Madiun Off The Beaten Path

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Not far from Madiun is Nglambangan village, boasting some historic remains from the time of the Majapahit kingdom. When we had found the spot, we were welcomed by the caretaker, pak Samiono, who lives across the road. After showing us around, he took us to meet the village head, pak Sudarto Saputro, who served tea and sweets as it was Idhul Fitri day.
Unfortunately, neither the caretaker nor the village head had much knowledge to share about the historic significance of their village.

The site must have been some holy bathing place, but nowadays the area seems rather dry. It is difficult to discern what are real remnants from Majapahit times, and what are more recent additions or renovations. An original artifact seemed to us the lumbung selayur, a model in stone of a rice storage shed. One can imagine small offerings to be presented in the lumbung.

Village festival: Pak Sudarto invited us to the yearly village festival bersih desa, on 7-8 February 2008, see our travelogue Nglambangan village festival. The festival takes place in the Javanese month of Sura, but the date is not fixed even on the Javanese calender. So, if you are intersted and happen to be around in Sura month, contact pak Sudarto for the exact date.

Directions: Leave Madiun by Jalan Diponegoro, straight on until Mojorayung village. Here in front of the primary school (SD) turn left. Next at Nglanduk village turn right and immediately left again. Through Dempelan village you reach Nglambangan.