Gusti Nurul perhaps what I remember most from my visitation to Ullen Sentalu several months ago. Ullen Sentalu is the museum located in the top of Kaliurang, Yogyakarta. This is a private museum, owned by the royal family (Yogyakarta and Surakarta). In this museum, we can get much information about Mataram history, both about general history, and private royal family history.
One thing I concluded firstly after entering the museum is the significant role of the guide. We will be guided by a guide from the beginning of the museum until the end of the route. I think, without this guide who explain every detail, this museum will be uninteresting, since it contains many paintings which illustrate unknown character (in public perspective).
In the first room, the guide explain the meaning of ullen sentalu. It was derived from the name of traditional lamp hung above the screen in the puppet shadow performance. It means that like that lamp, ullen sentalu museum will illuminate public about Java history and culture knowledge.
Move to the next room (our route has been decided and directed by the guide). It contains traditional music instrument and several dancer paintings. I don't remember all the explanation about the paintings in this room but three. They are painting of Mask dancer, Golek Menak dance, and Sekar Sari Tunggal Dance. Mask dancer, well, the guide told us that classic java dancer is also a good actor. They use mask to hide their original face and expression. It is also similar to the real life. We can't judge person from their appearance and their performance. Like a dancer who wear mask, people's character, heart and intention can't be understood that easy.
Next dance is Golek Menak Dance. It was created by Mataram Sultan (sorry I forget the name). The Sultan created this dance in 3 years. There are two dancers in this dance, one of them is in javanese costume and the other one in chinese costume. It illustrates princess from java fights princess from china. Just FYI, I am also a classic java dancer, yeah, although not really professional. Long time ago when I was a new be in dancing world, I wonder why there's almost always fight fragment in every java dance. Firstly, my naughty idea thought that the beautiful ladies fight each other in dance because they fight for the boy. Haha.. finally I found out from the book that the fight fragment in java dance exist because previously, classic java dance was only danced by man, by the mataram army. After fight at noon, they entertained themselves at night by training their martial art in the form of classic java dance. Actually, the fight fragment of the dance really contains martial art. I love dance using archery, long stick and keris. It looks so cool. Haha.. even in Bedhaya and Srimpi, the fight movement illustrates the real fight in the past. As the time goes by, classic java dance is also dance by the woman, but still contain fight fragment in the same meaning.
But, what I found in Golek Menak dance made me want to laugh out loud. The guide told us that those two princess fight each other to get the boy. Fight for boy. Ngggggg... that was in my mind when I was so unyu and totally uninformed about classic java dance, but it is really the reason. They fight for a prince. For boy. Ngggg.... ??? First of all, ok, maybe girls always loose their rationality when it is related to boy. Second, oh my... it's so... third, what did the prince do? Fourth, I think there is a sharp distinction between getting the person and getting the heart (Yekti, 2014). So, whether the prince will be with the winner after all is over? Is his heart for the winner of the fight???
Third dance is Sekar Sari Tunggal. I remember it well because, first it was my first dance when I firstly had dance training in nDalem Kasatriyan, Sultan Palace. Second, because it was danced by Gusti Nurul (I will explain in the following paragraph) in Queen Yuliana's wedding party in the Netherlands. Gusti Nurul dance in the Netherlands using the music instruments played in Kraton Mangkunegaran Solo, connected by radio broadcasting (if it was in this era, it would be using live streaming), because it was difficult to take those instrument to the netherland. The queen was so impressed by the performance of Gusti Nurul.
Next, actually I forget the exact route of the room in the museum. Perhaps it will be to the room where we were served a traditional beverage, Jamu. We can drink Jamu in this room. Next we moved to the Batik display room. There are various batik motive of solo and yogyakarta. there are also rooms contain the history of the mataram kingdom, the kings, the fight against collonial, and the separation of kraton solo and yogya. However, what attracted me more is the story of royal family members.
First royal family member attracts me is the queen. Haha.. but, so sorry, I forget the name and whether she comes from yogya or solo kingdom. I like her because she could manage the palace very well after her husband past away. She did not allowed her son who became the king after her husband have a queen, just selir. Thus, this queen had the power despite of the death of her husband. it is a good trick. Hahah. Despite of the trick, she managed the palace and the kingdom very well. She was very smart in diplomacy with other kingdom and states. She speaks many foreign languages. I think, a woman should be smart like her. Like Cleopatra who also speak many languages, but Cleopatra brought Egypt to the end of the history after fight against Rome. What funny from this queen is that she always bring all key of the palace. Everybody want to access important room in the palace, have to ask permission to her.
Next, she is Putri Tineke. Actually she has javanese name, but I forget. Royal family members have international name, because they studied in the netherlands or in the netherlands education institution. Their foreign friends were difficult to call their javanese name, that's why they have western second name to make their friend easy to call them. Putri Tineke is the little daughter of prince Bobby, again, this is western name, and I forget the javanese name. Prince bobby later will be a king, perhaps in solo kingdom, I forget. Putri Tineke loved a boy, but it was not permitted by her mom, the queen. If I am not mistaken, I think it was because the boy was not a royal family. However, Putri Tineke and this boy survived in their sacred love. In the suffer perriod, Putri Tineke got many letters from her relatives in the netherland and in java to support her. Several of those letters are in the form of poem. Those letters are displayed in the room named Gusti Tineke Room in the museum. One of the letter's sender was Gusti Pembayun, she sent it from the netherlsnds. It was a nice poem. It makes me think that if I have a daughter in the future, I will give her name Sekar Pembayun. Hehe.. I think it's nice. :p After suffering for ages, finally putri tineke can marry her true love. She was helped by her brother, bobby, after he became a king. However, unfortunately, putri tineke past away so fast. Even, she past away before her mother who did not allow her to marry her love. Yeah, at least, she died after getting her true love. What can be concluded here is that, there will be always an exception in every laws and theories, including the theory of 'there are only two type of boy in the world'. Putri Tineke's boyfriend was so faithful with his love, even in difficult situation, even in the long long time unclearness. Many boys may be will date other girl he finds on the street or beautiful girl he finds in his job place. Ha2.
Gusti Nurul. Yeah, she is a princess from Solo Palace. She is a good dancer, beautiful, smart, and she can ride a horse. She established radio broadcasting, and one of the function was to broadcast live gamelan music from istana mangkunegaran solo to the netherland as the instrument of sekar sari tunggal dance, danced by gusti nurul. You know what, laddies and gentleman, Pesident Soekarno fall in love with gusti nurul. Really2 love. He wanted to marry her. Besides based on the guide's explanation, I also read this in one of the magazine. However, Gusti nurul did not accept this offer. Oh my... all I see in Soekarno is the qualified man. So far, I also look for qualified man. Why did gusti nurul rejected the offer to marry him? The answer is that gusti nurul disagree with polygamy concept. It is principe. Not only about marriage technically, but also about feeling. What you feel if your lovely boy in fact love other girls beside you? It will be so hurt. That is why, despite all of the quality and unaffordable interesting of Soekarno's physical appearrance, gusti nurul decided not to marry him, not to marry the president of this republic. Yeah, finally she found a good man, a national army, may be general and marry him. Yeah of course, he is not a president, and may be not as handsome as insinyur soekarno, also not insinyur, but I think gusti nurul find the peace of her heart and feeling. Being one in his man's heart, without worrying about other girls and be special as she was before. Until now, gusti nurul is still alive, beautiful and healthy. Now she lives in bandung. She also came in the first opening of ullen sentalu museum. There is a picture of her in her old age, still beautiful and happy.
yeah.. that is all I get from my visitation in Ullen Sentalu Museum. This museum can be a good alternative to spend holiday. The place is beautiful, in the top of mountain, fresh air, and give us new insight. The ticket is IDR 35000.
