Since the reign of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, the Sultanate of Yogyakarta has known a tradition or hajad dalem called Grebeg. Grebeg comes from the Javanese language, ""Brebeg"" or ""Gumerebeg"" which means a noise caused by cheers from the audience.
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| Grebeg Maulud Started |
Actually, the Yogyakarta Sultanate Kraton grebeg tradition is held three times, the time is determined based on the Islamic calendar, and one of them is Grebeg Maulud. Grebeg Maulud can be said to be the liveliest of the two others. All the people and tourists in the city of Jogjakarta will enjoy the hustle and bustle of this traditional festival.
Sekatenan
The initial series of the Grebeg Maulud tradition will begin with a 'ritual' called Sekaten (Sekatenan - Javanese). You can see here the acculturation of Javanese customs and Islamic influence.
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| Gunungan and Traditional Guard of Jogjakarta |
The signal for the start of Sekaten was the sound of the heirloom gamelan Kyai Gunturmadu and Kyai Nagawilaga. After that, the Sekaten gamelan was moved from the Palace to the Great Mosque and played for seven days. The Sekaten ceremony was closed with the reading of the Treatise on the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad SAW by the Keraton Pengulu which was held at the Yogyakarta Great Mosque and was followed by the kondur gongso ceremony, namely returning the Sekaten gamelan to the Palace. After the closing of Sekaten, the next day the peak of the event began with the Grebeg Maulud taking place.
The Peak of Grebeg Maulud
The Grebeg Maulud tradition is the culmination of the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W or commonly known as the celebration of the Prophet's Birthday at the Kraton Sultanate of Yogyakarta. Grebeg Maulud is held on the 12th of the month of Maulud (Rabiul Awal – Islamic Calendar) which starts at 07.30 WIB.
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| People scrambling The Gunungan, everyone happy |
The event began with a parade of palace guards or bregada consisting of Bregada Wirobrojo, Daeng, Patangpuh, Jogokaryo, Prawirotomo, Nyutro, Kenggung, Mantrijero, Surokarso, and Bugis wearing their respective oversized uniforms. This troop will parade from the north courtyard of Kemandungan from the Kraton across Sitihinggil and head to the Pagelaran in the north square.
After that, at 10.00, the seven Gunungan that had been prepared would be taken away from the Yogyakarta Palace, preceded by Bugis and Surokarso troops. When the parade crosses the northern square, a salvo will be fired and cheers from the Kraton guard who are ready to welcome the gunungan.
This boisterous procession later became the origin of the term Garebeg or Grebeg. A total of five gunungan were taken to the Gedhe Kauman Mosque and the other two gunungan were taken to the Kepatihan and Pura Pakualaman where prayers would be held before the community finally fought over them.
People who are intentionally present will scramble to take parts of the Gunungan because they believe that everything that exists and is part of the Gunungan has positive supernatural powers. For example, farmers often use part of the mountains they get to plant in their rice fields or fields in the hope that they will be kept away from disaster or bad luck.
Similar Festival : Seren Taun, Cigugur - West Java
