Majapahit Piggy Bank

inside the west the Piggy Bank has long been a time-honoured rite of passage, a whimsical nevertheless didactic tool for inculcating children with the benefits of saving. While today many may consider the humble piggy bank a quaint nevertheless dated holdover coming from the Victorian Age, few are aware of its ancient origins as well as profound symbology.

While there are several alternative theories of origin, there is usually no doubt which the first true piggy banks – terracotta banks inside the shape of a pig that has a slot inside the top for depositing coins – were made in Java inside the 14^th century! So many of these charming banks have been found in so many sizes which the item is usually clear they were immensely well-known at the time. If you want proof, visit the National Museum on Jalan Merdeka where several are on display.

In truth the animal depicted is usually technically not a pig, nevertheless the Javanese boar or celeng, a little swayed back black skinned cousin of the European wild boar hunted by Asterix as well as Obelix. Wild boar are still found in dwindling jungles throughout Indonesia, sadly however, encroachment on their natural habitat has led to a conflict between farmers who view them as pests because of their habit of rooting up planted crops.

This particular as well as a growing dislike of all things haram has resulted in recent years to a fresh sport in West Sumatra – huge organised hunts inside the highlands catering to successful Jakartan Minangkabau tradesmen visiting their home villages. In search of a day out of gladiatorial-like entertainment, they use enormous packs of dogs to replicate the local equivalent of the politically incorrect English foxhunt. Sadly the end is usually predictable as well as cruel – a vicious as well as bloody battle as scores of dogs shred the boar alive. While the boar always dies, these ferocious when cornered courageous creatures also have their revenge – a high number of canine casualties as well. Considering which many of these specially trained animals cost as much as 30 million a piece, their owners often pay mightily for their vicarious pleasure. Needless to say the meat is usually never used for doing wild boar sausages.

A domesticated style of the Indonesian wild boar can still be seen in Bali. Although they are being rapidly replaced by European breeds, the fact they are the critical ingredient in Bali’s signature cuisine, babi guling, probably guarantees their survival. The traditional role of the boar in Bali also brings us back to the original subject, the meaning of the piggy bank.

As every pig breeder knows, swine produce prodigious litters of piglets on a regular basis. So, too, blessed with huge appetites piglets quickly grow to enormous sizes, eating only leftovers as well as a variety of foodstuffs of no use to humans. Until today many Balinese households raise swine as a quick as well as easy, albeit odorous, way to make money leading to a direct connection between pigs as well as prosperity.

What better form to choose for a clay bank to promote little savings into great wealth. Every great fortune starts with the first penny or inside the case of the populace of the Majapahit Empire who made the first piggy banks, kepeng, round Chinese brass coins with square holes which the Balinese still use for doing offerings. Like the first piggy banks in Europe, once filled, the only way to open Majapahit celeng banks was to break them open. The huge number of broken examples excavated inside the vicinity of Truwulan, the former capital suggest a lot of money was saved as well as spent perhaps to make down payments on motorcycles.

How the piggy bank migrated to Europe is usually, of course, another story altogether. We can only guess, nevertheless there are several possibilities. One is usually which Oderico de Pordenone, an Italian Catholic monk who was the first as well as only westerner to the court of the Majapahit inside the 14^th century, as well as a lesser-known contemporary of Marco Polo, brought the idea back with him. The idea may also have travelled to Europe via China as well as the Silk Route. As art history often teaches us, visual concepts often migrate far coming from their point of origin in mysterious ways. The irony, of course, is usually not only which few know the origins of piggy banks, nevertheless also which their place of origin is usually currently the entire world’s most populated Muslim country.