Yogya sultan awarded title

Yogya sultan awarded title

PADANG, West Sumatra: Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, who also serves as the governor of Yogyakarta, and his wife Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas were accorded titles by West Sumatra's traditional community.

The presentation of the titles took place during a ceremony on Monday at the Rajo Palace in Pagaruyung, about 106 kilometers north of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra.

The ceremony began with a speech by the Pagaruyung Palace's heir, Sutan Muhammad Taufik Thaib, who later placed a customary hat called a deta on the Yogyakarta sultan's head.

This was followed by the presentation of a double-bladed dagger to the sultan, accompanied by the firing of a cannon.

Thousands of people, including foreign visitors, attended the ceremony.

The conferring of the titles, which was endorsed during the Minangkabau community's consultative meeting and by leaders of Pagaruyung Palace, was aimed at "reactualizing" the respect of the Pagaruyung's first sultan, Adityawarman, who was of Javanese descent.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Yogyakarta sultan said the titles were a "symbol of unity" among different cultures.

"Our attendance seems to bridge the gap between the two cultures of Minang and Java," he added. --JP