Bregada (), more fully as is an art of soldiering that originated in the Mataram Sultanate. It adapts military elements to Javanese culture. Unlike other forms of soldiering, usually appears as an army that is generally deployed during traditional ceremonies or folk festivals, such as or merti dusun. The word comes from the word "brigade." There are currently 4 categories of bregada active in Yogyakarta: Keraton Yogyakarta, Keraton Surakarta, , as well as bregada formed independently by the community, called (or People's ).
The development of the bregada (a traditional Javanese military formation) is closely tied to the history of the Mataram Sultanate. From its inception, the Mataram Sultanate established a formidable and resilient military force, as evidenced during the Siege of Batavia in 1628 and 1629, when Mataram troops laid siege to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) stronghold in Batavia. The military prowess of the Sultanate was a key factor in its power and influence in the region. However, the Mataram Sultanate eventually split during the reign of Pakubuwana III, a consequence of the Third Javanese War of Succession. This conflict culminated in the signing of the Treaty of Giyanti on February 13, 1755, between Pakubuwana III and Prince Mangkubumi I. The treaty officially divided the Mataram Sultanate into two separate entities: the Surakarta Sunanate and the Ngayogyakarta Sultanate.
At the time of the Battle of Jenar against the VOC, Pangeran Mangkubumi had a of soldiers who were very agile; it was called (now called ). This succeeded in defeating Major Clereq on December 12, 1751. Major Clereq faced one-on-one with a soldier named Wiradigda. A then spear wounded Clereq's shoulder, causing him to lose his sword and fall. In a precarious situation, he tried to point a gun at Wiradigda. However, Wiradigda was not alone; Wiradigda was assisted by his colleague Prawirarana to thrust a spear into Clereq's neck until Clereq died instantly. The spear used in the incident was then named .
After the Ngayogyakarta Sultanate was established, Hamengkubuwana I ordered the construction of the palace, as well as institutionalizing a unit of soldiers who continued to fight armed. Their strength was increasingly respected; in 1781, a Governor of the Northeast Coast of Java named Johannes Siberg (served 1780âÂÂ1787) had requested the deployment of 1,132 palace troops, with details of 1,000 ordinary soldiers, 100 Crown Prince guards, and the rest of high-ranking officers, to Batavia. The purpose of this deployment was to repel the British army that would fight against the Dutch and occupy Southeast Asia. Their assignment ended in October 1783 and they were rewarded with 12 cannons from the VOC Resident in Yogyakarta. To support the daily activities of the army, Fort Baluwerti was built with a ditch on the outside; it was built on the initiative of Bendara Raden Mas Sundara, who was appointed Crown Prince of the Sultanate (later Hamengkubuwana II) in 1782.
In 1785, Siberg sent a working party of Dutch maritime cadets from Semarang to study the fort. When Jan Greeve succeeded Siberg as Governor, he saw the fort during his visit to Yogyakarta on August 5âÂÂ15, 1788. In Jan Greeve's report, they found the cavalry to be well-trained and welcomed him royally with a salvo of muskets and cannons. He, accompanied by Surakarta Resident Hartsinch, also visited and saw the female warriors under the (Crown Prince), as well as a demonstration of soldiering in hunting deer at . The female soldiers are known as ; they conduct regular military training in Alun-alun Kidul (the southern part of the Palace).
During the reign of Hamengkubuwana I, the sultanate had three categories of soldiers. The first category was the core soldiers of the palace: , , , , , (also known as ), , (also known as ), , , (or ), , , , and . The second category is in charge of escorting the Crown Prince (), namely , , , , , and . The third category is , which is in charge of managing and protecting the belonging to the Sultanate, namely , , , , and . In addition, there were soldiers from the former Mataram Sultanate before the palihan nagari incident, namely , , and .
The strength of the was diminishing during the reign of Hamengkubuwana II. On June 20, 1812, British troops attacked the baluarti of the Yogyakarta Palace to impose an ultimatum that forced Sultan Hamengkubuwana II to step down and replace him with the crown prince, determined by the British. The event became known as . The Sultanate's lands were occupied by Britain; Hamengkubuwana II and his son Mangkudiningrat were exiled to Penang Island, Malaya. The British unilaterally appointed another son of Hamengkubuwana II, Bendara Raden Mas Surojo, as Sultan Hamengkubuwana III. On August 1, 1813, Sultan Hamengkubuwana III was forced to sign a treaty that stipulated:
In the reign of Hamengkubuwana IV, the soldiers who had originally served inside the fortress were then placed outside the Palace fortress. As a result, there was a weakening of the strength of the . The arrangement of the palace's settlements still surrounded the fort in a horseshoe-like formation. However, soldiers such as and remained inside the fort. Even though their role was dwarfed, after the end of the Java War (1825âÂÂ1830), the Dutch continued to exert pressure and annexations, weakening the function of the . 's soldiers were abolished, trimmed down to 14 soldiers and stripped of 75% of their strength due to the demilitarization agreement between Hamengkubuwana V and the Dutch. The fourteen that remained active were , , , , , , , , , , , , , and .
From the reign of Hamengkubuwana VI to Hamengkubuwana VIII, the Prajurit Keraton turned into merely ceremonial soldiers. It was fully disbanded in 1942 and only revived on March 2, 1971 by order of Hamengkubuwana IX. The bregada soldiers come out during Grebeg ceremonies, which are held every Maulid ("Grebeg Mulud"), Eid al-Fitr (called "Grebeg Syawal"), and Eid al-Adha ("Grebeg Besar"), or cultural parades organized by the local government or the palace.
Before becoming a , the armed forces corps of the Duchy of Pakualaman was known as "Legiun Pakualaman". The legion was formed soon after Pakualaman was established, and Paku Alam I (Prince Natakusuma) was enthroned. Unlike the Kraton , the legion was facilitated with the same style of dress, skills and tactics, rank, and training as European soldiers. They were also facilitated by the colonial government from instructors to allowances. They were involved in the Aceh War, but did not satisfy the needs of the Colonial Government, so the legion was disbanded in 1892 (under Paku Alam V's era). Those who were young and healthy were offered to join the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, but those who were refused entry were offered to become courtiers.
Forty-eight years later, in March 1940, the legion was re-established by Pura Pakualaman. But eventually, all warfare and resistance in Java ceased after Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies in 1942, and the whole of Java was under military occupation. Former members of the Pakualaman, Mangkunegaran, and KNIL Legions were recruited as part of the Heiho forces.
Today, the rest of the Pakualaman function as ceremonial soldiers. There are two active , and . marches in front of the , while is behind it.
Unlike the Indonesian Army's marching regulations (PBB), marching uses mixed Javanese and Dutch signals. For soldiers from South Sulawesi, the signals used adopt distorted Sulawesi languages (generally Makassarese and Bugis). For example, "jarengi mana malembuk besaro, nancongi besaro, madhinching malembuk besaro." Since the 1970s, signals have been in full Javanese.
There are two ways of walking, namely and (march). is equivalent to a slow steady step, while is equivalent to a regular fast step. Each has a fixed line formation. In , it starts from the trumpet player (if any), (company commander), flag bearer, rifle-carrying soldier, musical instrument player soldier, (deputy company commander), rifle-carrying soldier, first spear sergeant, spear line, and finally second spear sergeant. The starts with the trumpet player (if any), the soldier playing musical instruments, the ensign (company commander), the flag bearer, the soldier carrying the rifle, the (deputy company commander), the soldier carrying the rifle, the first spear sergeant, the line of spears, and finally the second spear sergeant.
The clothing worn by the is an acculturation between Javanese, Islamic and European cultures. The VOC Governor for the East Coast of Java, Nicolaas Hartingh, reported that the court dress had adopted Islamic styles, such as white clothes and clerical turban, and carrying two krises. However, the paintings that appeared in the following period do not really indicate that Islamic elements were present in each soldier's uniform. European designs were only introduced during the time of Hamengkubuwana IV. Noticeable elements were the use of socks, shoes and hats.
Each adapted its own uniform as an identity, also with different colors and motifs, as well as other identities such as the soldier's banner, spear, and instrumentation.
The instrumentation used in keprajuritan is the result of acculturation and mixing of Javanese, European, and South Sulawesi cultures. Soldiering music is generally instrumental, so in Javanese music it is classified as . Despite adapting European soldier music, these warriors in the past did not adapt European music theory, but passed it down through oral tradition. Therefore, there is no verifiable historical written notation for the individual warrior .
Elements of European music are found in the bugle, (rope-tensioned snare drum), and fife. The trumpet is used to give a certain signal/command. The drum is used to function as a tempo setter for the beat of the steps as well as the . The flute functions as a melodic filler forming the . The elements of Javanese music are found in the use of (small gong/canang) and kecer (cymbal). was used in Javanese warriors before the Yogyakarta Sultanate era, serving as a signal. functions as a tempo keeper. South Sulawesi elements are found in -dogdog and . is believed to be an adaptation of , a type of Makassar/Bugis drum that is beaten using a stick on one side. , also referred to as , is a type of small trumpet from South Sulawesi, but the is larger and differently shaped. The mouthpiece is also no longer made of palm leaves, but thin bamboo.
weaponry can be in the form of firearms and sharp weapons. Commonly used firearms are cannons, rifles and pistols. Sharp weapons used can be swords, spears, arrows and krises. Some units can equip them with body armor such as shields, for example the Nyutra Soldiers.
Keprajuritan Yogyakarta is currently fostered by (previously ), which was established on March 2, 1971 with the blessing of Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX, and was first fostered by his son, B.R.M. Herdjuno Darpito (now Hamengkubuwana X).
The Yogyakarta Palace's army has a commander called (Commander of ), who then oversees several (Captain/Regent ). Under the command of , there are units with distinctive identities that differ from one unit to another. Specialized units, such as and , are led by a . Currently, in Yogyakarta, the active are , , , , , , , , , and . In one , there are ranks, namely:
Officers with the rank of sergeant major (///) for and *
Soldiers with complete weaponry are Prajurit Nyutra with four types of weapons: crossbows, rifles, towok (javelins / blunt spears) and shields, as well as sharp spears (waos). Other warriors were armed with rifles and spears. Bugis and Surakarsa warriors were only armed with spears.
The Pakualaman army has a leader, , who then oversees two . The two Pakualaman that are still active today are and . During the Grebeg ceremony, marches in front of the , while marches behind it. was recruited from the Gladag courtiers who accompanied the death ceremonies of Pakualaman nobles. They were then made into a tasked with escorting the Duke of Paku Alam when attending official events. Meanwhile, the is taken from the infantry and cavalry troops of the Legiun Pakualaman who have defense duties. Inside Pura Pakualaman, these two soldiers take turns to guard every 35 days.
The popularity of keraton warriors among the people of Yogyakarta has led many people to create their own styles of warriors, because they have their own characteristics. The general public who are concerned with the art of Yogyakarta-style soldiering have formed a new creation, known as the people's . Generally, folk is formed in rural areas, which still uphold traditional customs and cultural preservation. Many folk are performed in traditional ceremonies in rural areas, such as merti dusun.
As these units grew, on January 19, 2014, the first Bregada Rakyat Festival was held. The festival was held to commemorate 'Yogyakarta the City of the Republic', which is celebrated every January 4. The festival was organized by the Yogyakarta Cultural Office in collaboration with Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat Palace and . The festival provided a total prize money of Rp16.6 million for the that won the championship for the most pompous, unique, and disciplined. The assessment was done directly from both the temple and the palace.
This festival is routinely held every year. To encourage the creativity of People's , on October 15, 2021, the DIY Specialty Secretariat held a gendhing creation training for the People's . The aim was to build the identity of the People's bregada through the they play. This continued effort also occurred on 11 September 2022 when the DIY Cultural Office held a Workshop on Strengthening National Insight and Cultural Values for Performers of DIY Folk Art. In the workshop, each is free to create clothing, weapons, choreography, accessories, and creation but must not resemble the Palace Soldiers or Pakualaman Soldiers.