Masangin

When i was in Yogyakarta, at the cellsbutton festival, venzha took me out one midnight on his scooter to the banyan tree square, south of Kraton. He said, close your eyes, tie this blindfold, now walk between the trees. i think i tried 5 times before almost making it. the idea is to make a wish, get through the two trees at midnight, and the wish comes true. I liked this space. there laods of wandering blindfolded wishers wandering off in random directions.

so the next night i went back and walked around the space with my gps. i circled the whole square, but not completely, had to leave a space for the wishes to escape. but in that one midnight night i caught the thoughts and held them and let them out again.

the two circles were partially in respect to the cellbutton team. it's their logo too. cellsbutton captures masangin. astrid embraces masangin.

The word “Masangin” originated from the Indonesian word : “Masuk diantara dua beringin” which means “passing through 2 banyan trees” in English. This is a myth in Java about the power of 2 banyan tree at the south square of the Kraton. According to the myth, one day the Kraton was attacked by enemies from the south side. To reach the Kraton, enemy soldiers would have to pass the two big banyan trees on their way to the Kraton. The soldiers would then lose their power after passing through the trees and therefor keeping the Sultan’s Palace safe. Today, Masangin is considered to be a game where people would come to the South Square and witness the two banyan trees trees while trying to pass through them blindfolded. If they succeed, then it is said that whatever they wished for will be granted.



one of the magic elements of Jojya is the cartography of the city. it's lined up on a sacred axis between Merapri and the sea, a mystical line that connects actual locations, including this banyan wish square.