the significance of tiger skin on the avalokitesvara...

Hak Cipta Terpelihara © 1977 – Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TIGER SKIN ON TilE AVALOKITESVARA IMAGES

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Nik Hassan Shuhaimi b. Abd. Rahman Jab:llans",jarah

Univ.:niti Ko:banpun M:abYIia. Kuala Luml'ut

Among Buddhist sculpture found in the sphere of Srivijayan politicaJ influence arc the A\'alokitesvara. Many of them share a common iconographic symbol; the tiger skin with its head. The repre· sentation of this interesting ico· nographicaJ symbol places these images apart from other Avalokitesvam found in that area.

Thesl!' images arc now either in private collections or on display in the national museums in Bangkok, KuaJa Lumpur and Jakarta. The one on display in Muzium Negara, KuaJa Lumpur was studied by Dr. Alastair Lamb. 1 I-Ie recognised the importance of the symbol in terms of the development of art in the history o( the Srivijayan Empire, In his study, "A note on the Tiger Symbol in some Southl!'a5t Asian representations of Avalokitesvara.", he associates the symbol with Siva.2 He noticed that this kind of icon found favour among Buddhist sculptors of the MaJacca Straits region, while not, as far as he knew, appearing in the Indian representation of Avalokites\'ara and so con· dud cd that it is an example of Sri· vijayan art and of Srivijayan origin.'

It is true that no example of Avalokitesvara images with tiger symbol, on the present knowledge, has ever been found in India, but a few other examples of Avalokitcs· vara outside India earry this ieono·

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graphic symbol. They arc the Avalokitcsvara from java" and Tibet!l in addition to the known Srivijayan examp les which were discovered at PaJembang, Bidor, Perak, Satingphra and jaiya.

The representation of tiger symbol on Avalokitesvara images with six to eight arms merely confirms that the images are Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara. According to A. Getty; the Amoghapasa is a Tantric form of Avalokitesvara which mayor may not wear a tiger skin .6 Although the cult of Amoghapasa was very popular in all the Buddhistic countries, only Amoghapasa from the Srivijayan area, Java and Tibet, on the pres<=nt knowledge. have tiger symbol represented on them. This is an interes· ting phenomenon because. as we know. java and Tibet had dose

For tho: ducription of tho: image. 10:<:

H.G. Quaritch - WilIeJ, "Archao:olo,;ial r .. ,.,archu on Ancio:nt India.n Coloniza· tion in Miliaya. ''jMBRAS, :.viii,l. 1940, pp. pL 79. 5<>0: alia A.H. Lamb, "A note on thot Tig<:r Symbol in Some Soutl'l<ut Aaian rqlrc,.,ntatioru of Anlokit<:t,'Va." FMJ. iv, 1961 ,pp. 89-90.

2. Ibid..p.89.

lbid.,p.90.

4. AJ. B<:m<:rt Kempe'I'l, Ancinlt Indo· "uia"A~t. Arruto:niam, 19.!19. pI. 34.

.!I. G.Ra<:rich, Tibd,," PGi"t;..", Paril, 1 92.!1. p . .!I9 and fad.", plalO:.

6. A. Go:l1y, 771~ Gods of Northt-.... S .. dd· hism.,Odoni,19 14.p.63.



A",o,A#p4J4 AlNllo.it~JVCTa, hkrnbll..,

/NlltioMl Mw~u .... JaJcllrlll/

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political and religious connections with Srivijaya. Java, for instance, may be related to Srivijaya through the: Sailendra dynasty, ignoring the fact that it is still uncertain where the dynasty oriiinated.7 Tibet on the other hand had contacts with Srivijaya through its famous scholar, Atisat who reformed Tibetan

~~~~~~mst~~~~ ~~hri:j:~:J ~?S: therdore t not surprising that the Avalokitesvara images of Amoghapasa cult discovered in the:ses countries share a common iconographic symbol.

We have seen earlier the asser· tion of Dr. Alastair Lamb that the symbol originated in Srivijaya. His assc=rtion is based on the belief that only Srivijayan area produced such images. In the light of the present evidence of the existence of Amoghapasa images with the tiger symbol outside Srivijaya his assertion has to be verified further. In this matter I would like to consider the dating of the Amoghapasa images with the tiger symbol. I have studied closely the Amoghapasa images with the tiger symbol and their developments and have reached a conclusion that the oldest among these images is the one from Palembang.9

We can say now that the: Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara was

7. On Ihe quution of th~ rclaliond'lip' b<ctwccn Sailcndn. and Srivijaya, IoCC,

R.O.· Wollen, uri)' lrulon.nitm Co",· ltWT,e, NewYotlr.,1967.p.25.

8. K.A. Nilabnla Saltri, JliJtof'j 0/ Sri· rij~II,MIJdrDl,1949.p.147,

9. See IlS. Nilr., "Buddhist Sculptun: from Sumatn., Peninsular MalaYJia and PeninAllar Thaib.nd during the Srivijayan period 17th-14th. C.A.D.) M. Phil. 771ui.l, Uninnity of London. April, 1976. Oupter 5 pp. 120- 159.



popularised in 5rivijaya and later on this idea became popular in Java and Tibet because of their relation· ships. But there is another problem regarding the relationships of tiger symbol with Avalokitcsvara. In Sri\·ijayan arca the tiger symbol was not confincd to the Avalokitesvara with six to eight anns only but also to the Avaiokitcsvara with two and four arms . No text at the moment known to have existed whidl a m be used to identify the later types of Ava.lokitesvara. They do not conform to what A. Cettv has to sa>' regarding the definition of Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara. All that can be said at the moment is that, they might have been pro· duced according to sadhana that is lost and unknown to modern schoo lars.

A_, .... p.u AlWlo.\i't'I_/aiy.

I Niltillui Mllu\lm. &ng.o./

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Altemalivc::ly. we may take up the suggestion of Dr. Alastair Lamb Ihat thc liger symbol is related to Siva. There arc a numbt'r of ar· chaeological evidencc which can con firm the existence of Siva images with tiger symbol. Many of them were discovered in java. Fur· ther more the cult of Siva was a popular cult in terms of identifying kingships with gods. Siva was the most popular god in South-cast Asia besides Avalokitesvara.

AmoRIulp;ua AVOIlo.\;t,.u . .,ra BIdor. Pt'nl.\. '.III1:;lIm Ntpra. KIUlt...l ... mpwr/

If il IS acceptaOle that the idea started with Siva and was incor· par-lied to Avalokitesvara images, in view of the association of the image with kingships then the images with tiger symbol may indio catc: that they arc the spiritual par· trout of kings. TillS idea of using the



image as a cult image of a god as weU as a sp iritual portrait of a king was very popular in South-cast Asia. ~'lany of the Hindu-]avanese images have been identified as having these dual roles. The best example of these images is the image of Siva situated in the cen tral chamber of Candi Lara-Djonggarang, Pramban:U1 .1 0 II is believed to be the image of King 8alitung. This image also wears a tiger skin around its highly decorated dhoti.

The idea of producing portrait statues and identifying them with cult god, Amoghapasa Avalokites· vOlra, must have started very early in Srivijaya. Consequently this idea became more de\"doped and spread to other areas which either had

A"Ioghaptua tI,,,loArirrm'Ta Sati .. lfPhra

/Pn-lJGlr pholop"ph/

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religious contact or political conlacts with Sdvijaya. By the 8th century A.D., pn:sumably due to Southern Thailand, being incorporated into Srh'ijaya, the idea spread to J aiya. From 8th century A.D. onwards the idea found favour with rulers of Java. The Bidor Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara indicates that by the 9th century A.D. this idea was also known to the people living on the Malay Peninsula.

We have litera ry evidence for the popularity of this practise in the Srivijayan Empire. Professor Wolters who examined . Scjarah Me1ayu, particularly the opening chapters regarding the pre-MaJaccan nlier, Sri Tri Buana, the Palembang king. ide'htifics him as an incarnation of Avalokitesvara. 1 1 The genealogist of Sejarah Me1ayu while tracing the history of the rulers of ~talacca highlighted a number of important traditions practised during the Srivijayan period. Among these traditional practises is the identification of rulers with Amoghapasa Avalokitesvara. The memory of this practise was kept alive in Sejarah Mdayu.12 In connection with the Avalokitesvara cult is the Bukit Seguntang. The presence of Bukit Seguntang in Palembang

10. A,I. Brrn<:1 Kempnl.Op. cit., pI. l!J i.

II. R.O. Wolterl, The FeU of Sn'uijoyc in Me14yllislory.1910.pp.128-5.5.

12. The Ttlaxa 8"u irucriplion, daled 686 A.D., indicale, that drinking an oath ceremoniel did take ptaec inPaiembang. The agreemenl in ~rQlI Mdl1)l" between Demang Lebar Daun and Sri Tri 8uaru maybe eonnccledwith thil tradition and rcmcmbaed by Sci:an.h McbVU. !ke J.G. de' Catpuil PrCU$ti Indone,u, II, 19/.56, pp. 1.5 -46. S~araJt Mel4y .. , M:al:aya Pub. i-IouK, 196 I,p. 27.



had helped to develop the idea. To the r .... talays, in the Srivijayan time, this hil1 is the abod~ of bodhisattva and is the sacred Potala mountain.

For those who believe in the continuity and change in the his-

~::r:,[i:~S:~::ar~~;;s A:~,~a~a:oa. vide significant evidence. If we study the stylistic development of the clothing and decorations of the imagt=s we would nolice that th~y developed into what is today the traditional Malay dress. It is not the ordinary type of traditional Malay dress but rather the Malay dress .... rom by omng besar and the Malay rulers. The tiger skin must have developed into the kOlin samping while the head-dress developed into the present day head-dress. The head-dress worn together with the traditional Malay dress must be the eq uivalent of the complicated diadem of jewels studded with pre:cious stones of many kinds which was supposed to crown the head of Avalokitesvara. Other decorative elements such as the belt which originated from the simplest type:, a piece of string, as can be seen on the Palembang Arnoghapasa Ava· lokitesvara and the antelope skin worn across the shoulder developed into the sophisticated (arms which can 'be seen today worn by the Yang Dipertuan Agong.

Originally, the tiger skin was \\-"Om over a dhoti as we can see on the: Arnoghapasa Avalokites\'ara images but later on the tiger skin developed into kain samping and worn over a pair of trousers. This change can be seen on the Bhairava rrom Padang Rotjo, Sungai Langsat, Central Sumatra. The Buddhist Bhair.wa whidl is associated with Avalokitesvara is a portrait-statue

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of King Adityavannan who was the king of Malayu in the 14th century A.D. I , In connection with this Bhairava statue is another Amoghapasa Avalokitcsvara. This Arnoghapasa Avalokitesvara was discovered at Rambhahan, Central Sumatra. According to the inscriptions on its pedestal this image was made in Java but for thc prince who married a Sumatran princess rrom which King Adityavarman descended. The marriage: took place with the blessings of Krtanagam. 1 .. And the statue of the Amoghapasa Avalokite:svara once again can be connected with the cult of Avalo· kitesvara which was still a popular practise in the Malacca Straits region as late as 14th century A.D. The most interesting feature of the statue is the decorations on its pedestal. TheS(: decorations com· prise of a horse, a chakra, a jewel, a minister, a general and an ekphant. They symbolise the saptaratnani or seven jewels of a chakravartin or a universal ruler. This reminds liS

again of the interpretation of Pro· fessor Wolters of Sri Tri Buana. Besides being an incarnation or an A\'alokite5\'afa he also symbolises a chakravartin.1 ~ Again we have here the evidence for the significance or Amoghapasa Avalokitcs\,ara, irres· pective of whether it wears a tiger skin or not, being associated with kingships . It also shows a continui· ty in its practise in the l\.'ialay world.

Wh y was tiger dlOsen as a symbol'? In India, according to Asis

I'. AJ. Banen KC'mpcn,op. cil.. p. 87.

14. Ibid..p.87.

1 s. n.~ foIl of SrillijllYII in MoJa:y HiJlory, p. 129.



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/Nfltiort4lMloJ ........ ' .. 4rtfl/

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Sen who made a study of the evolution of animal symbols in ancient Indian art, the association of male with cdmivorous animals, lion or tiger, denotes that there is a great change in the socio-religious belief from the prehistoric times. The deity associated with the camivorous animals not only usurped super human power but also the power of animal world.' 6 In China the tiger is an emblem of magisterial dignity and courage and fierceness and its head has been found painted on the shields of soldiers and embroidered upon court robes as insignia and it was also associated

with autumn as well as guardian of the west.' 7 So, Srivijaya being an Empire at a cross· road between these: tw'O great powers must have adopted the symbol but modifying it to the existing traditions. To the Malays tiger also symbolises courage and dignity. Today, Malaysia adopts tiger 3S a symbol on its national emblem_

3 1

16. I\.~ S~n. ArUlOI4l ,"otif' in .n(inlt Ind;"n.,t,c.JCUIU.1912p.61.

11. CAS. WiJlQIIU. o..tliM of Cllintlt Sylftbolinrl .tId Art Moti/l. Snanan&i 1952 pp. 591- 5. 1\.11. OIrilik. CMntu Mytllolon. lAndon. 1913. p. 25.

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