Page 5 | A brief history of gamelan

Divison and the Dutch

Contents

A history of gamelan (1)

The earliest gamelan (2)

The influence of Islam (3)

Soft instruments and other additions (4)

Division and the Dutch (5)

Courts and Kêris (6)

Diverse styles (7)

Seleh Notes Volume 2 Number 2 March 1995

© Tim Byard-Jones

The origins of the distinction between the Yogyakarta and Surakarta styles go back to the 18th century, when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) intervened in a Javanese civil war of immense complexity.

The reigning king, Pakubuwana II, abandoned the old court at Kartasura in 1743, and moved to the village of Solo, which he renamed Surakarta.

Prince Mangkubumi, having been denied the reward promised to him by Pakubuwana II for defeating the rebel leader Mas Said, decamped to a site just outside the old Mataram capital of Kota Gedhe in 1749 and founded the citadel of Yogyakarta.

Such a situation might have ended up as yet another phase in the ever-shifting pattern of Javanese politics, had it not been for the VOC's frustration at the Javanese court's inability to impose order on the Pasisir region.

The VOC duly intervened and, unable to subdue Central Java by military means, engineered the Treaty of Giyanti in 1755, recognising both Javanese courts.

This allowed the VOC to play off the Javanese rulers against each other.

The rebel leader Mas Said was established in Surakarta in 1757 as Mangkunegara I.

 

Later, during British rule (1811-16), Yogyakarta acquired another court, the Paku Alaman.

I crave the indulgence of professional historians for the brevity of this summary!

A fuller account of the rather Byzantine politics of 18th century Java can be found in 'A History of Modern Indonesia' - M.C. Ricklefs. (Macmillan 1981).

Having achieved the division of the Javanese kingdom into four and stripped away most of its outlying territory, the Dutch used the Yogyanese Prince Diponegara's rebellion (1825-30) to complete their task.

As punishment for the revolt, Yogyakarta's remaining territories were further reduced and, to maintain parity, the same punishment was meted out to Surakarta.

The then ruler of Surakarta, Pakubuwana VI, set out for the coast to confer with Nyai Loro Kidul, the goddess of the Southern Ocean (as one does). Fearing further rebellion, the Dutch arrested him and sent him into exile.

This was the effective end of any court involvement in real power politics.

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