On their third day at Reine's house, Susi and Reine got to fetch the saucepan full of nutmeg from the back porch. Aunt Dona sat a strainer into the sink and poured the contents of the saucepan into the strainer. The yellow-brown liquid drained away, leaving the golden brown ginger root sitting in the bottom of the strainer.
Aunt Dona returned the ginger to the saucepan. Then, she filled the saucepan with water and placed it on the stove. She turned on the heat and let it simmer.
“We wait again?” sighed Reine.
Her mother nodded.
Foam rose to the water’s surface as the ginger boiled, In no time at all, however, the foaming stopped, which meant this step was complete. Aunt Maly and Aunt Dona sliced the ginger root and placed them in a covered pan. Then, Mrs. Urwani sat them on the windowsill.
“We’ll set these here until the sun dries them,” said Mrs. Urwani.
“How long will that take?” asked Reine.
“Two more days.”
Reine sighed.
“We have many things planned until then,” announced Aunt Dona.
“Like?” asked Reine.
“We’re going to the temples at Prambanan and watch the Ramayana Ballet.”
Reine’s face lit up with a smile, “I love Prambanan.”
“What’s so special about Prambanan? It’s just a bunch of ruins,” said Reema nonchalantly.
“Show some respect,” scolded Mrs. Urwani.
“Prambanan aren’t just ruins, but an important piece of Indonesian history,” added Aunt Dona.
Susi was curious to see what all the fuss was about. She’d heard of the temples before. She’d also seen pictures in history books. She figured there must be a sight worth seeing.
As the car entered the Prambanan valley, workers moved stones through the ruins. Reema was not impressed, but she did not say a thing. Susi, however, leaned her head out the window. She was as curious as a monkey.
“Are they rebuilding the temple?”
“Archeologists have been re-constructing it ever since it was built. In a land of volcanoes and typhoons, you have to have to be patient and persistent.”
“There’s so much rubble,” said Susi.
“Ruins,” thought Reema.
Indeed, there was a lot of rubble. Of the original 237 temples, only a few stood upright. Those that remained were rebuilt throughout the 20th Century. As the Urwani car neared the center of Prambanan, more and more temples stood in their original form. Tall, conical steeples, made of gray concrete blocks, were adorned with statues, cornices, and other ornaments.
“It looks like Borobudur,” said Reema.
“That’s just because of the statues. Borobudur is a Buddhist temple, with statues of Buddha. Prambanan has a great variety of statues.”
“They look the same to me,” said Reema.
A thin rain poured as they got out of the car. Reema began to see the differences between Borobudur and Prambanan. She cut through the piles of gigantic blocks surrounding the main temples. Wet grass led to the edges of the shrine. She stepped onto the large concrete pad that surrounded the temple. Gargoyles and beasts surrounded the lower levels of the temple, while the warrior-guardians adorned the steeple.
“Which temple is this?” asked Susi.
“It could be any one of the trimurti,” said Mrs. Urwani.
The three gods of the Hindu religion were Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Keeper), and Shiva (the Destroyer).
“I think it’s the Vishnu Temple,” corrected Aunt Dona.
“How can you tell?” asked Susi.
“For one, it’s the largest of the temples. Also, I see Nandi standing guard over there.”
She pointed out one of the three smaller temples dedicated to each of the larger temples. Nandi was the bull that Shiva rode. Brahma rode a giant sacred swan named Hamsa.
Susi immediately walked toward the third of the smaller temples. The statue in front of the temple had the body of a man with wings and face of an eagle.
“Is this Garuda?” asked Susi.
“It sure is,” replied Aunt Dona, “You can tell by the Eagle’s face and wings.”
Susi investigated the golden-muscled statue with his powerful arms and legs. His head was turned toward the skies. His wings flared out behind him, ready for flight.
“Yudhi would love this,” said Susi.
Mrs. Urwani nodded. “I wonder how your brother and father are doing.”
She dialed her cell phone and called home. Susi listened in to Mrs. Urwani’s half of the call.
“Hello, why aren’t you working at Mr. Onato’s Shop today?”
“Oh, is everything okay over there?”
“That’s good news! Then we’ll come home first thing tomorrow morning.”
Susi motioned to her mother. She wanted to talk to Yudhi, too.
“Here’s your sister,” said Mrs. Urwani.
“Hello big brother. We’re at Prambanan and we were just thinking of you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Tag-along,” said Yudhi.
“I guess we’ll be seeing each other soon,” said Susi.
“I don’t work tomorrow either,” said Yudhi, “so maybe we could do something together. How does that sound?”
“It sounds terrific,” said Susi.
“Then it’s a date. Love you, little sis.”
“Love you too, big brother.”
Susi returned the phone to her mother and then returned her attention to the temple. Sounds of a gamelan were coming from the other side of the temple.
“What’s that?” asked Susi.
“It’s Ramayana!” replied Reine.
Everyone headed for the opposite side of the Shrine, where a multitude of people were gathered. On a small stage, there were dancers, clad in bright red, yellow, and black costumes. Off to the side sat a gamelan, full of instruments just like the ones Susi and Reema played. They clanged noisily as the dancers moved to the side of the stage.
Just like the Shadow Puppet plays, the Ramayana was a part of the rich heritage of the Java Island. The Ramayana ballet told the epic story of Rama. In fact, the word ‘Ramayana’ meant ‘Rama’s Journey’.
Susi and her family sat at one side of the stage, watching the ballet unfold. Dancers sprang around the stage. There was Prince Rama, Princess Sita, Garuda, and the Demons, too. Garuda was dressed just like the statue, although the dancer used his arms to wave his silken red wings. The demons were dressed in black with grotesque face masks. Their wings were made of black rayon.
Just like the puppet show, dancers clashed as they portrayed great battles. Also just like the puppet show, the gamelan accompanied the dancers.
Rama was the first born of King Dasharatha’s three sons. While he was a child, he learned the ways of the kingdom. When he turned 16, Rama hunted a demon that was attacking his father’s kingdom.
In another kingdom, a King found a special girl, who had been abandoned in a field. He named her Sita. As Sita grew, she became more and more beautiful. The king decided to have a contest to decide who would be fit to marry his lovely daughter.
The King gave each contestant a chance to use the longbow of Shiva. Rama is the only warrior strong enough to wield the bow. In fact, Rama is so strong he breaks Shiva’s longbow.
After Rama and Sita are married, Rama’s father, King Dasharatha decides to crown Rama as king. Rama’s step-mother is upset, because she wants her son Bharata (one of King Dasharatha’s other son) to become king. She has Rama and Sita banned to the wilderness.
Rama’s step-brother Bharata learns of his mothers plans and decides to betray his mother. He visits Rama in the wilderness and asks him to return and rule the kingdom. Rama refuses, because the exile was his father’s last command.
Meanwhile, Rama’s step-mother hatches an evil plot to kidnap Sita. After many twists and turns, Sita is captured.
Meanwhile, Rama meets the monkey-king Hamuran. Hamuran journey’s to the step-mother’s castle and plays a trick on the step-mother, promising to marry her. Eventually, his secret plan is discovered and Hamuran is captured by Ravana, the step-mother.
She sets his tail on fire as punishment. Hamuran gets angry and escapes. As he jumps from rooftop to rooftop, his tail catches the roofs on fire.
In the final scene, Ravana’s demons battle with the princes and the monkey-warriors. Both complete sets of dancers came out onto the stage and performed an elaborate dance. At the end of the battle, the evil step-mother Ravana was banished by her own sons. Rama and Sita were reunited and they were crowned king and queen.
Mrs. Urwani looked over at her eldest daughter. Reema clapped cheerfully until she caught her mother spying on her. Then she put her hands on her lap and stopped smiling.
“Too late,” said Mrs. Urwani, “I told you it was more than just ruins.”
“I guess I was glad I came,” replied Reema.
“I’m glad you came, too.”
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