'Kanjeng' Rara Kidul from the South: A queen for all kings
'Kanjeng' Rara Kidul from the South: A queen for all kings
By Wahyuni Rizkiana Kamah and Iwan Satyanegara
SUKABUMI, West Java (JP): Queen Rara Kidul walked towards
Prince Senopati, bent over his feet and joined her hands in a
sembah (greeting signing of respect) and said "Your prayer to God
has been granted. You and your descendants after you will rule
Java. You will also rule the spirits, the jinn and the fairies,
and they will help you against your enemies. You will be like the
father of Java."
The passage is from the Babad Tanah Jawi (The Chronicles of
the Land of Java), a masterpiece of history mixed with legend
which narrates the first appearance of Ratu (Queen) Rara Kidul
after Senopati, the founder of the Mataram empire, prayed to God
in Parangkusumo on the southern coast of Central Java.
Although some people don't believe in such tales, the majority
of Javanese people worship Ratu Rara Kidul, a supernatural
creature, as the ruler of the south sea of Java. Their belief
stems from Senopati's success in fulfilling his dream to be the
King of Mataram. Every Mataram king must take Ratu Rara Kidul as
his wife, so she has become the subject of a debate where myths
and superstition defeat logic and reality, where tradition
strikes down modernity.
Isaac Asimov listed in his Book of Facts that the Samudra
Beach Hotel outside of Pelabuhan Ratu on the southern coast of
West Java has furnished a room for Ratu Rara Kidul. Asimov, a
Russian-American born author, considers the existence of Ratu
Rara Kidul as a Believe It Or Not case.
The connection
The Islamic kingdom of Mataram dominated much of Java in 16th
century until it was split into four kingdoms in the 17th
century. As a result, there are now four kingdoms under four
kings: the kingdom of Surakarta (Kasunanan Surakarta) under King
Pakubuwono XII (since 1944); the Sultanate of Yogyakarta
(Kasultanan Yogyakarta) under Sultan Hamengkubuwono X (since
1989); the Principality of Surakarta (Puro Mangkunegoro) under
King Mangkunegoro (since 1988); and the Principality of
Yogyakarta (Puro Paku Alaman) under King Paku Alam VIII (since
1937). All of the kings are direct descendants of Prince
Senopati.
The right of kingship is traditionally conferred by Ratu Rara
Kidul and her sanction is a prerequisite for building a palace.
The architecture and alignment of all four palaces are based on
esoteric knowledge and Javanese-Hindu cosmology.
"All of the palaces' yards are covered with the sand taken
from Parangtritis. It is a symbol that the palaces have
relationship with the south sea, the mystical home of Ratu Rara
Kidul," explained a guide at the Yogyakarta palace.
The north entrances of the Surakarta and Yogyakarta palaces
face Mount Merapi in Central Java, which is the realm of the
gods. The palaces' southern gates look toward the south sea, the
mystical home of Rara Kidul.
"The governmental system run in Ratu Rara Kidul's kingdom is
fairly similar to the system of the real world government," said
a paranormal, a close friend of both the late Sultan
Hamengkubuwono IX and the present Hamengkubuwono X. "The highest
occupation is ruled by Kanjeng (form of address for a high-
ranking noble) Rara Kidul, whereas her ministers are Nyai
(Javanese noble woman) Rara Kidul as the chief minister and Mbok
(form of address for Javanese woman of humble origin) Rara Kidul.
Both are assigned as guards. They often recruit drowned people as
subjects in their underwater kingdom," said the paranormal who
asked not to be identified.
He further explained, "There are three determinate 'gates' to
enter this supernatural kingdom which are situated in Pelabuhan
Ratu, Pangandaran and Parangtritis."
In the Sultanate of Yogyakarta, there is a special ceremony
connected for Ratu Rara Kidul called nglarung (offering). This
sacred ceremony is performed every Islamic New Year (1 Muharram)
or 1 Suro (Javanese calendar) in Parangkusumo, one kilometer east
of Parangtritis.
"The offerings consists of food, various live birds including
doves and finches, holy water, jasmine petals, the Sultan's
cloth, and hair and clipped nails from the Sultan. The offerings
are arranged in a raft and are delivered to the sea at
Parangkusumo," said Wahyo, a delman (horse cart) driver who lives
in Parangtritis. A former prayer-site of Prince Senopati at
Parangkusumo has become a sacred site for semedi (prayer) for
people wishing to encounter Ratu Rara Kidul. Now, the spot is
surrounded by the wall and can only be entered with the juru
kunci's (key keeper) permission.
The four Mataram palaces are not the only ones to perform the
nglarung. Most farmers and fishermen in Cilacap on the southern
coast of Central Java give offerings to the sea or sedekah laut
every 1 Suro or 1 Muharram.
"The offering consists of a bull's head or a cow's head,
chicken, vegetables, some women's cloth and other worthy gifts.
The aim of the offerings is to avoid disasters to get luck," said
Nunik, a Cilacap resident who has participated in the offering
ceremonies. "The fishermen and citizens in Cilacap truly believe
that disaster will come unless they perform the ceremony," she
said.
Permission
Ratu Rara Kidul has a malevolent disposition. Swimming on her
rough southern sea is dangerous, particularly if her territory is
entered without her permission. Offenders are frequently drowned.
The Bulgarian ambassador to Indonesia drowned at Pelabuhan Ratu
beach in 1965. Many inhabitants of Java's southern shore meet the
same fate every year.
"Green is the color of the sea, so seeing anything similar to
its color, the sea will seize it," explained Wahyo when asked why
people in green suits are taken. "Ratu Rara Kidul's favorite
color is green, particularly pale yellow green known as gadung
melati," added Mbah Joyo, who lives in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta.
"Twenty years ago, my teenaged daughter was wading in Kali
(river) Kulon Progo which runs to the south sea. At the time, she
was trying to help her friend who had drifted away but she
failed. Then they were both carried by the current. The villagers
in my neighborhood believed Nyai Rara Kidul selected my daughter
and her friend as her assistants in her underwater kingdom," she
said. "The river recruits assistants every year," she added.
The Javanese therefore avoid wearing green when visiting the
shore. For those who don't know about this taboo, things may be
different. Gerrit, a German tourist who swam in the sea in
Pelabuhan Ratu said, "I was wearing a green swim suit, but
nothing happened to me. It might be because I knew nothing about
Ratu Rara Kidul or her love of green. I have learned about the
tale so I won't swim in a green swim suit again."
Nunik said, "A friend of mine who had learnt about the taboo
tried to challenge the mystic rule by wearing a green T-shirt to
the Cilacap coast in West Java. He cannot look backwards now,
because all he sees are monsters."
When asked about this story, Farida Harum, an Islamic
preacher, explained, "In Islam we recognize creatures other than
human beings, namely the living matters such as plants and
animals, the non-living matters, and the invisible ones such as
the angels and the genies. I'd say it is a genie that people
consider as Ratu Rara Kidul. Whether you believe or not depends
on our conviction. If you are a Moslems, you'd better stay away
from such mystical practices."
Legend or no legend, the rips, the violent currents, and the
heavy surf obviously make swimming on most of Java's southern
beaches dangerous. The seascape is supported by forbidding
shorelines of jagged cliffs and the dunes of shifting iron gray
sand.
Marshall Green, the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia in 1966-1967,
joked that Ratu Rara Kidul liked him because his name was Mr.
Green. Though he didn't believe in the superstition, he
understood why Samudra Beach Hotel keeps a room for Ratu Rara
Kidul.
After Sultan Agung, the late Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono IX of
the Sultanate Yogyakarta was the greatest king that Mataram had
ever had. He was also the former Indonesian Vice President (1973-
78), one of the nation's founding fathers and a national. He once
announced that he saw Ratu Rara Kidul by a specific requisition
and dawn-to-dusk fasting and meditation. The Sultan's motto Tahta
untuk Rakyat (Throne for the People) ruled his life. In his book,
the Sultan said that Ratu Rara Kidul's face changes. At the new
moon, she appears as the most beautiful young lady in the
universe. At full moon, however, she turns to into an ugly, old
woman. He also said that Ratu Rara Kidul is the spiritual wife of
the Mataram kings.
When Sultan Hamengkubowono IX died in October 1988 in
Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan ordered Air Force Two,
the U.S. presidential plane, to carry the Sultan's body to
Honolulu, Hawaii. Reagan also expressed his condolences to the
Indonesian government, which declared a week-long mourning.
That was the greatest honor ever given to a husband of Ratu
Rara Kidul, the queen for all kings.