Back to Table of Contents (5)
To next page

 

In this sculpture of the Kresnayana a servant is seen carrying a betelbox

Mpu Triguna; Kresnayana (13th cent.)
(The Tale of Kresna) Java
--------------------------------------

Taken from: Helen Creese; Women Of The Kakawin World: Marriage and Sexuality in the Indic Courts of Java and Bali and also Kresnayana: The Kresna Legend in Indonesia  By Suwito Santoso

Kakawin; Javaneese court love stories in which elite women take an important place. They were intended to be sung aloud. They were written on palm leaves.

A dark-skinned young jenggi accompanies a pair of lovers as bearer of the betel box in one scene in the tale of Kresna

......... lawan jenggi rare marek resep amangku sedah asila tan salah bhawa .......

........jenggi girl sweetly waited upon them with a betel-kit on her lap, sitting in unerring attitude. Everything enjoyable was served on trays.....