Sekaten

Sekaten ceremony is annually held, starting on the fifth day of the Javanese month Mulud. The ceremony takes the form of a sequence of celebrating the birth of Mohammed S.A.Wthe prophet. People from Yogyakarta and villages around the city still believe that by celebrating Sekaten, particularly by listening to the sets of the Gamelan music, they will be rewarded from the God almighty related on their success at work, good health, and prosperous future. The first day of the ceremony starts at midnight with a procession of the royal servarttthe “abdi dalem”wtio are marching in two rows bringing two sets of Gamelan named Kyai Nogowilogo and Kyai Gunturmadu with them. The magnificently uniformed palace guards escort this procession, leaving the Ponconiti hall, to the Grand Mosque (Mesjid Agung). At the Grand Mosque (Mesjid Agung), Kyai Nogowilogo is placed in the northern Pagongan. These two sets of Gamelan are played simultaneously until the I ph day of Mulud, when they are brought back to the palace again at midnight. It is worth knowingthat several days before and duringSekaten, an exhibition’s held atthe north square (Alun-alun Utara).

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