Agency to restore Tugu Yogyakarta

(JP/Slamet Susanto)

In a bid to conserve a cultural heritage and an icon of the Yogyakarta Palace, the Yogyakarta Cultural Agency is revitalizing the Tugu Yogyakarta monument, also known as Tugu Pal Putih.

The agency has allocated Rp 975 million (US$107,250) to carry out the initial stage of the project, which will be completed within two weeks. The initial stage will determine the position of the monument’s foundations and how much damage was sustained in the 2006 earthquake.

An excavation team member, archeologist Adita Nofiandi, said on Tuesday that according to a 1920 document, the monument’s foundations were divided into four layers. However, the number of layers has decreased to three.

The team is determined to return the foundations to their initial condition.

A park surrounding the monument will also be established to prevent tourists from climbing it to pose for photographs.

“Such endeavors will eventually damage the site,” Adita said.

The agency’s history and archeology division head, Nursatwika, said the team was also communicating with the transportation agency and the traffic police to reroute traffic during the project.

The monument, built in the 17th century, describes microcosmic and macrocosmic relations between Mount Merapi, the Yogyakarta Palace and the South Sea, all of which are positioned in one straight line. It was renovated by Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII in 1889 after an earthquake damaged it.

Nursatwika said the monument was also a symbol describing the birth of a sultan, including when a sultan is nurtured, physically and psychologically, at the Yogyakarta Palace.

“After that, the future sultan is taught how to socialize with the royal prime minister at Kepatihan (the prime minister’s office) and residents in the Pasar Gede market. The process ends at the Tugu Pal Putih, which symbolizes the completion of the proceedings,” Nursatwika said. (swd)