East Java Tourism News

East Java town of Pacitan celebrates ancestors, 632rd anniversary

Ki Bonokeling, Ki Setroketipo and Kanjeng Jimat probably never imagined their lives in Pacitan would continue to be remembered by their descendants until today.

But it was at their graves that Pacitan residents recently held a series of celebrations to mark the East Java town’s 623rd anniversary.
Unlike most cemeteries, the graveyard complex of Giri Sampoerno in Tanjung Asri village of Pacitan subdistrict is located on the top of a hill.

The graves there cover most parts of the hill, which is located one kilometer away from the heart of the town where President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono grew up.

The grave of Joyoniman, also known as Kanjeng Jimat, the 12th Pacitan regent who is remembered as the great leader who developed the town, can be found there.

He was also considered a holy man because it was through him that Islam began to spread through Pacitan.

“After Kanjeng Jimat gained power, Pacitan grew to become an advanced region,” Imam Koesno, a senior citizen who is also the juru kunci (caretaker) of Kanjeng Jimat’s grave, told The Jakarta Post.

Pacitan is known as the place where Javanese kings went to meditate and the place where the great Sudirman, a national hero, chose to hide when he was being pursued by the Dutch.

“I heard there’s one cave where kings meditated and which was also used by the late former president Soeharto,” Fathoni, head of the Pacitan Tourism Office, told the Post.

The history of Pacitan started with the arrival of Ki Bonokeling — one of the messengers of King Brawijaya who was sent to the area bordering East Java and Central Java in the 12th century. Ki Bonokeling’s descendants remained as significant figures for four generations.

When Islam arrived, the fourth Ki Bonokeling, the area’s ruler, objected when Kyai Ageng Petung, who was also spreading Islam in Java, brought his religion to Pacitan. The two clashed and waged war.

It was believed the fourth Ki Bonokeling held divine powers which rendered him immortal.

However, Kyai Ageng Petung killed him by cutting his body into three; each body part was then buried in a different location and separated by a river. From then on, Islam began to grow in Pacitan.

The name Pacitan itself is believed to come from the word pace — the fruit of the small bengkudu tree; the roots of which are used to produce dyes.

King Mangkubumi, who recovered from paralysis by drinking the juice of the fruit, was believed to be the first to mention the name. Setroetipo, a fifth-generation descendant of Bonokeling and who was a Muslim, was the person who gave the juice to Mangubumi.

“The story continued until Pacitan was controlled by Joyoniman or Kanjeng Jimat, the descendant of the tenth Bonokeling who held authority from 1840,” said Koesno quoting the Babad Pacitan (the story told in Javanese and the languages of Sunda, Bali and Madura, which recounts the history of Pacitan).

Kanjeng Jimat himself was a simple man and a dutiful follower of Islam. One of his ambitions was to turn Pacitan into an Islamic city, so when he passed away, his wish was to be buried on top of a hill facing Pacitan city.

From his grave, a visitor can view Pacitan city and its surrounds all the way to Teleng Ria beach in the south.

The grave itself is simple and has no special monuments, but has become a magnet drawing Pacitan residents who believe some graves are sacred and hold special powers.

“There are three graves in Pacitan which are often visited and where people pray — the graves of Kanjeng Jimat, Setroketipo and Buonokeling,” said Koesno.

The simplicity and sanctity of Kanjeng Jimat is the inspiration for the celebration of Pacitan’s anniversary in 2008.

Popular performances from the regency’s 12 subdistricts, such as the traditional kirab parade and puppet shows, were organized for residents.

“Our philosophy is to use the celebration of Pacitan’s birthday to improve the city and religious observance,” Fathoni said.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Add comment March 3rd, 2008

Madura, small island, great dishes

Suryatini N. Ganie, Contributor, Jakarta

Once, when watching the kerapan sapi, traditional bull racing in a small Madura village, I remember the bulls coming nearer and nearer, their steaming nostrils and reddish eyes promising impending doom. It seemed they were heading right for us. Thank goodness a matador interceded it and saved our skin.

I told a friend from Pamekasan this story. She advised me to cherish the memory of the racing bulls, but more so Madura’s food.

Madura deserves an honorable place on the archipelago’s culinary map. Soto Ayam Madura, for example, is already a common item on oversees Indonesian restaurant menus.

However, it was the charging bulls that truly aroused my curiosity.

I wondered how they were kept so fit and looked so strong given that they are relatively small compared to bulls in a Spanish corrida.

My Pamekasan friend told me how the bulls were treated like kings. They would be bathed two or three times a day to keep clean, fed one kilogram of hen’s eggs daily, increasing to two kilograms when races drew near.

The eggs are mixed with a glass of pure honey and a bottle of soda water and wine. The soda water serves to quench thirst, while the eggs, honey and wine give strength.

On the day of the races, the bulls are fed one kg of mashed cabai rawit, tiny chilies, which are also massaged onto their hind quarters to convince them to keep on running.

And all that is just for the racing bulls. For spectators and guests to the house of the champion bull owner, there is a typical Madurese rice plate called nasi jhajhan.

Nasi jhajhan consists of rice supported by an array of dishes, including fish or squid with curry, a soupy dish of local spinach, salted fish, eggs in fermented shrimp sauce and thinly sliced beef filetts.

Our hostess at the fight also served a blackish looking drink called cendol celeng, which was made from black colored rice flour balls in a cold, sweet, thin, coconut sauce.

“I forgot to tell you”, my friend said as we were presented with the cendol celeng, “we like black. In food it is fascinating and mysterious.”

The color is obtained by sifting finely stamped grilled dry rice straws, which are then added to the food by the teaspoon as required.

Recipes:

Soto ayam Madura Barat

West Madura Soto made with a chicken stock

Ingredients:

500 g chicken
2500 ml water, for stock
4 cloves garlic, 20 g
1/2 tsp trassi
1/2 tsp pepper
2 slices of fresh ginger, pounded
2 stalks of lemon grass, pounded
1 Tbs salt or to taste
2 Tbs cooking oil, for stir frying

Side dishes:
75 g soun (glass noodles)
600 ml tepid water, to soak the glass noodles
4 tsp chopped selederi (local celery), for topping
8 tsp crisply fried shallot slices, for topping

Method:

1. Boil full chicken in 2500 ml of water to form a stock. When half done, cube the meat and return to stock.
2. Press garlic, trassi and pepper into a paste and stir fry until aromatic and add to stock.
3. Add ginger, lemon grass and season with salt. Continue until chicken is tender.
4. Soak the glass noodles in tepid water until limp. Take out and sieve.
5. How to serve: Place glass noodles into a bowl and pour in stock including the cubed chicken. Top with 1 tsp of chopped selederi and 1 tsp of crisply fried shallot slices.

Makes 8 servings.

4. Janang Jhagung

A cornmeal sweet

Ingredients:

250 g cornflour, sifted
1200 ml thick coconut milk
200 g granulated sugar
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp cooking oil (optional)

METHOD:

1. Mix cornflour, coconut milk, granulated sugar and salt.
2. Bring corn flour mixture to the boil over low flame until thick.
3. Take a suitable rectangular cookie tray, grease lightly with oil when needed and flatten the corn flour mixture into a 26 x 26 cm square, about 1 cm thick. Let cool completely and cut into diamond shapes or to your liking.

Makes 20 servings.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Add comment March 3rd, 2008