To celebrate Yogyakarta City’s 261st birthday, the local government held a chain of programs that ended with the Wayang Jogja Night Carnival. Carnival is very identical to Yogyakartanese. We usually have a carnival to celebrate occasion such as a special occasion of the Kraton or Royal family. Hundreds of people will gather during the carnival day. They come from every area in the province.
On October 7, 2017, we held a carnival with “Wayang” as the theme. Wayang is a traditional puppet show. In the wayang, we tell the story from Hindu religions such as Ramayana and Mahabharata. Wayang used to be a tool to spread the Hindu religion in Java and Bali. Therefore, Sultan Palace and Javanese culture itself are guide by Hindu culture.
The carnival is not just a mere carnival but also a competition between 14 regions in Yogyakarta. Each region sent a representation where they had to compete in terms of the costume and the show. They were assigned a character from Wayang, that they had to represent during the parade.
The parade starts from the Tugu monument at 06.00 pm. Even so, people have already gathered before the show start. Tugu Monument’s area became the most crowded area since they also prepared a stage with a large screen. Some streets around the carnival area are closed. This event is not just attracting local people, but also foreigners who are visiting the Yogyakarta area and foreign student. We can see people from a different background gather around Mangkubumi Street and enjoy the parade.
