Are Javanese buggies riding into oblivion?

Text and photo by Singgir Kartana

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The clip-clop of andong (horse-driven buggies) can still be heard on streets in Java, especially the sedate world of towns in Central Java and the ancient royal seat of Yogyakarta.

So some may be surprised to discover that the "traditional" transportation means is actually a European import.

According to Javanese culture expert Suryanto Sastroatmodjo, the buggies were a cultural import from the interaction between Javanese sultans and the nobility, and the Dutch government and members of other European communities residing here during the colonial era.

The popularity of the buggies as a transportation means, said Suryanto, was nothing but the result of a successful process of adoption.

Antique horse-drawn carriages can be found in a number of Java's stately palaces in Yogyakarta, Cirebon and Surakarta. There is the Garudayaksa Gold Carriage, Nyai Jimat, Kyai Mondrojuwolo, Landouer and Kyai Jongwiyat that belong to Yogyakarta Palace. They were made in the Netherlands, but the Kyai Manik Kumolo carriage that is presently kept in Pura Pakualaman Palace, Yogyakarta, was made in England and given by Stamford Raffles to Sultan Paku Alam I.

The decorations on Garudayaksa show that, despite the carriage's beautiful Javanese name, it was not made on the island. There are grapes, apples, even a Dutch king's crown.

Kratonkoetsen de Java, published by De Bataafsche Leeuw, states that Garudayaksa was made in 1896 by Spyker Amsterdam, on the order of Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII. However, the carriage, said to be made from Corsican teak, was only finished during the reign of his successor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII.

There is no clear historical explanation about when the horse- driven vehicle was used for the first time. Some books only mention that the transportation was already known during the Majapahit Kingdom period. For most people, the andong were nothing more than carts, and those bearing roofs and ornaments reserved for the nobility.

Today, the andong traveling along Yogyakarta's streets conform to a particular type. They are four-wheeled with canvas roofs. The front wheels are smaller than the back, setting them apart from other horse-driven carriages called bendi (the latter only use one horse or pony, but andong can use two).

Popular

Suryanto said the buggies first became popular in Yogyakarta in 1853. But, people began to use them as public transportation means only about 1920, as Yogyakarta became a tourist city. The number of andong here reached its peak from 1950 to 1960, when there were about 3,000 buggies.

In 1979, a national equestrian association, Pordasi, was formed. Besides horse riders, the organization was also meant to accommodate horse breeders and andong drivers.

But one buggy driver, Wardi, grumbled that the organization never conducted activities with the drivers.

"What they did was just accommodate us as members of the organization. That's all," said the 58-year-old, who recently gave up buggy driving.

Pordasi's Yogyakarta chapter chairman, GBPH Yudhaningrat, countered that the organization often invited the drivers to take part in parades and festivals held by the local government.

According to Pordasi data, there are currently about 700 buggies operating as public transportation means in Yogyakarta municipality alone. The number excludes those operated in Bantul (Bantul regency), Wonosari (Gunungkidul regency), Beran (Sleman regency), and Wates (Kulonprogo regency). The buggies are organized into 17 different groups, which are named after the places where they are parked while waiting for passengers, including the North Square, South Square, Beringharjo, Ngabean, Pingit and Sosrowijayan groups.

Although the buggies continue to ply the city's streets, their decline in number from their heyday is a worry to many, including Yudhaningrat, who is one of the younger brothers of Yogyakarta Palace king and Yogyakarta governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

The fear is that the rapid pace of development and the need of people for quick transportation, could mean the buggies will exist only in photos, in museum collections and as curiosities in the yards of the wealthy in a few years time.

Yudhaningrat, who owns six beautiful andong made in the Netherlands and England, said that finding a solution was not an easy task.

"So far, we have yet to find a way to preserve andong. It's not easy telling andong owners to take good care of their property. But, I trust andong haven't yet disappeared from the city. I believe they'll always attract people," he said.

The buggies' slower pace and the relatively high fares are believed to be among the reasons for a drop in their popularity. For instance, a trip from Jl. Malioboro to the sultan's palace costs Rp 7,000 to Rp 10,000, compared to Rp 500 on a city bus.

Men are also reluctant to become buggy drivers, unless it is a tradition running in their families.

Bowo, 24, from Bantul, said: "No one else has been running this andong since my father died. I'm forced to run it to earn some money. But once I get another job I will sell it."

Most drivers acknowledged a decline in their income.

Marsudi, 50, who has been a driver since 1965, said he could only earn Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000 a day. And he had to spend Rp 5,000 of that to buy horse feed.

"Nominally, it's bigger than I got years ago, but actually what it can buy is less than what I got previously," said Marsudi, who was parked on Jl. Malioboro.

Drivers also have to deal with the high cost of maintenance. A shock absorber, for example, costs from Rp 300,000 to Rp 500,000. A new andong made of teak, for example, costs from Rp 5 million to Rp 10 million.

Buggy makers, like Paimin from Kauman village, Banguntapan, Bantul, have felt the crunch of the downturn in business. Paimin said that the last order he received was in 1980. Today, his only activity is repairs to old vehicles on the road.

Key in the effort to preserve the buggies is defining their status as tourist vehicles, not public transportation means. They can be designated special routes and accorded status as tourist vehicles, like the bendi, which are popular rides at Parangritis beach, bringing in money for their drivers and others in the tourist trade. In that way, the andong can avoid the sad fate of becoming an object gathering dust in a museum.