During 2002 on an archaeological dig at Candi Gedong I, a temple at Muara Jambi, the researchers uncovered a complete and undamaged 1.5 metre sandstone statue. Not used to finding large artefacts intact, the archaeologists were greatly surprised and excited by their discovery. Because of the location of the statue (near the entrance door to the temple), it was immediately presumed that they had found a dwarapala (a door guardian in Hindu-Buddhist mythology). The function of the statue would have been to prevent evil spirits from entering the sacred space of Candi Gedong I.
Standing with his legs in a unusual, buckled position, the dwarapala holds a small shield in his right hand and a cudgel in his left hand. The broken cudgel is perhaps the only feature of the statue which is seriously damaged. While it is customary for dwarapalas to have a rather fierce countenance, this once has a pleasant, smiling expression. The difference with the better-known Javanese dwarapalas doesn’t end there either. This specimen doesn’t have the protruding fangs which are such a feature of his Javanese cousins. Nor does he have the bulging eyes, which served to make the faces of your typical dwarapala all that more gruesome. Finally, while the dwarapalas from East Java are guaranteed to have skulls for ear-rings, this example has a blossom for an ear-ring. Overall, the monstrous elements of this figure have been played down, giving the statue a more kindly and welcoming aspect.
In fact, the statue is so different from all other dwarapalas that it remains a bit of a mystery. Some commentators have noted that it bears some resemblance to figures from megalithic cultures elsewhere in Southern Sumatra, such as the Pasemah Plateau and Lampung. Perhaps this statue bears some trace of the megalithic cultures which inhabited the hinterland of the Malayu kingdom. Others have noted that the way the cloth exposes the back and thighs of the statue is similar to clothing worn by the worker and slave class. This is interesting enough in itself, but it leaves us with the question of why this statue alone would have used a slave as a model for a temple guardian. The discovery of this unusual statue has raised some interesting possibilities and prompted some spirited conjecture, but for the time being it remains something of an enigma.
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