pasai, and another state in Svarnadvipa (Sumatra). Gajah Mada also conquered Bintan, Tumasik (Singapore), Melayu (now known as Jambi), and Kalimantan.
After the resignation of Queen Tribuwanatunggadewi in favor of her son, Hayam Wuruk (reigned 1350-1389) became king. Gajah Mada retained his position as mahapatih (Prime Minister) under the new ruler and continued his military campaign expanding eastward to Logajah, Gurun, Seram, Hutankadali, Sasak, Buton, Banggai, Kunir, Galiyan, Selayar, Sumba, Muar (Saparua), Solor, Bima, Wandan (Banda), Ambon, Timor, and Dompo.
Thus, he effectively placed the modern Indonesian archipelago under Majapahit”s control, which encompassed not only the territory of present-day Indonesia, but also Temasek (the former name of Singapore), the states comprising modern Malaysia, Brunei, the southern Philippines and East Timor.
In 1357, the only remaining state to reject Mahapajit hegemony was Sonda, in West Java, bordering the Majapahit kingdom. King Hayam Wuruk pretended to marry Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, a Sundanese princess, daughter of the king of Sonda. Gajah Mada was given the task of going to Bubat Square, in the northern part of Trowulan, to welcome the princess when she arrived with her father, and escort them to the Majapahit palace.
Gajah Mada took this opportunity to claim Sonda”s submission to Majapahit. While the king of Sonda believed that the royal marriage was a sign of new alliance between Sonda and Majapahit, Gajah Mada thought otherwise. He declared that the princess of Sonda was not to be received as the queen of Majapahit, but merely as a concubine, as a sign of Sonda”s submission to Majapahit. This misunderstanding led to embarrassment and hostility among the royal entourage, a skirmish broke out, and the battle spread through Bubat. The king of Sonda with all his guards as well as the royal retinue were surrounded by Majapahit”s troops, and subsequently killed in Bubat Square. The tradition mentions that the princess Dyah Pitaloka Citraresmi, disconsolate, committed suicide.
Hayam Wuruk was deeply shocked by the tragedy. Courtiers, ministers and Majapahit nobles blamed Gajah Mada for this imprudence, and the brutal consequences it led to were not to the liking of the Majapahit royal family. Gajah Mada was disgraced and spent the rest of his days at his Madakaripura estate in Probolinggo in East Java.
Gajah Mada died in obscurity in 1364.:240 King Hayam Wuruk considered the power that Gajah Mada had accumulated during his time as mahapatih too much for one person to handle. Therefore, the king divided the responsibilities that had been Gajah Mada”s, among four new mahamantri (ministers), which probably increased his own power. It is said that King Hayam Wuruk was a wise leader, capable of maintaining Majapahit”s hegemony in the region, obtained during Gajah Mada”s service. However, Majapahit slowly fell into decline after the death of Hayam Wuruk.
His reign, as part of the Indo-sphere or region of Southeast Asia under the cultural influence of India, helped the Indianization of Javanese culture to take root through the spread of Hinduism and Sanskrit. The Mahabarata and the Ramayana were translated into Javanese and the wayang kulit or traditional shadow theater became widespread.
The royal house Blahbatuh in Gianyar, Bali, has told the idealized history of Gajah Mada in a ritual mask dance since the XVI century. The mask of Gajah Mada has been protected and handled every two years to unite and to harmonize the world, since this sacred ritual is pretended to bring the peace to Bali.
Gajah Mada”s legacy is important to Indonesian nationalism, and invoked by the Indonesian nationalist movement of the early 20th century. Nationalists prior to the Japanese invasion, notably Sukarno and Mohammad Yamin, often cited the Gajah Mada oath and the Nagarakretagama as inspiration and historical proof of Indonesia”s past greatness – because then Indonesians could unite for the first time, despite the vast territory and various cultures. The Gajah Mada campaigns united the islands within the Indonesian archipelago under Majapahit rule, which was used by Indonesian nationalists to argue that an ancient form of unity had existed prior to Dutch colonialism. Thus, Gajah Mada was an important inspiration during the Indonesian National Revolution for independence from Dutch colonization.
In 1942, only 230 indigenous Indonesians had studied higher education. The Republicans tried to redress the Dutch apathy and established the first state university, where native Indonesian pribumi were freely admitted. Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta was named after Gajah Mada and was completed in 1945, having the honor of being the first medical school open to indigenous people. The first telecommunication satellite launched by Indonesia was named Satelit Palapa symbolizing its function of uniting the country. Many cities in modern Indonesia have streets named after Gajah Mada, such as Jalan Gajah Mada and Jalan Hayam Wuruk. There is a brand of badminton shuttlecocks named after him as well.
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