Yogyakarta lures tourists with 'bekakak'

Yogyakarta lures tourists with 'bekakak'

Text and photos by R. Agus Bakti

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A bride and the groom are always treated in a
special way. Everybody gives them privileges and spoils them with
attention and gifts.

In Ambarketawang, a village in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta,
bride and the groom dolls also receive special treatment -- but
not in a nice way. They are "slaughtered" as offerings to avoid
calamity.

The doll slaughtering is an annual traditional rite that has
become an attraction to both domestic and foreign tourists.

The rite is also known as Wilujengan Saparan - or an offering
in the month of Sapar - because it takes place on the second
Friday in the Javanese month of Sapar every year. This year it
was held on May 19, starting at about 3.00 p.m. and ending at
dusk.

According to Zaenuri, an administrator at Ambarketawang
village, the dolls, known as bekakak, have been slaughtered as a
symbol of sacrifice to ensure that the people living around Mount
Gamping will be spared from disaster.

"The instruction to slaughter the dolls has been a tradition
passed on by the first Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono, the founder of
the Yogyakarta Sultanate," he said.

The order was made around the year 1756 when Sri Sultan
Hamengkubuwono I, the ruler of the Yogyakarta Sultanate still
resided in Ambarketawang, and not in the Yogyakarta Palace.

In Ambarketawang, locals earn their living by quarrying
limestone from Mt. Gamping.

One of the locals, Ki Wirosuta, was unlucky. He was killed
when huge stones fell on him. This man was a royal servant to the
sultan. Reportedly, he was killed by a spirit believed to guard
the mountain.

The sultan told the locals to make a pair of dolls with
glutinous rice to represent a bride and a bridegroom. The dolls
were filled with fluid of palm sugar with the color of blood.

The dolls were taken near to Mt. Gamping and ceremonially
slaughtered. Since then, it has been traditional for the locals
to slaughter bekakak.

Although quarrying has left only remnants of Mt. Gamping, a
part remains as a place where bekakak are slaughtered. This
limestone site is estimated to be 57 million years old. It is now
a cultural and natural reserve under the control of the
administration of Yogyakarta Special Region and the Directorate
of Geology and Mineral Resources in Bandung, West Java.

Although the mountain is only a memory, the tradition is still
observed. Besides, the rite provides an opportunity for uncommon
economic activities.

One week prior to the ritual at Ambarketawang Square, a night
bazaar is set up for vendors to sell their wares, and a week of
arts performances commence.

The festival of the slaughtering the dolls in the year 2000
was seen by thousands of locals and tourists lining the five
kilometer processional route around the village.

The walking procession, causing significant traffic
congestion, began at the village hall in Ambarketawang. Wearing
traditional Javanese dress, an entourage of kyai, venerated
scholars/teachers of Islam, led the procession.

Locals applauded and cheered as the bekakak passed, carried on
a joli, sedan chair.

Apart from the dolls, the procession included traditional
performances such as jathilan, plaitwork-horse dance and reog,
whose dancers performed along the road in time with the
accompanying gamelan music.

Another popular attraction was the appearance of giant figures
depicting a couple of gendruwo (bad spirits). These giant
creatures also danced and were enthusiastically applauded when
the performers inside made the gendruwo appear to go into a
trance.

Dewi, 21, a student from Bandung said: "These gendruwo dolls
are really great. They remind me of the ondel-ondel dolls unique
to Betawi, Jakarta."

Before joining the procession, the gendruwo dolls attracted
the attention of many people, especially children. Their
curiosity made people smile. Some even tried to open the dolls.

Since the bekakak traditional rite has become a popular
tourist attraction, a number of local administration officials
also came to witness it. They wore Javanese costumes and rode in
a horse-drawn carriage behind the group carrying the bekakak
dolls.

After walking for about two hours, the bekakak arrived at the
site of Mount Gamping. The dolls were carried away, running as if
fleeing, before they were slaughtered.

When the neck of each doll was slashed, the palm sugar fluid
oozed, like human blood. Then the dolls were cut into small
pieces and distributed to the spectators.

The rite is considered sacred by some locals. They will take
home their small piece of the bekakak.