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Southeast Asia is one of the
most diverse places on the planet.
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With so many different cultures,
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and religions,
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all living side by side.
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And I'm an example of just that.
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My name is Peter Lee.
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I'm a Singaporean scholar
of Peranakan descent,
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Chinese with a dash of Malay blood.
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I celebrate being mixed up,
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it's in my DNA.
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My passion...
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is collecting artefacts
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that offer a fresh narrative.
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It's a European fairy tale,
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but it is depicted on
a batik from Indonesia.
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How wonderful is that!
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I'm setting off on a new journey,
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travelling further back in time.
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Oh my god!
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We see this everywhere
in Southeast Asia.
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To explore how the
region's mighty empires
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have shaped our collective identity.
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This is a gold mine!
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No culture exists in isolation.
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In this episode,
I'm travelling to Indonesia...
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to learn about
a 700-year-old empire
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that once dominated these islands.
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They built a trading empire so vast
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that it stretched across
much of the Spice Route.
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I'm probing the secrets
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of how it grew into one of
Southeast Asia's greatest powers,
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and how its legacy lives on today.
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The world's largest
island state of Indonesia
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is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands,
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more than six religions
and 300 different ethnicities,
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all once unified by
the Majapahit Empire.
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To find out how it all comes
together as one nation today,
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I'm in a 4th grade
civics education class.
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My name is Peter Lee.
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I'm from Singapore.
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-Do you all know where Singapore is?
-Yes.
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Singapore is a small island
and Indonesia is so big.
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And we have only four main races.
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So today, I want to learn
a little bit more about Indonesia.
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Can you tell me
where your family is from?
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We think we're
a melting pot in Singapore,
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but right here, I've just
found over 10 ethnicities.
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I want to find out how their teacher,
Neni Herawati, bridges these differences.
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Bhinneka Tunggal Ika
or 'unity in diversity'
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is Indonesia's national motto.
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But where did this phrase come from?
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And what's the story
behind this call to unity?
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Yudhi Irawan is showing
me the "Sutasoma",
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a 700-year-old poem,
written on dried palm leaves.
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I've handled so many
ancient and archaic materials,
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but I've never handled anything
of such great national importance.
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Sutasoma was an Indian prince
with no interest in ruling.
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So he left his kingdom to travel.
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One story records
a clash between religions.
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A wicked king called Purushada
lived off the flesh of his subjects.
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To help them,
Buddha reincarnate,
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Prince Sutasoma
offered his own body.
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But this offended Purushada,
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who called on Lord Shiva,
the Hindu god of destruction,
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to kill Sutasoma.
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The Buddha and Lord Shiva battled.
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But both were equally strong.
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The battle continued...
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until the priests told them
to stop fighting.
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Because although they looked different,
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in reality, they were one.
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-So this the famous Bhinneka Tunggal Ika?
-Yes.
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That's wonderful.
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It's a parable of religious harmony
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during the 200-year
rule of the Majapahit,
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that stood for how
Buddhism and Hinduism
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were often practised side by side.
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An idea of acceptance that
continues to have resonance today.
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The Majapahit is said to
have been the first kingdom
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to unite the diverse archipelago.
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To understand how it flourished,
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I'm starting at the very beginning.
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In 1289, an envoy from
the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan
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landed in Java to demand allegiance.
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But King Kertanegara
sent them packing,
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by mutilating their faces.
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In retaliation,
Kublai Khan sent a mighty fleet
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of 1,000 ships and 20,000 men
to unseat the Javanese king.
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But when they landed
in Java three years later,
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King Kertanegara had
been assassinated,
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and in his place was a different king.
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A prince called Raden Wijaya
saw his chance.
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He offered to help the Mongols
overthrow the new king,
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and swear allegiance
to the Great Khan.
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Together, they attacked,
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and captured the king.
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But then, Raden Wijaya turned on
his allies with a surprise attack,
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and the Mongols fled,
never to return.
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In 1294, Raden Wijaya became
the first king of the Majapahit,
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and built his capital in
the hinterlands of Java,
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in the city of Trowulan.
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Centuries ago, this was one
of its most important gateways.
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Split gates such as these
were built to impress and intimidate.
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And I can really feel
that standing here.
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I want to see what else
is left of the Majapahit Empire.
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The people of Majapahit worshipped
in places like these called "candis".
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They were usually either
Hindu or Buddhist temples,
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but people often visited both.
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This one was re-discovered in 1905.
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Sumariyanto heads a local effort
to restore the temple to its former glory.
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The work is being done at the top,
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but I suffer a bit from vertigo.
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Rickety stairs...not my favourite thing.
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I can't look down.
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An amazing view up here!
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The design is based on surviving
remnants of the bricks on one side,
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and there even some carved
bricks that have survived.
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They are just going
to leave this like this
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so you can clearly see
what is original
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and what has been replaced.
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But there's still plenty left to be done,
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and I want to help.
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I'm trying to do this carefully because
I don't want to waste their precious bricks.
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The next step is to
grind the bricks down.
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Look at how wonderfully and
perfectly aligned these bricks are.
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So, this new one on the top
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has to be ground until
it's a perfect and snug fit.
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It takes ages.
It's not easy to do.
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I'm 20 minutes in and nowhere close
to meeting Pak Surmariyanto's standards.
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I'm getting some help
to do the final touches.
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The last step is to set it
with some mortar.
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That's a perfect fit!
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It's great to see this
Majapahit heritage being cared for
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especially since nearly
90% of Indonesians today
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are no longer Hindu or Buddhist.
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There is a Muslim cemetery here,
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there is a mosque,
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there's a school on the other side.
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This is really part
of the neighbourhood.
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I just love the way
this is so integrated.
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It's one of the most
beautiful things to experience.
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Majapahit's religious tolerance
resulted in peace throughout the kingdom.
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But it was geography,
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its position on the island of Java
between India and China
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that saw the Majapahit
grow into a trading power.
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I've been allowed access
to a dig site in the old capital
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that can provide evidence of just
how wealthy the Empire once was.
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Yusmaini Eriawati and her team
have uncovered the base of a house
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with 700-year-old artefacts.
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Just brush away the soil?
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This is a very precious,
old part of some ceramic pot.
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It's actually beautifully rendered,
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and it's more typical to see
a lotus flower, not the leaf.
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This is very beautiful.
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The team has made
a variety of finds
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that tell an exciting story
of the Empire's reach.
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I'm blown away by how
cosmopolitan the Majapahit were.
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Religious and ethnic tolerance,
combined with its strategic location,
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were the building blocks for an empire.
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But the secret to its wealth
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was born from the island's
treacherous terrain.
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I'm in Java exploring how the
Majapahit grew into an empire.
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Just look at this. The quiet majesty
of rice fields and volcanoes.
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This island is part of what
geologists call the Ring of Fire.
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Of the 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia,
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the largest cluster exists here in Java,
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so the people have lived here
for centuries on that very fine line
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between sublime beauty
and utter destruction.
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It was this particular geography that
gave the Majapahit a great advantage.
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I'm helping Darso Widodo,
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a third-generation farmer
from Karangpandan, Central Java,
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plant vegetables.
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Everyone should start
their morning like this.
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It's so good for the soul.
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It's almost enough to make me forget
about the ominous shape in the distance.
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I would be very scared
to live so close to a volcano.
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Mount Lawu has been
dormant since 1885.
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But in 2014, another volcano erupted
just 140 kilometres away.
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So it really has
its positive effect on farming.
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Volcanic ash is rich in minerals
that stimulate plant growth,
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making Java the most fertile
of all of Indonesia's islands
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and giving the Majapahit Empire
massive rice harvests,
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more than enough to feed
the local population
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and trade with merchants
from the Spice Islands,
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who would travel here
on monsoon trade winds
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that blew from the east
between June and September.
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Their boats were laden
with spices like clove,
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nutmeg and mace
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that they traded for rice.
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They would sail home
when the winds changed direction
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three months later.
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These west winds brought
a new set of merchants,
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who came to Java to trade their
porcelain, beads and textiles for spices.
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This trade turned Java's coastline
into thriving trade ports,
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including this...
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the city of Tuban.
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Tuban's golden age was
during the Majapahit period.
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It had a large community of
merchants, both local and foreign.
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And it was also the scene
of cultural transformation.
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I'm searching for an iconic product,
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born from the winds of trade.
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An art form that I feel
a deep connection with.
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Oh my goodness.
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As a collector of traditional textiles,
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I'm always on the lookout for good batik.
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My mother, my grandmother
and my ancestors all wore batik.
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So it's very much part of
the history of other countries,
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and it's a history of my community.
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Uswatun Hasanah is
a fourth-generation batik maker.
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This is another intangible aspect of
weaving that nobody ever talks about.
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The sound of batik.
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It takes over 30 steps
to make a piece of gedok cloth.
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And it begins with spinning
raw cotton into yarn.
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She's just letting the yarn pull itself.
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Oh my god.
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It's just happening like magic.
You just touch…
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Well, I'm obviously not the magician.
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Once the cloth is done
comes my favourite part:
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drawing patterns using wax.
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As a scholar,
I'm very interested in the designs.
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Being Peranakan and being
so mixed in many ways,
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I love seeing this wonderful mishmash
of vibrant dynamic patterns.
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The fabric is then soaked in a bath
of natural dyes before it's wrung out,
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a process that is repeated 30 times.
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This is an oxidisation process,
and we're starting to see the pattern.
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Tuban batiks are just the
earliest kind of batik that we know.
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There's a lot of pride in this
as something so Indonesian.
00:23:06
But there were very interesting
influences going back and forth.
00:23:10
We should be celebrating these links,
00:23:12
rather than separating all our
cultures into different boundaries.
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Religious and ethnic tolerance,
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and its location at the centre
of a major trading route
00:23:30
resulted in a blending of cultures
that powered the Majapahit Empire.
00:23:36
But it was a legendary
prime minister
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who led the Empire to
its golden age in the 14th century:
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the Elephant General, Gajah Mada,
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who some say made an oath
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that he would not taste spice
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until all of their outer islands
were under Majapahit rule.
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True to his word,
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in 1331, he consolidated
the Empire's hold over Eastern Java.
00:24:10
In 1343, he conquered Bali,
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and continued eastwards.
00:24:19
By the mid 14th century,
Majapahit's tributary states
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were said to stretch from New Guinea
to parts of the Malay Archipelago.
00:24:31
With extensive trade links,
the Empire grew richer and richer.
00:24:37
And the extravagance of
the royal court knew no bounds.
00:24:41
Under King Hayam Wuruk,
a great patron of Indonesian arts,
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the Empire built a rich cultural heritage
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that is beloved and
practised even today;
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something I want to experience first-hand.
00:25:02
Look at this, it's very complicated.
The kind of coordination...
00:25:05
you need rhythm, hand movements,
00:25:07
there are so many things to think about.
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Wayang Topeng was performed
at the Majapahit court
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to entertain and impress
foreign guests from all over Asia.
00:25:19
Sometimes, the king himself
would take to the stage.
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-So it's a very musical family.
-Yes.
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Just like mine.
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Pak Handoyo has kept the art alive
by teaching local children.
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And today, he has an older student.
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It takes a year
to master just one dance.
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The dancers perform tales
from popular folklore
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about a Javanese prince called Panji.
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It was a form of self-defence
and also attack.
00:27:00
So this is the killer flick with a smile.
00:27:08
Wayang Topeng actually
means 'masked dance'.
00:27:13
Noble characters have delicate features,
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while evil ones have
bulging round eyes and fangs.
00:27:22
The colour green is
reserved for Prince Panji,
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a role that Pak Handoyo has offered me
in this community performance.
00:27:32
I do feel regal.
00:27:35
I think I'm ready.
00:27:37
It's time for me to impress my
waiting audience like a Majapahit king.
00:28:03
One of Southeast Asia's
most powerful empires,
00:28:07
the Majapahit impressed foreign
visitors with its court performances
00:28:12
including the Wayang Topeng
or masked dance.
00:28:20
A big favourite were tales of
the fabled Javanese prince Panji.
00:28:27
Panji travels to get hold
of a heavenly flower
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only given to the pure of heart,
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a gift for the lady of his dreams.
00:28:38
But his archenemy,
King Klana, has other plans.
00:28:46
His minions try to steal the flower
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and a battle ensues.
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Finally, King Klana is defeated
and becomes Panji's disciple.
00:29:19
The Panji stories represent
the sum of human experience:
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love, loss, despair, endurance,
00:29:25
and ultimately, happiness.
00:29:30
That was really amazing.
00:29:34
To think Hayam Wuruk and all
these kings were playing these parts,
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and here I am doing
exactly the same thing.
00:29:43
The Panji stories are great love epics,
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but what can they tell us
about the Majapahit?
00:29:52
To find out, I'm visiting
the State Temple of Majapahit:
00:30:03
Candi Penataran,
00:30:09
home to the biggest
collection of Panji reliefs,
00:30:14
that set in stone the very stories
the dances are created from.
00:30:20
I'm going to play
this game with myself,
00:30:23
trying to guess what
these stories are all about.
00:30:31
It's easy to spot Panji
wearing a cap,
00:30:35
which is actually
a Javanese headdress.
00:30:39
Oh my goodness,
this is impossibly poignant!
00:30:42
So we have here Panji.
00:30:43
He is holding his scroll,
his love letter,
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which he is about
to hand over to a pigeon.
00:30:50
And then over here,
we see turbulent waters
00:30:55
and the pigeon flying above it.
00:30:57
And here, delivering the
love letter to Candra Kirana.
00:31:06
These are stories of Panji's struggles
to reunite with his one true love.
00:31:12
The two come from different kingdoms,
00:31:14
so it's a Romeo-and-Juliet story,
00:31:17
except not quite.
00:31:20
This is so beautiful!
00:31:22
It is so charming and tender,
00:31:24
and I think it marks
the end of the story,
00:31:27
the finale, the reunion of the lovers.
00:31:30
These stories weren't
just popular in Indonesia,
00:31:33
but also in continental Southeast Asia,
00:31:36
evidence of the
Majapahit's cultural influence.
00:31:41
But the way it was carved
in stone at the State Temple
00:31:44
suggests that the great love story
of the popular hero Panji
00:31:48
was also used as a political symbol
00:31:51
of unity between different peoples.
00:31:55
Under Hayam Wuruk,
Majapahit's celebrated king,
00:31:58
the Empire became greater than ever.
00:32:03
But what was the relationship between
the Majapahit centre of power in Java
00:32:07
and their other islands?
00:32:12
I'm heading next to Lake Matano
on the island of Sulawesi.
00:32:24
Here, researchers are looking below
the deepest lake in Indonesia
00:32:29
in search of clues about how the Empire
controlled these faraway islands.
00:32:36
The water is so clear.
00:32:40
I'm going to join them now.
00:32:45
This was a lakeside settlement
most likely sunk by earthquakes.
00:32:50
It's full of pebbles of very
uneven sizes, different rocks.
00:32:55
You can even see artefacts.
00:32:58
It's incredible!
00:33:03
And here is where the real magic is…
00:33:06
an old iron workshop
hidden 15 metres below.
00:33:13
Archaeologist Shinatria Adhityatama
and his team
00:33:17
are bringing up a few artefacts
for a closer look.
00:33:29
Is it made locally?
00:33:41
Oh my god, so this is
8th-century charcoal still...
00:33:45
in this condition.
00:33:59
That's incredible!
00:34:02
To find a piece of metal
from the lake that is not rusty,
00:34:06
I mean, that's just
short of a miracle, I think.
00:34:10
Sulawesi means "Island of Iron".
00:34:13
But it's the traces of nickel here that have
preserved these artefacts for centuries.
00:34:26
Would this material have been exported?
00:34:39
Shinatria explained to me
that historians are still divided
00:34:43
on the extent of the Majapahit's rule
over Indonesia's outer islands.
00:34:51
To find out how the locals
remember their history,
00:34:54
I'm excited to meet a person who
can truly speak for the people here:
00:35:00
the Mokole, King of Matano.
00:35:20
So this iron ore trade was
a friendly trade relationship?
00:35:26
There's evidence the Majapahit
directly controlled Eastern Java,
00:35:30
Bali, and Madura.
00:35:32
But the Empire's might further afield
00:35:35
may have been the product
of its trading wealth and standing
00:35:40
that gave them unprecedented influence
00:35:43
over these outer islands
known today as Indonesia.
00:35:47
But by 1389,
the golden age of the Empire
00:35:51
was about to be disrupted.
00:36:05
For 40 years under the rule of
the great King Hayam Wuruk,
00:36:09
the Majapahit Empire
exerted substantial influence
00:36:13
over what's known today as Indonesia.
00:36:20
But merchants from the Middle East,
00:36:22
India and China brought
with them a new faith
00:36:27
that spelt change.
00:36:31
Built in 1421, Masjid Sunan Ampel
is East Java's oldest mosque.
00:36:38
It's named after the Muslim saint
credited with spreading Islam here.
00:36:50
Sunan Ampel was a Muslim foreigner
00:36:52
from the state of Champa,
modern Vietnam,
00:36:54
whose family was connected
by marriage to the Majapahit rulers.
00:37:00
When he arrived in Java, he was
granted freedom to teach the Islamic faith.
00:37:08
In the 15th century, Islam
was the religion of traders
00:37:12
and it was tolerated by the Majapahit.
00:37:18
As the faith spread, it weakened
the authority of its rulers
00:37:22
who were seen as gods
in the Hindu-Buddhist tradition.
00:37:28
But the end of their reign was brought
about by something closer to home.
00:37:38
Legend has it that when the Majapahit
attacked another Indonesian empire,
00:37:43
the Srivijaya, around 1398,
00:37:46
the Srivijayan king was driven
from his outpost in Singapura
00:37:51
and fled north to Melaka.
00:37:54
There he converted to Islam
and traded with Muslim merchants
00:37:58
from the Middle East,
India and China,
00:38:02
establishing a new trading hub
00:38:04
to rival the Majapahit.
00:38:13
Internal power struggles
weakened the Empire further
00:38:17
until a people's revolution
drove them east to Bali.
00:38:23
But the last Majapahit king
is said to have fled west
00:38:28
to Mount Lawu and took refuge
in a Hindu temple.
00:38:36
Five hundred years have passed
since the fall of the Majapahit Empire.
00:38:42
But Candi Cetho still draws
visitors from all over Indonesia,
00:38:46
the world's biggest Muslim nation.
00:38:56
Today is Kuningan, a day to honour
one's ancestors in the Balinese calendar.
00:39:09
I'm excited to join Pak Jiro,
a Hindu priest,
00:39:12
in a ritual from the Majapahit times.
00:39:24
The offerings are for a final farewell
to ancestors as they return to heaven.
00:39:32
These are just the first few steps,
many more to go.
00:39:42
It's a symbolic climb to sacred heights.
00:39:48
Near the top, we head to the
oldest part of the complex.
00:39:56
We have flowers,
00:39:57
we have fruit,
00:39:59
we have incense, perfume,
00:40:01
and wonderful cooked food.
00:40:03
It's a multi-sensory offering.
00:40:05
It's so beautiful.
00:40:29
It starts with just the chime
and just one tone.
00:40:37
It really hits somewhere very deep.
00:40:44
This wonderful offering recalls
all the beautiful things that make family.
00:40:49
And it's a very special universal feeling.
00:40:55
I can't help but think
about my late parents.
00:41:02
I apologise. I'm a big crybaby.
00:41:14
It's all about respect and paying
back the love of your ancestors.
00:41:19
And at the end of the day,
we are all connected,
00:41:21
so I'm a part of this as well.
00:41:26
The Majapahit tolerated differences
00:41:29
among its close neighbours
and distant visitors alike.
00:41:32
That foundation,
however, is being tested
00:41:35
by rising fundamentalism
and separatism today.
00:41:42
But in a neighbourhood in East Java,
00:41:45
people are coming together
in spite of their differences.
00:41:50
I am outside Surabaya
and this is just amazing!
00:41:54
There is a mosque,
00:41:55
a Buddhist temple,
00:41:56
Catholic church,
00:41:58
there's a Confucian temple coming up,
00:42:00
a Hindu temple, and right at the end,
a Protestant church.
00:42:03
I am here to meet its leaders
and find out what it's all about.
00:42:09
Six religious sites built side
by side is a first for Indonesia.
00:42:15
The local leaders meet regularly
00:42:17
to discuss the problems
faced by the community.
00:42:21
It's a legacy of the Majapahit
00:42:23
and I want to see how
it's shaping Indonesia's present.
00:42:28
My father is Catholic,
my mother is Buddhist,
00:42:31
so I have grown up in this
multicultural environment.
00:42:35
What is everyone's opinion about the state
of religious tolerance in Indonesia today?
00:43:45
In a climate fraught with intolerance,
00:43:47
this is a symbol of hope.
00:43:49
These are all religions of communities
that played a part in shaping Indonesia.
00:43:54
In a multicultural setting like this,
00:43:56
the only really viable option has been
to find ways to live alongside each other,
00:44:01
both then and now.
00:44:05
But how are the nation's youth
inspired by this aspiration of togetherness?
00:44:18
Oh my god, I'm a street artist.
I love this.
00:44:21
I don't want to destroy this.
I'm going slow.
00:44:27
Xgo and his crew are street artists
00:44:29
who regularly take part in mural activism.
00:44:34
Go too near, it gets too thick.
00:44:35
So you have to keep a certain distance,
otherwise, it starts to drip.
00:44:41
I think I've done it.
Is this all right?
00:44:50
I finally see the mural taking form.
00:44:53
It's a mixture of different
colours and shapes
00:44:56
that all come together
in a handshake.
00:45:00
I love how your work is
very strong and powerful.
00:45:39
I love it.
00:45:45
The Majapahit Empire fell in 1520
after two centuries in power,
00:45:51
which was followed by
over 300 years of colonial rule
00:45:55
before Indonesia finally gained
independence in 1945.
00:46:01
But as the nation faces
new challenges today,
00:46:04
the legacy of the Majapahit offers
some important historical lessons.
00:46:11
The Majapahit Empire found itself at the
crossroads of the highly lucrative spice trail.
00:46:16
And its openness and shrewdness
00:46:18
allowed it to attain unprecedented
wealth and cultural refinement.
00:46:23
The idea of being stronger
together rather than separate
00:46:27
is a legacy that has shaped
the modern Indonesian nation
00:46:30
and continues to inspire a path
for the pluralistic society here today.
00:46:38
I've travelled through Indonesia
searching for traces of the Majapahit,
00:46:42
an Empire that rose
to unprecedented powers,
00:46:46
thanks to its relationship with
nearby islands and peoples.
00:46:50
It's a reminder that 500 years on,
00:46:53
the challenges of the modern nation
hark back to age-old questions
00:46:59
that have shaped what
it is to be Indonesian
00:47:02
since its earliest days.
