Visitors go ape over Cirebon's famous monkeys
Visitors go ape over Cirebon's famous monkeys
By R. Agus Bakti
CIREBON, West Java (JP): What happens to students who fail to
heed religious teachings?
They are turned into monkeys, at least near Cirebon.
No kidding. That is the traditional explanation for the
presence of monkeys in the graveyard of Sunan Kalijaga Syech
Abdurrahman bin Wilwatikta in Kalijaga village, Sumberkelok
subdistrict, in the Cirebon area.
Legend has it the monkeys appeared due to the action of Sunan
Kalijaga, one of the nine famous propagators of Islam in Java.
One day, when one of his students did not obey his religious
teachings, Sunan Kalijaga's pronouncement turned him into a
monkey.
The troupe of monkeys lives comfortably at the graveyard. They
have presumably been there for hundreds of years, surviving
through the generations. But a curious fact is that locals say
the number of monkeys has remained constant over the years, never
increasing from 99 animals.
Cemetery keeper Tana said the monkeys live well. Their habitat
is limited to the houses of the villagers, trees growing in an
area as large as a soccer field and the banks of Kalijaga River.
Kalijaga, located three kilometers from the center of Cirebon,
has become a well-known site for relaxation.
"Many people visit the place on Sundays and holidays," said
Tana.
Most of the visitors come to play with the monkeys. Tana said
the monkeys were friendly to people as long as they were not
abused.
He said most visitors express their caring for the animals by
giving them food.
"These monkeys like to eat beras (uncooked rice)," said Tana,
adding that visitors often ask him to buy rice. The animals
gather whenever there is an offering of food.
Unlike many others of their kind, the monkeys enjoy a peaceful
coexistence with their human neighbors. The locals do not dare to
hurt or tease the monkeys, and freely give them food.
Tana was unable to provide a detailed explanation on why the
monkey population remained constant at 99. But he said there was
no human intervention to keep the population at the number.
"The story about the monkeys has been handed down for
generations, from my father, my grandfather. If a monkey is born,
it is not the case that another monkey is killed. It is all a
natural process."
It is also generally a quiet life. The monkeys live in trees
on the banks of the Kalijaga river which traverses Sumberkelok
village. Some sleep in the graveyard of Sunan Kalijaga.
Although the local government has not designated the site a
tourist attraction, the existence of the monkeys is already a
draw. People, bearing gifts of rice, bananas and other food, can
play and observe the monkeys without having to travel to a zoo.
The graveyard is also important to some visitors because of
Sunan's important place in the spread of Islam through Java. Tana
said most people on a pilgrimage to the site ask for the
realization of their wishes. Visitors come from Jakarta, Bandung,
Semarang, Yogyakarta and Cirebon.
The graveyard of has an attractive architecture, especially
its entrance. It is built in the Cirebon style with the
magnificent use of bricks. "It is at this place that the monkeys
often come for shelter," Tana said.
Another comfortable place for monkeys is Plangon, also in
Sumberkelok subdistrict. On the side of the road from South
Cirebon to Kuningan, it is a stretch where motorists can rest and
take in the amusing sight of monkeys coming down from the trees
to play.
Both Kalijaga graveyard and Plangon are owned by Cirebon's
royalty.
Sultan Djalaludin, who heads Kanoman Palace and owns the land
at Plangon, said that anyone who wanted to develop the site into
a tourist attraction would have to be careful to preserve the
cultural values.
Both sites are easily accessible. There is direct public
transportation from the terminal in Cirebon to the sites and even
easier access for people using their own vehicles.