II ColloquiumJESEDU-Global2021
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Pilgrimage
The Special Territory of Yogyakarta
Before 1945 Yogyakarta was an independent sovereign monarchy, which began in 1755 AD. On September 5, 1945 the two-hundred-year-old Sultanate officially integrated itself into the Republic of Indonesia, the independence of which had been proclaimed one month earlier. As a province, the Special Territory of Yogyakarta has a governor as its head, and according to the 2012 Yogyakarta Privilege Law, the governor candidate should always be the monarch.
The Special Territory of Yogyakarta, or Yogyakarta in short, is made up of 5 regencies: the city of Yogyakarta, Kulon Progo, Bantul, Gunung Kidul, and Sleman, where Jesuit Sanata Dharma University and De Britto High School are. With a large number of tourist spots, Yogyakarta is a popular tourist destination among domestic as well as foreign tourists. The famous Buddhist Borobudur and Hindu Prambanan Temples, probably two of the most popular tourist attractions in Java, are located on the border between the Special Territory of Yogyakarta and the province of Central Java.
Yogyakarta is dubbed the center of Javanese Culture. The Sultan palace regularly hosts a number of cultural events open for visitors. It is also called the ‘city of students’. Institutions of secondary and higher education have attracted a large number of people from all corners of the country to come for their studies.
The Pilgrimage Shrines
You will be visiting the shrine of your choice on day 3 (July 2nd, 2020). For this outing, we have selected 3 shrines: The Great Mosque of Kota Gede (a Muslim shrine), The Temple of The Sacred Heart of Jesus (a Catholic shrine), and the Prambanan Temple (a Hindu shrine). To allow easier organization of this program, you will be asked to choose one of the shrines to visit upon registration on Educate Magis. There will be a set number of participants for each shrine on the ‘first registered – first served’ principle.
The Great Mosque of Mataram in Kotagede
Masjid Gedhe Mataram or the Great Mosque of Mataram, as it is called in English, is the oldest mosque in the Special Territory of Yogyakarta. The mosque is located in Kotagede, which used to be the capital city of the now defunct Islamic Mataram Sultanate. The mosque is approximately 5.15 miles away from Sanata Dharma University.
The mosque was built by Sultan Agung Hanyakrakusuma (the third Sultan) in 1640 AD, long before the Sultanate was split in 1755 into two kingdoms: the Sultanate of Yogyakarta or Mataram-Yogyakarta and the Sunanate of Surakarta or Mataram-Surakarta (the king is called Sunan). The building of the mosque involved the local people, who were mostly Hindus and Buddhists. In 1926 it was restored by Sunan Pakubuwono X, the tenth King of Mataram-Surakarta)
The mosque stands out among other mosques because of its Javanese-style building architecture and Hindu-Buddhist influence. The main building of the mosque is characterized by the so-called Limasan, the Javanese pyramid-shaped-like roof, and the room which is divided into two, namely the core and the porch. The front gate of the mosque is different from other mosques as it resembles a Hindu place of worship.
The Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Ganjuran.
On April 16, 1924, the Schmutzers, a Dutch family, built the first Catholic church on their land, with H. van Driessche, SJ as the first pastor. In 1927 the community began to build near the church a 10-meter-high temple, which resembles the Prambanan Hindu temple. They devoted the temple to the sacred heart of Jesus.
Jesus in this temple was portrayed as a Javanese ruler and teacher. The statue of Jesus is uniquely carved with a batik motif. There are also 15 Javanese-style reliefs depicting the Stations of the Cross originally designed by the Schmutzer family.
Unfortunately, 6.2 earthquake hit the southern area of Yogyakarta in 2006 and destroyed the original church building. The people of the parish have built a new church building on the original site. The church and the temple are located in Ganjuran, 14.16 miles away from Sanata Dharma University.
The Prambanan Temple
Pointed and tall, typical of Hindu architecture, Prambanan is a 9th-century temple-compound located on the border between the province of Central Java and the Special Territory of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The temple is a UNESCO world heritage site, and is one of the biggest in South Asia. It is approximately 8.76 miles away from Sanata Dharma University.
Built by Rakai Pikatan of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty circa 850 AD, the temple was in the first place dedicated to the Trimūrti (the Hindu Trinity), the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Transformer (Shiva). The Sanjaya Dynasty ruled ancient Java from 752 AD to 1016 AD.
Based on the Siwagrha inscriptions, the original name of this temple compound was Siwagrha (a Sanskrit word meaning the ‘Shiva House’), and indeed in the garbagriha (main room) of this temple resides at a three-meter tall Shiva Mahadewa statue which shows that Lord Shiva is preferred. The presence of Buddhist-style Sewu temples alongside the Hindu-style Prambanan temple, however, is an indication of religious tolerance, and shows that since ancient times in Java, Hindus and Buddhists have lived harmoniously.
JESEDU-Global2021
