A ritual teaching a prince to eat pudding<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post\/Surakarta, Central Java<\/p>\n
While most of the Javanese community in Central Java consider the
\nfirst of Suro (month on the Javanese calendar) a sacred day,
\nvillagers of Kendal hamlet celebrate Suro 15, which fell on Feb.
\n24 this year.<\/p>\n
Housewives and girls rise early to cook apem cakes, which are
\nmade of a mixture of fermented sticky rice, rice flour, coconut
\nmilk and vanilla crystals.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon, respected, elder members of the community
\nwash the hamlet's sacred krises of Kyai Jokosuro and Kyai Singkir
\nAngin with rose water, for use in a parade through the village in
\nthe evening.<\/p>\n
\"We are preparing for the Wahyu Kliyu ritual,\" Seman, 66, told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He was referring to a ritual that locals claim was first
\nperformed 400 years ago. No one, however, is able to provide a
\nthorough explanation as to where the ritual originated from and
\nwhy it was initially performed.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know where it comes from, but we don't dare miss
\nit,\" Seman said, adding that he always performed the ritual under
\nthe instruction of his father and his grandfather.<\/p>\n
The ritual itself is performed at midnight. Just before
\nmidnight, therefore, the heads of families take the apem to the
\ndesignated place.<\/p>\n
They are carried in a bamboo basket, which must be positioned
\na bit higher than the navel of the man carrying it. Carrying it
\non one's shoulders is highly recommended.<\/p>\n
The main ritual, which was held in the village hall this year,
\nstarts with the men throwing the cakes, one-by-one, into a square
\nbox placed on layers of banana leaves.<\/p>\n
\"Wahyu Kliyu! Wahyu Kliyu!\" the men shout every time they
\nthrow a cake.<\/p>\n
It is believed that the words Wahyu Kliyu are derived from the
\nArabic phrase, Yaqoyu Yaqoyum, which is a request for God's
\nblessing.<\/p>\n
Although the ritual looks simple it is actually very involved:
\nOnly men are allowed to carry the apem cakes and both the baskets
\nand the cakes must be prepared according to a set of rules.<\/p>\n
\"We, for example, are not allowed to carry the baskets
\nlightly in one hand,\" Seman said.<\/p>\n
Each family head is also required to carry a banana leaf. The
\nnumber of cakes in each basket must be exactly 344, although no
\none could explain why.<\/p>\n
Even Jatipuro village head Rakino, 50, confessed that
\ninformation was lacking on the unique ritual's history.<\/p>\n
\"It's all based on tales passed from one generation to the
\nnext. Though, not a single family here dares to
\nbreak the tradition and miss one -- anymore,\" Rakino said.
\nominously.<\/p>\n
Seman agreed, saying that everyone is really afraid of the
\nconsequences of doing so. He recalled that once a drought had hit
\nthe hamlet after the locals failed to perform the ritual. Since
\nthen, according to Seman, the villagers, who are mostly farmers,
\nalways try their best to perform the apem-throwing ritual.<\/p>\n
Some believe the tradition started after a prolonged drought
\nhit the hamlet hundreds of years ago, causing the earth to crack.
\nSo deep was the crack that people used a bamboo rod to measure
\nits depth.<\/p>\n
Still, the bamboo was not long enough, so a lawe (rope made of
\nplaited cotton fiber) was tied to the bamboo rod. When the depth
\nof the crack had been measured,the rope was pulled out. It took
\nwith it a brown iron plate of some five centimeters in diameter
\nthat was later represented by the apem cake.<\/p>\n
Another tale says that during the rule of prince Sambernyawa
\nof Puro Mangkunegaran Palace in Surakarta in 1757, a soldier fled
\nthe then war-torn Surakarta for shelter in the village.<\/p>\n
In the village, a widow served him a bowl of steaming hot
\npudding made of crushed and hulled grains, or bekatul as it is
\nlocally known. So hot was the pudding that the hungry prince
\nhesitated to eat it. So, the widow instructed him to start from
\nthe outer part of the pudding, gently skimming the surface, and
\nwork his way in -- until every last morsel had been downed.<\/p>\n
When the soldier arrived at the palace and told the prince how
\nthe widow had taught him to eat pudding, the prince interpreted
\nit as a secret message from the widow, regarding how he could win
\nthe war. He had to paralyze the enemy's forces little by little,
\nworking his way toward victory.<\/p>\n
As an expression of gratitude, prince Sambernyawa, who was
\nlater crowned KGPAA Mangkunagoro I, bestowed upon the widow the
\nhonorable title of Rondho Menang or the winning widow, and gave
\nher a sacred kris named Kyai Jokosuro. It was the shape of the
\npudding on the plate.<\/p>\n
And, later, cakes called apem were made to remind the people
\nof how the widow taught the soldier to eat pudding and the prince
\nwon the war.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-ritual-teaching-a-prince-to-eat-pudding-1447893297",
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