Image courtesy Britannica / Shutterstock

The 'Special Region' of Yogyakarta is unique in Indonesia in being the only one of Indonesia's regions which still has a hereditary monarch. It is a big modern city, but still preserves many relics of Indonesia's past such as the Prambanan temple (above). It is an important centre for classical Javanese fine arts and culture.

In the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, there is an establishment that performs circumcision for the royal family that rules Yogyakarta. It is called Juru Supit Bogem and was founded in 1934. At first it only served the palace to circumcise the Princes, but slowly they opened the door to also circumcise boys who come from common families.

The Juru Supit Bogem building looks old, but still stands majestically as if challenging the changing times. The waiting room is spacious for families who bring their children for circumcision. There is also a waiting room for patients who come late at night. The circumcision process in Bogem is known to be fast, painless, and heals quickly. This is one of the reasons why many people come there. Also, many patients choose circumcision at Juru Supit Bogem because of previous family members who were also circumcised there.

Before entering the circumcision room, the children first perform a kind of ritual by taking pictures with the interior of Juru Supit Bogem as the background. There are also families who invite you to take pictures there. Furthermore, when the circumcision process is taking place, the family is not allowed to enter the circumcision room and is required to wait outside.

The obligatory waiting room photo.

When the holiday season arrives, Juru Supit Bogem will be filled with children who want to be circumcised. The number of patients reaches 150-200 people even though the clinic never promotes itself or places advertisements in the mass media. Not only from Jogja and its surroundings, patients who want to be circumcised also come from outside the city. There are even some from abroad.

To explain the name: Juru Supit came from the Indo-java language. Juru means Ahli in Bahasa Indonesia, or Expert in English. Supit means sunat or khitan in Bahasa, which I guess most Circlist readers know means circumcision in English. Bogem is the name of the village, which was famous for stonemasons. Back in the Hindu and Buddhist eras they supplied the stone for building temples In Javanese pounding is di-bogemi. The local people used hammer-like tools called bogem or bogeman to shape the stone blocks. So in short, Juru Supit Bogem roughly means "Circumcision Expert in Bogem". The clinic is located to the west of the famous Prambanan temple site on Jalan Raya Solo-Yogyakarta KM 16, Kalasan, Sleman.

Because it is so legendary, many myths have developed among people who are circumcised in Bogem. One of them is the assumption that if you are circumcised in Bogem it will bring prosperity in adult life.
"There is a kind of suggestion and myth, that people who are circumcised here will generally become high rank employees. My brother and I have proven that,"
said Gatot Suharto, a man from Wonogiri whom 'Mojok' met while taking his son to be circumcised in Bogem. Almost all the meles family members in Gatot's family were circumcised in a place pioneered by a figure named R. Ng. Notopandoyo. There is a kind of belief in his family that if you don't get circumcised here, it feels incomplete.

Since 2018, Juru Supit Bogem has been owned and managed by Bardo Djumeno (pronounced Jumeno). Bardo is the fifth child of the founder of Bogem. Of the nine siblings, four are boys. All the boys in this family were taught the art of circumcision by their father. So that the legacy of Bogem can be continued until now.
"My father used to study with juru supit Sutardi Hardiyoto. He is a bong supit (circmciser) from the Yogyakarta Palace,"
he explained.

Newly circumciased boys resting before their final check and discharge.	Another happy circumcised boy

In the operating room the children are lying on rows of mattresses with white sheets. At the end there is a mattress with a curtain covering it. The circumcision practice is carried out there solemnly and quickly.

In the middle of the year, during school holidays, most of the patients who come are families who are circumcising their children. In the past, the peak season could be different. As an agricultural area, parents usually circumcise their children during the harvest season. "Because when a boy circumcised, it is also a package with a Javanese celebration" Bardo explained.

A nearby stall has everythig you neeed for the circumcision celebration, imcluding "celana sunat" - circumcision pants.

Recently, Bardo has also observed that the age of circumcision age is getting earlier. Most often, boys are circumcised at the end of elementary school and the beginning of junior high school. However, recently, many kindergartens and even preachool age children have been gtting circumcised, a trend also seen in other cities in the region. According to him, this is because the area is close to West Java which has a society with strong Islam. "In areas with strong Islam, usually the little ones are already circumcised," he said.

After the school holidays, Bogem is not always quiet. At that time, adult men actually start coming in to perform the sacred procedure on their own genitals. They are not accompanied by their parents. Many are college students who come accompanied by their girlfriends. There are also men who are accompanied by their future wives. "If you are married and have not been circumcised, your wife can compare. Which is more comfortable, before or after circumcision," he said laughing.

Bardo Djumeno

He was once visited by someone who already had two children and had just been circumcised. After the procedure, he suggested that the person come back for regular check-ups. After recovery, he then advised "Go ahead, you can do it. But let me know later, whether it was comfortable before or after," he joked.

"That's right, he told me later that it was more comfortable after circumcision, more solid and clean," he continued laughing.

He often encounters moments in his practice that make his stomach shake. One day a father was bringing his son to be circumcised. After the ceremony, the father asked to make sure his son was in good shape.

"Does it hurt, son?"

"No, sir."

After that, the father suddenly came to the registration desk. Not to pay the bill. But to ask to be circumcised at the same time.

"There was also an incident involving a group from Temanggung," said Bardo.

A family group came to accompany their son to be circumcised. There were parents and even the child's grandfather who accompanied them. After that, the grandfather came to Bardo:

"My grandson has already been circumcised, sir. Now it's my turn," said Bardo, imitating what the grandfather had said to him. The oldest patient Bardo has ever treated was 80 years old.

The origins of the patients who came to Bogem are also varied. Not only from around Jogja, but also from abroad, paryicularly Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.

"Most of them come because they are marrying migrant workers. Before getting married the prospective husband is told he has to be circumcised first," he explained.

According to Bardo, circumcising adults certainly requires a little more attention than children. For adults, especially those who are older, Bardo requires them to check their blood sugar.

"If their blood sugar is high, I don't dare to circumcise. The wound will be hard to heal," he said.

In addition, simple matters such as shaving pubic hair also need to be considered. The presence of thick pubic hair can be a hindrance to the circumcision process. There are also sometimes problems with children. If they are still too young, phimosis can be a problem. This condition occurs when the foreskin of the penis has not completely separated from the head (glans). Usually, when they are at the end of elementary school, this condition has disappeared because the child has tried to retract the foreskin himself. But there are also those who still have that problem. For Bardo, the penis is like a fingerprint, each person is unique.

Circumcision, for Bardo, does have its own artistic value. He explained that in the past, circumcision in each region had its own characteristics. For example, Yogya and Solo, two areas with close cultural and historical ties, have striking differences.

"In Solo, it's usually just split (this probably means a dorsal slit). In Jogja, it's split and then covered," he explained. It's different again with medical circumcision, which usually cuts the entire foreskin off the penis so that the head is completely exposed.

"Well, in Bogem, what's special is that there's a gendel (the remaining foreskin) but only a little. (A loose cut.) If it's very clean (too tight), when you have an erection, it'll hurt a bit," he said.

Bogem has maintained this tradition from generation to generation. It has become the trusted place for many people from various regions to carry out this sacred procedure. If you want to get circumcised in Bogem, you need to spend around IDR 750 thousand (that's about $44.61 USD in 2025). That amount is certainly commensurate with the track record and trust that Bogem has built over time.

What's more, if you get circumcised here, you can also take the foreskin pieces home. Bogem will wrap it neatly, write the name and origin, then seal it in a special container.

"We don't actually suggest taking it, but if you want to it's okay," said Bardo while showing the container of pieces ready to be taken home to Blora by a patient's family.

Past times - Juru Supit Bogem in 1962. Not a lot has changed - just as busy but the current timber beds are classier than these steel ones.