- Antara/Regina Safri
VIVAnews - Yogyakarta Palace will be displaying its oldest and most sacred gamelans in Gedhe Kauman Mosque for 7 days to welcome the celebration of Birth of Prophet Muhammad on Feb 4. The gamelans were paraded from the palace by 80 servants and were accepted by the Mayor of Yogyakarta, Haryadi Suyuti.
Before the parade, the palace relatives performed an udhik-udhik ceremony, which is a ceremony of sharing Rp500 and Rp1,000 coins, yellow rice, red rice and flowers to the people.
Hundreds of people gathered to collect the coins which were believed to bring blessings, safety and welfare.
“Udhik-udhik means spreading an advice that a king must ensure the welfare of his people,” said Raden Tumenggung (KRT) Waseso Winoto (75) to VIVAnews in Yogyakarta palace, today.
He said the sacred gamelans paraded to the Gedhe Kauman Mosque were: Kanjeng Kyai Guntur Madu which was made during the reign of Sultan Agung in 1642 and Kanjeng Kyai Nogo Wilogo which was made by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I in 1772.
“The gamelans will be played for a week in Gedhe Kauman Mosque, every morning from 8 AM to noon, then from 2 PM to 4 PM, and every night from 8 PM to 12 midnight,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suharti (64), a local resident said that she wanted to receive the blessings and thus brought her family along to participate in the udhik-udhik ceremony.
“I collected six coins worth of Rp 3,500. I always participate in udhik-udhik ceremony every year because I believe that I can get safety and wealth from it,” she said.
