The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, who is also the\nSultan of the Yogyakarta Kraton, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, has\nconfirmed that the Garebeg Besar customary ceremony at the Yogyakarta\nKraton this year will be simplified. The main factor behind the\nsimplification of the Garebeg Besar procession is budgetary savings. The\nKraton is also seeking to safeguard public morale so that the\ntraditional procession does not convey a sense of luxury in the\nprevailing circumstances. \u2018Purely for savings. Everything is being\ntrimmed back. We are also, to safeguard public morale, avoiding\nostentation,\u2019 the Sultan said on Thursday, 21 May 2026.<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes, we see that the government, with its national budget (APBN), is\nmaking savings; the regions also need to economise on matters that\nrequire large budgets. If savings are only for small matters it\u2019s not\nlogical.\u2019<\/p>\n
Therefore, Garebeg Besar, which coincides with the Eid al-Adha\ncelebrations, will proceed quite differently. One aspect is the absence\nof the gunungan parade that would be carried out of the Kraton, or the\nrayahan tradition.<\/p>\n
However, the Sultan said there is a possibility of Abdi Dalem\ninvolvement to guard the Sekaten procession, even though the main\ngunungan segment will be omitted. \u2018So, during Garebeg, when the Sekaten\nprocession takes place, there may be Abdi Dalem guarding, but there will\nbe no gunungan procession,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n
As of now, the Sultan has not been able to confirm how long this\nsimplified Garebeg format will continue to be applied. He says he still\nmust monitor the trajectory of Indonesia\u2019s economic situation in the\ntimes ahead before making further policy decisions. \u2018If the economic\nconditions improve, perhaps the full procession will be reintroduced,\u2019\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Garebeg itself is part of a trio of customary ceremonies regularly\nheld by the Yogyakarta Kraton, three times a year. The events are\nGarebeg Syawal to mark Eid al-Fitr, Garebeg Besar for Eid al-Adha, and\nGarebeg Mulud to commemorate the Prophet Muhammad\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s arrangements will feel markedly different from previous\nyears. The forthcoming event will be far more modest, without the royal\nguard processions or the rayahan ritual or the crowd\u2019s scramble for the\ngunungan at the end.<\/p>\n
The person responsible for the procession from the Yogyakarta Kraton,\nKanjeng Raden Tumenggung Kusumanegara, said that adjusting the\nceremonial format was essential to comply with the dhawuh or direct\norder from the Sultan. \u2018We have received the Dalem\u2019s (Sultan\u2019s) order to\nsimplify the Garebeg procession, beginning with the Garebeg Besar\nevent,\u2019 Kusumanegara said on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.<\/p>\n
Kusumanegara added that Abdi Dalem, as technical implementers on the\nground, will undoubtedly bear and implement these new rules to the best\nof their ability.<\/p>\n
The policy of trimming the rituals also eliminates several ritual\nsequences that typically open the tradition up to the peak of the public\nceremony. For example, the opening activities, Gladhi Resik Prajurit and\nthe Numplak Wajik ritual, usually held three days before the peak\nGarebeg day, are now officially cancelled.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the palace states that the essence of a king\u2019s charity\nto his people will not disappear, but will be redirected in the form of\ndistributing uba rampe pareden or offerings shared selectively to\ninternal circles.<\/p>\n
\u2018So in terms of the procession, the organisation will be similar to\nwhat it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. No gunungan will leave the\nkraton, no royal soldier processions, and all uba rampe will be\ndistributed solely to the Abdi Dalem of the Kraton,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
This modification to the cultural format is not unusual in the long\nhistorical record of the Mataram Islam dynasty in Yogyakarta. The Deputy\nPenghageng II Kawedanan Sri Wandawa at the Yogyakarta Kraton, KRT\nSindurejo, explained that Garebeg rituals are, in principle, dynamic and\ncontinually undergo form transformations through the ages to suit the\ntimes, circumstances, and the era it accompanies.<\/p>\n
From prior sultans who staged Garebeg as the grand ceremony with the\nSultan present, there were periods of simplification during the struggle\nfor independence. He explained that under the leadership of Sri Sultan\nHamengku Buwono X, similar simplification policies were also applied\nwhen the DIY region was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic a few years\nago.<\/p>\n
This serves as evidence that the sequence of cultural ceremonies\nwithin the Yogyakarta Kraton is highly flexible to adapt to the times,\ncircumstances, and conditions without compromising the fundamental\nvalues or the main essence.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Pick: Policy inconsistency; Serious threat to Indonesia\u2019s\neconomy.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/why-the-sultan-has-asked-for-the-garebeg-besar-ceremony-to-be-simplified-1779542342", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }