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Surakarta parades 1,001 keris, spears along Jl. Slamet Riyadi
Central Java’s Surakarta city administration presented “Kirab 1001 Keris”, a parade of 1001 kris and spears on Sunday, Sept. 15.
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Kyai Tengara, the kris that was granted by President Joko Widodo to the Nusantara Kris Museum in 2017 was the mascot of the 'Kirab 1001 Keris' along Jl. Slamet Riyadi, Surakarta, Central Java, on Sunday. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
T
he administration of Surakarta, Central Java, presented “Kirab 1001 Keris”, a parade of 1001 kris and spears on Sunday, Sept. 15. Among the items paraded was “Kyai Tengara”, the kris that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo handed over to the city’s Nusantara Kris Museum in 2017.
Kyai Tengara, which has become the museum’s centerpiece, was paraded from Loji Gandrung, the mayor’s official residence, passing by Sriwedari Park and ending at the museum.
Also paraded along with the traditional weapons were a number of gunungan (cone-shaped offerings), comprising a variety of agricultural produce and fruit.
Joining the parade were some 1,000 participants comprising kris-owner communities, city agencies, subdistrict administration representatives, members of the Wayang Orang (human puppets) Sriwedari, and students of the Surakarta Institute of the Arts (ISI) School of Fine Art and Design majoring in kris and traditional weapon studies.
The students carried with them various kris of their own creation. They also organized a kris exhibition and a workshop on the art of kris forging.
The parade started at about 7 a.m., passing along the city’s main street of Jl. Slamet Riyadi, which was part of the car free day program that morning.
Surakarta Mayor FX Hadi “Rudy” Rudyatmo, Deputy Mayor Achmad Purnomo and the city police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Andy Rifai and kris masters were seen leading the parade, escorting Kyai Tengara.
Following them were participants in traditional Javanese costumes, each carrying a kris.
Almost all the kris are normally displayed in the museum, but on this special occasion, they were paraded and exposed to the public. Kyai Tengara, as expected, was the center of attention.
Featuring five luk (curves) symbolizing the five precepts of the state ideology Pancasila, Kyai Tengara takes the shape of Hindu god Ganesha, known for his elephant-shaped head. The kris was placed in a jodang container decorated with strings of jasmine, carried by four people in white costumes.
“The kris was named Tengara, which literally means signal so that we are expected to be always ready and prepared for tasks,” kris master Totok Brojodiningrat said.
Mayor Rudy said the parade was held as the city administration’s way of preserving cultural heritage and at the same time educating people, especially about kris.
“Apart from the parade we also have a kris workshop and exhibition. On regular days we can see the collection at the Nusantara Kris Museum,” said Rudy, adding that since the museum was established, more students had become interested in kris.
This being the inaugural kris parade, Rudy said the city administration planned to organize it annually as an effort to preserve the tradition as well as a way to attract more tourists to visit the city.
Read also: Land of kris masters
“This parade is held as part of the series of events held during the month of Sura, which is also the month of culture,” said Rudy, referring to the first month according to the Javanese calendar.
He said there were many kris activities being held in the museum, ranging from exhibitions to auctions.
The parade stretched some 4 kilometers in distance and onlookers competed to get produce from the gunungan once the parade ended at the yard of the kris museum. (yun/mut)
