The silver jubilee celebration of the 2026 Five Mountains Festival (FLG) marked a special moment for Javanese culture. The Five Mountains Community (KLG) presented a prestigious award, the 2026 Five Mountains Award, to legendary sinden from Pakis District, Sukitri, affectionately known as Mbah Kitri.
Cultural figure and founder of KLG, Sutanto Mendut, stated that this award is a token of appreciation for Mbah Kitri's steadfastness in dedicating her entire life to traditional arts. The 81-year-old figure is known not only as a sinden, but also as an accomplished dancer and gamelan player. Mbah Kitri's lineage is also recorded as a large family of artists who consistently preserve the puppetry art ecosystem across generations.
The award presentation took place amidst the peak festivities of the 25th Five Mountains Festival in Warangan Hamlet, Muneng Warangan Village, Magelang Regency. The award certificate was signed by central figures of the community as a tribute to an individual who maintains the purity of tradition amid the onslaught of modernization.
Triyono, Mbah Kitri's son who is also a dalang, expressed deep gratitude for the appreciation given to his mother. He emphasized that this award serves as motivation for the family's next generation to continue nurturing and preserving the heritage of karawitan and pedalangan passed down by Mbah Kitri to her children and grandchildren.
This year's festival carried a unique theme, "Makin Goblok Bareng", a philosophy of humility when facing life's dynamics. The independently staged event, held without sponsors, involved 85 art groups with a total of 1,274 artists. The festival's grandeur was showcased on a giant stage crafted from natural materials built in the middle of a vegetable farm, symbolizing the close bond between the community and mountain local wisdom.
