The Beginning of Jemparingan, Archery Sports Typical of the Royal Palace
Archery is one of the sports that has a long history. Archery started as a hunting tool, then fought until it became a sport contested in the Olympics.
Archery is the activity of using crossbows to shoot arrows since 5000 years ago. Then Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I (1755-1792), the first king of Yogyakarta encouraged his followers to learn archery as a means of forming a knightly character. The character of the knight in question is the four values ordered by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I to be held by the people of Yogyakarta, sawiji, greget, sengguh, and ora mingkuh. Sawiji means concentration, greget means enthusiasm, sengguh means self-confidence and ora mingkuh means having a sense of responsibility.
At first, this game was only carried out among the Royal family of Mataram and was used as a race among royal soldiers. But over time, this archery art is now increasingly in demand and played by many people from among ordinary people.
Jemparingan Philosophy
Unlike archery, jemparingan are done in a cross-legged sitting position. This aims at character formation, one of which is sawiji. The jemparingan archer also does not shoot with the eyes but positions the bow in front of the abdomen so that the shot is based on the feelings of the archer. This archery style is in line with the philosophy of the Mataram style jemparingan itself, pamenthanging gandewa
pamanthening cipta, which means stretching the bow along with the concentration aimed at the targeted target. In everyday life, pamenthanging gandewa pamanthening cipta means that humans who have aspirations should concentrate fully on their goals so that they can be achieved.
Derived from the word jemparing which means dart, this jemparingan game has its name for the accompanying equipment. Jemparing or arrows consist ofa deder
or arrow shaft, a bedoror arrowhead,wulu or feathers at the base of the arrow, and nyenyep or the base of the jemparingan placed on the bowstring when archery.
For bows called gandewa
which consists of cengkolak or bow handles, lars or blades found on the left and right of the cengkolak, and kendhang or bowstring where each end is connected to the ends of the lar.
Meanwhile, the target is called wong-wongan or pendulum which is an upright cylinder with a length of 30 cm and a diameter of 3 cm. About 5 cm the top of the cylinder is colored red, called molo or sirah (head). The bottom is given a white color, called awak (body). Then the meeting between the molo and the crew is given a yellow color 1 cm thick called jangga (neck).
Under the pendulum hung a small ball, from which the archer would get a deduction in value if it hit this ball. While at the top hung a small bell that would chime every time the jemparing hit the pendulum.
Gandewa and jemparing are specially made by craftsmen and adapted to the archer's posture, one of which is the archer's hand span. This adjustment is very necessary so that archers feel comfortable and can archery optimally. Therefore, jemparingan equipment is personal and difficult to loan.
Along with the times, the jemparingan began to undergo some changes. Now there are various ways of archery and the shape of the target to be shot. However, everything remains based on the philosophy of jemparingan as a means to train concentration. Some people also no longer aim with the gandewa position in front of the abdomen, but in a slightly tilted position so that the archer can aim with the eyes.
After being threatened with near extinction because there were fewer enthusiasts, especially after the death of Paku Alam VIII, along with the development of the times, this one sport is increasingly loved by young people.
Holiday moments for school children are the most awaited moments. In addition to spending time with family activities, their vacation time can be spent attending cultural classes. One of them is by taking jemparingan class.
At Royal Brongto Hotel Jogja we also hold regular jemparingan training and this is open to both guests and non-guests. So anyone who wants to try or course directly to professionals can register to this number.