4.1 The Background of Javanese Calendar.
The consist of this page are results of my research on Sunda calendar. Sunda calendar have a strong corelation with Javanese calendar. It will be better if you see my another pages which will explain you about Saka Sunda and Caka Sunda calendar. I found several version and type of Javanese calendar out there. This pages might be my own version. I concentrate to explain Javanese calendar which instituted in Mataram era. I call it Mataram Javanese Calendar. But please, don't hoping too much, because of Javanese calendar is not my specialities, and there are too many unknown factors in this calendar, there are several questions can't be answered.
Mataram Javanese (or Javanese Mataram) calendar is a mixing of three calendar; Caka Sunda, Saka Sunda, and Hijrah. In my term, especially for this page, Hijrah is a Jahiliyah calendar (a pure rule-based caledar) not an Islamic calendar which commonly used by now (beside the rules, the recent Islamic calendar sometimes count on observation of the new moon (Ru'yat)).
The institution of this Javanese calendar, writen in book "Primbon Adji Caka Manak Pawukon 1000 taun" in Javanese language:
T a u n D j a w a
Bareng saadening karaton Djawa Islam ing Mataram, ing sadjumenenge Sri Sultan Agung Prabu Anjakrakusuma, ana kaparenging karsa Nata jasa taun Djawa, awewaton taun Kamariah ija iku taun mitutur petungan rembulan, kang bisa njakup antarane kabudajan, Hindu lan Arab bareng paugeraning Taun Djawa iku wis kalakon kaanggit kalajan mupakate para Sudjana Sardjana ahlu'n nujum, bandjur wiwit katindakake tumapaké ana ing nusa Djawa lan Madura (kadjaba ing Banten kang ora kalebu wilajah Mataram) wiwit tumindake marengi ing dina Djum'at Legi, tanggal sapisan sasi Muharram taun Alip windu Kuntara, nudju wuku Kulawu, wuku masa Prangbakat, masa wuku Kasanga, angkaning taun Caka 1555 (kang maune nganggo petungan sutja), kalestarekake kanggo angkaning taun Djawa 1555 kang badjur nganggo petungan rembulan; ing wektu iku marengi tanggal sapisan sasi Muharram sanatu'lhidjrat (=taun Hidjrah) 1043, utawa marengi kaping 8 Djuli sanatu'lmilladijah (=taun Milladi - Madehi) 1633.
Shortly this text explained that Mataram instituted a new calendar system as a mixing of Kala Surya Saka Sunda (Javanese took the year Number (=1555)), Hijrah (Javanese took the date, the name of day, and the name of month), and Kala Candra Caka Sunda (Javanese took the rules)
The Institution date:
01-01-1555 Javanese (Mataram)
01-01-1043 Hijrah
17-07-1555 Saka Sunda
08-07-1633 Gregorian
8k-01-1558 Caka Sunda
day Jumaah Pon (=Friday, Pon), Wuku (week) Warigagung - Sunda calendar, or
day Jumaah Legi (or Manis) (=Friday, Legi), Wuku Kulawau - Javanese calendar
If we see the historical background, I analyze that this calendar was instituted to be a standard by a government who govern in that era (=Mataram), while before that, the calendars that had used were varies; Kala Sura (Saka Sunda), Kala Candra (Caka Sunda), and Hijrah. It seems that Sultan Agung Prabu Anjarakusuma (the person who instituted this calendar), hoped that this calendar would be accepted for all user of a predecessor calendars.
But unfortunatelly that mixing brought this calendar into a chaos. Islam was interfere too much in this calendar. The Javanese forced to synchronize the date which falls, especially the 1st Muharam (=1st day in a year) in Javanese Mataram calendar with the 1st Muharam in Hijrah. That was big mistake, because the Caka rules which used at beginning is different with Hijrah rules. So I take a conclucion that Javanese calendar is not consistence.
Even this Mataram javanese calendar has been instituted, there still a lot of calendar systems were used: Saka Solo, Saka Jogja, Saka Cirebon, Saka Bali, Saka Sunda - Mataram, Saka Sunda- Solo, Saka Banten, and the others.
4.2 Exploring Javanese Calendar
I didn't made a computer program which convert directly Javanese calendar (because too many exception) into another calendar system. I just sequenced 5 calendar system (Saka Sunda, Gregorian, Caka Sunda, Hijrah, and Javanese calendar). The Javanese calendar generated with algorithm/methods/rules like writen below:
I start generating Javanese calendar from this dates, The Institution date:
01-01-1555 Javanese (Mataram) = 01-01-1043 Hijrah = 17-07-1555 Saka Sunda = 08-07-1633 Gregorian = 8k-01-1558 Caka Sunda
day Jumaah Pon (=Friday, Pon), Wuku (week) Warigagung - Sunda calendar, or day Jumaah Legi (or Manis) (=Friday, Legi), Wuku Kulawau - Javanese calendar
As described above, Javanese calendar took the year Number from Kala Surya Saka Sunda (1555), so this calendar begins in 1555 (not year 1). The segmented Month which used in Caka Sunda rules (in 2 Segment ; Suklapaksa & Kresnapaksa) was removed. So the dates writen just like a Hijrah (from 1 to 29 or 30). The 1st date in a month follows the Hijrah rules (new moon). In Caka Sunda Calendar the 1st date begins on the perfectly half moon (to a full moon). It is equal about 7 days later rather than Javanese or Hijrah. Because of this the 'pasar' would be unsynchronize with pasar in Sunda calendar.
Based on this I generated the Javanese calendar mostly like Caka Sunda calendar rules (Age of month, windu rules, and 120 year rules indung poe).
An then I put an exceptional rules based on historical data. In 1675 Javanese Mataram, Indung poe changed from Jumaah Manis to Kemis Kaliwon. The Caka rules still used. But in 1678 Javanese Mataram, there are some revision (in Javanese Mataram - Solo version). The 4th year (in 1 windu (8 year period)) changed to be a long year (=355 days), and 5th year becomed short year (=354). So the short/long year in 1 Windu will be:
Table 4.2.1 Exception in 1675 Javanese Mataram
* please refer to Caka Sunda calendar site
So at this time we can see Caka Sunda rules was no longer (consistently) used. The age of month for 5th year (named Taun Dal) specially based on rules writen below:
Table 4.2.2 Exception for 5th year (Dal)
In 1748 Javanese Mataram, there was another revision in Jogja (name of city in Java). 2nd year (wich should be a long year) changed to short year (=354 days). But this rules valid for that period only. It seems that Javanese want their calendar's date synchronize with Hijrah.
Because of that revision this Javenese calendar was more confusing. Because the revision fall on 2nd year, logically we should wait until one windu completely run, and Indung poe could be changed from Kemis Kaliwaon to Rebo Wage. So the rest of the years in one Windu in that period (1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1753, 1754) had no clearly Indung poe.
In 1867 Javanese Mataram, Indung poe changed again, form Rebo Wage to Salasa Pon. Mostly Javanese (until now) doesn't know that Indung poe should been changed. Then if they use Naktu rules to count the days which falls. It will be deviated 1 days.
Those revision can be shortly explained:
Table 4.2.3 Unconsistence of Indung Poe
* I don't know how this period should be continued. Should these Javanese calendar returned to its original rules like Caka Sunda (120 years) or there are another confusing exceptional?
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Name of day, Month, will be posted later
Go to :
II. Saka Sunda Calendar (Sunda - solar calendar system)
IV. Caka Sunda Calendar (Sunda - lunar calendar system)
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