Kraton (palace)

Pendopo (Pavilion) in the Yogyakarta Craton

A kraton is a palace complex for a Sultan or Raja in the world of Southeast Asia , especially in the Malay region of Indonesia and Malaysia . The old sultan's palaces are nowadays partly tourist attractions , partly they are still used by the sultans as a residence.

“Kraton” is one of the two most common words for a Malay or Javanese palace. The other word is istana , identical in Malay . For the tourist attractions, the palace complexes are referred to as the “Kraton of Yogyakarta” and the like, but the palaces are called by their full names when speaking or writing about them, according to the Javanese or Malay forms of courtesy .

Individual palaces

The Maimun craton in Medan on Sumatra is very well known, and it houses an extensive collection of mechanical music automatons from the collecting passion of its last princely inhabitant .

In the region of Yogyakarta there is the “Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat” (the palace of kings Hamengkubuwono I to X) and the “Puro Pakualaman” (palace of Pakualam). It is open on weekends for cultural events: Gamelan and Wayang Kulit .

In Surakarta, notable palaces are the "Kraton Surakarta Hadiningrat" (palace from Pakubuwono II to IX) and the "Puro Mangkunegaran".

In Karta and Plered there are remains of palaces from the 16th century, and in Kota Gede there are even remains from around 1500.

In Cirebon (on West Java) there is the "Kraton Kasepuhan" from Cirebon, the "Kraton Kanoman" from Cirebon and the "Kraton Kacirebonan", which were inhabited by rival royal families and dynasties.

Extended usage of words

The term "kraton" (palace) is also used as a synonym for "court", which in ancient times was held in the palace and presided over by the sultan.

This is especially the case where the succession to kings or princes was controversially discussed, namely when there were two or more branches of a dynasty , each of which established its own court while fighting for power in the same state, but mostly only part of it its controlled.

An example is the West Javanese state of Cirebon, which was founded in 1478 and has been ruled by four kratons since 1662:

Kraton Kasepuhan, serving as the sultan's seat
Kraton Kanoman, Sultan's seat
Kraton Kaprabonan, seat of a Panembahan (prince seat, lower in rank than a sultan)
Kraton Kacirebonan, Sultan's seat

The Denpasar craton in Bali

The kraton of the former principality of Denpasar on Bali plays a special role : it is the scene of the literarily described Puputan , the end of the world according to the Malay concept of honor, in the form of a martial mass suicide , to oppose a military superiority as a human wave. Vicky Baum described these conflicts at the time of the expansion of Dutch colonial rule around 1900 in her book " Love and Death on Bali ". This palace complex is not accessible to the public, however, as it is still inhabited by a "secret" Raja: The local tradition of a prince is still preserved or tolerated, but the Indonesian government wants to forget the old principalities and does not admit any public influence to its representatives more to. This is why the few Rajas and Sultans of Indonesia have been living in retreat for decades or since Sukarno's revolution and some of them work in private professions, e.g. B. as a hotelier by having their palace complexes rebuilt.

Palaces of the Kings of Malaysia

In contrast to this, the sultans and rajas in Malaysia : they form identification poles of the Muslim population and are also of great economic importance: they own most of the wood concessions on the Malay peninsula. Their residences are accordingly magnificently furnished - Kratons can only be viewed from the outside. Seven of the thirteen states in Malaysia have a sultan or raja, u. a. Selangor , Johor Bahru , Perlis , Kelantan , Terengganu and Kedah .

Borneo

The Kraton or Istana of the Sultan of Brunei in Bandar Seri Begawan has a special role in Borneo : It is the residence of the Sultan Hassan al Bolkiah , who is one of the richest people on earth.