How Magickal Pearls are Acquired Part 1

We are often inquired how mustika or magickal pearls are extracted by shamans from Nature's realm or how some people are fortunate enough to be gifted by Her. It certainly is appropriate that collectors and those interested in the subject of animal/plant stones acquire more information in this regard. Those who are misinformed or are not properly educated on the processes of pearl-acquisition by shamans often mistakenly believe that animals fall prey to hunters of these pearls and are killed indiscriminately without compassion; generally speaking, this is not the case here in Indonesia as wanton killing is a waste of time and resources even for shamans and would put them on Nature's black-list and cause them to lose their raison d'être. It is important to stress that one would hardly find animal-pearls through such killing.. Shamans are careful in maintaining a good relationship with Nature and Her forces as it is through working with Her rather than against Her that the magickal pearls are acquired. It would, therefore, probably be proper if we were to offer some enlightenment and remove the concerns that some individuals might harbour in their minds.

In almost all cases of magickal pearl-acquisition there lies an element of the mystique, of the occult and the processes of shamanic work. Nature offer these pearls possessing magickal properties to humanity and she often does so in ways that borders upon the miraculous and the "supernatural." We know this to be true as a result of several personal experiences where we were gifted by Nature of unusual objects with inherent talismanic value. We need not elaborate on this, the point being that when the hidden forces of Nature wishes to display their fondness, respect, and friendship towards someone attuned to their existence with mutual feelings on the part of the mortal, they often express their delight with a physical token, such as a natural artifact, a curio or a magickal pearl; these gifts often come as a surprise to the one so-attuned with Nature; sometimes they are specifically requested through occult means--shamans the world over are well familiar with the principles and the processes involved and regularly practice them. The modus operandi of this occult-retrieval, however, is not an exact science, and Nature does not always respond in the manner hoped for--greed, doubt, arrogance, harmfulness, wrong-timing, etc. almost always prevents the psychic-connection and the bonding from being established with Nature. Shamans treating Nature with love and respect while functioning under a magickal-trance and attuning to her life-rhythm are rewarded for their congenial expressions accordingly. This is not to say that just anyone can approach Nature and request pearls from Her and then be given them. It does require a certain degree of mastery and the unfoldment of shamanic/psychic powers aside from the development of purity and a spiritual consciousness--these are cultivated through years of difficult training, discipline and struggle. In Indonesia, the art of acquiring pearls from Nature is a specialized knowledge and not all indigenous shamans of the class called "pawangs" possess this power or know-how; traditionally, the mantras and "Ilmu" (occult-power/knowledge) of this type of work are transmitted from father to son only--one reason why sources for these pearls are scarce.

The search for one's animal-totem in a shamanic-journey also often concludes with the practitioner being gifted with a physical token by the forces representing the archetypal animal-totem; these keepsakes are regarded as magickal tools and as symbolic of the oneness and bond between the practitioner and his/her animal-totem. The occult gifts that Nature of the tropical wilderness of Indonesia present to native shamanic practitioners or fortunate ones come in an array of forms; predictably, they are derived from their native ambient flora and fauna and have mineral and/or organic structures in their composition--these objects are often in a crystallized, fossilized or concretized form. For instance, unusual shapes of fossilized roots, organic in the initial stages of their growth, are often presented to the shamanic-practitioner in his magickal interaction with the hidden forces of Nature. Pearls produced by plants, trees, and animals as a result of unusual organic functions or environmental influences are some of the objects imparted by Nature in her desire to establish a harmonious relationship between humanity and the lives of the various forms of spirit-intelligences composing her being. Lost or unowned objects such as kerises, spear-heads, gem stones, rings and other accessories, etc. when left in the open in the wilds for many years are often collected and hoarded by the intelligences of Nature and kept in secret or hidden places unknown to the mortal mind and unseen to the naked eye--these objects are likewise gifted to shamans under certain conditions. At first reading the above may seem like a tall-story, like a "fairy-tale"--and so it is: fairies are involved; the tales, however, are true.

Journeys to areas of pearl-retrieval often require hours of hiking through jungles and forests. Hardships are endured by shamans during such treks and retrieval-work. Most of the occult operations are conducted in power-spots/haunted areas referred to as "tempat-angker." These are cross-roads of magnetic forces that are conducive to psychic and magickal work, especially those rituals related to the contact with Nature's hidden forces. The tempat-angker are regarded as portals between the third and fourth dimensions and facilitates the passage of beings/entities travelling from one realm to the other. It is for this reason that the tempat-angker are regarded as haunted and avoided by natives familiar with the locale--there are many stories of the unwary person being lost there only to emerge years later but without any awareness of the passage of time. Magickal work done in power-spots require a knowledge of occult principles and rules that govern such occult interfaces to avoid or prevent mishaps from occurring. Two of the famous forests/jungles in Java where magickal operations are often conducted are Alas Purwo and Alas Ketonggo. Many sacred mountains are also chosen for magickal work such as Mt. Lawu, Mt. Sumeru, Mt. Muria, etc. Basically, however, the pawang-shaman would pick an area according to inner guidance or a spot already known to yield the type of pearls that he may be seeking.

During magickal-retrieval operations shamans are given guidance by spirit intelligence as to where mustika-pearls may be discovered and retrieved. Normally it is the regional guardian-spirit of a given area that comes forth to attend to the shaman. The pearls are often revealed to be located in caves, dens, nests, and lairs; other possible spots are in the vicinity of some unusual rock formation, old trees, pools, waterfalls, burial ground, etc. The pearls indicated by psychic sources could be buried or hidden in an area in which case they would have to be dug and sought for. Oftentimes shamans are guided and intuitively led to the whereabouts of the remains of animals who were hosts to these pearls. Through spirit guidance shamans are informed of the pearls available in an area, the approximate amount, their organic origin, and what types they are--the knowledge of these are conveyed via telepathic means and through psychic visions.

Occasionally, during the ritual of retrieval, pearls are manifested directly before the shamans from the etheric planes through teleportation or from whence they were hidden in the physical realm--this type of acquisitions are typically accompanied by long inner-struggles with the spirit guardians of the pearls and often the presiding shaman is tested in various ways of his courage, purity and worthiness. With the possibility of such a prospect shamans are always psychologically and physically prepared beforehand. If a shaman has spirits (khodams) working for him, his task is made much easier with their assistance. To facilitate the magickal retrieval process, offerings and certain empowered oils and incenses are employed in the magickal rituals as gifts to the fairy-spirits, and pragmatically, to release sufficient psychic energies so that spirit guidance or direct manifestations may occur; these oils and incenses can be quite costly and pearls acquired in this manner are not given away for a cheap "mas kawin," or "dowry." When all the tools and implements are set, the shaman would commence chanting the secret mantras of invocation, conjuration, communication and/or manifestation--this step alone could take hours to complete. Occasionally, of course, spirit guidance and directions are given to shamans without any need of rituals.

In the retrieving-ritual process, etheric forms may appear frolicking or moving menacingly before the shaman. If they are spirits related to dragons, tigers, and snakes, the etheric shadows would possess such forms as the associated-creature. Dragon-spirits regularly manifest themselves as wisps of smoke, as slithering etheric shadows--at time they form themselves through the flames of the camp-fire. While the psychic-struggle and testing is taking place, these spirits would strive to thwart the efforts of the shaman. But once the operator overcomes all of the trials and temptations, all of the personal fears, etc, the spirits eventually award him with the pearls that they watch over. Sometimes the spirits would indicate that the time for release would have to be at a later date as prevailing conditions related to the "bilateral relationship between humans and spirits" are not conducive or appropriate for the gifting--shamans would then have no other alternative but to postpone the acquisition. It has been suggested by some that the whole modus operandi of pearl-retrieval should be captured on video--this would certainly have a promotive effect on the sales of mustika-pearls; however, rituals conducted under such conditions are apt to fail because of the varied factors that conflict with the sacred and prepared environment and the processes of shamanic-work. Unwanted intrusions or an inappropriate/inept set-up are causes of failures during retrieval-work.

If these pearls are psychically revealed to be in caves where snakes and venomous creatures are to be found in abundance, the shaman while entering in the vicinity of the hidden pearls would strew certain substances left and right while chanting a power-mantra to repel the creatures and thus avoid being bitten--but even then, because they are so numerous, shamans often do get bitten by these creatures; at least one pearl-retrieving shaman showed us the marks of the various snake-bites that he sustained during the many trips he made to the caves in the dense jungles.

Hidden pearls are apt to glow or radiate subtly coloured-rays of light when they have a "desire" to be found; these auric lights are detected by shamans through etheric vision, and at times these lights are apprehendable through normal sensory perception. When the glow is seen in some dark recess or as emanating from the ground, it actually indicates that the regional or indwelling spirit of the pearl wishes to be bonded with a human-being. It is logical to assume that these nature-spirits are responsible for making the hidden sacred-objects to glow as once they are found the glowing phenomenon ceases--they do not continue to radiate lights and assume normal appearances once in the possession of their human keepers. The appearances of these lights not only occur in a shamanic pearl-retrieval setting, these events also occur under ordinary circumstances and in the haunts of men--even layman experience them according to the many reports that come to us. Various rumors and tales of glowing cobra and centipede pearls may have their origin in this paranormal phenomenon. Kerises and gem-stones when hidden by Nature similarly reveal themselves in the twilight or nocturnal hours as colored-lights emanating from the ground or wherever they are hidden--but when extracted from their position they no longer give-off their unearthly radiance. The latter is a strong argument in favour of spirit-activity in regards to glowing pearls as witnessed by individuals; that these are the result of spirit-agencies and not of any inherent properties of the pearls themselves unless possessing phosphorescent or fluorescent substances/minerals.

In the case of fluorescent minerals, however, ultraviolet light is required in order to see the effulgence. During their magickal rituals, shamans would often capture in their hands colored-lights floating or zooming their way--the captured object would feel warm and soft in their grasps. When their hands are unclapsed, stones or other small objects reveal themselves to be the miniature UFOs. This phenomenon and shamanic practice has gone on for centuries long before stage-magic came up with entertaining routines duplicating closely the above. The phenomenon of glowing lights in the environments of Nature are well recorded in the annals of paranormal research; nevertheless, there are still lots of mysteries related to the glowing-pearl phenomenon and as reported by reputable individuals that nothing conclusive as yet can be reached.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

Magickal Oils of Indonesian Shamanism Part 2

Note: The following descriptions of the magickal oils contain foreign words and phrases (Javanese/Arabic/Indonesian)--they are left untranslated for proper identification of the oils and the mantras/prayers associated with them.


Minyak Istanbul

Istanbul oil is one of the more common magickal types easily found sold in the Arab communities all over Indonesia and worn especially by the teachers of Islam. It has various grades and the good ones exude a very pungent, but fragrant scent. Once smelled it is hardly ever forgotten. It remains as a lasting memory. The scent is quite enduring, sometimes lasting for days on one's person and some say, may be sensed as far away as 20 feet--though this may be an exaggeration. Because of its pungency, not too many people agree well with it, saying that it makes their head whirl.

Minyak Istanbul although worn as an ordinary perfume among the pedagogues of Islam, is also used by shamans as a potent oil for the purposes of romance, sexual attraction, and charisma. When empowered with one's personal energies and thought-form, anyone within the range of the scent would not only look our way, but feel attracted and have the desire to socialize with us. The opposite sex would find us beautiful or good-looking. Pure Istanbul oil is hard to procure, most of what is sold through market places have been diluted and blended with other oils.

The oil may be consecrated with the following mantra to attract a specific person:

"Bismillahirrahmannirrahim

"Ingsun matek ajiku sibayang-bayang rasa

"Aji minyak istanbul sing kramat pengasihan

"Siapa lihat dia terpikat dan turut terpikat

"Siang kharisma nabi Yusuf as ada di wajahku

"Allahuma ya Allah" 7x

"Ya Muhammad" 3x

"Inkanat ila syaihatan wahidatan fa idzahum Jamiul ladaina muhdhorun" 7x

"Sing aku pantek si (the name of the person one wishes to attract) datang padaku haqqul yakin."


Minyak Sinyong-Nyong

Among the many wonder oils of the Dayaks is (Si)-Nyong-nyong. This minyak originates with the Iban tribe. It is a rare magical love oil used by the natives of Kalimantan mostly for keeping one's spouse faithful, although it is also applied in other affairs related to the heart by both men and women.

It is said that men who are affected by the influence of this oil would never commit adultery, even-though under barraged by the wildest temptation that the fairer sex may direct to them. In the event a man were to succumb to the wiles and seduction of a temptress, he would discover himself losing his sexual potency and would be unable to perform the coitus rite. The strange thing is that although impotent when it comes to other women, the body would function normally when fulfilling sexual duties towards one's lawful wife.

Nyong-nyong is made through a complex ritualistic process that is kept secret by the producers of this oil. It is usually manufactured during the natal day of the magically powerful head of the tribe. According to sources, on this special day, enchanted bottles are hung compulsorily on a certain banyan tree species for seven days and nights, after which time the bottles are magically filled with a thick fluid, and this is known as Nyong-nyong. The rite is not always successful which accounts for its rarity.

Nyong-nyong may be applied in many ways, one way is to have it ingested by the unsuspecting subject. Several drops in the subject's drink is enough to cause him to reject the approaches of other women. The affect of the oil may only last for several weeks or months, during which time the enchanter would repeat the process to maintain the status quo.

In general, the many love oils of the Dayaks may be applied for influencing another using the following rite:

Take some dirt or soil from the subject's footprints and wrap it up in a white piece of cloth, after which several drops of a love oil should be applied on the bundle. After this is done, the bundle of soil should be placed beneath one's pillow. The subject should then be visualized in an appropriate manner while calling out his or her name at least three times. Simultaneously, the pillow should be turned repeatedly and beaten.

Although difficult to acquire, Nyong-nyong oil is available to those that search for it. Minyak Nyong-nyong may be found sold by some perfume dealers, peddlers, and commercial psychics although the genuineness of the oil offered is questionable.


Minyak Air-Mata Duyung

This oil is the eye-secretion, or tears of the sea mammal, called, dugong (sea-cow) or "duyung" among the locals here in Indonesia. The creature sheds tears for lubrication of the eyes. The duyung is long believed to be the mythological mermaid and related to the Greek "sirens"; however, the latter is often referred to by Indonesian folklorists as "putri-duyung" and is quite different from the "ikan-duyung" or the dugong. Its scientific classification is as follow :

Family: Pugongidae in the order Sirenia.

Classification: Dugong dugon.

When unintentionally caught in fishermen's nets, perhaps out of the pain of struggle, the gentle and harmless dugong sheds these "crocodile tears." Most fishermen are careful to wipe these tears off the dugong with cotton swabs before returning the creature to the sea. The fluid in the cotton is later pressed and released into vials.

The oil or eye-secretion of the dugong has a wonderful but slight scent and is highly-prized for its magickal power to attract the opposite sex and is often used as a stand-alone or a blend with other magickal oils of nature with high pheromone content. In appearance, the "minyak air-mata duyung" is crystal-clear like water of a stream. Because of its scarcity, it is very costly.


Minyak Bulus

Minyak Bulus is derived from the fat of the fresh-water turtle and is used as an active ingredient for increasing the size of sexual appendages such as breasts and penises. It has a thick, yellowish appearance. When purchasing this oil one ought to be cautious as there are many fakes in the market-place. To use this oil one simply anoints and massages one's breast or penis with it. Scientific research on the virtues of the Bulus oil has not yet been conducted as far as we know, but generations of use of the oil gives credence to it's amazing properties.


Minyak Apel Jin

During rites of spirit-conjurations and evocations, shamans and those involved with Islamic occultism here in Indonesia often appropriate the Apel Jin oil for facilitating the contact. This oil has a black appearance. The thicker forms of this oil appears like tar and may be burnt on glowing embers as incense. The Apel-Jin is mostly used to conjure regional or house-spirits or those entities belonging to the lower astral realm. Its composition is a highly kept secret but some say that it contains products extracted from domestic live-stock or farm animals. The Apel-Jin comes in various grades and originally packed in apple-like brass containers--thus giving its name.


Minyak Lintah

Lintah means "leech." Minyak Lintah is thus translated into "Oil of Leeches." This oil, like the minyak bulus, is used to increase the size of the male penis and many have confirmed as to its efficacy. The oil has a black appearance and is derived from leeches prepared in a secret-manner. The application method is similar as the Minyak Bulus.


Minyak Kesambi and Minyak Banyu Urip

The "Banyu Urip" and Kesambi oils are names of products given by their adept-producer. These oils are extracted from the sap of certain trees and then empowered with magickal-force. The User only need consume the potions for the powers to begin to take effect in his body. The virtues of the Banyu Urip oil are as follow: it strengthens the bones; it builds-invulnerability against sharp weapons; it causes wounds to heal quickly; it strengthens the skin; it gives magickal protection against negative entities and forces; it increases one's personal magnetism; it gives one "sabda siddhi" or it causes one's words to have power; it increases psychic sensitivity, etc. The Kesambi oil is a class more powerful than the Banyu Urip--aside from invulnerability against sharp weapons, it also makes one invulnerable against bullets. The consumption of 7 bottles of either one of the oils gives long-lasting permanent effects of the powers.


Minyak Cimande

Among martial-artists of Pencak Silat here in Java, Indonesia, the Cimande (pronounced: Chee-Mun-Day) oil is quite famed for its power of invulnerability and its ability to assist the healing of broken bones, bruises, wounds, muscle-pull, twisted ligaments, etc. The physical formula and appearance of the Cimande oil may vary from one shaman producer to another, but the magickal power permeating them as empowered by these producers, are the same. Some of the ingredients of the Cimande oil are scarce and not easily obtainable; therefore, occasionally, the producers of the Cimande oils have to make do with what is available and use the best substitutes--this also contributes to the different appearances from one stock to another even by the same producer. There are many of these Cimande oils sold in traditional markets but not all are genuine--most have been diluted by their resellers to make more profit, so one has to exercise caution when purchasing them. The reseller's practice of cutting the oils is looked upon with a great amount of irritation by their producers.

There are basically two types of Cimande oils--although more are said to exist. These two types of oils may have various appearances, and often, even resembling; however, they are to be differentiated by their purposes and not their looks. The first type is the regular Cimande "balur" oils used for massages, for healing bruises and minor injury cases. The second type helps to heal broken-bones and applied for major muscle injury. It also builds-up invulnerability against sharp-weapons and punches in the user. Some Cimande-oils may be ingested for healing the organs. Cimande-oils may have strong sweet-sourish odors depending on the ingredients used.

The Cimande-oil is highly praised by those involved in martial-arts and contact-sports.


Minyak Ponibasawa

One of the magickal oils appropriated in Islamic occult practice in Indonesia is the Ponibasawa oil. This oil is especially used for uncovering known treasures hidden in certain sites or manifesting money, gold, and jewels through occult rituals. Genuine Ponibasawa oils have been consecrated with the verses of the Quran and the Divine Names--as recited by a whole "choir" of spiritual adepts and their students. The actual force of the ponibasawa lies in the khodams or angelic servants of the Quranic verses and Divine Names anchored into the oil and especially represented by the needles immersed within them. Great energy is also released by the oil in the evaporation process during occult rites, and this conveys the necessary energies for the khodams of the oil to conduct their assigned task. Many anomalies have been noted regarding the ponibasawa oils or its variants, such as, when the vial of the oil is placed in a glass of water, it would cause the evaporation of the water at a very rapid rate. Some have claimed that the khodams of the ponibasawa oils dislike alcohol, thus when brought near bottles of alcoholic beverages, the latter would shatter into pieces.

During rites of treasure retrieval or manifesting money or gold from the ethers, the oil is normally used in conjunction with high grades "Buhur," or powdered incenses. Certain prayers and mantras are recited to activate the power and forces associated with the oil.

There are many ponibasawa oils sold in traditional markets, but they are not all genuine and most of them are fakes in the sense that they are unempowered with occult force. The genuine ones are very costly and scarce and are said to come from Turkey. Ponibasawa oils are of various colors and come in sealed vials in larger glassed-tubes. The number of sealed vials may vary, from one to three--or even more. In each of the sealed vials are empowered needles of a variable amount--the more needles they contain, the more potent the oil--some variants of the ponibasawa oil do not contain any needles, though.

Copyright © 2006 Luxamore

The Legend of the Dewadaru Tree

The Dewadaru tree is mostly found to the north of the island of Java, among the Sunda islands of Karimunjava, in the Java Sea, bearing the coordinates of Latitude 5° 52' S, and Longitude 110° 26' E. It has a human population of approximately 20,000 people. The Dewadaru tree had been sanctified by the local inhabitants of the island for countless generations as a result of a myth perpetuated by the elders of the society. In one of the local dialects, "daru" means "blessing from heaven," while "dewa," (derived from Sanskrit) is the Indonesian term for "god." "Dewadaru" is thus interpreted as the "gift of the gods," implying that this tree genus is a tangible symbolic gift from the gods/esses to the islanders. To the local inhabitants, the Dewadaru represents the wisdom of the gods in maintaining the harmony, stability, and peacefulness of Nature. The Dewadaru is believed to be the protective guardian of the living souls on the Karimunjava islands.

According to the legend, there was once a man living on the island of Java who was furious with his son for constant disobedience. The man, although he loved his son dearly, strove to inculcate in him a certain hard lesson. So one day he drove his son away from home with the warning that he was not to set foot on Java again.

Not willing to disobey his father again, he prepared himself for the journey. In sadness, the son left Mt. Muria where they dwelt and moved on to the open seas to the north. He sailed on a boat for many days through stormy weather and amidst huge waves, not really knowing his destination and perhaps with little will to survive. Then one day, his boat landed on the shores of a small, uninhabited island.

Meanwhile, from the peak of Mt. Muria in Java, the boy's father was secretly watching over his son clairvoyantly. But for some reason his vision was vague and unclear, and thus lost track of the whereabouts of the boy on that island. In the old Javanese language, the word "vague" is translated as kerimun. Thus the island became known as "Karimun-java."

The boy continued his journey inland bearing two wooden staffs as walking sticks to assist his journey. He retrieved these from the shore. These two short poles wounded him while his boat was capsized to shore by the sheer power of the waves. In the middle of the forest he poked the two staffs to the ground and started to rest from the tiresome journey. Miraculously, in that very instant the two staffs grew into magnificent trees. In awe of the incident, he named them "Dewadaru." In the present day, the place where he rested now stands the village of Nyamplungan.

Nowadays, although not too numerous, there is a substantial amount of Dewadaru trees growing on the islands-the descendants of the very first two. The remains of the original, fabulous Dewadaru trees may still be seen. The humps are there as if to substantiate the truth of the legend. The descendants of the magickal trees grow in hill-slopes of the islands and are not easily accessible.

In proximity to the once glorious trees is a grave that until now is still being sanctified by the locals. On certain nights-such as Jumat Kliwon (a Thursday night occurring once in 35 days) of the Javanese calendar, the grave would be visited by pilgrims desiring the blessings of the spiritual adept to whom the grave belongs. The adept was known as Sunan Nyamplungan from whence the village received its name.

For centuries, the Dewadaru tree or wood is believed by the inhabitants of Karimunjava to possess magickal powers. Tested through time, the wood is said to heal poisonous bites, and aches or illnesses in the abdominal region. Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet for personal protection against evil persons as well as a weapon against evil spirits. It is said that unlike other types of wood, the Dewadaru, even a small piece of it, sinks when placed in water.

Seventy-five kilometers away, as the crow flies, from the town of Jepara in Java, the Karimunjava islands has a scary myth related to the Dewadaru. There is supposed to be a warning by the regional spirits that the sacred Dewadaru wood or tree is not to be taken out of the islands without the concession of the spiritual guardians of the area. Whosoever violates this, even by taking a small piece of the wood, incurs the wrath of Nature and calamity befalls him or her not long after. The usual mishap is the sinking or the immobility of the vessel that the person travels on to journey back to the mainland. Sometimes it could be a fatal illness after the trip. Often the person dies a tragic death in a freak "accident." At first this myth was regarded as a superstition, but several instances of this have been recorded.

In regards to the sinking of unfortunate vessels transporting the wood, some observers have noted of unusual events beforehand. Signs and warnings are given from the invisible world. Tales of these spirit communications and unheeded warnings abound. One story in particular relates of an old woman appearing to the captain of a vessel warning that the boat or ship was carrying the sacred wood and that this was taken from the region without permission and the required ceremony. Before disappearing, she warned the captain to unload the illicitly gained item. The captain did not heed her request and as a result, the vessel that he commanded en route to the Java mainland sank to the watery depths. Before the ship sailed even the villagers of the island were given omens that the vessel was doomed. Many of them heard blasting sounds on the nearby Nyamplungan hill. Careful investigations revealed nothing that could have produced those noises. It is said that to this day these sounds still occur whenever a ship or a boat is destined to plunge into Davy Jones' locker. In 1981 a mishap was prevented from occurring. There was a ship on its way to Java from the Karimunjava islands. Somewhere in the middle of the sea its engine stalled and it became immobile. Moments later everyone on board, passengers and crew, panicked. Out of the calm sea, huge waves suddenly appeared, threatening to capsize the vessel. The captain realizing what was wrong in haste called upon the passengers to throw into the sea any Dewadaru wood that they were carrying. One person confessed that he had some of the wood in his possession. This was quickly cast into the sea with apologies to the spirit guardians of Karimunjava. Amazingly, minutes later the waves subsided.

There are always two sides to a coin. The above myth also has a different aspect: if by any chance the Dewadaru wood finds its way outside of the Karimunjava islands, the wood would double its potency and act as a powerful catalyst to awaken the dormant occult faculties within its possessor or user. The energy of the wood itself is a potent amulet against all forms of black magick and it also wards off negative entities, as mentioned previously. Dewadaru is also worn as protective amulets against the jettatore, the evil eye. From the metaphysical viewpoint, the dryads or spirits of the trees are especially empowered and their power or virtues are occultly inherent within the wood. The energy of the Dewadaru wood has a beneficent influence upon the psychosomatic system of man. The village shamans say that the Dewadaru is an exclusive gift to the people on the island, one reason why the spiritual guardians of the region do not permit the wood to be exported unless with special concession.

There are numerous strange stories related to the magickal Dewadaru tree or its wood. To the local inhabitants these are no longer a matter of belief but knowledge and conviction gained from day to day experience. Being sacred, the Dewadaru is used only for devotional and protective purposes. One hardly finds the villagers using this wood for the fashioning of furniture or as a building material; and only the courageous would use it in their spiritual activities. The trees are not too numerous on the islands nowadays and therefore they are forcefully preserved. The Dewadaru is esteemed highly for their traditional and cultural value, and regarded as the totem guardians of the island. Because the occult power of the Dewadaru is well known, many disrespectful outsiders plunder the wood seeking to possess and misuse the power within it for egoic purposes. But it is also believed that Sunan Nyamplungan, the guardian of the island, or his proxy, plays a role in protecting the place from pilferers. Some say that the Adept sometimes appear as a gigantic bat to those who carry-out their negative intentions.

In 1992, the faculty of biology of the University of Gajah Mada conducted some research on the Dewadaru and the report of their analysis states that this tree is quite rare and not easily propagated. There are two strains to be found in the Karimunjava islands: the first strain is Dewadaru Baccaurea Sumatrana from the Euphorbiaceae family. The second, Fagraea Elliptica from the Loganiaceae family.

The Dewadaru is supposed to be found solely in the Karimunjava islands. Although almost unheard of, there is at least one Dewadaru tree to be found in Java in the area of Mt. Kawi in the region of Malang, East Java. Strangely enough, those living in this area sanctify the leaves rather than the wood.

Mt. Kawi is well-known for its pilgrimage site for those seeking wealth. The tree grows nearby a grave of someone who was known as Eyang Jugo, a metaphysical practitioner of royal descent. It is said that those sitting underneath the Dewadaru tree and is fortunate enough to have a leave or two fall on their heads out of their own accord, then this is a sign that great financial blessings or wealth will be bestowed upon them. It is thus not surprising to find people sitting or even spending the night 'neath the shade of the tree hoping to catch a leaf-fall. People come from all over Java hoping to transform their fate with a simple sitting. However, even with strong winds, seldom does a leaf detach itself from the branches with the hope and expectation of the sitters. Many return to their normal lives in disappointment. At times those standing quite a distance from the tree are often blessed with a falling leaf, often blown by a non-existing wind. There are tales of those who disbelieved in the sacredness of the tree and mockingly place a leaf upon their own heads. The result was that on their way home from the mountain they encountered tragic mishaps.

The origin of the Dewadaru tree at this particular site of pilgrimage has a similar tale as the one of Karimunjava. Both were the result of the insertions of walking staffs into the grounds. According to the legend, Eyang Jugo once journeyed with a companion to his close friend R.M. Imam Soejono, who lived on Mt. Kawi. Along the way he rested in a shady area. It was there that he received intuitively from the spirit planes that his life was drawing to a close. He advised his travel companion that where he died, it was there that he was to be buried. Further along the way Eyang Jugo suddenly stabbed the ground with his staff and expired. The staff filled with the power of Eyang Jugo, suddenly grew into a tree. The Chinese people living in the precincts of Eyang Jugo's gravesite called the tree "Shian Toho," and this was translated into Javanese as "Dewadaru."

As mentioned above, the Dewadaru wood is often carried as an amulet. Those able to acquire a rosary fashioned from it for spiritual or devotional purposes is indeed fortunate, for it is rare that anyone is given the permission to secure this wood from the islands and to tap into its inherent magickal virtues.

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