Cleansed royal heirlooms ward off evil
Cleansed royal heirlooms ward off evil
By R. Agus Bakti
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The Sura month, the first month in the
Javanese calendar is considered sacred. The Javanese royal
families usually hold a series of ceremonies to purify their
priceless and royal heirlooms.
One of the ceremonies is siraman kereta, the bathing of the
ancient royal carriage, Kanjeng Nyai Jimat, one of the Yogyakarta
court heritages, to spiritually cleanse it of any bad influences.
This year's ceremony was held in Kagungan Dalem's Train Museum
at The Yogyakarta Royal Palace on April 14 (Sura 9, l933,
according to the Javanese calendar).
As usual, thousands of people coming from Yogyakarta, Klaten
and neighboring regencies attended the annual ritual waiting for
the blessing.
Chaired by the court's senior official, KRT Kudawijoyo, the
ceremony started at dawn. The sequences of the ceremony are caos
dahar (serving offerings), siraman (bathing) and mbusanani
(dressing).
The caos dahar ritual is the serving of various offerings --
traditional food, flowers and other items, prepared by the
court's servants.
The ritual was conducted in conjunction with the cleansing of
royal heirlooms such as Kanjeng Kyai Ageng Plered spear, kris and
other weapons.
The bathing of the royal carriage could be started only after
the weapons were cleansed.
At noon, the carriage's white cover was unwrapped. Each part
of the carriage was doused with water filled with flowers then
dried with white cloths.
After the ceremony, thousands of attendees patiently waited to
receive small pieces of the white cloths and the flower water
believed to have strong spiritual powers.
The water used for cleansing any of the court's heirlooms is
believed to have extraordinary potency that can heal certain
illnesses including skin diseases. The water is also used to
protect the user from evil and bad omens.
It is no wonder that every year hundreds of people faithfully
attend every royal ceremony to wait for the blessed water.
Harjoutomo, one of the onlookers, said that he and his family
attended the ceremony not only to take water but also to heal
their spiritual wellbeing.
"The ceremony is spiritually enriching. By attending this
ceremony, I feel emotionally better and healthier than before.
Every year, I have to come here to rejuvenate my life," explained
the 63 year old grandfather.
According to the ancient inscriptions, the Kanjeng Nyai Jimat
cleansing was part of the Jamasan ritual, an annual rite to
purify all weapons, instruments and other sacred items belonging
to the Yogyakarta Royal Court.
The court has 18 royal carriages, now kept at the Palace's
Train Museum. The Kanjeng Kyai Jimat carriage was built by a
Dutch company in 1750.
The Kanjeng Kyai Jimat carriage was only used once during the
period of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I to welcome a high ranking Dutch
official.
"These series of rites are part of the cultural and spiritual
legacy of the Yogyakarta Royal Court that must be preserved by us
and our successors," said a royal member KRT Seladihardja.