Labuhan Merapi: The Royal Offering to Mount Merapi
Labuhan Merapi is a yearly offering ceremony in which the Yogyakarta palace sends ceremonial goods to the slopes of Mount Merapi. The goods travel from the palace to the district officials of Sleman, then to the keeper of the mountain, and finally up to a ridge on the volcano where prayers are said and the offering is made. It is a ceremony of thanks and of requests for safety. The sections below cover what the ceremony is, when it falls, where it happens, how the offering travels and how a visitor can attend without getting in the way.
What the Labuhan Merapi ceremony is
A labuhan is an offering that is carried to a particular place and left there. The palace of Yogyakarta makes several of them, and the one made at Merapi is the best known to people who live near the volcano. The Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat organises it, and the day it marks is the anniversary of the accession of Sultan Hamengku Buwono X to the throne. The ceremony is held every year, so it is a fixed part of the palace calendar rather than a special occasion called for a particular event.
The ceremony is also a prayer. Those who organise it describe it as an offering of prayer to God, an expression of gratitude for fertile land and natural resources, a plea for the safety of the Sultan and the people of Yogyakarta, and a sign of respect for the palace’s ancestors. It reflects an old Javanese idea that people should live in harmony with the natural world around them, and for the families who farm and live on the flanks of an active volcano that idea is a practical one.
Merapi is an active volcano, so anyone planning to attend should treat the mountain’s condition as the first thing to check, because access to the upper slopes can change when the volcano is restless.
When Labuhan Merapi takes place
The ceremony is held on the thirtieth day of the month of Rejeb in the Javanese calendar, a month that is also written Rajab. Because that calendar follows the moon, the date moves through the Gregorian year. Past editions have fallen in July, in April, in February and, most recently in the years covered here, in the first weeks of the year. It is therefore never safe to assume that the ceremony falls in the same month as last time.
The ceremony usually runs over two days. On the first day the palace hands the offering goods to local officials and the keeper of the mountain, and on the second day the procession walks up to the ridge where the ritual is completed. A visitor who wants to see both parts should plan two days near Kinahrejo, or at least be ready to arrive the afternoon before.
The palace announces the date and the programme, and local officials in Sleman repeat the schedule. Check the announced dates close to your trip, because a lunar date has to be translated into a calendar date for each year and plans made months ahead can shift.
Where it happens: Kinahrejo and the slopes of Merapi
The ceremony is centred on the hamlet of Kinahrejo in the village of Umbulharjo, in the Cangkringan district of Sleman. Kinahrejo is the hamlet associated with the keeper of Merapi, and the former home of Mbah Maridjan there is the place where the goods rest overnight before the final walk. The procession then climbs on foot to Bangsal Srimanganti, a gathering place on the slope of the mountain where the keeper leads the prayers.
The district government buildings at Cangkringan, and in some years at Depok, are part of the story as well. The palace does not carry its goods all the way to the mountain by itself. It hands them to the district officials in a public handover, and the officials pass them to the keeper. This chain of hands shows that the ceremony is shared between the palace, the local government and the community that lives under the mountain.
For a wider picture of the volcano itself, the page on Mount Merapi describes the mountain that stands at the centre of the offering.
How the offering travels
The offering is called ubarampe, a word for the set of goods prepared for a ritual. The palace gives these goods into the care of its servants, the abdi dalem, and they travel to Sleman as the opening step of the ceremony. At the district offices the goods are handed formally to the district head, and the district head passes them to the keeper of Merapi. The keeper then brings them to Kinahrejo.
The goods stay at Kinahrejo overnight. On the morning of the second day, the procession forms at Kinahrejo and walks up to Srimanganti with the goods carried by hand. Prayers are said there, and the offering is made. Afterwards, blessed rice is shared with the residents who have gathered. Sharing food at the end of a ceremony is a common Javanese way of closing a ritual, and it is one of the moments where visitors are most likely to be welcomed by the community.
The offering includes items of clothing as well as food. The palace chooses them with care, and the exact contents belong to the ritual rather than to the audience, so a visitor who watches from the side of the path will see the goods carried past but will not have a close look at each item.
Three places, one palace tradition
Merapi is not the only place that receives an offering from the palace. The palace also sends offerings to the beach at Parangkusumo in Bantul, where the goods are cast into the Indian Ocean, and to Mount Lawu, which stands on the border of Central Java and East Java. Many Javanese regard all three places as sacred. The Merapi offering is the northern one, the Parangkusumo offering is the southern one at the sea, and the Lawu offering lies far to the east.
The three are not carried out on a single day. Sea offerings and mountain offerings are separate journeys, so a traveller who wants to see more than one needs separate plans. The page on Labuhan Parangkusumo covers the coastal ceremony, which draws thousands of local people and visitors to the beach.
The smaller and the grand version
The yearly ceremony is the smaller version, known as Labuhan Alit. A grand version, Labuhan Ageng, is held only in a year called Dal in the Javanese cycle, and Dal years come round at long intervals. In a grand year the programme is larger. The yearly ceremony is still a full event, with the handover, the overnight stay at Kinahrejo and the walk to Srimanganti; the grand version adds to that programme.
The keeper of the mountain and the palace
The keeper of Merapi, the juru kunci, is the person the palace entrusts with the mountain’s offering. He lives in Kinahrejo, receives the goods from the district head and leads the prayers at Srimanganti. The palace, for its part, sets the date, prepares the goods and sends its servants. The page on the Kraton of Yogyakarta describes the palace that organises the whole ceremony.
The partnership between palace and keeper is the heart of the ceremony. The palace represents the court and its ancestors, the keeper represents the people on the slopes, and the district officials stand between them. For the wider customs of the court, the page on Javanese court culture sets out the rites that surround the palace and the way they fit together.
Getting there and following the ceremony
Kinahrejo lies on the slope of Merapi, north of the city of Yogyakarta, in the Cangkringan area of Sleman. From the city, the journey is by road, and on ceremony days the roads near the hamlet are busy and sometimes closed to ordinary traffic. Set out early, expect to park at some distance and be ready to walk the last stretch. Local people in Cangkringan are used to the ceremony and will tell you where to stand.
The handover at the district office is the easiest part to attend, since it happens in a public building near a main road. The overnight stay at Kinahrejo is a quieter time, when the hamlet feels like a village preparing for a family occasion. The walk to Srimanganti is the most demanding part, because it is a climb on a mountain path and the crowd can be large. Wear shoes with a firm grip, bring water and carry a light layer, since the air on the slope is cooler than in the city.
If you are staying in the city, build the trip as a full day or two days rather than a quick excursion. The page on Yogyakarta City is useful for planning the days around it, since the museums and markets of the city fill the time before and after the mountain trip well.
Respect and conduct at the ceremony
Labuhan is a royal and ritual occasion, not a performance. Dress modestly, keep to the edge of the path and let the procession pass without stepping into it. Ask before photographing participants at close range, and keep clear of the offering goods. Follow the instructions of the officials and the local volunteers who manage the crowd, because they know the ground and the mountain.
Behave quietly during the prayers at Srimanganti. People there are making requests for safety and thanking the mountain, and loud talk or posing for photographs is out of place. If blessed rice is shared at the end, take it with thanks. Take your rubbish with you, since the slopes are a place that local families look after.
Who the ceremony suits
The ceremony suits travellers who want to see how the palace of Yogyakarta still takes part in life beyond the city walls. It also suits readers interested in the relationship between people and volcanoes in Java, and photographers who are willing to walk and wait. It does not suit anyone who wants a short, seated show, because the best of it happens on foot, in the open air and at the pace of the procession.
For the wider region, the Yogyakarta guide covers the city, the palace and the surrounding landscapes. Readers interested in other palace places can continue to the royal burial ground at Imogiri.
Related guides: labuhan parangkusumo, imogiri royal cemetery, gembira loka zoo.