Juru kunci

Juru kunci are the custodians of graveyards in Java, Indonesia. Literally, the name means 'keepers of the keys'.

They are significant in their keeping security over sacred and special graveyards.

At many graveyards they are also the performers of tahlil and enforcers of the protocol of ziarah at their respective graveyards.

When the graveyard has royal patronage (that is Yogyakartan or Surakartan) the Juru Kunci is given a name, status, a very limited honorarium and is part of an extensive network of guardians over ancestral and sacred graves.

Exemplary examples of the Juru Kunci at their most significant, are at Imogiri and Kota Gede. Here the two palaces share the responsibility over the relevant sections of the graveyard.

ee also

Javanese sacred places