Nyekar, literally means ‘to strew flowers’, is a tradition of visiting the graveyards of the late ancestors. Prior to holding a royal wedding, the Kraton of Yogyakarta will firstly conduct the tradition. Nyekar is to be carried out before the wedding day. It is commonly carried prior to the Wisuda Gelar (the Bestowal of New Title) ceremony and the wedding D-day.
In connection to the Wisuda Gelar ceremony, Nyekar is to be carried out by visiting the graveyards of the ancestors who had similar names as the ones which will be bestowed on the couple. The ritual aims to offer prayers to God to forgive the ancestors’ sins and to allow them into heaven.
Meanwhile, the Nyekar ritual carried out before the wedding day aims to pray for God’s blessing as well as to offer prayers to the ancestors.
The things to be paid attention to during the ritual of Nyekar are the order of visit to give and the outfits to wear. The graveyard visit order, which depicts whose graveyard to visit in order, cannot be changed. The order starts from the graveyard of Panembahan Senopati in Kotagede, followed by visiting the graveyard of Sultan Agung in Imogiri.
The outfits to wear are traditional attires. The bride should wear kebaya, a Javanese traditional cloth for woman, which consists of a blouse and batik wrapped skirt. Meanwhile, the groom should wear a peranakan attire (a special type of apparel that is usually worn by the Kraton’s abdi dalems). These clothes come as a manifestation of cultural preservation while being also expected to enhance the devotion while praying.
Alike the common ritual, the activity to carry out during Nyekar within the set of wedding events is offering prayer. The prayers are led by the Abdi Dalems. Following the prayer offering, the couple will then spread flowers onto the graveyards.
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