ON EAST JAVA

23 ROYAL COURTS JOIN 2ND KRATON FESTIVAL

The warriors on horseback, stern in demeanor but colorful in garb, swept past the crowds thronging the street and around the alun-alun (square) of the main palace of Cirebon, but it was when the elephants mounted by the "commanders" of the ancient Majapahit kingdom appeared that the people stood in awe, before breaking out into cheers. This is what they had come to see: to be taken back centuries to the reign of the kings and sultans of Indonesia and the most glorious period in history: the Majapahit kingdom of the 14th century. All this was enacted as 23 royal courts joined together in the Kraton (Palace) festival at Cirebon, West Java, to bring back to life their age-old cultural heritage and traditions with much pomp and splendour. Alhough they no longer possess any political power, the palaces of the old kingdoms and their descendants are still revered by the people and play a significant role in present day society. The second Kraton Festival--following the first which was held in Yogyakarta in 1995 and was participated in by only 20 royal courts -- brought together not only the courts that have survived through the centuries but also those like Majapahit and Sriwijaya (another kingdom which had its center of Palembang, South Sumatra, of which only ruins remain).

Mysticism enshrouds life in the royal courts and what lies behind their massive walls. For the people of Cirebon particularly, this year's Kraton Festival was an opportunity to see what lies within. Costumes, royal regalia, court dances and ceremonies were part of the 7-day festival, organized by the government as an effort to preserve the cultural heritage of such a diversified society. More then 7,000 people participated from the royal courts of Java, Madura, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Sumbawa, many which still own palaces in their respective areas.

For Cirebon, this was a tremendous opportunity to be given back a place of pride for its three royal kratons and to honor one of its famous sultans, Gunung Jati, revered both as a wise ruler and as one of the three great Muslim evangelists of the 16th century. Because Cirebon is so close to Jakarta (three hours by train), the ceremony served as a promotion of Cirebon's tourist potential.

The ceremondy was opened by the vice president of Indonesia, Try Sutrisno, on the afternoon of July 1st at the square in front of the Kasepuhan palace. In his address he stressed the importance of culture in the development of the nation.

"as a nation we must keep to our own identify and not be swayed by outside influences". He urged that traditional culture be developed through such activities as the Kraton Festival and said that it could serve as a tourist attraction, support preservation of the culture and to promote customs in society which would help to increase their sense of belonging.

The event was also meant to act as a medium of preserving traditional values and cultural heritage for historical and educational reasons.

Flanked by the Ministers of Tourism, Post and Telecommunication, Joop Ave and the Governor of West Java Nuryana, the vice president and the other VIPs seated on the podium were entertained by a mass dance of 200 men and women.

Advertised widely on national television, the Kraton Festival did not get enough sufficient publicity overseas to draw international tourists. Mostly Jakarta and Bandung residents made the trip to Cirebon, some staying just for the opening day as accommodation was limited. In spite of the thousands of people who crowded the venue, many felt that just seeing the parade was worthwhile. "We would have liked to see the dances as it could have been a once in a lifetime experience, but there were just too many people," said an expatriate from Bandung, who took a two-hour drive back the same night.

The 200 dancers, male and female were from Sunyaragi Art Institution. Dressed in a variety of costumes of traditional Cirebon design and using flags, they performed the "Abyoring Dwaja Salaksa" which depicts the diversity of cultures as well as national unity during colonial times and after. It was accompanied by the gamelan of Cirebon.

GRAND PARADE

Following this the grand parade commenced, passing the podium where the VIPs were seated. On two sides of the palace square, seats had been placed for other guests, while the gamelan orchestra took a position in front of the Grand Mosque of the Kasepuhan.

Dressed in formal royal attire of a batik kain of Cirebon's rock and cloud motif, embroidered pants and tunic, Prince Arief Natadiningrat of the Kasepuhan Palace of Cirebon came forward to report the beginning of the parade to the vice president.

Comprised of 4,000 participants, with horses, elephants, buffalo carts and palanquin, the procession started to enter the square.

The participating palaces were: Kraton Kasepuhan, Kraton Kanoman and Kraton Kacirebonan of Cirebon, Banten and Sumedang Larang (all from West Java), Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and Puro Pakualaman (Yogyakarta); Kraton Surakarta Hadiningrat and Puro Mangkunegaraan of Solo; an extinct kingdom of Majapahit from Mojokerto and Kraton Sumenep of Madura, East Java; Istana Siak of Riau; Istana Palembang Darussalam and Sriwijaya, another extinct kingdom of South Sumatra; Istana Maimun of Kesultanan Deli, North Sumatra; Istana Amantubillah Mempawah and Istana Alwatzkubillah of West Kalimantan; Kutai of Tenggarong, East Kalimantan; Istana Bima of Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara; Istana Walio of Buton Island, South East Sulawesi; Istana Saoraja of Bone and Istana Balla Lompoa of Gowa from South Sulawesi (kraton and istana both mean palace)

First to appear was the marching band in traditional costumes, followed by the Kasepuhan palace guards.

Five hundred persons in three groups represented the three palaces of Cirebon. First on the scene were women dancers performing in front of the VIP podium, followed by the palace troops, each contingent representing a kraton, and then came duplicates of the royal regalia, such as the carriage "Singa Naga Liman" of Cirebon pulled by 4 buffaloes. The carriage is unique in that it has wings, the head of an elephants and with a dragon. The original carriage was used in former times by the sultan of the Kasepuhan Cirebon. On each side were the lance men and courtiers.

The procession continued for 3 hours accompanied by live traditional music. Each palace presented its dances, courtiers, troops and replicas of their royal regalia, carriages, umbrellas and banners.

Some of the troops entered on horseback, but drawing the most cheers were the two elephants representing the 14th century Majapahit empire from East Java. Mounted on the huge animals were the "commanders" of the famous army of Gajah Mada, the prime minister of Majapahit, in gold braided tunics and pants. Flanking the elephants were the troops, bare chested with short pants and colorful sarongs.

The glitter of gold surrounded the Gowa and Palembang contingency.

A gold embroidered palanquin from the Istana Balla Lompoa of Gowa was carried by several men. Seated in the draped interior was a couple taking the place of sultan and his consort, dressed in white and weighed down by gold jewelry. There were gold umbrellas to signify royalty.

In contrast, the of the South Sulawesi, the Saoraja Palace of Bone had courtiers dressed in silk sarongs and black tunics and the women were in the transparent baju bodo and glittering silk sarongs that the area is so famous for.

Very unique and colorful were the male and female costumes of the Istana Amantubillah Mempawah of West Kalimantan, their headdress crowned with artificial flowers.

The troops did a war dance while the women were reduced to slow movements along the 2.4 km route.

Seldom seen but also present were the traditional costumes of Bima, East Sumbawa, led by a ratorandaa as commander of the troops in embroidered tunic and pants with a keris (dagger) stuck in his waistband. His red cap was secured by a yellow scarf all trimmed with gold. Following them was a platoon of horsemen.

As the parade passed by, some of the tourists present expressed amazement at the variety of the costumes and dances. Some of the palaces participating in the festival were new even to the Indonesians from Jakarta.

CULTURAL PERFORMANCES

In the evening of the first day, dance performances were staged at the three kratons of Cirebon. The program consisted of dances, royal ceremonies, a parade of traditional costumes and gamelan music from different areas.

Held at the bangsal (open pavilion) or in front of the three kratons of Cirebon, the continuing daily and nightly performances were open on the public. People were seated on the floor surrounding the center stage.

From Yogyakarta the court dances included the Serimpi Gambir Sawit from the Puro Pakualam Yogyakarta.

The Sunyaragi amphitheatre was another venue for two evening performances of the Kumandange Adzan Pitu (The sound of the seven Summons) created by Mr. Subrata, director general of Press and Graphics, Department of Information, who himself hails from Cirebon. This was for invitees only.

This contemporary dance based on history told of the reign of Sunan Gunung Jati, Cirebon's most famous king. The cast comprised of 300 dancers, male and female, accompanied by gamelan music.

Another mass ceremony participated in by 110 persons was from the Bone royal court. The "Todung Ade" depicted deliberation between the king and his ministers, followed by two dance performances by women and transvestites.

Each performance played to packed audiences, mainly of the local people. At the Kacirebonan Palace a special place was reserved for visitors from Jakarta who had made arrangements in advance through tour operators.

EXHIBITION

Another part of the festival was the display of royal heirlooms at the three kratons, brought by all the participants. Jewelry, costumes, canons, carriages, weapons, old books and manuscripts were among those exhibited throughout the 7 - day festival.

Most of the kratons of Java: Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and Puro Pakualaman from Yogyakarta; Kraton Surakarta Hadiningrat and Pura Mangkunegaran of Solo, Kraton of Banten, the three kratons of Cirebon are well known although that of Sumedang has not been publicized.

Although no more, Majapahit blayed a part while Madura's Sumenep palace focused in its unique batik costumes.

Present from South Sumatra were the Istana Palembang Darussalam, and Sriwijaya, another extinct kingdom. From North Sumatra were Istana Maimun of Sultan Deli Serdang, and Istana Siak from Riau.

From Kalimantan were the Alwatzkubillah Palace of Kutai, East Kalimantan and Istana Amantubillah Mempawah of West Kalimantan.

While Gowa and Bone are two well known kingdoms represented at the festival by Istana Balla Lompoa and Istana Saoraja; the Luwu palace of Central Sulawesi gained prominence only at this festival. Buton, which had strong ties with Riau and Java many centuries ago was represented by the Walio palace.

Bima won the limelight at the festival when it offered to hold the next kraton festival there. Located on the eastern part of Sumbawa island, some of its royal regalia including a crown, was exhibited at the Festival of Indonesia in the USA in 1991.

Source : "23 Royal Courts Join 2nd Kraton Festival", Travel Indonesia Magazine, Volume 19, no. 8, August 1997, p 22-27.

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