Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
The idea of visiting Yogyakarta was hatched as the perfect excuse for
escaping the cliches and hackneyed rituals of the Chinese New Year, and was
conceived half a year before the dreaded season descended amidst the din of
lion dances, popping firecrackers, Chinese New Year "music", mahjong and
interrogation by relatives.
The choice of accommodation was the iconic, venerable Hotel Phoenix, a 100
year old house converted into a posh designer hotel in 2004.
The hotel is a veritable feast for the eyes, with artifacts, ornaments and
interior design detailing in every corner to titillate and delight the visual
senses. A glance in any direction will land on some ornate vase, woodcarving
on the wall, sculptural work, floral arrangement, mosaical motif or designer
furniture.
Reflection in Venetian mirror.
Yogya is most famously known for its World Heritage Sites of Buddhist
Borobodur and Hindu Prambanan. While traditionally Javanese, and majority
Islam, the ruling visual aesthetic as seen in architecture and household
artefacts (statues, ornaments, furniture) is also influenced by the presence of
these places, e.g. the stone friezes of scenes from the Ramayana and
Buddhist beliefs.
One of the many friezes on the walls of Borobodur which tells of scenes from
ancient Buddhist texts.
Borobodur and Prambanen are both about an hour's drive from the city
centre and can be covered in one day. They were both built
contemporaneously and share similar dimensions and building materials.
They are a powerful reminder that different religions, although related and
sharing a common history, and polytheistic, can co-exist peacefully.
Prambanan - an ancient Hindu worship complex.
The vast flat expanses of the multi-terraced Borobodur, with its square and
circle concentricities, is nicely contrasted with the vertical upward spikes of
Prambanan's candi.
The famous "bells" near the top of Borobodur. Each one contains a statue of
Buddha within.
Apart from these two historical sites, Yogyakarta is also known for its
traditional Javanese arts, most exemplified by its ubiquitous batik clothing
shops (sadly selling non-differentiated and non-modernised products), but
also represented by Gamelan music, Ramayanan ballet, and the wayang kulit
or puppetry show.
Batik painting. The wax is poured onto the fabric via a cigar-like device with a
small tube. The fabric is dyed successively with darker colours and the wax
covered areas are protected from the dyes each time. Waxing is done
inbetween the dye stages and the colours and patterns are build up this way.
Unlike its more upscale and globalised cousin city Bali - with its world-
renowned tropical architecture, modern art shops and signature massage,
Yogya is comparatively more insular and traditional in its outlook, preferring
to conserve the old rather than push new boundaries. One symptom of this is
the paucity of modern art galleries and massage parlours, which are bound to
be a hit with tourists.
Yogya is also home to many local universities, and there is a sizeable student
population, adding bustle and youthful energy to the city.
Special mention is made of the Richter 5.9 earthquake that struck the
province of Yogya on May 27, 2006. The 1 min earthquake killed 6000 people
and destroyed 300,000 homes with another 300,000 seriously damaged. The
trauma and recovery continues to this day.
With about 300 languages and dialects, Indonesia is one of the world's most
culturally diverse country. Yogyakarta is the seat of Javanese culture. While
Bahasa is taught and used in schools as a national language, a majority of
Indonesians speak their own mother tongue at home and in the villages.
Javanese text. This is the local language distinct from the anglicised Bahasa
Indonesia taught in schools. The script is similar to the Thai language, being
part of the Sanskrit family of languages.
The Sultan is a powerful political figure as well as respected moral leader. The
previous Sultan (Sultan number IX) is regarded as a national hero of sorts and
extremely popular, as he fought for independence from the Dutch colonial
masters in the 1940s. He was Vice-President to Suharto, and is seen as a
Renaissance sort of man, with a flair for the fine arts. Because of the influence
of the Sultanate, which has been ruling Yogya for ten generations, Yogya is
accorded status as a Special Administrative Province of Indonesia with some
degree of political autonomy.
The royal emblem of the Yogyakarta governor. The nine feathers represent
the nine predecessor governors descended by bloodline before the current
one.
The Sultan's Palace is another must-see, for its historical insight into Yogya
via its exhibits. The Sultan has over 200 staff, and they staff the gamelan
ensemble, run traditional events, clean and cook for the Sultan's family who
are actually living there. The guided tour is staffed by knowledgeable friendly
locals who speak decent English. The traditional Javanese look of the place
(the palace is over 200 years old) is also peppered with little Dutch and
Hindu/Chinese influences.
The wedding pavilion which was rebuilt after the 2006 earthquake.
This is a hand painted batik print which I bought for S$40 from a shady place,
after bargaining the price down from S$130.
If you happen to see food that looks like some brown mish-mash, its
probably their most famous local dish - Gudeg (pronounced "Go-dek"), a
curry of jackfruit, chicken and egg, with coconut seasoning. It is sweet and
palatable. I fell in love with chicken (or ayam) there because the chicken is
free-roaming, which means much less fat, leaner meat and definitely healthier
than the farm bred chickens.