Slamet Sutanto, Yogyakarta – In Javanese tradition, a king or sultan is a figure with superlative abilities because of the divine revelation needed to become one.
Cults grow up around them, and ordinary people deify them. The sultan is meant to be unerring, a figure above reproach and whose every order must be done. His words become the law, and his people are subject to them.
"I live and die for Ngarso Dalem," said Rudjito, a villager in Samas Beach, Bantul, referring to Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. "I am just a layman who must obey the king."
The father of two braved the scorching sun in the back of a pickup truck to attend the Pisowanan Agung (grand meeting) on Tuesday where Hamengkubuwono declared his bid for the presidency in 2009.
"I will support Ngarso Dalem with my life," Rudjito said after the meeting. He was confident Hamengkubuwono would win the presidential election, citing his lineage from the Mataram kings and "supranatural abilities".
The Yogyakarta governor's father, the late Hamengkubuwono IX, served as vice president from 1973 to 1978 under former president Soeharto.
Yogyakarta was once a sovereign sultanate, and most of its residents still believe in the king's omnipotence, thus the reason for the tens of thousands in attendance at the grand meeting.
However, a paradigm shift is underway, as manifest in the people's request for Hamengkubuwono to attend the meeting – tradition dictates the king's subjects may never request anything of him.
"This is a learning process of democratization for Yogyakartans, and it shows democracy is alive in Yogyakarta society," Hamengkubuwono said.
"The grand meeting was an instrument to learn about democratization. In the past, the sultan always gave the commands; but now, through the meeting, the sultan was commanded to run for president."
Hamengkubuwono was cautious in reminding his supporters there was a good possibility he could lose the election.
The Pisowanan Agung has a long tradition dating back to Hamengkubuwono I, founder of the Yogyakarta sultanate.
Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Pujaningrat, a Yogyakarta court official, said the meeting was a customary for ceremonies such as a coronation or gerebeg religious festivals.
"This recent Pisowanan Agung strayed from the original meaning. The commoners are not asking for something but only listening to what the sultan has to say," he said. "Requesting something is conducted through the topo pepe."
In the topo pepe ritual, a commoner sits in Alun-alun Square in all kinds of weather, hoping the sultan grants them their request. "What they have in common is that both events are attended by many people," Pujaningrat said.