Macapatan Friday Legen: Reciting and Contemplating the Serat Wedhatama

The Language, Literature, and Culture Program Study, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM), held another Macapatan Jumat Legen event on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The event took place at the Javanese Studies Center (Pusaka Jawa) and raised a popular Javanese literary work, namely Serat Wedhatama.

Serat Wedhatama, a literary work written by Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Arya Adipati (KGPAA) Mangkunagara IV, is a work full of piwulang about the concept of divinity and moral teachings in life and society. The manuscript of Serat Wedhatama kept at the Mangkunegaran Palace Library in Surakarta consists of 100 stanzas and is divided into several pupuhs, namely:

1. Pupuh Pangkur: 14 pada (stanzas)
2. Pupuh Sinom: 18 pada (stanzas)
3. Pupuh Pocung: 15 pada (stanzas)
4. Pupuh Gambuh: 35 pada (stanzas)
5. Pupuh Kinanthi: 18 pada (stanzas)

The event presented Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum., as the speaker, and was attended by participants from various circles. In addition, Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A., participated in developing Serat Wedhatama in the opening ceremony and several students of the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program participated in playing gamelan, adding to the solemn atmosphere of the event. The liveliness of the participants in reading and developing Serat Wedhatama created an atmosphere full of beauty.

Dr. Rudy Wiratama, S.I.P., M.A., and students performing Serat Wedhatama

Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum, on the occasion, emphasized that Serat Wedhatama, with its philosophical values and moral messages, can be applied in daily life. However, the actualization needs to be considered so that it can be relevant to the current conditions.

Prof. Dr. Hendrokumoro, M.Hum. explaining Serat Wedhatama

Macapatan Jumat Legen aims to revive the Macapatan tradition and preserve this tradition for the younger generation. Preserving this tradition and extracting information from literary works such as Serat Wedhatama is an important step in improving the quality of public education. The collaboration of various parties, such as between the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program and the Pusaka Jawa UGM, is an effort to maximize these preservation efforts. Thus, the organization of Macapatan Jumat Legen is in line with the 4th and 17th points in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's).