Abimantrana Temporary Exhibition – Kedhaton Museum Yogyakarta.

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Surely the title above makes you curious, what is meant by ‘Abimantrana’. It is a kind of prayer or mantra, which is specifically for prayer in the customs of the Yogyakarta palace. So, when I traveled to Yogyakarta last July, I had the opportunity to enter this temporary exhibition. Everything is presented for free!

It has a very deep meaning, so that everyone knows the customs of the Yogyakarta palace as one way to preserve Javanese culture, especially in Yogyakarta as one of the kingdoms that still exists and has very strong elements in society. There are so many exhibitions in the Yogyakarta palace (keraton means palace), so it is very interesting to discuss one by one.

This time, I entered the Abimantrana Temporary Exhibition, something that is very far from me, I would not even know the word Abimantrana at all if I had not been to this place. Abimantrana is all the customs and celebrations carried out by the Yogyakarta kingdom, all without exception, even the 'Tedhak Siten' event which means a ceremony for children who are learning to walk for the first time. It's really complex, isn't it?

It's like all beginnings become something very valuable for the life of the Yogyakarta Palace as a way of giving thanks to God Almighty. The very complete procession of the traditional ceremony written in this temporary exhibition embodies how great the value of the Yogyakarta Palace is as a cultural element that should be passed down and preserved. So this temporary exhibition is a form or way for the government to introduce it, especially to tourists and local residents, especially for young people aged 10-20 years to get to know the traditional ceremonies of the Yogyakarta Palace.

I am very amazed by some of the knowledge that is quite classic and it reflects the complex and very sequential culture of the Yogyakarta Palace. Everything is made into a concept of how the Yogyakarta Palace can become a value that should be emulated by people with similar customs. In addition, because the culture is also very complete, so that an exhibition like this becomes something interesting and informative for those who are interested in getting to know Kedhaton Yogyakarta more closely.

One of my favorite things while at this temporary exhibition is a ceremony called 'Swasarira; means is Daur Hidup'. Where it is a ceremony that I think is very sacred and very attached to the hope of entering a new level of life, namely Marriage. As a sign that there is something that will be a turning point after marriage, so Swasarira becomes the largest place in this exhibition.

Very complete, from the mitoni, lahir, tedhak siten, detak, supitan, tarapan to pernikahan. That is the ceremony that is the life cycle in Kedhaton Yogyakarta. Not only that, this ceremony is not only carried out by people from Kedhaton Yogyakarta, but also by many other people if they are of Javanese descent. But, of course, a ceremony like this is very sacred and requires a lot of money, so people with low incomes rarely carry out Swasarira.

That's a little story about me going around Kedhaton Yogyakarta to see a very informative temporary exhibition. A comfortable place with various forms of complete exhibitions is something I like, because it concerns the rebirth of a generation that understands the traditional ceremonies of Kedhaton Yogyakarta which will later be inherited.

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