Thousands line up as sultan buried
Blontank Poer, Surakarta
Thousands of people gathered at this royal city on Monday to witness the burial procession of Hadiningrat Ingkang Sinuhun Kangjeng Susuhunan Pakubuwono XII, the traditional ruler of the Surakarta Palace.
Lines of people on both sides of the road stretched for two kilometers behind the horse-drawn carriage that transported the sultan's body from the palace for burial.
Sinuhun, as he was known to those close to him, passed away on Friday morning at the age of 79 after spending a week in the intensive care unit at Dr. Oen Hospital.
Almost all of his 36 children and 60 grandchildren attended the burial ceremony, which was led by Diponegoro Military Commander Maj. Gen. Soenarso.
Also in attendance were the Golkar Party's presidential candidate, Wiranto, Golkar leader Akbar Tandjung, National Awakening Party (PKB) leader Alwi Shihab and Yogyakarta's Sultan Hamengkubowono.
Sinuhun was buried in the Mataram family cemetery in Imogiri, Yogyakarta, some 90 kilometers northeast of Surakarta. The Imogiri cemetery was built thousands of years ago exclusively for the sultans of Java.
Servants from the Surakarta Palace and other mourners wept as Sinuhun's coffin left the palace, led by KGPH Hadi Prabowo.
The number of mourners wishing to pay their last respects to Surakarta's traditional ruler swelled as the coffin, wrapped in an Indonesian flag, approached the cemetery at about 1:40 p.m.
The procession began at about 9 a.m. in traditional Javanese style, after which the Diponegoro military commander led the procession in a military tribute.
The tomb of Sinuhun is adjacent to the tombs of his father Pakubuwono XI and grandfather Pakubuwono X.
Pakubuwono XII's official title was "Sunan Surakarta", or "ruler of Surakarta Palace", rather than "sultan". He was given the name Raden Mas Goeritno.
He ascended to the throne on June 12, 1945. In the early days of the country's independence, he was nicknamed Pangeran Mardiko, which means "freedom prince".
Pakubuwono XII was the grandson of Surakarta's famed Sultan Pakubuwono X, the powerful leader who challenged the rule of the Dutch colonial government in the early 1900s and was given the title "the king of all Java".
The Surakarta sultanate lost much of its power in the aftermath of World War II and Indonesian independence in 1945. Two royal families now share the mostly ceremonial office in Surakarta.
Sinuhun received numerous independence awards from the government and was also bestowed the titular rank of lieutenant general (not major general as reported earlier) by the Indonesian Army.
Following the May 1998 riots, during which much of Surakarta was engulfed in flames, Sinuhun joined various community groups in fostering peace and opened the palace for peace campaigns.
He was honored for his work by the Sir Chinmoy International Institute, a charity foundation based in New York.
The award was bestowed on him for his accomplishments as a cultural monarch actively involved in efforts to promote world peace.
Sinuhun never married but took six concubines, with whom he had 36 children. Two of his children have passed away.