The ruins of the palace Of the Prince Mangkubumi—better known under the name Hamengku Buwono I (1749-1792)—dates from the XVIIIth century. What remains of the palace are a pendopo (reception hall) of 9x6m, 5m in height, oriented to the west, and walls at the south west sides, at some places reaching 2.5m high. The location, charmingly nestled in the middle of the plantation and coconut trees, is so shaded that the walls are covered with moss. Nearby, 50m from the pendopo, inside a house, we can see a piece of thick wall, supposedly a remnant of the palace’s stables.
A little further, 180m to the west of the pendopo, there are other ruins of walls and barriers, now an integral part of the house of a villager. The wall were used by the guards (demang) of the palace and the place is until now called Kademangan. According to reseachers, the remains of the palace of Hamengku Buwono I are not limited to the three ruins but spread throughout the village of Ambarketawang.
The palace is also mentioned in the Giyanti Treaty (1755) when the Mataram kingdom was divided in two: Kasunanan (Solo) and Kasultanan (Jogjakarta). Although the two families of the Mataram fought the same enemy, the Dutch, their internal quarrels were stronger. Ambarketawang was thus the first palace of the branch to be constructed by Hamengku Buwono I, after he left Kartosuro. Finally, 50m at the east of the pavilion, we can see an old well, 1.5 in diameter and 2m deep.
The well is believed to posess a particular virtue. It is said that, in the 1970s, many disabled persons went there to be healed. The first case was that of invalid villagers who asked to be taken to the well to tkae a bath. He was accompanied by a number of people wanting to wash at the same time. Great was their surprise at seeing the invalid not only walking but also running as if possessed. The same thing happened to a becak driver who was paralyzed after an accident. After washing himself with the water he regained his ability to walk.
Before this miracles, the inhabitants of the village witnessed one night a blinding light descending from the sky towards the well. During the Javanese month of Sapar, the villagers hold a cewremony called Bekakak, which consists of sacrificing a made-of-food wedding couple. The couple represents the devotion to the King, referring to the servants of the palace who remained loyal to Hamengku Buwono I to death.
Source: Situs-Situs Marjinal Jogja (Sanctuaires Retrouvés/ Sites Out of Sight) - M. Rizky Sasono, Jean-Pascal Elbaz, Agung 'Leak' Kurniawan (Enrique indonesia, Yogyakarta: 1997).
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.