Yogyakartans push for ‘lucky’ edible offerings
Thousands of Yogyakartans fought for their share of the cone-shaped offerings of gunungan. The offerings were distributed by the palace, during the peak of the Sekaten celebration, known as garebeg, on Tuesday. Eating parts of the offerings is traditionally thought to bring good luck.
The Sekaten celebration is held for seven consecutive days ahead of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday Rabi’ulawal 12 (according to the Islamic calendar) or Maulud 12 (according to the Javanese calendar), and fell on April 10 this year.
Five giant gunungan, symbolizing the five pillars of Islam, were distributed by the palace during the garebeg ritual, each comprised harvest products, fruits and food.
“I always take part in the garebeg ritual in the hope of good luck,” said Yanto, a 45-year-old resident of the Central Java town of Magelang who arrived with friends Monday night.
Another man, Prawiro, 56, had come from Bantul, some 30 km from Yogyakarta, and proudly showed off beans and vegetables that he got from the gunungan.
“I’ll cook them with my family so every one of us is blessed and the harvest is good,” he said. (JP/Slamet Susanto)