Dewi Sri Rice Field Shrine
May 20, 2013 by staff
Dewi Sri Rice Field Shrine, Dewi Sri, or Shridevi (Dewi literally means goddess) (Javanese), Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri (Sundanese) is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese pre-Hindu and pre-Islam era goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshipped on the islands of Bali and Java. Despite her mythology is native to the island of Java, after the adoption of Hinduism in Java as early as first century, the goddess is associated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi as both are attributed to wealth and family prosperity.
Dewi Sri is believed to have dominion over the underworld and the Moon. Thus, Dewi Sri encompasses the whole spectrum of the Mother Goddess- having dominion over birth and Life: she controls rice: the staple food of Indonesians; hence life and wealth or prosperity; most especially rice surpluses for the wealth of kingdoms in Java such as Mataram, Majapahit and Pajajaran; and their inverse: poverty, famine, hunger, disease (to a certain extent) and Death. She is often associated with the rice paddy snake (ular sawah).
Most of the story of Dewi Sri is associated with the mythical origin of the rice plant, the staple food of the region. One of Sundanese mythology tell this story of Dewi Sri and the origin of rice as written in “Wawacan Sulanjana”:
Once upon a time in heaven, Batara Guru (in ancient Hindu Javanese is associated with Shiva), the highest god commanded all the gods and goddesses to contribute their power in order to build a new palace. Anybody who disobeyed this commandment are considered lazy and would lose their arms and legs. Upon hearing the Batara Guru’s commandment, one of the gods, Anta (Ananta Boga), a NÄga god, was very anxious. He didn’t have arms or legs and he wasn’t sure how he could possibly do the job. Anta was shaped as a serpent and he could not work. He sought advice from Batara Narada, the younger brother of Batara Guru. But unfortunately Narada was also confused by Anta’s bad luck. Anta became very upset and cried.
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