Why the Sultan Has Asked for the Garebeg Besar Ceremony to Be Simplified
The Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, who is also the Sultan of the Yogyakarta Kraton, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, has confirmed that the Garebeg Besar customary ceremony at the Yogyakarta Kraton this year will be simplified. The main factor behind the simplification of the Garebeg Besar procession is budgetary savings. The Kraton is also seeking to safeguard public morale so that the traditional procession does not convey a sense of luxury in the prevailing circumstances. ‘Purely for savings. Everything is being trimmed back. We are also, to safeguard public morale, avoiding ostentation,’ the Sultan said on Thursday, 21 May 2026.
‘Yes, we see that the government, with its national budget (APBN), is making savings; the regions also need to economise on matters that require large budgets. If savings are only for small matters it’s not logical.’
Therefore, Garebeg Besar, which coincides with the Eid al-Adha celebrations, will proceed quite differently. One aspect is the absence of the gunungan parade that would be carried out of the Kraton, or the rayahan tradition.
However, the Sultan said there is a possibility of Abdi Dalem involvement to guard the Sekaten procession, even though the main gunungan segment will be omitted. ‘So, during Garebeg, when the Sekaten procession takes place, there may be Abdi Dalem guarding, but there will be no gunungan procession,’ he added.
As of now, the Sultan has not been able to confirm how long this simplified Garebeg format will continue to be applied. He says he still must monitor the trajectory of Indonesia’s economic situation in the times ahead before making further policy decisions. ‘If the economic conditions improve, perhaps the full procession will be reintroduced,’ he said.
Garebeg itself is part of a trio of customary ceremonies regularly held by the Yogyakarta Kraton, three times a year. The events are Garebeg Syawal to mark Eid al-Fitr, Garebeg Besar for Eid al-Adha, and Garebeg Mulud to commemorate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
This year’s arrangements will feel markedly different from previous years. The forthcoming event will be far more modest, without the royal guard processions or the rayahan ritual or the crowd’s scramble for the gunungan at the end.
The person responsible for the procession from the Yogyakarta Kraton, Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Kusumanegara, said that adjusting the ceremonial format was essential to comply with the dhawuh or direct order from the Sultan. ‘We have received the Dalem’s (Sultan’s) order to simplify the Garebeg procession, beginning with the Garebeg Besar event,’ Kusumanegara said on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.
Kusumanegara added that Abdi Dalem, as technical implementers on the ground, will undoubtedly bear and implement these new rules to the best of their ability.
The policy of trimming the rituals also eliminates several ritual sequences that typically open the tradition up to the peak of the public ceremony. For example, the opening activities, Gladhi Resik Prajurit and the Numplak Wajik ritual, usually held three days before the peak Garebeg day, are now officially cancelled.
Nevertheless, the palace states that the essence of a king’s charity to his people will not disappear, but will be redirected in the form of distributing uba rampe pareden or offerings shared selectively to internal circles.
‘So in terms of the procession, the organisation will be similar to what it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. No gunungan will leave the kraton, no royal soldier processions, and all uba rampe will be distributed solely to the Abdi Dalem of the Kraton,’ he said.
This modification to the cultural format is not unusual in the long historical record of the Mataram Islam dynasty in Yogyakarta. The Deputy Penghageng II Kawedanan Sri Wandawa at the Yogyakarta Kraton, KRT Sindurejo, explained that Garebeg rituals are, in principle, dynamic and continually undergo form transformations through the ages to suit the times, circumstances, and the era it accompanies.
From prior sultans who staged Garebeg as the grand ceremony with the Sultan present, there were periods of simplification during the struggle for independence. He explained that under the leadership of Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, similar simplification policies were also applied when the DIY region was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic a few years ago.
This serves as evidence that the sequence of cultural ceremonies within the Yogyakarta Kraton is highly flexible to adapt to the times, circumstances, and conditions without compromising the fundamental values or the main essence.
Editor’s Pick: Policy inconsistency; Serious threat to Indonesia’s economy.