Located on the island of Java, Yogyakarta is the capital of the region with the same name, the only one in Indonesia still ruled by a pre-colonial monarchy, the Sultan of Yogyakarta, who serves as the hereditary governor of the region. The current Sultan is the tenth of the dinasty Hamengkubuwono, which rule the region since 1755. Yogyakarta (which means in Indonesian "the city that is fit to prosper") was the capital of Indonesia between 1945 and 1949, and one of its districts, Kotagede, was the capital of Mataram Sultanate between 1575 and 1640.
In Yogyakarta's centre is the kraton, or Sultan's palace, surrounded by a residential neighbourhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain. The complex of kraton consists of a number of low-lying buildings such as audience halls, museums, and the residences of the sultan and the queen.
The members of the Sultan's ceremonial guard (in the postcard) are named Wirobrojo, which comes from the word Wiro, that means brave, and Brojo, which means sharp. Philosophically, the name of Wirobrojo means a very brave warrior with sharp and sensitive senses. The brigade of Wirobrojo always been at the forefront in every battle, and at present is positioned in the front row in a variety of ceremonies. They wears a Sikepan shaped uniform, satin belt and panji pants that all are red, black loafers with white socks, and a red lombokan shaped hat called Kudhup Turi. Because its uniform resembling of red chilies, the soldier Wirobrojo also called Lombok Abang soldier (Lombok Abang means in Javanese red chili). Their flag is named Gula Klapa. The weapon used was a rifle with a bayonet and spear.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Historic Buildings of Worship, issued on Octomber 27, 2012, and consisting on five stamps with the same face values (2500 IDR):
1/5 Gereja Blenduk Semarang
2/5 Gereja Pohsarang
3/5 Masjid Agung Palembang
4/5 Pura Besakih - it's on this postcard
5/5 Wihara Dharma Bhakti
References
Yogyakarta - Wikipedia
Prajurit Wirobrojo: The Yogyakarta Palace Soldiers - Sigoese
sender: Anis Wahyuni (direct swap)
sent from Malang (Java / Indonesia), on 15.06.2013
photo: Agus Leonardus
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