The sultan of Yogyakarta, a custodian of Javanese culture, has broken with a tradition in place since 1755
sun was fierce but the crowd pressed against the gates of the palace did not seem to mind. They were eagerly waiting for the ceremony to start. Three times a year, the sultan of Yogyakarta, an ancient Javanese city, blesses his people with offerings of food in a ritual that mixes Hindu symbolism with Islamic beliefs. Escorted by a military parade, servants shouldering gargantuan bouquets of beans, chillies and rice crackers process to the mosque, where the offerings are handed out.
For centuries Yogyakarta has been the repository of Javanese culture, and the sultan its custodian. But Hamengkubuwono X has broken with tradition in one important way. Since the founding of the sultanate in 1755, the monarch has been a man. The sultan leads Muslims in prayer every Friday, and celebrates his marriage to the mystical Queen of the South Sea every year. Only a man can perform these duties. But the sultan has no sons.
The prospect of a sultana troubles many ordinary Yogyakartans. Muslims say that she would sever the bond between the sultanate and the Muslim community because a woman cannot lead Friday prayers. Some believe that the sultan has been citing the need for sexual equality only as a pretext to maintain his nuclear family’s power. Others simply worry that he is flouting tradition. Sitting by the mosque, Dion Eliot, a student, says he is torn.
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