Grebeg Maulud and the Theatre State of Yogyakarta by MUCHA

By Mucha Q. Arquiza
01 March 2010


Let’s never cease from thinking –
What is this “civilization” in which we find ourselves?
What are these ceremonies and why should we take part in them?
What are these professions and why should we make money out of them?
Where, in short, is it leading us, the procession of the sons of educated men?- Virginia Woolf, Three Guineas 1938


As much as I have savored the grandeur and excitement of the Grebeg Maulud, after being completely awed by the theatre kingship of Yogyakarta that now for the past week has been playing in the Kraton grounds, and so I also foresaw its future and potentials, in much the same way as I have seen the passing away and mutation of the barrio fiestas in many Catholic villages in the Philippines. Of how similar tradition and religious rituals had silently succumbed to and benefited commerce, and continue to do so in the name of cultural tourism, profiting the state and its capers, by creatively transforming communal tradition of once simple religious ritual of commemorating a (catholic) patron saint into one big mall of local Fiesta of culture. And as such would I predict the fate of Grebeg Maulud. If it is any consolation, this one would definitely resound with a global impact. Perhaps performing even better than the Philippines, the Grebeg Maulud in Yogyakarta could prove to be more convulsive when accompanied with the clearest grandest gamelang ever played by a receptive media and social marketers in the academe.

If indulged a little bit more in my daydreaming, I could freely advance-scan into my mind’s liquid crystal display and foresee the same devoted crowd gathered in last Friday’s ritual-event - maybe even more (in number) would come, mostly consisting of foreign and local tourists, students of culture and academic researchers, artists and media – virtually flowing from every corner of the globe, these cultural voyeurs in various stripes and shades were there to ogle and to have fun while pretending to document an exotic but living tradition unfolding in the actual disposal of kingly power and deployment of his benevolence. “This tradition is both of cultural significance, a Javanese kebudayaan (i.e.culture), as well as of religious relevance, an Islamic ibadah (i.e.faith)”, the commentator repeatedly emphasized over the woro-woro (i.e. PA system) lest the public was misled into thinking otherwise (and should there be reason to think so?). Religion and culture, indeed, walked hand-in-hand in the king’s gait and his royal entourage of imperial army in full regalia: tradition multiple-player-in-flesh-real-time-gaming with modern crowd. And, last but not least significant of all attractions the opulent and ostentatious life, past and present, long pickled and bottled-up, were on that special day uncapped, forked and tasted. The rustic royal carriages, kereta, in various make and style and the unblemished vintage cars, the various keris and royal blades in all shapes and sizes; the Pusaka, royal heritage, where power of the king really emanated. Naturally, the princes, princesses and their royal court of loyal attendants, servants and wide-eyed maids-in-waiting – and the king himself – the people, all had to play their part in stone-and-wax. For isn’t it what theatre is all about, power-playing in shifting signs and elusive symbols?

At around the same moment, one could actually witness the kingly power come to life -as from the alun-alun square marched down the dusty road were three
gunungan and ushered into the inner courtyard of the King Agung’s mosque, where slaves and subjects in cameo-roles - genuine ones in flesh and blood - waited in awe and were at their most humble and subservient selves. Later, as their scripts had always carefully prescribed, they were expected to scramble and fight-over a mound of blessed rice. Much much later into the morning, some would - so to keep the action rolling - still be left scratching and sifting through the dust unmindful of trampled dignity fading with daylight, each remaining eager to out-win one another in partaking of royal benevolence and divine blessings.

As for the ‘culturally outsiders’ – the avid spectators and excited audience – who would constitute the biggest market for this future Grebeg in my head, their presence and contingency in such event would have to be large enough to potentially benefit every actor in this stage. Not least of all, the ordinary people who laboriously eked out a living, in selling, not only their own stuff of ‘power’ (jav. kesakten) and ‘blessing’ (jav. berakat) in the flea-market of jimat and sirih (i.e. amulet and betel). Were they not forced to also hand them over to hooded thieves of souls and brains in under-the-table deals? Traditional wisdom and indigenous knowledge - those secrets were long-guarded by their folk and ancestors, but now they have to apportion and repack in small retail sizes, and peddle for the best price from the audience. Most often, the measly sum would barely buy a kilo of rice or a slab of tahu or strip of tempe. And so to augment, they have come to put themselves up for sale as well - the kawula and masyarakat , royal subjects and the lowly ones - each Grebeg Maulud day, untiringly performed and unself-consciously posed as actors and cultural artifacts for the same interested buyers of entertainment and collectors of newly-olden (fil. bagong-luma) antiques of the living tradition. To be bodily photographed and their stories to be reduced into hasty sketches and enumerated into bullet-points in field observation journals, hence, ordinary people were bought, neatly packed and locked away into the researchers’ notebook. And having possessed the frozen smiles, poised actions and unlocked best-kept indigenous secrets, safely captured in film or digital imaging format, now readied in ink-and-paper and electronic files to be hurled around the cyberspace and whirled around-the-globe. These voyeurs, cultural oglers and documenters, if they stayed meticulous with their craft and were disciplined enough to know how to suspend their humanity and restrain their ethics at the right moment and time, in turn, they too could profit dearly from this enterprise and hopefully earn the desired additional titles and appendages to their names and build monumental bodies of work that would last them for multiple life-times.

And if still allowed to go on any further into this day-dreaming…I would surmise (for the above to succeed), some innovations have to be in order. For one, the grebeg could do without the potentially discordant rebutan. Instead, the Kraton’s generosity could possibly extend fairly to everyone. A small bungkus consisting of gunungan rice or tiny portions of the blessed goodies as free take-away won’t hurt so much the royal purse. This would lend both respectability and order into the process, so that people need not have to scratch and peck at the dirt for stray grains or crumbs or morsels. The king’s supply of blessings and mercy could be made more generous literally pouring and flowing like river of berakat-laden rice on a long table spread out (i.e. read the warning in Al-Qur’an surah al-maida) running from the alun-alun to the masjid agung courtyard where the kawulas and masyarakat need not have to fight, no more risking of limbs, no more sacrificing of lives, end to the violent procedures for the dispersal of blessings.

And here, the royal event planners could gain much by organizing an educational tour to learn a lesson or two from Filipino fiestas, and from the patented creativity of Philippine tourism authorities especially those stationed in still pristine and culture mine-field Mindanao, who have tucked into their hats best practices, road-tested and effective social marketing strategies to sell culture without hitch especially in precarious times such as in the midst of war (i.e. thanks to generous foreign-donors that have been training local government units on culture of peace and capacity-building for good governance). The trip may be organized on anytime of the year as on a year-round basis Philippine villages, towns or cities are never short of events perpetually obsessed at breaking the record and landing on the Guiness World book for the biggest, grandest, longest cultural ‘any-thing’, so that no television networks would go hungry for months and years; many still manage to make big bucks from ‘healthy’ competitioÿÿ to get exclusives (i.e. rights to cover). For all the world to see…well, that maybe… but more particularly, for the vast culture market waiting out there – that advertising moguls might continue to religiously rake in blessings by rightly positioning their products in a ‘free-for-all’ rebutan of their own on a global scale.

Such could also be initially aimed for by the Grebeg Maulud organizers in Yogyakarta. If this project succeeds, on future Grebeg Maulud, I foresee that everyone’s energy could be productively pooled and positively focused, for instance, people could now properly appreciate the splendor of the gunungan without restless minds anxiously straying to the rebutan. Or else, despondent and desperate, others might need not be resigned to plunge into an endless ferris-wheel ride in the Sekaten outside, instead their eyes could happily feast now on the Kraton’s pusaka. After the feast for the eyes and ears, one might just as orderly line-up and partake of the berakat, with health and safety assured and dignity intact, everyone could peacefully come home, at least, with a fist-full or cupful of the sumptuous nasi kuning from the gunungan. This long line of flowing rice is to be made available the whole day long on Grebeg day. With that accomplished, it could even earn Yogyakarta and its kingship a Guinness’ World record for the longest flowing river of rice and the widest public dispersal of blessing ever. A sure-hit for tourists, positive scholarly reviews and generous media write-ups would not be far behind. And lest it be forgotten, as for revenues that this innovation would invite, this, the regency could use for social improvements, such as decent housing and livelihood for the poor and improvement of drainage and sewerage that would make the perennial problem of banjir (i.e. flooding) in Yogyakarta history.###