The Existence of Pawon Gondorasan Kasunanan Palace of Surakarta

Abstract

Kraton Kasunanan Surakarta (Kasunanan Palace of Surakarta) still holds on its tradition tightly so that such rituals as Wilujengan, Grebeg Suro, Sekatenan and Sewindhu are still held at large scale. Those traditions are inseparable from the role of the Court’s pawon (kitchen) functioning as the place to provide a variety of meals and offerings. The spatial layout existing is adjusted with its function as the process from preparation, processing to serving the offering ready to be distributed to the ritual site. To discuss the existence, form, and function, the necessary data was collected using qualitative research method with an approach emphasizing on design appreciation and design interpretation.  Pawon Gondorasan has typical form and function different from those of kitchen in general. The procession within it not only realizes a variety of offerings but also there is an agenda pertaining to religious aspect, spatial concept, symbol, and meaning. The Existence of Pawon Gondorasan was also affected by Javanese society’s ontology concerning the reality, that were, the origin and the objective of reality, its perspective on the essence of human being and on God, and the human-God relation.

Keywords: existence, Pawon Gondorasan, tradition, rituals

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/71-01

Publication date:March 31^st 2019