Kawaca

Short description: A Javanese term for war attire

Close-up of a statue in Singhasari temple. According to I.D. Nugroho, this is an armor made of assembled plates.

Kawaca is a term for war attire mentioned in Old Javanese texts.^[1]^:320 Its name comes from the Sanskrit kawaca which means armor, cuirass, a type of chain mail, any kind of cover, corset, jacket.^[2]^:823

Description

A cuirass being presented by a brahmin, depicted in the Borobudur temple.

Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder, in his Old Javanese-English dictionary, defines kawaca as a chain mail, possibly shaped like a jacket, which is made of metal. The word also has a second meaning, namely the shirt worn by the clergy.^[2]^:823 Irawan Djoko Nugroho argues that in a military context, kawaca means armor. It is shaped like a long tube and is made of cast copper.^[1]^{:202, 386} According to Jiří Jákl, kawaca was a metal breastplate worn on the upper body of a high-ranking soldier.^[3]^:78 In high Balinese language, kwaca or kuwaca is a general term for a jacket, although it used to mean armor in Old Javanese.^[4]^:216 In modern Javanese language, kawaca means cuirass or chain mail.^[5]

The Kakawin Ramayana (c. 870 AD), which is the Javanese version of Valmiki's epic Ramayana (c. 500 CE), mentions clothing and armor that reflect the era. A member of the royal family is said to wear crown, padaka (collar, medallion, or breastplate), karambalangan (girdle or plastron) and use gold-plated armor even in battle.^[2]^:802^[6]^:27 Kakawin Ramayana also mentions the term watek makawaca, which means armored troops.^[3]^:77

A suit of armor, or specifically cuirass,^[7]^:47 is depicted on the reliefs of the Divyavadana story in the Borobudur temple. In that story, it is said that Rudrayana sent a gift to king Bimbisara in the form of his famous cuirass which not only had miraculous powers but was also adorned with priceless gems.^[8]^:282 The cuirass is depicted as sleeveless and apparently closed in front.^[9]^{:233, plate XXXVII}