Queering Tropical Heritage: Flora and Fauna Reliefs in Karmawibhangga, Borobudur Temple, Indonesia

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.1.2024.4012

Keywords:

queer ecology, tropical heritage, Borobudur, Karmawibhangga reliefs

Abstract

Heritage inquiries into the Karmawibhangga reliefs of Borobudur Temple have not effectively revealed the degree to which flora and fauna serve as part of the network of interconnected stories depicted in the carvings of this Buddhist archaeological site in Indonesia. An exploration of the flora and fauna shown in the 160 panels of the Karmawibhangga reliefs moves beyond the accepted elucidation of the panels as mere depictions of the tenets of karma. Using approaches from intra- and extra-textuality, and tropical queer ecology to examine the flora and fauna motifs as social and environmental texts reveals the larger story within the Karmawibhangga panels. This ecological presence serves as a significant indicator of temporal, natural, and symbolically significant aspects of tropical heritage.

Author Biographies

Rusdianto Rusdianto, National Researh and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Indonesia

Rusdianto is a researcher at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Centre for Biosystematics and Evolution, BRIN, Indonesia. He is currently studying freshwater fish in Indonesia, including Sulawesi, Sumatra and Java, in the context of taxonomy, ecology and conservation. In the last three years, he has also been studying animal sculptures at Borobudur Temple in the context of biodiversity, iconography, archaeology and history. He has produced several scientific articles and books.

Ibnu Maryanto, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia

Ibnu Maryanto is a professor of zoology at the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Centre for Biosystematics and Evolution, BRIN, Indonesia. He is also the chief editor of the Indonesian Biology Journal. His research area is ecology and taxonomy of animals especially mammals. Knowledge related to Indonesian mammals and their relationship with public knowledge, especially Indonesia, has been published in over 180 papers in international and Indonesian journals. He is currently studying the relationship between the fauna exposed in several temples in Java and the relationship between the outcrops and the cultural ecology of the local community.

Aris Arif Mundayat, Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia

Aris Arif Mundayat holds a doctoral degree in anthropology and sociology from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. He is presently employed as a senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia, and was previously a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Human Ecology, Putra Malaysia University. Recent publications include "Towards Critical Reflective Interpretation: Anthropological and Sociological Studies” (2021) and the chapter "Wong Cilik and Wong Gede: Contesting over Nationalist Imaginations" in Political Governance and Minority Rights the South and South-East Asian Scenario (2020). He is presently engaged in a multidisciplinary study team, in collaboration with the BRIN, focus on the Borobudur reliefs.

Hidayat Ashari, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia

Hidayat Ashari is a researcher from BRIN, Biosystematics and Evolution Research Centre and currently a PhD candidate at the Institute of Animal Science, Graduate School of CAAS, China. He is interested in systematic biology, domesticated animals, ethnobiology, and animal biodiversity. He was a member of the board of the Indonesian sanctuary project, Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. He has carried out extensive research in Indonesia, including Exploration Bio resources in Papua, Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda, Moluccas, Sumatra; studies of Junglefowl and the Indonesian indigenous chicken; and Birds and other fauna Iconography at Borobudur Temple. He work is presented in several publications related to new species of birds, domesticated animals and ethnobiology.

Fauziah Fauziah, National Research and Innovation Agency

Fauziah is a researcher at the Research Centre for Plant Conservation, Botanic Gardens and Forestry, BRIN, in the field of botany, with a research focus on the ex-situ conservation of plants in the botanic garden. Her research is related to plant selection for ecosystem services. Research of Flora that has been carried out at Borobudur includes identifying the types of plants that appear on the Borobudur relief, with research results published in scientific publications and the Book of “Flora of Borobudur”. The book was created to explain the flora that often appear in reliefs and the flora that have meaning in the story of the Borobudur reliefs.

Dony Satrio Wibowo, University of Indonesia, Indonesia

Dony Satryo Wibowo is a lecturer in the Faculty of Cultural Science, University of Indonesia as well as a cultural writer. He is active in cultural organizations and associations such as Lesbumi Nahdlatul Ulama and Trah associations. His writings are about the theme of traditional Nusantara culture, such as Primbon, Wayang, Jamu, Culinary, Gamelan, Batik, Keris, Kujang etc.

Wawan Sujarwo, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia

Wawan Sujarwo is an ethnobotanist and research professor at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). He is also an Executive Director of the Ethnobiological Society of Indonesia (PMEI), and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Tropical Ethnobiology. Dr. Sujarwo’s primary area of research is on the relationship between plants and people, especially in traditional Balinese communities. He has widely documented Balinese ethnobotanical knowledge in many renowned international journals.

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Published

2024-08-14

How to Cite

Rusdianto, R., Maryanto, I., Mundayat, A. A., Ashari, H. ., Fauziah, F., Satrio Wibowo, D. ., & Sujarwo, W. . (2024). Queering Tropical Heritage: Flora and Fauna Reliefs in Karmawibhangga, Borobudur Temple, Indonesia. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 23(1), 95–116. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.23.1.2024.4012

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Vol. 23 No. 1 (2024): Queering the Tropics, Part 1: Tropical Materialisms, Queer Ecology & Spectral Tropicality

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