SUMEDANG LARANG HERITAGE TRAIL EXPERIENCE: TRACING CULTURAL FOOTSTEPS FROM THE ANCIENT PALACE TO TRADITIONAL CITIZENS' DWELLINGS

Authors

• Retno Raswaty, West Java Cultural Preservation OfficeFollow

Abstract

The heritage trail, or the tracing of historical footprints as an approach to preservation and cultural education in Sumedang Larang culture, will lead to an experience that opens insights into life in the old center of power to the residential patterns of citizens filled with wisdom. As a cultural landscape, the traces of Sumedang Larang are still alive in urban spaces, sites, social practices, and the current residential layout of the community. Through a space-reading based on walking, this article outlines major points of interest such as the town square (alun-alun), the palace or museum, pilgrimage sites, old paths, strategic landscapes, and traditional settlements.   The heritage trail approach helps us reinterpret history through the spaces encountered daily by assembling traces of objects, landscapes, and cultural practices as a living experience. Thus, the preservation of cultural heritage is understood not only as site protection but also as an effort to cultivate spatial awareness and maintain collective memory.

Bahasa Abstract

Heritage trail atau penelurusan jejak sejarah sebagai pendekatan pelestarian dan edukasi budaya pada kebudayaan Sumedang Larang akan membawa pada pengalaman yang membuka wawasan tentang kehidupan di pusat kekuasaan kerajaan lama hingga pola kahunian warga yang penuh dengan kearifan. Sumedang Larang sebagai lanskap budaya, jejaknya masih hidup dalam ruang kota, situs, praktik sosial, dan tata bermukim masyarakat saat ini. Melalui pembacaan ruang berbasis langkah kaki, artikel ini menguraikan point of interest utama seperti alun-alun, keraton atau museum, situs ziarah, jalur lama, lanskap strategis, dan permukiman tradisional. Pendekatan heritage trail membantu kita mampu membaca ulang sejarah melalui ruang-ruang yang dijumpai sehari-hari dengan merangkai jejak benda, lanskap, dan praktik budaya sebagai pengalaman yang hidup. Dengan demikian, pelestarian warisan budaya dipahami tidak hanya sebagai perlindungan situs, tetapi juga sebagai upaya menumbuhkan kesadaran ruang dan merawat ingatan kolektif.

References

Bappeda West Java Province. (2025). West Java provincial government designates 42 cultural  works as Intangible Cultural Heritage 2025. 

https://bappeda.jabarprov.go.id/pemdaprov-jabar-tetapkan-42-karya-budaya-sebagai-wari san-budaya-tak-benda-2025/

Ciptandi, F., Oetari, J., & Rosandini, M. (2024). Exploring the Sundanese culture in the Makuta  Binokasih as a cultural asset of the Sumedang Larang Kingdom. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 11(1), 2426361. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2024.2426361

Detik Jabar. (2022). Facts about the Sumedang Great Mosque. 

https://www.detik.com/jabar/budaya/d-6016580/fakta-fakta-seputar-masjid-agung-sumed ang

Kabar Priangan (Pikiran Rakyat). (2021). Ini sejarah rinci Dayeuhluhur sebagai pusat peradaban Sumedang Larang. https://kabarpriangan.pikiran-rakyat.com/kabar-priangan/pr-1482759294/ini-sejarah-rinci-dayeuhluhur-sebagai-pusat-peradaban-sumedang-larang

Lim, M.,  & Padawangi, R. (2008). Contesting alun-alun : Power relations, identities and the production of urban space in Bandung, Indonesia International Development Planning Review, 30(3), 307–326. https://doi.org/10.3828/idpr.30.3.7

Martanagara, R. A. A. (1978). Babad Sumedang (S. Raksakusumah & E. S. Ekadjati, Eds.). Bandung: Lembaga Kebudayaan Universitas Padjadjaran/Sundanologi. https://archive.org/details/wawacan-babad-sumedang/page/50/mode/2up?q=kota

Morjuangsah, L. (2012). Aesthetics and meaning of the Binokasih Sanghyang Pake Crown of  Sumedang Larang [Master's thesis, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia].

Nuryanto, Surasetja, I., & Ahdiat, D. (2020). Design of the Tajur Kahuripan tourism village in Purwakarta District, West Java Province with the inspiration Sundanese traditional of architecture. Journal of Architectural Research and Education, 2(2), 144–155. https://doi.org/10.17509/jare.v2i2.30287

Nuryanto. (2011). Fungsi dan Makna Pawon pada Arsitektur Rumah Tradisional Masyarakat Sunda. Prosiding Seminar Nasional The Local Tripod.

Prabu Geusan Ulun Museum. (n.d.). Collection profile of the Prabu Geusan Ulun Museum. https://www.museumprabugeusanulun.org/

Saputra, A. F., Satwikasari, & Adha, M. S. (2019). Kajian akhir arsitektur tradisional Sunda pada desain resort. Arsitektur Purwarupa, 3(4), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.24853/purwarupa.3.4.65-74

Sumedang Regency Government. (2020). Regional Regulation (PERDA) of Sumedang Regency, Number 1 of 2020 concerning Sumedang as the Center of Sundanese Culture. JDIH BPK RI. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/139045/perda-kab-sumedang-no-1-tahun-2020

Sumedang Regency Government. (2021). Dayeuhluhur: The capital of Sumedanglarang.   https://sumedangkab.go.id/berita/detail/dayeuhluhur-ibu-kota-sumedanglarang

Sumedang Regency Government. (2025a). Jabar Etno Festival: Weaving traditions, inspiring  generations. https://sumedangkab.go.id/berita/detail/jabar-etno-festival-menjalin-tradisi-menginspirasi-generasi

Sumedang Regency Government. (2025b). Virtual tourism of Sumedang Regency. 

https://virtualtour.sumedangkab.go.id

Sumedang Archival Management Information System (Sisemar). (n.d.). The Binokasih Crown of  the Sumedang Larang Kingdom.

https://sisemar.sumedangkab.go.id/Front/artikeldetail/mahkota-binokasih-pada-kerajaan-s umedang-larang

Thohir, A. (2013). Sumedang Puseur Budaya Sunda: Kajian Sejarah Lokal. Bandung: Galuh Nurani. https://digilib.uinsgd.ac.id/id/eprint/42140

Thresnawaty S., E. (2011). Sejarah Kerajaan Sumedang Larang. Patanjala: Jurnal Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya, 3(1), 154–168. https://doi.org/10.30959/patanjala.v3i1.276

Tirto.id. (2022). History of the Cadas Pangeran road in Sumedang. 

https://tirto.id/sejarah-jalan-cadas-pangeran-yang-ada-di-sumedang-gxVs

Wijaya, K., Permana, A. Y., Sugandi, D., & Nurrohman, F. (2020). Settlement Pattern of the Village of Dayeuh Luhur, Sumedang. Journal of Architectural Research and Education, 2(1), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.17509/jare.v2i1.24292

Winata, D., & Astrina, I. (2022). Implementation of centrality concept on Keraton Surakarta Hadiningrat. Jurnal RISA (Riset Arsitektur), 6(3), 314–331. https://journal.unpar.ac.id/index.php/risa/article/view/5943

Recommended Citation

Raswaty, Retno (2026) "SUMEDANG LARANG HERITAGE TRAIL EXPERIENCE: TRACING CULTURAL FOOTSTEPS FROM THE ANCIENT PALACE TO TRADITIONAL CITIZENS' DWELLINGS," International Review of Humanities Studies: Vol. 11: No. 2, Article 11.
DOI: 10.7454/irhs.v11i2.1476
Available at: https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/irhs/vol11/iss2/11