PART 2: WHAT KRATON LOOKS LIKE

Kraton Yogyakarta has a special architecture of its own. It stretches long, has 9 accesses, 5 interconnections in Alun-Alun Kidul, and if there is a tree dying, it will be replaced by exactly the same tree. All of these show us that everything inside Kraton has a certain meaning.

Let’s take a look a little further, starting from the south part. On the south end, there is Krapyak. It is a podium for Sri Sultan to watch deer hunting. There’s a kampong called Mijen (wiji = seeds) next to it.

Then to the north, there’s a street stretching on which Asem and Tanjung trees are planted. Entering the Plengkung Gading, we will see the real Kraton complex. In the middle of Alun-Alun Kidul, there are two banyan trees called Wok. Then surrounding the Alun-Alun, there are mango trees.

The Alun-Alun is surrounded by a wall, sitting inside the Kraton complex. A bit farther, there is Plangkung Nirbaya (Gading). And there are two banyan trees in the middle of it called Supit-Urang which each of it is surrounded by archer-shaped fence that symbolizes a character of teenagers.

On the north of the Alun-Alun, there’s a tratag, a place to take a shelter, plaited-bamboo-roofed and Gayam trees are planted on its right and left sides. On the right and left of Sitihinggil there are two pathways that meet in Regol Kemandungan, which is on the north of it. This pathway is called Pamengkang. There used to be a pendopo in the Sitihinggil with its selogilang for Sri Sultan to sit on. Around the Sitihinggil yard, there are Soka and Palem Cempora trees. Flowers of the trees are very beautiful, soft-haired, bunched in a stalk and red and white-colored. When Sri Sultan was sitting on the selogilang, there were always Kraton’s relatives and abdi dalem (the King’s servants) who were sitting around on the floor, men-and women. On both right and left sides of Sitihinggil, there are toilets.

Then we get in the Kemandungan yard through Regol Kemandungan. There are Kepel, Cengkir Gading and Manggo trees in the yard. Then there are two pathways, one to the right and the other to the left, connecting the yard to the outside ‘world’.

If we keep going to the north, we will go through Regol Gadungmlati then we get in Kemagangan yard. From this yard there is a pathway westward to Dapur Kraton (the Kraton’s Kitchen) called Gebulen and another one eastward to the other Dapur called Sekullanggen.

When we get in Regol Kemagangan then we are in the Plataran Kedaton (Kraton’s yard). At this point we need to stop and go back southward, to question the spiritual meaning of this part.