Bregada


Bregada, more fully as bregada kaprajuritan is an art of soldiering that originated in the Mataram Sultanate. It adapts military elements to Javanese culture. Unlike other forms of soldiering, bregada usually appears as an army that is generally deployed during traditional ceremonies or folk festivals, such as Grebeg or merti dusun. The word bregada comes from the word "brigade." There are currently 4 categories of bregada active in Yogyakarta: bregada Keraton Yogyakarta, bregada Keraton Surakarta, bregada Pura Pakualaman, as well as bregada formed independently by the community, called bregada rakyat.

History

The development of the bregada 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 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.

Yogyakarta

At the time of the Battle of Jenar against the VOC, Pangeran Mangkubumi had a bregada of soldiers who were very agile; it was called bregada Mantrilebet. This bregada 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 Kyai Clereq.
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 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 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 5–15, 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 Pesanggrahan Rejowinangun and saw the female warriors under the Kadipaten, as well as a demonstration of soldiering in hunting deer at Krapyak. The female soldiers are known as Langenkusuma; they conduct regular military training in Alun-alun Kidul.
During the reign of Hamengkubuwana I, the sultanate had three categories of soldiers. The first category was the core soldiers of the palace: Anirmala, Blambangan, Bugis, Dhaeng, Jagakarya, Kawandasa, Mandhung, Mantri Lebet, Mantri Pinilih, Miji Peranakan, Ketanggel, Nyutra, Sumaatmaja, Suragama, and Wirabraja. The second category is in charge of escorting the Crown Prince, namely Mancapertama, Prawiratama, Jayengastra, Langenastra, Pancasura, and Surakarsa. The third category is bregada Pangrembé, which is in charge of managing and protecting the lands and wealth belonging to the Sultanate, namely Suranata, Sesela, Jurusabil, Ngasrama, and Arahan. In addition, there were soldiers from the former Mataram Sultanate before the palihan nagari incident, namely Trunajaya, Mandrapertama, and Jahenghastra.
The strength of the bregada 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 Geger Sepehi. 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:
  1. Britain as the holder of the authority to collect duties and customs in ports and markets;
  2. Britain as the recipient of profits from the sale of Swift birds, madat and logs;
  3. the Sultanate's overseas territories had to be ceded to Britain, such as Pacitan and Kedu;
  4. The Sultanate was not allowed to form its own army, except for the Sultan's bodyguards.
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 bregadas. The arrangement of the palace's bregada settlements still surrounded the fort in a horseshoe-like formation. However, soldiers such as Langenastra and Langenarja remained inside the fort. Even though their role was dwarfed, after the end of the Java War, the Dutch continued to exert pressure and annexations, weakening the function of the bregada. Pangrembe's soldiers were abolished, trimmed down to 14 bregada soldiers and stripped of 75% of their strength due to the demilitarization agreement between Hamengkubuwana V and the Dutch. The fourteen bregadas that remained active were Mantrijero, Ketanggung, Nyutra, Miji Peranakan, Prawiratama, Jagakarya, Patangpuluh, Dhaeng, Wirabraja, Suranata, Bugis, Surakarsa, Jager, and Arahan.
From the reign of Hamengkubuwana VI to Hamengkubuwana VIII, the bregada 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, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha, or cultural parades organized by the local government or the palace.

Pakualaman

Before becoming a bregada, 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 was enthroned. Unlike the Kraton bregada, 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. 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, Cakraningrat and KNIL Legions were recruited as part of the Heiho forces.
Today, the rest of the Pakualaman bregada function as ceremonial soldiers. There are two active bregadas, Lombok Abang and Plangkir. Bregada Lombok Abang marches in front of the Gunungan, while Plangkir is behind it.

Characteristic

Marching file

Unlike the Indonesian Army's marching regulations, bregada marching uses mixed Javanese and Dutch signals. For soldiers from South Sulawesi, the signals used adopt distorted Sulawesi languages. For example, "jarengi mana malembuk besaro, nancongi besaro, madhinching malembuk besaro." Since the 1970s, bregada signals have been in full Javanese.
There are two ways of walking, namely lampah macak and lampah rikat. Lampah macak is equivalent to a slow steady step, while lampah mars is equivalent to a regular fast step. Each bregada has a fixed line formation. In lampah macak, it starts from the trumpet player, panji, flag bearer, rifle-carrying soldier, musical instrument player soldier, panji II, rifle-carrying soldier, first spear sergeant, spear line, and finally second spear sergeant. The lampah rikatan starts with the trumpet player, the soldier playing musical instruments, the ensign, the flag bearer, the soldier carrying the rifle, the panji II, the soldier carrying the rifle, the first spear sergeant, the line of spears, and finally the second spear sergeant.

Clothing and identity

The clothing worn by the bregada keprajitan 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 bregada 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.