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The Legend Of The Dewadaru Tree
By Leonard
The Dewadaru tree is mostly found to the north of the island of Java,among the Sunda islands of Karimunjava, in the Java Sea, bearing thecoordinates of Latitude 5° 52' S, and Longitude 110° 26' E. It has ahuman population of approximately 20,000 people. The Dewadaru tree hadbeen sanctified by the local inhabitants of the island for countlessgenerations as a result of a myth perpetuated by the elders of thesociety. In one of the local dialects, "daru" means "blessing fromheaven," while "dewa," (derived from Sanskrit) is the Indonesian termfor "god." "Dewadaru" is thus interpreted as the "gift of the gods,"implying that this tree genus is a tangible symbolic gift from thegods/esses to the islanders. To the local inhabitants, the Dewadarurepresents the wisdom of the gods in maintaining the harmony,stability, and peacefulness of Nature. The Dewadaru is believed to bethe protective guardian of the living souls on the Karimunjava islands.
According to the legend, there was once a man living on the island ofJava who was furious with his son for constant disobedience. The man,although he loved his son dearly, strove to inculcate in him a certainhard lesson. So one day he drove his son away from home with thewarning that he was not to set foot on Java again.
Not willing to disobey his father again, he prepared himself for thejourney. In sadness, the son left Mt. Muria where they dwelt and movedon to the open seas to the north. He sailed on a boat for many daysthrough stormy weather and amidst huge waves, not really knowing hisdestination and perhaps with little will to survive. Then one day, hisboat landed on the shores of a small, uninhabited island.
Meanwhile, from the peak of Mt. Muria in Java, the boy's father wassecretly watching over his son clairvoyantly. But for some reason hisvision was vague and unclear, and thus lost track of the whereabouts ofthe boy on that island. In the old Javanese language, the word "vague"is translated as kerimun. Thus the island became known as"Karimun-java."
The boy continued his journey inland bearing two wooden staffs aswalking sticks to assist his journey. He retrieved these from theshore. These two short poles wounded him while his boat was capsized toshore by the sheer power of the waves. In the middle of the forest hepoked the two staffs to the ground and started to rest from thetiresome journey. Miraculously, in that very instant the two staffsgrew into magnificent trees. In awe of the incident, he named them"Dewadaru." In the present day, the place where he rested now standsthe village of Nyamplungan.
Nowadays, although not too numerous, there is a substantial amount ofDewadaru trees growing on the islands-the descendants of the very firsttwo. The remains of the original, fabulous Dewadaru trees may still beseen. The humps are there as if to substantiate the truth of thelegend. The descendants of the magickal trees grow in hill-slopes ofthe islands and are not easily accessible.
In proximity to the once glorious trees is a grave that until now isstill being sanctified by the locals. On certain nights-such as JumatKliwon (a Thursday night occurring once in 35 days) of the Javanesecalendar, the grave would be visited by pilgrims desiring the blessingsof the spiritual adept to whom the grave belongs. The adept was knownas Sunan Nyamplungan from whence the village received its name.
For centuries, the Dewadaru tree or wood is believed by the inhabitantsof Karimunjava to possess magickal powers. Tested through time, thewood is said to heal poisonous bites, and aches or illnesses in theabdominal region. Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet forpersonal protection against evil persons as well as a weapon againstevil spirits. It is said that unlike other types of wood, the Dewadaru,even a small piece of it, sinks when placed in water.
Seventy-five kilometers away, as the crow flies, from the town ofJepara in Java, the Karimunjava islands has a scary myth related to theDewadaru. There is supposed to be a warning by the regional spiritsthat the sacred Dewadaru wood or tree is not to be taken out of theislands without the concession of the spiritual guardians of the area.Whosoever violates this, even by taking a small piece of the wood,incurs the wrath of Nature and calamity befalls him or her not longafter. The usual mishap is the sinking or the immobility of the vesselthat the person travels on to journey back to the mainland. Sometimesit could be a fatal illness after the trip. Often the person dies atragic death in a freak "accident." At first this myth was regarded asa superstition, but several instances of this have been recorded.
In regards to the sinking of unfortunate vessels transporting the wood,some observers have noted of unusual events beforehand. Signs andwarnings are given from the invisible world. Tales of these spiritcommunications and unheeded warnings abound. One story in particularrelates of an old woman appearing to the captain of a vessel warningthat the boat or ship was carrying the sacred wood and that this wastaken from the region without permission and the required ceremony.Before disappearing, she warned the captain to unload the illicitlygained item. The captain did not heed her request and as a result, thevessel that he commanded en route to the Java mainland sank to thewatery depths. Before the ship sailed even the villagers of the islandwere given omens that the vessel was doomed. Many of them heardblasting sounds on the nearby Nyamplungan hill. Careful investigationsrevealed nothing that could have produced those noises. It is said thatto this day these sounds still occur whenever a ship or a boat isdestined to plunge into Davy Jones' locker. In 1981 a mishap wasprevented from occurring. There was a ship on its way to Java from theKarimunjava islands.
Somewhere in the middle of the sea its enginestalled and it became immobile. Moments later everyone on board,passengers and crew, panicked. Out of the calm sea, huge waves suddenlyappeared, threatening to capsize the vessel. The captain realizing whatwas wrong in haste called upon the passengers to throw into the sea anyDewadaru wood that they were carrying. One person confessed that he hadsome of the wood in his possession. This was quickly cast into the seawith apologies to the spirit guardians of Karimunjava. Amazingly,minutes later the waves subsided.
There are always two sides to a coin. The above myth also has adifferent aspect: if by any chance the Dewadaru wood finds its wayoutside of the Karimunjava islands, the wood would double its potencyand act as a powerful catalyst to awaken the dormant occult facultieswithin its possessor or user. The energy of the wood itself is a potentamulet against all forms of black magick and it also wards off negativeentities, as mentioned previously. Dewadaru is also worn as protectiveamulets against the jettatore, the evil eye. From the metaphysicalviewpoint, the dryads or spirits of the trees are especially empoweredand their power or virtues are occultly inherent within the wood. Theenergy of the Dewadaru wood has a beneficent influence upon thepsychosomatic system of man. The village shamans say that the Dewadaruis an exclusive gift to the people on the island, one reason why thespiritual guardians of the region do not permit the wood to be exportedunless with special concession.
There are numerous strange stories related to the magickal Dewadarutree or its wood. To the local inhabitants these are no longer a matterof belief but knowledge and conviction gained from day to dayexperience. Being sacred, the Dewadaru is used only for devotional andprotective purposes. One hardly finds the villagers using this wood forthe fashioning of furniture or as a building material; and only thecourageous would use it in their spiritual activities. The trees arenot too numerous on the islands nowadays and therefore they areforcefully preserved. The Dewadaru is esteemed highly for theirtraditional and cultural value, and regarded as the totem guardians ofthe island. Because the occult power of the Dewadaru is well known,many disrespectful outsiders plunder the wood seeking to possess andmisuse the power within it for egoic purposes. But it is also believedthat Sunan Nyamplungan, the guardian of the island, or his proxy, playsa role in protecting the place from pilferers. Some say that the Adeptsometimes appear as a gigantic bat to those who carry-out theirnegative intentions.
In 1992, the faculty of biology of the University of Gajah Madaconducted some research on the Dewadaru and the report of theiranalysis states that this tree is quite rare and not easily propagated.There are two strains to be found in the Karimunjava islands: the firststrain is Dewadaru Baccaurea Sumatrana from the Euphorbiaceae family.The second, Fagraea Elliptica from the Loganiaceae family.
The Dewadaru is supposed to be found solely in the Karimunjava islands.Although almost unheard of, there is at least one Dewadaru tree to befound in Java in the area of Mt. Kawi in the region of Malang, EastJava. Strangely enough, those living in this area sanctify the leavesrather than the wood.
Mt. Kawi is well-known for its pilgrimage site for those seekingwealth. The tree grows nearby a grave of someone who was known as EyangJugo, a metaphysical practitioner of royal descent. It is said thatthose sitting underneath the Dewadaru tree and is fortunate enough tohave a leave or two fall on their heads out of their own accord, thenthis is a sign that great financial blessings or wealth will bebestowed upon them. It is thus not surprising to find people sitting oreven spending the night 'neath the shade of the tree hoping to catch aleaf-fall. People come from all over Java hoping to transform theirfate with a simple sitting. However, even with strong winds, seldomdoes a leaf detach itself from the branches with the hope andexpectation of the sitters. Many return to their normal lives indisappointment. At times those standing quite a distance from the treeare often blessed with a falling leaf, often blown by a non-existingwind. There are tales of those who disbelieved in the sacredness of thetree and mockingly place a leaf upon their own heads. The result wasthat on their way home from the mountain they encountered tragicmishaps.
The origin of the Dewadaru tree at this particular site of pilgrimagehas a similar tale as the one of Karimunjava. Both were the result ofthe insertions of walking staffs into the grounds. According to thelegend, Eyang Jugo once journeyed with a companion to his close friendR.M. Imam Soejono, who lived on Mt. Kawi. Along the way he rested in ashady area. It was there that he received intuitively from the spiritplanes that his life was drawing to a close. He advised his travelcompanion that where he died, it was there that he was to be buried.Further along the way Eyang Jugo suddenly stabbed the ground with hisstaff and expired. The staff filled with the power of Eyang Jugo,suddenly grew into a tree. The Chinese people living in the precinctsof Eyang Jugo's gravesite called the tree "Shian Toho," and this wastranslated into Javanese as "Dewadaru."
As mentioned above, the Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet.Those able to acquire a rosary fashioned from it for spiritual ordevotional purposes is indeed fortunate, for it is rare that anyone isgiven the permission to secure this wood from the islands and to tapinto its inherent magickal virtues.
Copyright © 2006 Luxamore
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