Kanjeng Ratu Kidul: The Second Divine Spouse of the Sultans of Ngayogyakarta

Abstract

This brief paper discusses Ratu Kidul, the Queen of the Southern Ocean, as ruler over the waters, both fresh and salty, on earth and in the clouds. Through this, she in effect rules also over the earthly domain, the tanahair of the Javanese sultan, whose spiritual consort she is; in fact, her being his consort is what enables him to rule the state.