Purworejo, The Rich Small Regency, Central Java

Purworejo is one of regencies in Central Java with the capital of Purworejo city. This regency is bounded with Wonosobo regency and Magelang regency in north, Kulon Progo or Yogyakarta in east, Indian Ocean in south, and Kebumen regency in west.

The south region in Purworejo district is lowland. The northern part is mountainous, which is part of the Serayu Mountains. At the border with Yogyakarta Special Region there is Menoreh Mountains.

The economic activity in this regency is depend on agriculture, including rice, maize, cassava and other crops results. In Central Java province, Purworejo is become the central spice or “Empon-Empon”, like: cardamom, cubeb, ginger, galangal, turmeric and ginger which are now become the target of medicinal commodity Directorate General of Horticulture. Those spices are usually become the main raw of food spices and also become the main raw of traditional herbal Jamu.

About 75 medicinal plant in Central Java and Cilacap are relying the raw materials from this regency, relating to their business. Moreover, Purworejo is also the producer of coconut, brown sugar, melinjo, durian and banana.

Coconut is a popular plantation crop as a source income after rice in Purworejo. Other plantation commodities are like: Coffee, Rubber, Cocoa, Vanilla (annual crops) and Cane and Patchouli (annual crops). Purwokerto is having good potential in livestock, especially for goat and industrial.

Purworjo is such a small regency, but there are some potential tourism that can be visited during leisure time like, Ketawang beach, Jatimalang beach, Selokarang cave, Sendang Sono, Seplawan cave, Muncar waterfall, Pencu cave and many more.

Purworejo has a distinctive art, namely dolalak. It is a traditional dance that accompanied by traditional percussion instruments such as: Bedug, tambourine, percussion. One group consisted of 12 dancers where on one group consists of only one type of gender (all male or all female). Their costume consists of: Hats pet (similar to train station officer’s hat), black vest, black pants, sunglasses, and wear an undershirt feet without shoes (for dancing on a mat). Usually the dancers recited the mantra up to the dance in a state of trance (usually asked to eat rice, sugarcane, coconut).

This dance is an acculturation between Javanese culture and western culture. In the Dutch colonial period, Dutch soldiers were often danced by using their military uniform and accompanied by song which contains like rhyme