Glimpses of past and present at the Imogiri market

By Angger Jati Wijaya and Gin Kurniawan

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Words pale before the beauty of a dusky evening at Imogiri market in Bantul. It is as though the nuances of times long past return as the kerosene lamps are lit, sending out their dim illumination.

The traditional market is located some 30 km southeast of here. Geographically, it is situated on the fertile mountain foot, flanked by the Opak and the Oya, two rivers that flow all year round. A historian from Gadjah Mada University, Joko Suryo, said the market was established in the 17th century, or, to be exact, in the early days of the most influential Mataram king, Sultan Agung Hanyokrokusumo.

There is nothing special about the Imogiri market's structure. It occupies about 4,500 square meters and moss covers parts of its walls. Thousands depend on the market for their livelihood. All sellers are indigenous, some inheriting drinks stalls which existed in the time of Sultan Agung.

Yogyakarta natives have their own fond impressions of the taste of the famed tea mixed with sugar cubes sold at the Imogiri market in the evening. Artists, activists, lecturers, university students, local bureaucrats, journalists and people from other walks of life all share memories of sipping the brew.

In accordance with the Javanese calendar, Imogiri market has its markets on the Javanese days of Wage, Legi and Pahing. On these days, the market is hectic with activities.

"The market is open 24 hours. It is always busy day and night," said Murjiyo, 45, one of the tea sellers. He has been selling tea in this market for 30 years, never missing a single day. He learned to sell the tea from his great grandfather, also a trader in this market.

Like Murjiyo, many sellers hailing from areas around Imogiri inherited their selling skills from their parents and grandparents, who were also merchants in this market. They claim to be fourth generation sellers.

According to Joko Suryo, the name Imogiri is morphologically derived from the hima, Javanese for cool, and giri (mountain), the reason why Sultan Agung's decided to make Imogiri the burial place for Mataram kings. It was at the same time as the building of this royal burial place that Imogiri market, then only a place where tea was sold, was turned by the then Mataram ruler into a permanent market place.

In addition to its use to accommodate the social and economic potential of the community around it, Imogiri market was also intended as part of the kingdom's defense fort.

When Mataram was under the rule of Panembahan Senopati, Imogiri, which is part of Bantul, was known as an opposition region. At that time, a famous local ruler, Ki Ageng Mangir Wonoboyo, once demanded autonomy and staged an armed rebellion. However, the region proclaimed by Mangir was finally subjugated by Mataram.

"Afterwards, Mataram established Imogiri market as a melting pot for both laymen and the kingdom's informers in order that any indication of a possible rebellion, coup d'etat, subversion and the like could be detected as early as possible," said Joko Suryo.

Imogiri was strategic to Mataram because it was located between the seat of Mataram kingdom in Plered and Parangtritis. Mataram kings would stop here on their spiritual journey to the seat of a supernatural kingdom of the South Coast.

According to RPA Suryanto Sastro Atmojo, a cultural observer who has extensively studied the cultural shift that the Javanese community has undergone, the presence of kraton, the royal palace, is inseparable from the life of a Javanese because of four reasons.

First, a palace is the center of power. Second. the alun-alun, the square of the palace, is a place where the masses can be mobilized. Third, the grand mosque symbolizes the spiritual essence. Fourth, the market serves, in the perspective of the power of a Javanese king, as a place to accommodate diverse people.

It was in the market, Suryanto said, that the dynamics of democracy of the power of a feudalistic king took its own course with its own uniqueness. Various interests would come to a market and would then be absorbed by different parties. This would be input to the king before he drew up a policy.

Remnants of the past are still visible in the present Imogiri market. It is still a gathering spot for different types of people. They get together at tea stalls, talking about various things, even though the kingdom is no longer there.

But the market cannot be impervious to the influences of capitalism.

"Now the market is no longer a cultural area. Rather, it is a place for economic activities with capital-related calculations," said Suryanto.

This actually began about 200 years ago when the function of market changed because of capitalism. It was predicted in oral verses that the culture of the Javanese in its entirety would undergo a shift. The shift is one of the three signs of shifting as illustrated in the following classical Javanese verse: /Wong Wadon Ilang Wirange/Kali Ilang Kedhunge/Pasar Ilang Kumandhange/ (Women will no longer have their shame/Rivers will no longer have their bilabongs/Markets will no longer have their echo).

The sign of the decline of the Javanese culture is indicated by the shift in the origin and the foundation of the philosophy of the community's culture symbolized by women. Then, the river symbolizes the shift in the flow of life and the market is a symbol for the shift in the center of interaction for the dynamic sector in the society.

In the context of the adiluhung (noble) culture in Java, just a little shift in women's noble behavior -- explainable, among others things, through the popularity of a pop culture exploiting women -- is understood as a symptom of a significant cultural shift.

Then the line reading "rivers will no longer have their bilabongs" can be understood literally as rivers sustaining serious ecological damage. Symbolically, the currents of water are the way of life itself. The line hints that there is no more room for reflection. Spiritually, this means there is no longer any control over man's behavior, allowing it to deviate from the currents of truth.

"Markets will no longer have their echo" refers to the shift in the function of a market, a change from the melting pot for thousands of diverse aspirations to a capitalistic area. A market is no longer a place where diverse sounds collect to form an echo, but it has degenerated into a place merely for capital owners to seek profits. The lesson is that markets do change everywhere.