Hamzah rekindles the past<\/p>\n
Bambang Muryanto, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Late one Saturday afternoon, a horse-drawn carriage gracefully
\nemerged from a mansion somewhere in Kotabaru, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Two "high-ranking court servants" in full Javanese costume sat
\nin the front, driving the carriage. Another stood at the rear,
\nholding a tall umbrella.<\/p>\n
The carriage proceeded slowly down the road in Kota Baru. All
\nthe way, onlookers attentively followed its progress. But who
\nwere the three people in the carriage?<\/p>\n
One of them, sitting right next to the coachman, had
\npronounced North Asian features. He was holding a kebud, an
\ninstrument made from the hair of a horse's tail, which is used to
\nshake off dust.<\/p>\n
While the carriage clanked along, he received a greeting from
\nsome people who knew him. Was he really a high-ranking court
\nservant? No. He is, however, a well-known businessman in
\nYogyakarta, none other than Hamzah Hendro Sutiknow, who owns
\nMirota Batik, a famous outlet for batik cloth and a variety of
\ntraditional handicraft products.<\/p>\n
Hamzah is known to be in close contact with traditional
\nartists in Yogyakarta. He often participates in ketoprak, a type
\nof traditional Javanese play. Recently, together with some of
\nYogyakarta's leading traditional artists, he starred in a
\nketoprak performance that was one of the highlights of the
\nYogyakarta Arts Festival.<\/p>\n
In the play, he assumed the role of an emban, a female
\nservant. "I was given the role because it was the easiest one to
\nplay and also because I'm already old," said Hamzah, who is of
\nChinese descent.<\/p>\n
Late every Saturday afternoon, if he has the time, Hamzah
\ntravels round the city in his horse-drawn carriage. He starts
\nfrom his house and goes to the tourist strip along Jl. Malioboro
\nand through the North Square before returning to Kota Baru.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, he only went round Kota Baru. "I can't go
\nround the city because I have to shortly attend a fashion show in
\nmy shop," said Hamzah, 55. So, the procession around the city had
\nto go ahead without him.<\/p>\n
All along the way, the black-and-yellow horse-drawn carriage
\nattracted the attention of passersby. Cantering along streets
\ncrowded with motorcycles and automobiles, the antique-looking
\ncarriage aroused plenty of curiosity.<\/p>\n
Upon seeing the carriage, locals and tourists alike may
\nbe reminded of the fact that about a century ago, horse-drawn
\ncarriages were a common sight on the roads of Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Hamzah began taking regular trips round the city in his
\ncarriage about a year ago. When he is busy, the carriage tours the
\ncity without him, a reminder to people, amid the ongoing progress
\nof modern times, of what life in Java was like in bygone days.<\/p>\n
At first, Hamzah used an andong, a two-wheeled carriage drawn
\nby two horses that is still used as a means of transportation in
\nYogyakarta even today. However, as the andong failed to attract
\nthe attention of tourists, he decided to replace it with a horse-
\ndrawn carriage with a more attractive design.<\/p>\n
So, now he uses a horse-drawn carriage that resembles the Kus
\nGading, one of the carriages owned by the Yogyakarta sultan. Made
\nin 1901, the carriage is now on display in the Yogyakarta
\nSultanate Carriage Museum.<\/p>\n
Hamzah spent some Rp 32 million on making a Kus-Gading
\nlook-alike. "Although it resembles Kus Gading, the replica is
\nsmaller," said Paidi, its maker.<\/p>\n
Although Hamzah likes taking trips around the city in his
\ncarriage, this does not mean that he is seeking popularity or
\ntrying to create a sensation. "I do it simply because I'm very
\nfond of Javanese culture," said Hamzah, who added that he liked
\ngendhing (traditional Javanese songs). Besides, he believes that
\nwhat he does will promote tourism as it provides an interesting
\nsight in the streets.<\/p>\n
That's why in the holiday season Hamzah planned to travel
\nround the city in his carriage every day. Unfortunately, this
\nplan has remained unfulfilled to date as he is too busy. Apart
\nfrom being the director of Mirota Batik, he also owns a milk
\nfactory.<\/p>\n
Hamzah allows some of his employees to travel round the city
\nin his carriage during the holiday season but only he himself is
\npermitted to don the traditional Javanese garb and sit next to
\nthe coachman. He is too busy for all this, though. "I'm not happy
\nseeing someone else wearing the Javanese costume," said Hamzah,
\nan English literature graduate from the Sanata Dharma Institute
\nof Higher Education.<\/p>\n
Besides his penchant for Javanese culture, Hamzah is a horse
\nlover at heart. He owns seven horses, one of which, Satria
\nKinayungan, is extraordinary in that it has two crowns of hair.
\nIt is believed that anybody who owns a horse like this will
\nbecome a "knight" and command great respect.<\/p>\n
Hamzah also has six more horse-drawn carriages in his
\ncollection. The oldest was made in 1928 and was specially designed
\nfor leisurely rides. This carriage is now kept in his shop as
\npart of the decor.<\/p>\n
Hamzah's love of horses and, subsequently, horse-drawn
\ncarriages began to develop when he was still a boy. Claiming that
\nhe also knows how to drive a carriage, he said that he learned
\nthis at a very young age. "When I was a boy, I often rode in
\nandong and would ask the coachmen to let me drive," reminisced
\nHamzah, who is also a fashion designer.<\/p>\n
Of his five siblings, Hamzah is the only one with a great love
\nof Javanese culture, a passion that he has inherited from his
\nmother, Tini Yuniarti. He can still remember clearly how his
\nmother listened with rapt attention to radio broadcasts of
\ntraditional Javanese shadow puppet shows.<\/p>\n
She would also take him to see performances staged by Ngesti
\nPandowo and Kawedar, two traditional traveling troupes, when they
\nvisited Yogyakarta. When Hamzah was seven, his mother asked him
\nto take Javanese dance lessons.<\/p>\n
His deep passion ultimately molded him into a fully-rounded
\nJavanese person who speaks very refined Javanese and always
\nbehaves in strict compliance with traditional Javanese mores.<\/p>\n
Although he owns a replica of the Kus Gading carriage, he
\nnever rides in it as an owner normally would, sitting in the
\ncabin. "Only members of the sultan's family deserve a seat
\nthere," he said.<\/p>\n
Now that he has started making regular trips around the city
\nin his carriage, Hamzah has another dream. He wants to show the
\npeople of Yogyakarta the real function of the sedan chair that he
\nowns.<\/p>\n
In the past, noblemen from the palace went about in sedan
\nchairs, carried on the shoulders of a number of bearers.<\/p>\n
"To make this dream come true, I will need at least 20
\npeople," he said. Why? Well, he doesn't just want to show off
\nhis sedan chair, but wants to stage a full-scale traditional
\nprocession with music provided by a group of gamelan players.<\/p>\n
He plans to do this every year during the Muslim post-fasting
\nlebaran holiday.<\/p>\n
If his dream becomes a reality, Yogyakarta might well become
\nmore attractive to tourists.<\/p>",
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