Ritual Use of the Krobongan

A recent visit back to the ancient court city of Surakarta last week for a “polokromo” or wedding celebration gave me impetus to revisit this interesting topic of the ritual usage of the krobongan.

In the very interesting and informative narration from the perspective of Brent and Martha Ashabranner in their article: LORO BLONYO: Traditional Sculpture of Central Java, (Arts of Asia, May – June 1980) they state on page 113; that: “Sri, accompanied by her consort, simply sat near the krobongan, her shrine, never to be moved, except on a single occasion. That occasion was a wedding: at one point during the long ceremony of an aristocratic wedding the statues of Sri and Sadono were removed and the couple being married took their place, in the exact posture of the loro blonyo, in front of the krobongan.”

This statement was echoed again by Jesssup, in the catalogue description and notes on the loro blonyo in the Court Arts of Indonesia exhibition organised by the Asia Society Galleries, NY., in the early 1990s.

On page 264, she writes: “Although associated with the marriage bed and described as a bridal pair, the loro blonyo are not present during the marriage ceremony. They are replaced by the bridal couple sitting in front of the kobongan in the same pose as the sculptures, thus emphasizing the importance of fertility symbols during the marriage rites without the actual presence of a Hinduistic or animist symbol.” And she quotes B.and M. Ashabranner 1980:112-19.

Interestingly B. and M. Ashabranner also goes on to state on page 114 (continued on page 116) that: “Tradition still requires the presence of loro blonyo in front of the krobongan in the kratons of Solo and Jogyakarta, but we (sic) know of no instance of their ritual use or of a krobongan in any private residence today.”

This imparts an interesting opinion on the presence, placement and role of the loro blonyo within an aristocratic setting during the occasion of a wedding. However, my own personal experience has shown this to be not entirely accurate as the background of the ritual space of the central bay within the dalem, the “senthong tengah”, which houses the ritual marriage bed or staatsiebed [in Dutch] (as described in an earlier blog post) known as the pasren or krobongan structure within noble dwellings is contained within a relatively large space in the dalem proper which is regarded as the domain of the female by the Javanese and as such activities of the bridal couple around the area of the krobongan did not necessitate the displacement of the loro blonyo, either from tradition, nor for the ease of movement during the wedding ceremonies.

Some research and observations from the photographic archives of the nobility in Surakarta dating to the late 19^th and 20^th centuries shows the presence of the loro blonyo throughout the marriage ceremony which involved the use of the krobongan. This was from the marriages of Mangkunegara VII to the current MN IX and some documentation of the princely dalems of the Kasunanan.

This historical documentation of a royal wedding at the Kasunanan kraton is dated 1970 and depicts the groom as the son of GPH Soeryobroto and the elderly prince in the dark jacket. From the decoration of the krobongan, this is most probably within the dalem ageng of the Sasono Mulyo and clearly demonstrates that the loro blonyo figurines are not removed during the process of a Surakarta aristocratic wedding.

Perhaps, B. and M. Ashabranner had formed their conclusion on the removal of the statutes as their knowledge on the role of the krobongan and possible genesis came from the explanation of a Mr Rudjito of the Sono Budoyo Museum in Jogyakarta.

Unlike in Jogyakarta, where all families across social strata were permitted to own loro blonyo within their dwellings; “in Surakarta, the presence of loro blonyo was restricted to noble families.” (Jessup, 1990)    

Thus I can also speculate here that the dalems of most aristocratic families are of larger proportions than the residences of the general populace and thus there would be more available space in front of the krobongan within the dalem where the bridal pair would sit in state during the wedding ceremony and the statutes would not need to be displaced.

And both Ashabranner & Ashabranner, 1980 and Jessup, 1990; state that the ritual use of the krobongan was restricted to the occasions of weddings and funerals and this is backed up by photographs of the cortege of Pakubuwana X lying in state within the Ndalem Pakubuwanan (around the area of the Ivory Room, Kamar Gading, behind the dalem Prabasuyasa proper) before a plain krobongan that had loro blonyo sited in front. Remarkably the deceased monarch did not lie in state before the krobongan at the dalem Prabusuyasa and recent funerals of deceased princes (KGPH Kusumoyudo) were held before the krobongan at the Sasana Mulya. After which the bodies were transported to the Royal Mausoleum at Imogiri for interment.

Available literature states that the krobongans were never used for sleeping by humans and were some sort of remnant Hinduistic or animist altar used in Kejawen beliefs.

However, personal communication with the consort of the late daughter of Adipati Purwodiningrat on the occasion of his marriage in the early to mid 20^th century; the Kangjeng Pangeran, now in his eighties; revealed that after the main wedding festivities in the preceding day such as the “temu” and “ijab” ceremonies and the “sungkem” which was done sitting in front of the krobongan; at around 1 am or past midnight, the bridal pair would withdraw from the guests and had to sit as a couple inside the krobongan where the curtains or cloths which were draped over it (dikerobongi, diselubungi) were closed for a few seconds, after which a female member of the family would come up to the krobongan with a lighted candle, reopen the curtains and ask: “Are you still there.”

This was repeated three times and this peculiar ceremony was based on an ancient Javanese myth that a bridegroom once changed into a huge caterpillar and murdered his wife.

Thus these were the only few occasions that the krobongan were used in the settings of weddings and funerals.

Traditionally, the back or side of the senthong would contain cupboards for heirlooms and valuables, and this entire area was considered a sacred and restricted area, attended only by the master or close-relatives of the household.

Contemporaneous observations show that “sajen” or “caos dhahar” were regularly offered before the krobongan usually on Thursday nights (malam Jum’at) and on particular auspicious days, such offerings include the burning of ratus (aromatic herbs), bunga setaman (flowers within a waterbowl), food (jajan pasar) and sirih/tobacco offerings, along with chicken eggs (telur ayam kampung) and straight black coffee.

Interestingly, while B. and M. Ashabranner expressed the opinion that the kratons of Surakarta and Jogyakarta contained loro blonyo, both the dalem Prabasuyasa in Solo and Prabayeksa in Yogya shows no trace of loro blonyo being sited before this ceremonial axis of the palace and this was accurate up to the documentation by Dutch electricians and historians who took photographs of the dalem’s interior in the late 19^th and 20^th centuries.

Loro blonyo statues were traditionally known to be found in dalems of senior princes who were already married and of the other nobility such as the Duchy of the Mangkunegara and the ruler’s official representative, the Patih or Chief Minister. Indeed, information provided by the late K.R.T. (as he was then) Hardjonagoro stated that: “In the Surakarta and Yogyakarta kratons, loro blonyo are not placed in the dalem but instead set in the Patihan, the Chief Minister’s residence, where the most sacred loro blonyo were kept.” (Jessup, 1990)