The new capital, he argued, should be in the middle of the country — between the north and south, the west and east of the Archipelago. “This is to represent justice and to speed up [development], particularly in the easter part of Indonesia.” 

While the capital relocation project is the first symbolic move made by a president to move the nation’s political center to the actual center of the country, doubts linger if Javanese culture and all its symbolism will ever stop pervading its politics.

‘Kendi Nusantara’

In a clear sign of Javanese cultural hegemony, President Jokowi on Monday invited all governors from across the country to join a ritual laden with Javanese symbolism to bless the construction of the new capital city at ground zero in East Kalimantan.

Jokowi had asked the governors, including Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, to bring with them soil and water from their respective regions, to be put in a gold-plated container called Kendi Nusantara.

The President, a former mayor of Surakarta, one of the Javanese cultural centers in Central Java, explained that the unification of soil and water from all the provinces symbolized the archipelago’s diversity and unity.

“This is a symbol of our strong diversity and unity in order to build the capital of the archipelago,” he said.

After the ceremony, Jokowi also spent the night in a tent set up on a site (a pristine forestry area) located about 2.7 kilometers from the capital’s ground zero. He did his presidential duties there, accompanied by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and East Kalimantan Governor Isran Noor. 

His political theatrics may have raised some eyebrows, but analysts say that it could be Jokowi’s attempt to use Javanese symbolism to assert his authority. 

"Pak Jokowi wants to make the new capital city his legacy, remembered for its greatness just like the Javanese kings of the past. So, Javanese symbols are used when relocating the capital city," Kunto Adi Wibowo, the executive director of local pollster KedaiKOPI, said on Wednesday.

He pointed out that spending the night in a new prospective house, as Jokowi did by spending the night at the new capital, is also a Javanese ritual.

National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) political researcher Wasisto Raharjo Jati, who has a special interest in Javanese philosophy, said the Kendi Nusantara ceremony was a symbol of unification, with the soil from all provinces representing the element of earth and the water symbolizing life.

He added that the blessing ceremony was meant to ensure the smooth development of the new capital city.

 

Javanese ‘hegemony’

Java was the political and economic center of the Archipelago even before the formation of the colonial state, so it would take a while before the country can see the end of the Java-centric paradigm, according to Wasisto.

"We need a political will that underlies the spirit to change the paradigm," he said.

Kunto said economic growth might be achieved years after the capital’s relocation, but Javanese hegemony in Indonesian politics and culture would likely prevail, given that Indonesian presidents are traditionally Javanese. 

"The [current] president is Javanese. It has become an undeniable truth even among the political elites. It is very difficult to get rid of Java-centrism," Kunto said.

All seven of Indonesia’s presidents have been ethnically Javanese or half-Javanese, such as Soekarno, who was half-Balinese, and BJ Habibie, who was half-Gorontalonese.

The strong influence of the Javanese leadership philosophy in Indonesian politics and the fact that more than half of the country’s population resides on Java, making it an important election battleground, has fueled the popular belief that a non-Javanese cannot be an Indonesian president.    

 

Jokowi’s leadership style

President Jokowi has often espoused Javanese philosophical concepts during his presidency. Soon after his reelection in 2019, Jokowi made headlines after posting a video on social media showing the character of Gatot Kaca and the Javanese saying, lamun sira sekti, aja mateni, which roughly translates as: "Even though you are powerful, do not knock down others." 

It was one of the three Javanese tenets that he followed, the other two being:  lamun sira banter, aja ndhisiki (even though you are fast, do not outrun others); and lamun siro pinter, aja minteri (even though you are smart, do not act smarter than others).

It is also believed that the President would pick a good day according to the Javanese tradition to make important announcements. The good day — Wednesday Pon — is based on the Javanese tradition of weton, which is a method of predicting fortunes based on combinations of the seven-day Gregorian calendar week and the five-day Javanese calendar week, consisting of Pon, Wage, Kliwon, Legi and Pahing. (ahw)