Reviving Traditions of the Yogyakarta Palace Brigade
The sun was blazing as dozens of students from SMAN 3 Yogyakarta public high school stood in line outside the school gates. Among them were students holding flags, others carrying snare drums and traditional gamelan instruments and still others with spears on their shoulders. They all wore uniforms reminiscent of those of the soldiers of Yogyakarta Palace.
Wildan Anis Rahmani, 16, an eleventh grader majoring in science, stood at the front of the line and cued his friends to start matching in line to the sounds of snare drums and the gamelan. They were marching in a parade down Jl. Sudirman, one of Yogyakarta’s main thoroughfares.
Behind the SMAN 3 students were a dozen other groups wearing similar clothing. A majority of the parade’s participants wore traditional Javanese attire, donning blangkon hats and lurik (striped textile) cloth tied around their waists.
They were participating in the Bregada Siswamadya Festival on Saturday (16/9/2017). At least 700 people participated in the 1.5-kilometer parade leading from SMAN 3 Yogyakarta’s east gate to Kridosono Stadium’s west gate.
The festival’s coordinator, KRMT Indro “Kimpling” Suseno, said the festival aimed to introduce palace culture to the younger generation, as well as to revive Yogyakarta’s cultural traditions.
“Almost every tourism village in Yogyakarta has a student brigade. However, there are only a few brigade events that involve students. This is in spite of the students’ high level of imagination and creativity,” he said.
Despite being in charge of costumes and accessories for the SMAN 3 Yogyakarta student brigade, Vina Aurellia, 17, a twelfth grader majoring in science, said that she did not know much about the Yogyakarta Palace Brigade.
The costumes she created with her friends for the parade were inspired from her online search on the Yogyakarta Palace brigade. She designed the costume for the Wirabraja soldiers, one of the palace brigade units, with red beskap (traditional Javanese jacket) and white lurik waistband.
“It took around four months to design and produce the costumes. After the costumes were completed, honestly, they exceeded our early expectations. Working hard for months paid off,” Vina said.
As the SMAN 3 Yogyakarta brigade commander, Wildan said he was enthusiastic about preparing for the festival. An active member of the Core Platoon (Peleton Inti) extracurricular activity at his school, he said he had no difficulty in leading the brigade.
History
Cultural observer Achmad Charris Zubair said that the Yogyakarta Palace brigade, or bregada keraton, was established in 1755 by Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. At that time, the brigade served to protect the sovereignty of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. The brigade was comprised of several units that were named according to their function and skills.
However, during the reign of Sultan Hamengku Buwono VI (1855-1877), Dutch intervention shifted the brigade’s role from state defense to a merely ceremonial one.
The brigade’s lowest point came when the commander of the invading Japanese military requested Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX to dissolve the brigade on Aug. 1, 1942. After much thinking, the sultan agreed to the request in order to avoid the Japanese from using the palace brigade against the Allied forces. On that date, the Yogyakarta Palace brigade ceased to exist.
Almost three decades later in 1970, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX revived the brigade. “However, they no longer served as state defense and security. They merely served as a medium to preserve the cultural heritage,” Charris said.
Currently there are 10 Yogyakarta Palace brigade units: the Wirabraja, Dhaeng, Patangpuluh, Jagakarya, Prawiratama, Nyutra, Ketanggung, Mantrijero, Bugis and Surakarsa. They visibly differ from one another in the uniforms that they wear. The public can see the brigades in action at least three times a year, during the Grebeg Mulud, Grebeg Besar and Grebeg Syawal commemorative events in the North Square (Alun-Alun Utara).
Mushrooming
Apart from the palace, brigades are popping up in dozens of tourism villages in the Yogyakarta Special Region. Village tourism managers have replicated the Yogyakarta Palace brigade and imbued them with local customs to serve as village icons.
Panggungharjo village in Sewon district, Bantul regency, for instance, has its Wiratamtama Brigade, which often participates in the province’s cultural festivals. On the 20th of every month, the date of Bantul regency’s birth, they serve as flag-raising units at the Panggungharjo village hall.
Village head Wahyudi Anggoro Jadi said that the Wiratamtama Brigade was formed in 2015 to revitalize the village’s cultural potential and reinforce the village’s Mataraman historical tourism.
“There are several villagers who serve on the palace brigade. They were the ones who recruited and trained the other Wiratamtama Brigade members,” Wahyudi said.
Yogyakarta Special Region Joint Secretariat chief Widihasto Wasana Putra said that the mushrooming of brigades initiated by citizens outside Yogyakarta Palace reflected the close relationship between the palace and the people. “This is proof that the palace can enliven and inspire the people here,” he said.
Nevertheless, Charris said that people should not replicate the palace brigade’s costumes and accessories in their own community brigades. Each uniform worn by the Yogyakarta Palace brigade units have a complex philosophical meaning and strong historical roots.
It is hoped that the people will not only learn about their local culture, but also preserve them. Proper observation of their historical inheritance and a legal umbrella in the form of a Yogyakarta special law will be sufficient to protect and preserve the cultural legacy of the Yogyakarta Special Region.