The eight-yearly Dal festivities in Yogyakarta

Fri, December 15, 2017 / 09:50 am

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Courtiers are ready to carry the Kyai Nagawilaga gamelan back to palace after being set at Kauman Grand Mosque in Yogyakarta on Nov. 30. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Children dip their fingers into torch oil. The torches are used to light the Kauman Grand Mosque yard for the whole week when the gamelan is played. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Some people remove nails used during the Kundur Gangsa ceremony at the mosque. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Courtiers get ready to carry the Kyai Nagawilaga gamelan back to the palace after being set at Kauman Grand Mosque in Yogyakarta on Nov. 30. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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A female courtier takes a bow prior to the marching of eight gunungan (mound of rice with side dishes) at the north courtyard of Yogyakarta Palace on Dec. 1. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Some courtiers take a break to use their mobile phones. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Two foreign visitors attend the Grebeg ceremony in Yogyakarta. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Courtiers at the north courtyard carry one of the eight gunungan. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Visitors use their mobile phones to photograph the procession. JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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The Bromo gunungan procession returns to Yogyakarta Palace.JP/ Wienda Parwitasari
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Visitors harmlessly fight over the food at one of the eight gunungan in front of Pakualam palace. JP/ Tarko Sudiarno
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Sultan Hamengkubowono X takes a piece of the gunungan before royal family members flock to it. JP/ Aditya Sagita
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Inside the palace, royal family members also battle for the food on the gunungan. JP/ Aditya Sagita
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Royal family members attempt to grab food from the gunungan. JP/ Aditya Sagita

The Yogyakarta kingdom has been celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday every year by holding Sekaten (a week-long Javanese traditional ceremony) and Grebeg (the main event where the public storms the gunungan, or mound of rice with side dishes).

This year, however, the celebration was much more festive as the birthday coincided with the Dal year – which occurs every eighth year – from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1.

There were some ceremonies that only happen during the Dal year, making the celebration even more special. One of the highlights of the special celebration was the march of eight gunungan to Kauman Grand Mosque, the Kepatihan court and Pakualaman court.

Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono X presided over the whole procession starting on Thursday at 8 p.m.. He spread rice, rose petals and coins at the southern part of the palace and then at the north. The sultan then pressed his feet to the wall next to the mosque before returning to the palace.

The ceremony was ended with the Kondur Gangsa event, which was the return of the Kiai Gunturmadu and Kanjeng Kiai Nagawilaga gamelan from the mosque to the palace.

The next day, the procession was presided over by palace troops heading to the mosque to pray for the people’s safety, symbolized by the gunungan, which also concluded the week-long event.[yan]