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