JP/17/SEKATE

JP/17/SEKATE

'Sekaten' through times

Sri Wahyuni The Jakarta Post Yogyakarta

The Sekaten festival dates back to the year 1939 Saka on the Javanese calendar, or 1477, when Raden Patah of Demak Bintoro founded the Grand Mosque of Demak, with the support of the wali (propagators of Islam on Java island).

The festival was also the result of discussions with the wali, who said a special event should be held for seven consecutive days ahead of the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth, with the main purpose of the even to be the spread of Islam.

Sekaten was first held at a field near the mosque. In order to draw people to the event, one of the wali, Sunan Giri, created the traditional gamelan musical instruments to be played near the mosque compound.

With the instruments, traditional Javanese music compositions, known as gending, composed by Sunan Kalijaga were sung and played. By the end of the event, people who had expressed a desire to convert to Islam were assisted by the wali in saying the syahadatain, which is a profession of faith saying that there is no God other than Allah and that Muhammad is His Last Messenger.

It was in fact from the word "syahadatain" that the name "sekaten" was taken.

As the event developed, sekaten turned into a traditional folk celebration that was held annually, later becoming an official tradition of Demak, especially after it became an Islamic kingdom.

The tradition continued even after the kingdom developed into the powerful Mataram kingdom and was split into the separate kingdoms of Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Both the Surakarta and Yogyakarta palaces preserved the sekaten celebration as a part of their cultural and religious heritage, explaining why the sekaten is to this day held each year in the two cities.

In the Yogyakarta palace, the celebration has been developed over the years to its present form. The latest changes occurred this year when the previously month-long Sekaten Night Market held ahead of the main event was changed into the 38-day Jogja Expo Sekaten '04.

A private event organizer also was hired to professionally manage the event to make it a nationally recognized business exhibition.

Yet, the main sekaten ritual is still held for seven consecutive days ahead of Prophet Muhammad's birthday, which is on May 2.

The main ritual basically consists of three main processions. First is the playing of the palace's sacred gamelan musical instruments, called Kanjeng Kyai Nogowilogo and Kangjeng Kyai Guntur Madu.

Second is the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday at the palace's Masjid Agung Grand Mosque. And third is the garebeg ritual in which the palace distributes rice offerings to the people. Many people believe that eating of these offerings will bring them good luck.