On either side of the Waringin Gung and
Waringin Binatur in the narrow courtyard at
the south side of Alun-Alun Lor there once
were three big cannons. Two were placed
beside the eastern Waringin Gung, and one
next to the western Waringin Binatur. The
cannons have now been moved to an area
slightly further to the south, i.e. next to
the Kori Wijil gate, behind Pagelaran, near
the stairs leading to Sitihinggil. Each
cannon has its own name and symbolism.
The easternmost cannon is called Kyahi
Poncoworo. This name comes from the sound it
used to make, and which is said to have been
very loud, like the noise of five (jav.:
ponco) normal cannon fired at once. The name
also contains a chronogram referring to the
Javanese year Aj 1567 (AD 1636): it was made
during the reign of Sultan Agung (r.
1613-1645).
The other two cannons were made in
Europe, and received their names from Paku
Buwono VII (r. 1830-1858). The cannon in the
center is called Kyahi Syuhbrasto; the one
in the west is Kyahi Segoro Wono. Both names
refer to the sadness felt by Paku Buwono VII
as a result of his loss of power and
authority over the ports and teak forests,
which the Dutch demanded as compensation for
their military support. Thus Syuhbrasto
means 'lost, 'destroyed, while Segoro means
,sea', and Wono'forest'.
Still on the shady southern part of
Alun-Alun Lor, and slightly to the west
stands a remarkable, and rather big, tall
monument. The top part consists of
beautifully decorated and colourful stained
glass. It is called Tugu Tomas Warso and
commemorates 200 years of Karaton Surakarta.
It was installed during the short reign of
Paku Buwono XI (r. 1939-1945). Its unusual
form has made people say that it has the
shape of a bomb, a form the meaning of which
was only understood during World War 11 and
the Japanese occupation (1942-1945), when
the city of Solo was bombed.
Near the Tomas Warso monument is a small
traditional Javanese building with an open
limasan roof, Bangsal Pemandengan. Here the
Pandengan horse, the ruler's personal mount,
was stabled. The eastern part of the
structure was used to store royal symbols,
while the western part was used to store
military equipment.
On either side of Bangsal Pamandengan are
another two open buildings with open limasan
roofs and round pillars, Bangsal Paretan.
These were used when the royal carriages
needed to be prepared when the ruler was to
go out. While the eastern structure was for
the royal carriage, the western one was for
that of K.G.P.A. Anom, the Crown Prince.
In the past, north of the Bangsal Paretan
was a hitching post for elephants, or
Wantilan, made of a large round piece of
teak. The wantilan was used to tie up the
elephants that took part in the festive
procession for the Garebeg celebrations,
held three times a year. It was customary to
decorate two elephants with red
saddles, while their faces were adorned
with bright colours, in order to resemble
the figures of the elephants used in
performances of wayang kulit, the shadow
puppet theatre. The elephants represented
the overwhelming might and impressive power
of the ruler.
Other animals too were kept in this area,
like tigers (in the southeast corner of
Alun-Alun). The tigers symbolized both the
power of royal authority and man's ultimate
control over nature's wild, untarnable
aspect.
In the northeast corner of Alun-Alun
Lorthere is one more structure worth
mentioning, Bangsal Patalon. In the past the
so-called gamelan Kyahi Singokrungu was
played here every Saturday afternoon, as
accompaniment for the watangan (spear)
martial exercises. The watangan itself,
involving mounted spearmen, was held some
distance away, just south of the Ringin
Kurung Sakembaran (the twin waringin trees)
at the center of the Alun-Alun.
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