Mapping the Soul of Yogyakarta: A Journey Along the City’s Philosophical Line

Yogyakarta City, famously known as the epitome of cultural heritage and art, is frequently associated with philosophical ideas of local wisdoms. Javanese culture is deeply incorporated into the city’s layout through theoretical miniature universes as well as rituals, which are supplemented by the well-incorporated religions of Hinduism and Islam. This article seeks to define the importance and relevance of the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis in present Yogyakarta, closely referencing major landmarks in the city district, as well as how it connects cultures and communities as a whole.

It is first important for us to be familiar with the collective belief systems and values of the city. Traditional Javanese cosmology, philosophy and political symbolism are manifested in an imaginary line, or officially known as the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis. Mapped out by the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, the founder of Yogyakarta in 1755, it dictated the design of the city surrounding his palace. It passes through a succession of cultural landmarks spread across six kilometres in central urban Yogyakarta, connected by tradition, space and design. This cosmological axis is a symbol of harmony and balance in the relationship between humans, God, and nature – supplemented by the five elements of fire, earth, water, wind, and the aether.

The axis, and subsequently Yogyakarta’s urban design, is closely aligned with the Javanese worldview of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of existence – or the macrocosm and microcosm respectively. Hinduism defines the vertical layout of the city. It stands as the basis of a cosmological axis that runs from Mount Merapi, the realm of the gods, through the Kraton as the human world, and ending at the South Sea, representative of the spirit world. It sets the grounds of the Kraton as the cosmic centre in balancing the chaotic energies of the North and South. Horizontally, the Kraton – at the center of the city and its axis – is integrated into the city as it is aligned with the rhythms of daily life.

While there is no official start nor end to the line, there are two interpretations of the Yogyakarta Philosophical Axis based on the Sultan’s rituals: the Cosmic Order (which travels north-south) and the Human Life Journey (traveling south-north). Following the Yogyakarta Philosophical Line, therefore, can be done in two respects. The first is the North to South reading, which balances nature, man, and the supernatural. The second, which is more commonly used in its interpretation, is the South to North interpretation. According to Javanese rituals and storytelling traditions, the path of landmarks it passes through is as follows: 

1. South Sea
2. Panggung Krapyak
3. Kraton Palace
4. Tugu Golong Gilig
5. Gunung Merapi

The path of human life begins at the Indian Ocean, or South Sea, and ends at Mount Merapi. As the respective southernmost and northernmost points of Yogyakarta, they signal the start and end of the philosophical line as spirit realms. The polarity between the volcano and the sea defines the axis as a cosmic system. 

Their cardinal directions dictate where spirits enter and leave. During their time on earth, these spirits experience the entirety of human life, with the goal of returning in reconciliation with their Maker. 

Panggung Krapyak, located between the South Sea and Kraton, approximately two kilometres away, is the first major landmark that indicates the beginning of life’s journey, from fetal development in the womb to childbirth. Panggung, which refers to a stage in Bahasa Indonesia, points to the rectangular shape of the building, which mimics a podium. It boasts of a brilliant white façade and unadorned walls with four arched entrances extending into four individual rooms. These, connected by wide corridors, border a central chamber where deer were herded into and prepared before being released into the forests to be hunted by the Sultan’s soldiers and relatives. Built in the eighteenth century by the Sultan, it was primarily used for observation and participation of deer hunting that frequently took place in the surrounding Krapyak forest. It also functioned as a defensive lookout post for soldiers, guarding the palace from enemies approaching from the south. 

Now quiet and still, only preserving the architectural history of traditional activities, Panggung Krapyak replicates the ambience of the womb. Krapyak, directly translated, is a fenced hunting reserve. According to Javanese tradition, it is where souls begin to enter the world. Supported by the abundant presence of Tamarind trees, whose roots grow so deep that they connote a connection to the underworld, Panggung Krapyak and its forest are recognised as spiritual domains. Javanese philosophy recognises the herding of deer in the building and releasing them into the forest as life’s first beginnings from conception in the womb to childbirth. 

In theory, and in the Islamic religion, this is the Arham stage of human development – where the soul has departed from its divine genesis but has not yet been attached to a body. As God keeps and releases souls in their due time, Panggung Krapyak becomes the symbolic gateway of human life as they are born. Hindu theology and Javanese cosmology is defined in its close proximity to the feminine elements of the South Sea. The building represents the yoni, or female genitalia, which denotes fertility, creation, the womb, and the beginning of life as the fetus is conceived. Its masculine counterpart, the lingam, is embodied in the Tugu Monument, found after the Kraton Palace. 

At this point, we understand that eventually the yoni and lingam of Panggung Krapyak and Tugu Golong Gilig will have to meet. There must, then, be a central component located between these landmarks to balance the masculine and feminine elements of the South Sea and Mount Merapi. Javanese cosmology plays a large part in this union. Established within a two kilometre radius from Panggung Krapyak and the Tugu Monument stands the Kraton Palace: the centrepiece of the Yogyakarta Philosophical line and the balancer of the axis. 

Originating from the Mataram Islam Kingdom, the palace was chosen by Sultan Mangkubumi in 1755 to symbolise the peak stage of human life at stability and maturity. With respect to the Cosmic Order, the palace represents the human world, with the Sultan as the cosmic mediator. Simultaneously, it stands for the harmonious relationship between humans, their Creator, and the universe. The Kraton Palace Complex is surrounded by a collection of courtyards, pavilions, shrines and gardens that are aligned with the philosophical North-South axis. These properties are closely associated with Javanese rituals, coronations, and Islamic days – all spatially built and arranged to express the hierarchy between rulers, the court, and subjects. The Kraton, therefore, becomes a miniature cosmos in physical form, reinforcing the Sultan’s authority in both Yogyakarta and the universe. 

Within the palace, eternal flames flicker. Found in the Gedhong Prabayeksa, the sacred lamps Kiai and Nyai Wiji are kept continuously lit to symbolise the eternal rule of the Sultanate, subsequently controlling the cosmic balance. Fire, in Javanese cosmology, is defined as a life force. These lamps point toward the belief of eternal life after death. In relation to the Philosophical Axis, the eternal flames of Kraton Palace reflect upon the Islamic concept of perpetual light – referring to the divine light Nūr – that symbolises God’s presence. It is tied to major ceremonies, such as the Sekaten Festival and the Sultan’s anniversary rituals to Mount Merapi, the volatile northern pole of the axis.

Positioned at the centre of the axis, Kraton Palace plays a large part in sustaining the balance of the universe. By balancing the dynamic tension of the divine and fiery gods from Mount Merapi in opposition to the spirit world and unpredictable water of the South Sea, the Kraton is established as a harmonious whole. Here, the Sultan’s position is marked as not just a political ruler, but the cosmic mediator between both human and spiritual realms. Believed to be the domain of Nyai Roro Kidul, the Queen of the Southern Sea, the Indian Ocean demonstrates a mystical bond between the Queen and the Sultan. His annual processions to the South Sea, followed by Labuhan offerings, reinforces his legitimacy as the keeper of the equilibrium. 

When the lingam and yoni connect, they symbolise the divine process of regeneration and the merging of the cosmos. Located between Kraton Palace and Mount Merapi, Tugu Golong Gilig represents the lingam through its tall cylindrical shape. In regards to its name, it represents the Javanese principle of golong gilig, which means unity and wholeness. This monument was erected in 1756, a year after Yogyakarta City was established. Historically, the original monument was destroyed in an earthquake in 1867. The Dutch soon rebuilt it in 1889 as a square-based obelisk, measuring to be fifteen metres tall – its new design echoing a European neoclassical style. Presently, it serves at the intersection of Jalan Margo Utomo, Jalan A.M. Sangaji, Jalan Jendral Sudirman, and Jalan P. Dipenogoro. 

The lingam, regarded as the manifestation of the god Shiva in his formless presence, symbolises masculine, cosmic, and creative energies. Upon reaching it, the lingam becomes a way to connect with Shiva’s divine energy to attain both worldly success and ultimate liberation. The path from Kraton Palace to the Tugu Monument imitates the journey to the ultimate destination of life. It is the divine checkpoint of spirituality that must be achieved before the spirit returns to its Creator. Humanity aligns itself with the image and order of the cosmos, and in doing so, achieves unity in both the physical and spiritual realms of existence. The step towards the Tugu Monument engraves the necessity of integrating oneself within the cosmos into the path of human life.

Tugu Golong Gilig marked the connection between the human realm of urban Yogyakarta and the divine realm at Mount Merapi. For Sultan Hamengkubowo I, the monument was a testament to his authority through both military and cosmic order. As it was a visual and spatial benchmark for Mount Merapi in the north for his meditations. Royal processions, which were necessary public performances of kingship, to and from Tugu enforced the bond between the king and his people as he and his representatives moved in full view of the population. These repeated rituals and offerings legitimised his control over the axis as the Sultan fulfilled his duty as king.

The human life and philosophical journey comes to an end at Mount Merapi. Defined in the Cosmic Order as the realm of gods, the spirit, upon leaving its flesh, returns to the realm of the gods and ancestors. At the final point of the axis, Mount Merapi does not represent death as a finite end, but a spiritual ascension in reuniting with the divine. It settles the final destination and destiny of human life as it directs one’s journey from birth to spiritual gratification. 

In conclusion, Yogyakarta’s Philosophical Axis maps the cosmic order onto the city’s streets and urban design. Each landmark along this line embeds the stages of life into the spatial and ritual fabric of Yogyakarta, influencing its urban design and rhythm of its daily movements. Beginning at the Southern Sea, where the spirit is released, life proceeds through Panggung Krapyak at birth and childhood; crescendoes at the Kraton, representing maturity and cosmic balance, and arrives at Tugu Golong Giling, where humanity reaches physical and spiritual unity. Human life culminates at Mount Merapi, where the spirit returns to its final position in the realm of the gods and ancestors. The axis structures the heart of Yogyakarta’s identity, and its existence demonstrates that sacred philosophy remain inseparable in Javanese traditions and communities.

Contributor: Josephine Yulianto

Bibliography

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