FASES DEL CULTIVO

advise the Governor-General in Batavia.

See Canto .111,

v.39.

its own it gives a valuable insight into these two facets of Javanese society. in c o n j unction w ith the Dut c h views, it w ill enable a more balanced assessment of the war and its origins to be made. The achieving of a more balanced and r e p resentative assessment is a compelling r eason for m a king more use of the indigenous Javanese sources.

C H A P TE R XI

A H I S T O R Y OF THE MATARAM A ND JOGJAKARTA PERIOD FROM ITS B E G I N N I N G CIRCA 1575 A . D. UNT I L 1822 A .D .1

In the second half of the sixteenth century a certain Ki Gede M a t a r a m was given the district of M a t a r a m in Central Java by his master, the Sultan of P a j a n g s in r et ur n for

h aving killed a rival of the sultan. Ki Ge^le M at a r a m established a settlement at Kuja Ge<je , w h i c h was at that time still b arren and deserted. People came to settle there

2

and his settlement began to prosper. T hi s was the modest beginning of the powerful M a t a r a m dynasty.

T h i s very brief history of the M at a r a m period has been included to provide a historical background to the present study. Dipanegara as an heir of S ul t a n A g u n g and Senapati was aware of, and influenced by, the deeds of his forebears. A proper und e r s t a n d i n g of D i panegara and the political

atmosphere of early nin t e e n t h century Java therefore requires an app r e c i a t i o n of the history of Central and East Java during the whole M a t a r a m period, w h i c h includes J o g ja and Surakarta. It is important to realise that for Javanese in the early 1 8 0 0 ’s ’M a t a r a m ’ still existed in the form of Solo and Jogja.

(Tjakranegara repeatedly refers to Jogja as ’Mataram'). 1822 A.D. is the date of the accession of Sultan M en o l of Jogja, D i panegara's nephew. The years 1822-5 are covered in the

chapter d e s c r ib i n g events leading up to the outbreak of war.

2 ✓

The idea that a 'man of d e s t i n y ’ like Ki Gede M at ar a m could build a new state in a jungle wilderness and'attract a

p o p u l a t i o n because of his g e n e r oi st y or k as ek t e n (supernatural powers) was v e r y popular among the Javanese. It appears in the Par a n a t o n w h e r e ¥ i d jaja sets up the k i n g d o m of Majapahit in the forest of the T r i k people (j. Brandes, P a r a r a t o n . revised ed. 1 9 2 0, p p «1 1 8 - 9 ) » i t is also to be found in p opular works, e.g. the 'Hikajat Pandji S e m i r a n g ’. B al a i Pustaka, 1953? p.48:

'many people f rom the n e i gh bo u r i n g country of K u r i p a n came to the country of Kelana Pandji S e mirang and became its citizens, so that the country p r o s p e r e d ’. This tradition finds a

practical expl a n a t i o n in the fact that while Java's

p o pu la t io n was still small the citizens of one state who were being sorely pressed by their ruler, could e asily move into a deserted area not under his jurisdiction. Here they would come under the p r o t e c t i o n of an energetic and ambitious m a n who could eventually challenge the old king. In this he would

be backed by the resources of the refugees who had gathered around him.

In about the year 1575 Ki Gede died and lie was

succeeded by his son Senapati. Xt was Senapati who bore the first fruits of the ptrophecy that the descendants of Ki Ge<je would rule all Java. He developed a power base in Kuta Gede and defeated the Sultan of Pajang. By subduing Surabaja and East Java, he established the pre-eminence of Mataram«

Senapati died in l601 and was succeeded by his son Panembahan Krapjak,^ who ruled until 1613* Panembahan

s 2

Krapjak was succeeded in l6l3 by his son. Raden Mas Rangsang. The latter 5 better known by his posthumous title Sultan

3

A g u n g ,~ extended the power of Mataram over most of Java.

Surabaja, Gresik., Madura, Girl, and Tjeribon were all subdued. Only Bantam and the extreme East did not recognize the

suzerainty of Mataram. In 1629 Sultan Agung unsuccessfully challenged the Dutch by laying siege to Batavia. Sultan Agung had an ambivalent attitude towards Islam. He took the

1

His full posthumous title was Panembahan Seda-ing-Krapjak (the lord who died in the hunting field).

2

Sultan Agung did not immediately succeed to the throne. A younger brother, raden Marta P u r a ; ascended the throne, but for a very short time only. See H.J. de G r a a f5 ?Regering van Sultan A g u n g ’, op.cit., p.26.

3

When he first acceded to the throne he had the title Prabu Anjakrakusuma (Tjakrakusuma) .This title has been preserved in babads and other traditional writing, e fg, the Djajabaja predictions. See further Chapter IV, In 1624 he took the title * Susuhunanf (the lord who is carried on the head). This title has been preserved in Surakarta. In l64l he

acquired the title of Sultan from Mecca. In full his new title was ’Sultan Abdul Muhammad Maulana M a t e r a n i 1, His posthumous title Sultan Agung 'The Great S u l t a n ’ derives from this Islamic title acquired from Mecca.