Mt. Kemukus: A place with a difference

Mt. Kemukus: A place with a difference

By Tedy Novan

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The economic crisis has driven many confused
and frustrated people to seek their own refuge. Some have chosen
to visit places where mysticism reigns. Mount Kemukus is one such
place. This mountain is located near Pendem village, Sumber
Lawang, 32 kilometers to the west of Sragen, Central Java. It is
here that two lovers were buried and as such the place is
believed to be sacred -- a place where one may make requests to
the souls of the two dead lovers.

The two lovers buried here were Prince Samodra of the Demak
royal lineage and Raden Roro Ontrowulan, the prince's stepmother-
cum-lover.

This burial site, a place of pilgrimage for those wanting to
have their wishes granted by the dead lovers, is about 1,000
square meters in area and lies in the Kedungombo dam area.

If you go there, sex is indeed in the air. The path leading up
to the grave is lined on both sides with brothels. Condoms are
available in stalls. There is a belief that your request will be
granted if you have sex seven times in this place.

This grave site is now a tourist spot and one has to pay an
entrance fee of Rp 750.

It is not clear how this place came to have such beliefs
attached to it. Locals say that long, long ago, Raden Roro
Ontrowulan was in love with her stepson, Prince Samodra, the
ruler of the area.

The prince then became a wanderer and died on Mount Kemukus.
His death was such a blow to Ontrowulan that she, too, departed
from this world. The bodies of the two were then interred. Their
grave measures one meter by two meters.

"This proves the strong love that a mother had for her son,"
said Harjo, 68, the caretaker of the graveyard. He refused to
believe that Ontrowulan and Samodra were involved in an illicit
affair.

According to Harjo, or Pak Haji as he is affectionately
called, pilgrims, male and female, usually arrive alone. Female
and male sex workers are ready to have ritual sex with them.
Pilgrims rarely arrive with their spouses, perhaps because of the
ritual sex required of them before they make their wish, he
added.

However, whatever you call these sexual rituals, they are
clearly prostitution practices. Such practices have greatly upset
the Sragen administration.

In 1974, Sragen district, to combat rumors that it condoned
prostitution, announced its intention to declare the place closed
to the public. "The plan was canceled when I went to see the
regent and explained the whole thing to him," said Pak Haji, a
seventh-generation caretaker of the site.

In fact, he said, pilgrims visiting the site only want their
wishes fulfilled. They include government officials and rich
businesspeople.

Word is that Mount Kemukus is a spot for sex tourism. More and
more people have visited this spot. In this time of monetary
crisis, many people have become confused and frustrated. Their
only refuge, a place that brings them hope, is a place of
mystical charm. Visitors arrive from as far as Sumatra to the
west and Indonesia's eastern-most regions.

On the night before Friday, Pon (the name of a day in the
Javanese calendar), the day when Prince Samodra died, and Friday
Kliwon (also according to the Javanese calendar), a day when the
ceremony observing the seven days after his death, some 4,000 to
5,000 visitors flock to this place.

In the 1997/1998 fiscal year beginning April 1997, the site
collected some Rp 50 million up to December 1997. The annual
target is set at Rp 68 million.

"Although the reports that Mount Kemukus is a sex spot are
erroneous, it is a blessing in that a lot of tourists come to
this place. The proceeds earned from this location are the
biggest contribution to the region's income," said Untung
Sugiantoro, who is assigned to supervise this tourist area.

He acknowledged, however, that it was impossible to stop
prostitution here. "The most we can do is just to give them a
warning. The most important thing is that there is order and
decency here," said Sugiantoro, a father of one.

Visitors used to have sex in the graveyard, but now they go to
one of the 50 hostels and small houses around the grave.

Pardiman, who offers transportation around the Mount Kemukus
area on his motorcycle, commented that people used to have sex in
the open but now they do it behind closed doors.

Another difference is that previously couples had sex only
after a male pilgrim became acquainted with a female one, while
today both male and female pilgrims only have to choose their
suitable partners in the hostels and small houses in the area.