The Bekakak Ceremony: A Unique Tradition in Yogyakarta

 

Did you know that in Yogyakarta, precisely in Ambarketawang village, Gamping, they held a unique tradition that sacrifices humans? This event called as Bekakak Ceremony. The word Bekakak means victims who will sacrifice themselves. People in Gamping also call this ceremony Saparan Bekakak because this ceremony organizes in Sapar (Syafar), the second month in Hijriyah (a Muslim calendar).

Like other Javanese traditional ceremonies, Bekakak also has a lengthy historical background. The story begins with Prince Mangkubumi, the first king of The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta, who moved to pasanggrahan (government-owned house) Ambar Ketawang because the palace was under construction. The Prince lived in that place accompanied by several courtiers called abdi dalem (people who are the faithful caretakers of the royal household). Kyai and Nyai Wirosuto were a pair of courtiers who were diligent and very loyal to him. That's why the Prince likes them so much. They were also included in the penongsong courtiers who had the task of shading the Prince with the royal umbrella wherever the Prince went. After the palace construction was completed, Prince Mangkubumi, titled Sultan Hamengkubuwono I, decided to return. However, his two favorite courtiers asked for permission to stay at passanggrahan to take care of the place. Sultan was amazed by their wise choice and allowed the couple to stay in the passanggrahan.

            A few months later, on Friday, Kliwon in the month of Sapar, Mount Gamping near the passanggrahan erupted. Everyone who lived nearby died, including Kyai and Nyai Wirosuto. Since then, the Gamping region has been hit by a disaster every Sapar. As king, the Sultan could not allow this to continue. He then did a meditation on Mount Gamping. His efforts succeeded in attracting the attention of the mountain guardian, Setan Bekasakan. With Sultan's supernatural power, he communicated with Setan Bekasakan. The creature was angry because the people of Gamping were digging limestone around the mountain. He gave a disaster so that the people would be afraid. The creature was willing to stop it as long as the people of Gamping gave a bride yearly. The Sultan accepted the condition and started to prepare Setan Bekasakan's request. However, giving a human a sacrifice was impossible and a violation of moral values. Therefore, the Sultan replaced it with two dolls made of sticky rice flour filled with brown sugar syrup. Fortunately, this trick succeeded in deceiving Satan Bekasakan. Since then, the Bekakak ceremony has been routinely held in Ambarketawang village to prevent disaster and the arrival of evil spirits.

            The Bekakak ceremony has several stages, starting from the midodareni of the bekakak bride, kirab, to the slaughter of the bekakak bride and sugengan ageng. Midodareni is the night when the bride dolls are decorated with typical Yogyakarta and Solo clothing styles. Before that, the people of Gamping must first take holy water from Donojati spring. All the tools and materials that have been collected are then brought to the hall. The making of the bridal dolls is done two days before the ceremony. They also organize a wayang show to enliven the atmosphere before the ceremony. The second stage is kirab which is walking together from Mount Gamping to Mount Kiling. To honor the two courtiers of the Sultan who died in the disaster, they also performed a play titled “Prasetyaning Sang Abdi.” Finally, the bekakak bride is slaughtered by a delegation from the Yogyakarta Palace. Afterward, the sticky rice dolls and gunungan sesajen (food and vegetables for the spirits) are distributed to the community. They scramble to get the most rations.

            Such is the history of the Bekakak ceremony in Gamping, Yogyakarta. The ceremony does not use humans as sacrifices, but dolls made as similar as possible to human form. If you are curious and want to see this ritual in person, you can come to Gamping during the month of Sapar. People in the area still carry out this tradition to preserve the culture and express gratitude for the crops they get.