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YUGYAKARTA |
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YOGYAKARTA (pronounced "Jogjakarta" and often just shortened to "Jogja")
ranks as one of the best preserved and most attractive cities in Java,
and is a major centre for the classical Javanese arts of batik, ballet,
drama, music, poetry and puppet shows. At its heart is Yogya's first
family, the Hamengkubuwonos, whose elegant palace lies at the centre of
Yogya's quaint old city, the Kraton , itself concealed behind high
castellated walls. Tourists flock here, attracted not only by the city's
courtly splendour but also by the nearby temples of Prambanan and
Borobudur , so there are more hotels in Yogya than anywhere else in Java
and, unfortunately, a correspondingly high number of touts, pickpockets
and con artists.
Yogyakarta grew out of the dying embers of the once-great Mataram
dynasty. In 1752, the Mataram empire, then based in nearby Solo, was in
the throes of the Third Javanese War of Succession. The reigning
susuhunan, Pakubuwono II , had been steadily losing power in the face of
a rebellion by his brothers, Singasari and Mangkubumi, and the sultan's
nephew, Mas Said. To try to turn the tide, Pakubuwono persuaded
Mangkubumi to swap sides and defend the court, offering him control over
three thousand households within the city in return. Mangkubumi agreed,
but the sultan later reneged on the deal. In fury, Mangkubumi headed off
to establish his own court. Thus Yogyakarta was born, and Mangkubumi
crowned himself Sultan Hamengkubuwono I . He spent the next 37 years
building the new capital, with the Kraton as the centrepiece and the
court at Solo as the blueprint. By the time he died in 1792, his
territory exceeded Solo's. After his death, however, the Yogya sultanate
went into freefall and spent most of the nineteenth century
concentrating on artistic pursuits rather than warmongering. In 1946,
the capital of the newly declared Republic of Indonesia was moved to
Yogya from Jakarta, and the Kraton became the unofficial headquarters
for the republican movement. With the financial and military support of
Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX , Yogya became the nerve centre for the native
forces. Today, over fifty years on from the War of Independence, the
royal household of Yogya continues to enjoy almost slavish devotion from
its subjects and the current sultan, Hamengkubuwono X, is one of the
most influential politicians in the country.
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