Monday, June 22, 2009

Borobudur

Borobudur is located at Magelang, in Central Java, about 40 km North West of Yogyakarta, 1,5 km northest of The Pawon, and 3 km northeast of the Mendut. It was built in the ninth century as a shrine to Buddha, and abandoned in the fourteenth century after the decline of the Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, when the Javanese converted to Islam. After Borobudur was abandoned in ancient times it was mentioned twice in two historical Javanese texts Babad Tanah Jawi (1704) and Babad Mataram (1754). It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, British ruler of Java. A complete restoration did not take place however until 1907, under the guidance of a Dutchman, Theodorus Van Erp. He worked on the project until 1911.
Borobudur is a giant mountain-building. It is built entirely on a natural hill. The base is about 118 m (387 ft) on each side. Nine terraced layers rise around the hill to a height of about 46 m (150 ft), covering the entire hill. Although there is a stairway leading directly to the summit, there are 4.8 km (3 miles) of original passageways and stairways inside the monument. Exploring these and finding a way to the top is like stepping back in time 1,000 years, to when the temple was built.
This 1907-1911 restoration was established to primarily focus on cleaning the sculptures, and excavating the grounds around the monument to find missing Buddha heads and hidden panel stones. The restoration project did not address and solve the drainage problem. Within few decades, the gallery walls were sagging and the relief showed signs of new cracks and deterioration. Theodoor van Erp used concrete from which alkali salts and calcium hydroxide are leached and transported into the rest of the construction. This has caused some problems that a further thorough renovation is urgently needed (Soekmono, 1973). In 1968, the Indonesian government and the United Nations, working through UNESCO, launch the "Save Borobudur" campaign. Over the next fifteen years, twenty million dollars are raised to support a bold plan: the complete dismantling and reconstruction of the lower terraces of the monument – stone by stone. Professionals from twenty-seven countries join their Indonesian counterparts to carry out the project.
Over one million stones are moved during the course of restoration, and set aside like pieces of a massive jig-saw puzzle. Thirteen hundred carved panels are taken apart and individually cleaned, catalogued and treated for preservation. And Borobudur becomes a testing ground for new conservation techniques – new procedures to battle the microorganisms eating away at the stone. Experts in engineering, chemistry, biology and archaeology all share their skills to solve the multitude of problems. The restoration takes eight years of labor and unprecedented international cooperation to complete.
In the words of Professor Soekmono, the Indonesian archaeologist who directed the Borobudur Restoration Project: "Borobudur has resumed its old historical role as a place of learning, dedication and training. We might even conclude that the builders of the monument hoped and planned for such continuity. An excellent training program, either for the pilgrim-devotee or for the field technician, is always based on a wish, a fervent wish, that the trainee will achieve what is projected. For the ardent Buddhist it is the Highest Wisdom that leads to the Ultimate salvation, and for the technician the highest degree of expertise that leads to the appropriate fulfillment of his duty. In both cases, Candi Borobudur is the embodiment of such a deeply felt wish. It is a prayer in stone."The international character of the project now being ensured by a National Executive agency, a UNESCO Coordinator and an International Consultative Committees, the government and UNESCO signed a formal agreement in January 1973 in Paris. In August 1973 the start of the project was announced by President Republic of Indonesia, inspite of the fact that the international fundraising campaign had only just been started. The significance of Borobudur Temples has an outstanding universal value and UNESCO world cultural heritage inscribed the temple and its surrounding in the World Heritage List in 1991 no. C 592. The Vesak annual ritual is observed by Indonesian Buddhists during the full moon in May or June, by walking from Mendut, passing through Pawon, and ending at Borobudur.

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