Yogyakarta Palace honors culture ambassadors

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Thu, 12/17/2009 11:44 AM

For the first time in its history, the Yogyakarta Palace is handing out Anugerah Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat cultural awards to those considered instrumental in introducing the sultanate to the world.

Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X officially presented the awards Tuesday evening at the palace’s Pagelaran Hall to renowned Indonesian filmmaker and director Garin Nugroho and Tunisian Honorary Consul for Indonesia in Yogyakarta Muktaryanto Purwodinoto.

“This [award] is just a piece of paper,” Hamengkubuwono said.

“It’s nothing compared to your dedication and efforts in making Javanese culture, especially from Yogyakarta, known to the wider world.”

Garin is perhaps best known for his critically acclaimed film Opera Jawa, which won awards internationally.

Muktaryanto, for his part, has for many years consistently made use of all available means to introduce Yogyakarta culture to the international world, in particular to Tunisia.

Hamengkubuwono added the inaugural awards would be presented every year in a bid to further promote Yogyakarta as “a dignified city of culture”.

Muktaryanto said that besides being an acknowledgement of his lifetime achievement, the award was also a moral burden.

“With this award, I’m burdened to always maintain my stance on the culture,” he said.

He added he took up the offer to become a Tunisian honorary consul with the approval of the Indonesian government, and had set up an office in Yogyakarta.

The sultanate was chosen, he went on, because of its strong traditions and the heavy reliance of its economy on small and medium enterprises, just as in Tunisia.

He said the Tunisian consul in Yogyakarta was focused more on the educational and cultural sectors.

Among its activities is the planned sending of local students to study in Tunisia on a scholarship.

“In the cultural sector, I’ve always strived to introduce Yogyakarta’s culture to Tunisia,” Muktaryanto said.

He added that in July or August next year, Yogyakarta-based ethnic music group Kua Etnika would tour the North African state.

Garin, meanwhile, said Java had developed into a global cultural phenomenon.

“I’ve just returned from Paris and I was surprised to see a music group named Java in a train there,” he said.

“Even on the Internet the word Java is so widespread.”

He added Javanese who had migrated to other islands had adapted well to the local cultures, making them multicultural Javanese with a tangible local influence.

“Similarly, Batak and the Minang people in Java have also adapted to the local culture, and their influence is also acknowledged,” Garin said.

“That’s why Java is now multicultural.”