Robert Cowherd: "Kraton and Culture: Reflexive Practice of the Sacred" Gamelan Masters Lecture #37

Since the 1949 Independence of the Republic of Indonesia, the Karaton Surakarta has had to make hard choices between maintaining its buildings or its rituals. Under Pakubuwana XII (reigned 1942-2005) the consistent policy was to give priority to the demanding cycles of ritual renewal while buildings were left to fall into disrepair. When in 1992 three princesses declared a hunger strike, it called attention to a dramatic mismatch between conventional practices of historic preservation and the living culture of the Karaton.

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Andrew Timar: “North of Java: 37 Years of Canadian Degung” Gamelan Masters Guest lecture #36