NOBILITY AND LAND SYSTEM IN THE PRE-COLONIAL ERA OF THE SURAKARTA AND YOGYAKARTA KINGDOMS

This article discusses apanage land belonging to the village heads, which is a legacy of the land system in the era of pre-colonial Surakarta and Yogyakarta kingdoms or what is termed as Vorstenlanden. This paper is aimed to find out how the feudal and nobility system in Java, which in the colonial era was very vulnerable to intervention and politics of splitting or fighting. To answering this question, a study will be conducted on the history of the Islamic Mataram kingdom until the era of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, en focusing on the analysis of the apanage and nobility systems. The method used is a historical method that consists of four steps, namely, heuristics, textual criticism, interpretation, and historiography. This research shows high officials and royal aristocrats have the power and the right to collect land tax and labor. A decline in the degree of nobility in Java will also affect the extent or amount of apanage land obtained. In the other side, the peasant only enjoy a small portion of the results of working on land or rice fields.


INTRODUCTION
The system of government in that era was commonly referred to as feudalism, namely the system of government that placed the king as the highest authority. At the same time, the nobles of the royal family and the bureaucratic apparatus were subordinates of the kings who were used as instruments to rule the people. Thus, the people are the ruled inhabitants of the kingdom. Besides that, in the feudalism of power, it was attributed to the nobility and the bureaucratic apparatus in line with the division of royal land. It means that the aristocracy and the bureaucratic apparatus obtained land from the king as an official land (apanage or feodum), whose extent depends on the degree of nobility and position in the structure of the royal bureaucracy. The high degree of elite and class in the bureaucratic system would also affect the extent of the land of office. Then the lands were handed over to the people (peasant) as those who were ordered to work on these lands.
Previous researchers have conducted several studies on the Javanese nobility and land system. A classic study of this was carried out by Suhartono (1991). He looked at the relationship between Apanage and Bekel in the 19th century. From the perspective of social change, he saw the connection between aristocracy and control of the land. Previously, there was also a classic study by Leslie H. Palmier (1960) who looked at Javanese aristocrats during the Dutch colonial period. He saw how the position of nobles in the new system. In addition, studies of potpourri on land have been written by several historians compiled in a book entitled Two Ages of Land Mastery (Tjondronegoro & Wiradi, 2008). This study looks at various perspectives on land tenure since colonial times from multiple perspectives. Then there is also the article from Wasino (2006), which highlights the history of land ownership and control in rural Java. Wijayati (2001) conducted a study of how the land was used during the British colonial period. A more recent study of land tenure was carried out by Sururi and Swastika (2018), who looked at how land ownership was during the time of Thomas Stamford Raffles. Wahid (2017) looked at Land Tax Administration in the Vorstenlanden Region during the Colonial Period. The study above shows that the topic of the aristocracy and land tenure is always interesting. However, none of the studies above have discussed the relationship between nobility and the land tenure system during the pre-colonial period. This study is interesting because the relationship between aristocracy and land tenure still exists today.
The legacy of the feudal system that can still be observed in the present is the salaries of village heads (Lurah) and also some village equipment in the form of apanage land. It is an irony because the village head's own position in rural areas is determined through a democratic village head election system (pilkades). However, this paper is not primarily going to discuss the village head (lurah), but about the land system in the era of the pre-colonial kings. In principle, the nobles and royal officials from the highest to the lowest earn income or salary in the form of official land or apanage land. However, how the system works or is implemented in the field is the main discussion in this paper.

RESEARCH METHODS
Because this article is the result of historical research, the method used is also the historical method, which in principle consists of 4 steps in sequence, namely: (1) Heuristics, namely the activity of finding and gathering historical sources. The sources consist of the primary sources in the form of documents or archives and secondary sources in the way of relevant books, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and so on. These sources have been found at the Radya Pustaka Library in Surakarta, the Mangkunegaran Library in Surakarta, the Sana Budaya Library in Yogyakarta, and the National Library in Jakarta.
(2) Source criticism, namely the activities to investigate and to prove whether historical sources that have been found can be trusted (credible) both in form and content. Thus this stage is activity to obtain reliable information from historical sources, which are called historical facts. (3) Interpretation is the activity of establishing the meaning and interrelationships between historical facts that have been obtained through source criticism. In this case, from the many historical facts that have been received, they must be arranged or connected to each other so that they become a harmonious unity, according to a chronological sequence and a causal relationship. (4) Historiography or reconstruction, namely the activity of doing historical synthesis, or presenting the results of research in the form of historical stories, or in this case is scientific articles.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Nobility, Division of Kingdom Territory and Bureaucracy
In the days of pre-colonial feudal kings, nobility, territorial division, and royal bureaucracy were closely related to the land system. It can be understood because, in essence, the understanding of feudalism is a system of government in which the distribution of power runs parallel to the distribution of land to the bureaucracy apparatus and nobles. Thus, the land is vital in the implementation of power.
There are two criteria for determining one's position in the stratification of the traditional Mataram kingdom community. The first is that the status of someone's nobility is determined by the blood relations of someone with the holder of power, namely the king. The second is determined by the position or position of someone in the royal bureaucratic hierarchy. By having one of these criteria, a person is considered to belong to the elite in the stratification of the traditional kingdom of Mataram society. For the requirements mentioned first, it is only occupied by nobles, which are based on blood relations with the holders or owners of power, namely the king. While for the second mentioned can be from nobles or nonnobles. It means that a person, although not a noble, can be appointed and occupied a particular stratification in the royal bureaucracy.
Based on this explanation, it can be concluded that the closer a person's blood relationship with the king means that the status of the person's status is higher. On the contrary, the farther away, the blood relation is from the holder of power. It means that the degree of nobility decreases. In general, the degree of nobility only reduced to the heirs of the king to the fourth degree or the most distant to the fifth degree.
Based on the rules made by the king of Mataram, Amangkurat, which was then completed by Paku Buwana X, there are five levels in the nobility hierarchy, namely: (1) The sons of the king, included in the category of gusti; (2) the grandchildren of the king, are included in the group of bendara, (2) The great-grandchildren of the king, belong to the group of abdi sentana; (3) The grandchildren of the king's grandchildren (canggah), are included in the group of bendara sentana; (4) The grandchildren of the great-grandchildren of the king, the wareng raja, are included in the group of kawula warga (Kartodirdjo, 1969, p. 26).
Meanwhile, according to Van den Berg (1887), there were only four noble titles outside the king. The highest degree, namely the sons of the king, who have the title of Prince. Second is the grandchildren of the king with the title Raden Mas (male) and Raden Ayu (female). The third is the great-grandchildren of the king with the title Raden (male) and Raden Nganten (female). Fourth or last is the canggah of the king with the title Mas (male) and Mas Nganten (female). (see also Tedhakan Pranatan Tuwin Serat Warni-Warni Tumrap Nagari Surakarta, n.d.).
Together with the king as the highest authority, the nobility group occupied the highest strata in the social stratification of traditional Javanese society in the era of the Islamic Mataram kingdom. The closer a person's blood relationship with the king also means the higher the social status. This principle of descent as a determinant of position results in the social mobility of people who are not of royal descent. Habits exacerbate this in traditional societies, which tend to maintain established social status as a harmony (Peacock, 1975, p. 171). Such a system of social status is commonly referred to as ascribing status, which is social status obtained based on descent or birth without looking at or distinguishing spiritual differences and abilities.
Regarding the division of territories, before decreasing as a result of the annexation of territory by the Dutch, especially during the reign of Sultan Agung as the third king who ruled Matara Islam from 1613-1645, the region of the Mataram kingdom still covered all of Central and East Java and part of West Java (Kartodirdjo, et al., 1971, p.1). During the reign of the successor the kings of Sultan Agung the territory of the Mataram kingdom gradually diminished as a result of annexation by the Dutch.
In the system of government of Mataram Islam, the kingdom's territory was divided into four parts. The first is the Kuthagara or Kutha Negara region, which is the core area of the Mataram kingdom. It was in Kuthagara that the palace was located, which was at the same time the place of the king and his extended family and high-ranking royal officials. Kuthagara was also the center or capital of the kingdom, and the area of the king and high-ranking royal officials controlled the government (Kartodirdjo et al., 1971, p.2).
In the outside of Kutha Negara, there is territory that is called Negara Agung, which is also still included as the core territory of the kingdom, and which lies around Kuthagara. In this area lies the apanage land or tanah lungguh (which will be discussed behind) of the court nobles and high-ranking royal officials who reside in Kutha Negara. The areas that belong to the territory of Negara Agung are Mataram (about the same as the current Yogyakarta), Pajang (located in the Southwest of Surakarta), Sukowati (located in the northeast of Surakarta today), Begelen, Kedu, Bumi Gede or Siti Ageng (areas located in the northwest of Surakarta, added with the area to the southwest of Semarang with an approximate line be-tween Ungaran and Kedung Jati (Rouffaer, 1931, p.4).
The third is outside the territory of the Negara Agung. There is an area called the Manca Negara. Following the position of its direction from the center of the kingdom, namely Kutha Negara, the Manca Negara region is divided into two areas, namely Manca Negara Wetan (East) and Manca Kulon (West). Unlike the territory of the Negara Agung, there is no apanage land of the nobles and high-ranking royal officials. However, when the Surakarta kingdom was governed by Paku Buwana IV (1788-1820), there was apanage land located in the Manca Negara region. It was as a result of the succession war in the Yogyakarta Sultanate, between King Hamengku Buwana (H.B.) II, against his son, Prince Adipati Anom, who wanted to seize the throne from his father. Adipati Anom requested assistance from the British, while king H.B. II requested assistance from Paku Buwana IV. In the battle in 1812 between the two rival parties, H.B. II was captured by the British, and the Yogyakarta court was successfully occupied. Finally, Adipati Anom succeeded in becoming king to replace his father (Sudaryo,n.d.,p. 68). Meanwhile, Paku Buwana IV, who has helped the king of Yogyakarta H.B. II, was demanded by Britain to pay war compensation and gave up the region of Kedu, Wisobo, and Blora. The surrender was outlined through an agreement on 1 August 1812 (Sudaryo, n.d., p. 74;Rouffaer, 1931, p. 74), for the submission, P.B. IV received compensation of 12,000 ringgits. Instead of apanage land of the high-ranking royal officials in Kedu who were taken over by the British, Sunan gave apanage land in Madiun and Kediri region (Rouffaer, 1931, p. 74).
During the reign of the king of Paku Buwana II in Mataram Kartasura who ruled from 1726 -1749, the territory of the entire country as a whole covered the following regional areas: (1) (Brandes, 1900, pp. 169-173). The Pasisiran territory of the Mataram kingdom gradually became shrinking since the reign of Paku Buwana II as a result of annexation by the Dutch (VOC). About the bureaucratic system referred to in this paper is a way to regulate the course of government. As the center and the highest authority, the position of the king is actually outside the bureaucracy. However, the king is the owner of the bureaucratic apparatus called the prijajis. The bureaucratic apparatus serves as a tool to run the government and control its people as the governed group. The king's power is absolute because there are no other institutions or authorities that can prevent it (Moertono, 1968, p. 17). In other words, the royal bureaucracy is a tool used to control and run the government. The king's responsibility is quite moral in that it is a channel of collective interest and a symbol of consensus in maintaining the stability of economic and political life.
Regarding the position of such a king, then there is a strict separation between the king as a source of law and power with the bureaucratic apparatus as an executive institution that carries out government duties (Soemardjan, 1962, p. 21).
In the palace environment, the nobles had a higher status than the bureaucratic apparatus. Besides that, the king and the nobles had the right to inherit power. Meanwhile, the bureaucratic apparatus is a means of the government of the king to bridge and regulate the relationship between the king and his people. The position of the bureaucratic apparatus is also very dependent on the king because their appointment and dismissal is the right and by the king. But from this aristocratic class, generally, high-ranking royal officials were appointed by the king (Peacock, 1975, p. 171). It means that nobles have a much greater chance to occupy the highest strata in the bureaucratic structure than ordinary people.
In the structure of the royal bureaucracy, "Patih" (vice-regent) occupies the highest position, and this vice-regent is the leader of all bureaucratic apparatus. The bureaucratic apparatus has the task of carrying out the orders or the will of the king. Besides occupying the highest strata in the bureaucratic structure of the Islamic Mataram kingdom, Patih also served as the king's deputy, the king's right hand, the head of the subordinate officials, namely the regents. Before 1755, there were Patih Lebet (inside) in Mataram Surakarta and Patih Jawi (Outside). Patih Lebet is a coordinator and, at the same time, as the leader of high officials under him whose job is to manage the government in the palace (Kraton). However, after 1755 the position of Patih Lebet was abolished so that all government affairs in the palace were carried out by Wedana Lebet (see behind), and one of them, the Wedana Lebet, being its leader (Rouffaer, 1931, p. 279).
Meanwhile, Patih Luar is the coordinator and leader of the Wedana Jawi, who has the task of managing the government in the territory of the Negara Agung.
The Patih Luar's duties include tax and recruitment of workers if needed by the king at any time. The tasks of the Patih Luar are among others in the field of tax collection and recruitment of workers if needed by the king at any time. Patih Luar is the most important official in the royal government because all orders for all the officials below are coming from and through Patih. It is following the custom in the palace of the Mataram Islamic kingdom, which gives the meaning of Patih as parintah (order) or government. The point is that Patih is the provider of charges based on wisesa (power) from the king as the highest authority (Serat Kabar Wulanan Narpowandowo, 1941, p. 4).
Under the position of Patih, there was the position of Pangeran Adipati Anom, and his full title Pangeran is Adipati Anom Sudibya Raja Putra Narendra Mataram. He is the king's son born from the Permaisuri (main wife) and has been designated as a candidate for the successor to the king (Crown Prince). If at any time there is an emptiness in the position of the king (for example because the king dies) and has not been crowned or appointed a new successor, then the Crown Prince will directly carry out the functions or duties of the king until he is appointed as the new king (Veth, 1912, p. 572). In the affairs of the state, the Adipati Anom has ranked the third position (after the king and the patih), but in the palace environment, he occupied the second place, namely after the king. Therefore, there is a clear distinction between Kepatihan (the patih residence) and the Kadipaten or Astana Pangeran (the possession of the princes). Patih is the head of the royal employees (priyayi), while the Adipati Anom is the head of a noble or aristocratic environment.
The royal bureaucratic officials who were directly under the chief of patih were the wedana or nayaka. Following their respective work areas, the post of wedana is divided into two groups, namely Wedana Lebet (inside) and Wedana Jawi ( (Rouffaer, 1931, p. 50). Thus they are regional heads in their respective work areas. However, in the palace, they have special skills or tasks. For example, during the reign of Paku Buwana II, the titles and duties of the wedana in the castle are as follows (Sri Radya Laksono, 1949, pp. 92-95): (1) Wedana Keparak Kiwa, Raden Tumengung Ngurawan, is an expert in the field of soldier, Javanese and Arabic literature, various language experts as well as a translator; (2) Wedana Keparak Tengen, Raden Tumenggung Natawijaya, has expertise in making weapons, training in war, training spies and so on; (3) Wedana Gedhomg Kiwa, Kyai Tumenggung Tirtawiguna, served in the financial field (bendahara raja) and expert in making soldier clothes; (4) Wedana Gedong Tengen, Kyai Tumengung Mangun Nagara, expert in the field of Javanese cooking and arts; (5) Wedana Sewu, Kyai Tumenggung Hanggawangsa and Wedana Numbak Anyar, both of them have the task of providing compulsory labor for the kingdom, seeking and providing beautiful people and providing healthy people to carry out demanding work such as diving and so on; (6) Wedana Bumi Kyai, Tumengung Natayuda, and Wedana Bumija, Kyai Tumenggung Mangkuyuda, both have expertise in agriculture.
In the Manca Negara and Pasisiran regions, there is the Wedana Bupati office which becomes the head of the regents.  (Schrieke, 1959, p. 161). They are officials appointed by the king, mainly based on consideration of their loyalty, and not based on their abilities (Soemardjan, 1962, pp. 25-33). The task of the regents is to collect taxes (tribute) that must be paid at certain times, namely at the time of the ceremony "Grebeg," as a proof of their respect and loyalty to the king. Besides that, they also had to provide armies or soldiers to help the central government during the war (Soekanto, 1969, p. 27).

Land Exploitation
In the Mataram kingdom of Islam, the economic activities were still primarily carried out through an exchange, tribute consisting of yields and labor. Although there are already financial institutions in the center of the kingdom, they have not yet functioned as the main economic tools of the empire. For the king, wealth is a tool that is hoarded and sometimes used to buy support, so it has never been considered an efficiency tool in a royal economic organization (Onghokham, 1962, p. 2).
Meanwhile, in the concept of Javanese power, the king was the owner of the land with absolute power. The land was distributed to bureaucratic officials and nobles as apanage land, and then handed over to the people to be cultivated (Rouffaer, 1931, pp. 67-68). The crops from the lands that were worked by the people in the villages, tribute, or other obligatory offerings were handed over by the village heads (petinggi or bekel) to their leaders, i.e., the Demang. The demang then handed over to their superiors, the Panji, who usually held the title Tumenggung. The head of the Panji is the wedana, who then to be responsible directly to Patih (Schrieke, 1959, pp 191-194).
To be able to control the lands that were cultivated by the people in the countryside or villages, the king appointed special officers. They were bekel, petinggi and so on, which also functioned as a tax collector. They are, of course, also given rewards or some kind of salary, which is part of the village's land products in their respective work area. For this bekel, the king gives tax-free land, which covers onefifth of the rice fields in their respective working areas. Then half of the rest, which is equal to 2/5, is the right of the cultivator or farmer who they enjoy at each harvest. The remaining two-fifths left, one fifth should be reduced for the regent as head of the region and 1/5 again became part of the district heads such as Demang and Ngabehi. Thus the king only has to get part 2/5 x 100% -2/5 x 40% = 40% -16% = 24% of all crop yields in a district. A tax-free land system with an area of 1/5 part of all paddy fields in the bekel working area or petinggi ) is called the system of perlimaan. (Rouffaer, 1931, p. 69).
The unitary system of land in Java in the era of pre-colonial Islamic Mataram was the "jung" which the literal meaning is feet, and which is approximately equal to 50 x 50 hands = 2,500 square roede. One jung can still be divided into five bau (bau = arm). The definition of the literal meaning of bau or arm is the arm of a worker like a farmer or a cultivator, which is then also called the term karya, which means work assignment. One bau is approximately the same as 500 square inches. However, in the simple land administration of Java, tax-free land from bekel was never taken into account in determining the extent of village land. Therefore, in the official tax register, one junk is only calculated as four bau or karya (Rouffaer, 1931, p. 75). It means that for the size of one jung it still has to add a portion of bekel for one bau, so that it becomes five bau.
Thus, the origin of the meaning of bau or karya is related to the understanding of labor unity. Then, mainly since Mataram was divided into two kingdoms, namely Surakarta and Yogyakarta (1755), emerged the meaning of cacah, which was the same as ¼ bau (karya). However, this understanding of cacah refers to the unity of land within a family. The size of the agreement of the land in this cacah also simultaneously shows a lot of Real tax money each year. In Dutch terms, such family tax is referred to as hoofdgelden, which is a tax-setting unit for the land owned by the king. Therefore, every unit of land that provides a living for one person and his family is taxed one Real per year, which directly becomes part of the king. Thus, the notion of land area in the cacah also relates to the definition of one family tax in Real.
The bureaucratic officials did not receive compensation for their work and position, but instead, they obtained a land loan or apanage land. The land portion of the position or apanage of bureaucratic officials is as Table 1.
The area of the apanage land of the Wedana Jawi is varied, which depends on the size of the area, which is their respective work area. It means that if the area of work is getting wider, then the apanage land that can be owned is also more expansive and vice versa.
Those who obtained the portion of land apanage from the king were not only officials of the royal bureaucracy, but also the nobles of the royal family who did not become bureaucratic officials. They obtained the land of apanage, and each of them was as table 2.
The size of the apanage land is an official of the royal bureaucracy that shows the high and low level of the official in the structure of the royal bureaucracy, while for the nobles shows their high degree of nobility.
For officials of the royal bureaucracy, the land of Lungguh or Apanage cannot be inherited to the descendants. It means that the land can only be enjoyed as long as someone still has the status as an official of the royal bureaucracy. If it has stopped from his position for various reasons, the land will automatically return to its owner, the king, who will then be given back to his successor. However, the extent usually decreases as the degree of one's nobility decreases. In the Javanese nobility, the degree of the nobility of a king declined to a fifth-degree. Under that, the descendants of a king can be considered as ordinary people. Even since the shrinking of the territories of Yogyakarta and Surakarta kingdoms in 1812 and 1830 as a result of annexation by Britain and the Netherlands, the nobility can only be