Indonesia: The great country for cultures

The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located along ancient trading routes between the Far East and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Islam, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures.

Examples of cultural fusion include the fusion of Islam with Hindu in Javanese Abangan belief, the fusion of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism in Bodha, and the fusion of Hinduism and animism in Kaharingan; others could be cited.

Indonesian art-forms express this cultural mix. Wayang, traditional theater-performed puppet shows, were a medium in the spread of Hinduism and Islam amongst Javan villagers. Both Javanese and Balinese dances have stories about ancient Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms, while Islamic art forms and architecture are present in Sumatra, especially in the Minangkabau and Aceh regions. Traditional art, music and sport are combined in a martial art form called Pencak Silat.

Western culture has greatly influenced Indonesia in modern entertainment such as television shows, film and music, as well as political system and issues. India has notably influenced Indonesian songs and movies. A popular type of song is the Indian-rhythmical dangdut, which is often mixed with Arab and Malay folk music.

Despite the influences of foreign culture, some remote Indonesian regions still preserve uniquely indigenous culture. Indigenous ethnic groups Mentawai, Asmat, Dani, Dayak, Toraja and many others are still practicing their ethnic rituals, customs and wearing traditional clothes.

Music

Gamelan player, Yogyakarta

Indonesia is home to various styles of music, with those from the islands of Java, Sumatra and Bali being frequently recorded. The traditional music of central and East Java and Bali is the gamelan.

On June 29, 1965, Koes Plus, a leading Indonesian pop group in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, was imprisoned in Glodok, West Jakarta, for playing Western-style music. After the resignation of President Sukarno, the law was rescinded, and in the 1970s the Glodok prison was dismantled and replaced with a large shopping mall.

Kroncong is a musical genre that uses guitars and ukuleles as the main musical instruments. This genre had its roots in Portugal and was introduced by Portuguese traders in the 15th century. There is a traditional Keroncong Tugu music group in North Jakarta and other traditional Keroncong music groups in Maluku, with strong Portuguese influences. This music genre was popular in the first half of the 20th century; a contemporary form of Kroncong is called Pop Kroncong.

Angklung musical orchestra, native of West Java, received international recognition as UNESCO has listed the traditional West Java musical instrument made from bamboo in the list of intangible cultural heritage. 

The soft Sasando music from the province of East Nusa Tenggara in West Timor is completely different. Sasando uses an instrument made from a split leaf of the Lontar palm (Borassus flabellifer), which bears some resemblance to a harp.

Dance

Dance in Indonesia

Balinese topeng dance drama.

Indonesian dance reflects the diversity of culture from ethnic groups that composed the nation of Indonesia. Austronesian roots and Melanesian tribal dance forms are visible, and influences ranging from neighboring Asian countries; such as India, China, and Middle East to European western styles through colonization. Each ethnic group has their own distinct dances; makes total dances in Indonesia are more than 3000 Indonesian original dances. However, the dances of Indonesia can be divided into three eras; the Prehistoric Era, the Hindu/Buddhist Era and the Era of Islam, and into two genres; court dance and folk dance.

There is a continuum in the traditional dances depicting episodes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata from India, ranging through Thailand, all the way to Bali. There is a marked difference, though, between the highly stylized dances of the courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta and their popular variations. While the court dances are promoted and even performed internationally, the popular forms of dance art and drama must largely be discovered locally.

During the last few years, Saman from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has become rather popular and is often portrayed on TV. Reog Ponorogo is also a dance that originated from the district Ponorogo, East Java, which is a visualization of the legendary story Wengker kingdom and the kingdom of Kediri.

A popular line dance called Poco-poco was originated in Indonesia and also popular in Malaysia, but at early April 2011 Malaysian Islamic clerics ban poco-poco dance for Muslims due to they believe it is traditionally a Christian dance and that its steps make the sign of the cross.

Drama and theatre

Wayang kulit performance.

Wayang, the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese shadow puppet theatre shows display several mythological legends such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and many more. Wayang Orang is Javanese traditional dance drama based on wayang stories. Various Balinese dance drama also can be included within traditional form of Indonesian drama. Another form of local drama is Javanese Ludruk and Ketoprak, Sundanese Sandiwara, and Betawi Lenong. All of these drama incorporated humor and jest, often involving audiences in their performance.

Randai is a folk theatre tradition of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, usually performed for traditional ceremonies and festivals. It incorporates music, singing, dance, drama and the silat martial art, with performances often based on semi-historical Minangkabau legends and love story.

Modern performing art also developed in Indonesia with their distinct style of drama. Notable theatre, dance, and drama troupe such as Teater Koma are gain popularity in Indonesia as their drama often portray social and political satire of Indonesian society.

Martial Art

Pencak Silat demonstration in Jakarta.

The art of silat was created and firstly developed in the islands of Java and Sumatra. It is an art for survival and practiced throughout Indonesian archipelago. Centuries of tribal wars in Indonesian history had shaped silat as it was used by the ancient warriors of Indonesia. Silat was used to determine the rank and position in old Indonesian kingdoms.

Contacts with Indians and Chinese was further enriched silat. Silat reached areas beyond Indonesia mainly through diaspora of Indonesian people. People from various regions like Aceh, Minangkabau, Riau, Bugis, Makassar, Java, Banjar, etc. moved into and settled in Malay Peninsula and other islands. They brought silat and passed it down to their descendants. The Indonesian of half-Dutch descent are also credited as the first to brought the art into Europe.

Silat was used by Indonesian freedom fighters during their struggle against the Dutch colonists. Unfortunately after Indonesia achieving their independence, silat became less popular among Indonesian youth compare to foreign martial arts like Karate and Taekwondo. This probably because silat was not taught openly and only passed down among blood relatives, the other reason is the lack of media portrayal of the art.

Efforts have been made in recent years to introduce and reintroduce the beauty of silat to Indonesian youth and the world. Exhibitions and promotions by individuals as well as state-sponsored groups helped the growing of silat's popularity, particularly in Europe and United States. Indonesian 2009 Silat movie Merantau is one of Indonesian efforts to introduce silat to international scene.

Another martial art from Indonesia is Tarung Derajat. It is a modern combat system created by Haji Ahmad Drajat based on his experience as a street fighter. Tarung Drajat has been acknowledge as a national sport by KONI in 1998 and is now using by Indonesian Army as part of their basic training.

Painting

Kenyah mural painting in Long Nawang, East Kalimantan.

What Indonesian painting before the 19th century are mostly restricted to the decorative arts, considered to be a religious and spiritual activity, comparable to the pre-1400 European art. Artists name are anonymous, since the individual human creator was seen as far less important than their creation to honor the deities or spirits. Some examples are the Kenyah decorative art, based on endemic natural motifs such as ferns and hornbills, found decorating the walls of Kenyah long houses. Other notable traditional art is the geometric Toraja wood carvings. Balinese painting are initially the narative images to depict scenes of Balinese legends and religious scripts. The classical Balinese paintings are often decorating the lontar manuscripts and also the ceilings of temples pavilion.

Hunt by Raden Saleh.

 

Hunt by Raden Saleh.

Under the influence of the Dutch colonial power, a trend toward Western-style painting emerged in the 19th century. In the Netherlands, the term "Indonesian Painting" is applied to the paintings produced by Dutch or other foreign artists who lived and worked in the former Netherlands-Indies. The most famous indigenous 19th century Indonesian painter is Raden Saleh (1807–1877), the first indigenous artist to study in Europe. His art is heavily influenced by Romanticism.^[4] In 1920's Walter Spies began to settled in Bali, he is often credited with attracting the attention of Western cultural figures to Balinese culture and art. His works has somehow influenced Balinese artists and painters. Today Bali has one of the most vivid and richest painting tradition in Indonesia.

 Balinese painting by I Ketut Ginarsa.

The 1920s to 1940s were a time of growing nationalism in Indonesia. The previous period of romanticism movement was not seen as a purely Indonesian movement and did not developed. Painters began to see the natural world for inspiration. Some examples of Indonesian painter during this period are the Balinese Ida Bagus Made and the realist Basuki Abdullah. The Indonesian Painters Association (Persatuan Ahli-Ahli Gambar Indonesia or PERSAGI, 1938–1942) was formed during this period. PERSAGI established a contemporary art philosophy that saw art works as reflections of the artist’s individual or personal view as well as an expression of national cultural thoughts.

From the 1940s on, artists started to mix Western techniques with Southeast Asian imagery and content. Painters that rooted in the revolutionary movement of the World War and the post-World War period started to appear during this period, such as Sudjojono, Affandi, and Hendra.

During the 1960s, new elements were added when abstract expressionism and Islamic art began to be absorbed by the art community. Also during this period, group of painters that are more concerned about the reality of Indonesian society began to appear, taking inspiration from the social problem such as division between the rich and the poor, pollution, and deforestation. The national identity of Indonesia was stressed by these painters through the use of a realistic, documentary style. During the Sukarno period this socially-engaged art was officially promoted, but after 1965 it lost popularity due to its presumed communist tendencies.

Three art academies offer extensive formal training in visual art: Bandung Institute of Technology founded in 1947; the Akademi Seni Rupa Indonesia (Indonesian Fine Arts Academy) or ASRI, now known as ISI, in Yogyakarta was inaugurated in 1950; and the Institut Kesenian Jakarta (Jakarta Arts Institute) or IKJ, was opened in 1970.

Sculpture

Indonesia has a long history of stone, bronze and iron ages arts. The megalithic sculptures can be found in numerous archaeological sites in Sumatra, Java to Sulawesi. The native Indonesians tribes have their own distinct tribal sculpture styles, usually created to depict ancestors, deities and animals. The pre-Hindu-Budhist and pre-Islamic sculptures can be traced in the artworks of indigenous Indonesian tribes. The most notable sculptures are those of Asmat wooden sculpture of Papua, the Dayak wooden mask and sculpture, the ancestral wooden statue of Toraja, also the totem-like sculpture of Batak and Nias tribe.

The stone sculpture artform particularly flourished in the eighth to tenth centuries Java and Bali, which demonstrate the influences of Hindu-Buddhist culture, both as stand-alone works of art and also incorporated into temples. Most notable sculpture of classical Hindu-Buddhist era of Indonesia are the hundreds of meters of relief and hundreds of stone buddhas at the temple of Borobudur in central Java. Approximately two miles of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the seated Buddha. This site, as with others in central Java, show a clear Indian influence. The examples of notable Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist sculptures are; the statues of Hindu deities; Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Ganesha and Agastya enthroned in rooms of Prambanan temples, the Vishnu mounting Garuda statue of king Airlangga, the exquisite statue of Eastern Javanese Prajnaparamita and 3.7 meters tall Dvarapala dated from Singhasari period, and also the grand statue of Bhairava Adityawarman discovered in Sumatra. Today, the Hindu-Buddhist style stone sculptures are reproduced in villages in Muntilan near Borobudur also in Bali, and sold as garden or pool ornament statues for homes, offices and hotels.

Today in Indonesia, the richest, most elaborate and vivid wooden sculpture and wood carving traditions can be found in Bali and Jepara, Central Java. Balinese handicrafts such as sculptures, masks, and other carving artworks are popular souvenir for tourist that have visited Indonesia. On the other hand the Jepara wood carving are famous for its elaborately carved wooden furnitures, folding screens also pelaminan gebyok (wedding throne with carved background).

Architecture

Minangkabau Rumah Gadang

 Minangkabau Rumah Gadang

For centuries, the most dominant influences on Indonesian architecture were Indian, although European influences have been particularly strong since the nineteenth century and modern architecture in Indonesia is international in scope.

As in much of South East Asia, traditional buildings in Indonesia are built on stilts, with the significant exceptions of Java and Bali. Notable stilt houses are those of the Dayak people in Borneo, the Rumah Gadang of the Minangkabau people in western Sumatra, the Batak people in northern Sumatra, and the Tongkonan of the Toraja people in Sulawesi. Oversized saddle roofs with large eaves, such as the homes of the Batak and the tongkonan of Toraja, are often bigger than the house they shelter. The fronts of Torajan houses are frequently decorated with buffalo horns, stacked one above another, as an indication of status. The outside walls also frequently feature decorative reliefs.

The eighth-century Borobudur temple near Yogyakarta is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and is notable for incorporating about 160 relief panels into its structure, telling the story of the life of the Buddha. As the visitor ascends through the eight levels of the temple, the story unfolds, the final three levels simply containing stupas and statues of the Buddha. The building is said to incorporate a map of the Buddhist cosmos and is a masterful fusion of the didactic, the monumental and the serene.

The nearby ninth-century temple complex at Prambanan contains some of the best preserved examples of Hindu temple architecture in Java. The temple complex comprises eight main shrines, surrounded by 250 smaller shrines. The Indian influence on the site is clear, not only in the style of the monument, but also in the reliefs featuring scenes from the Ramayana which adorn the outer walls of the main temples, and in the votive statuary found within.

Crafts

Hand drawn batik making

Several Indonesian islands are famous for their batik, ikat and songket cloth. Once on the brink of disappearing, batik and later ikat found a new lease of life when former President Suharto promoted wearing batik shirts on official occasions. In addition to the traditional patterns with their special meanings, used for particular occasions, batik designs have become creative and diverse over the last few years.

Other worldwide famous Indonesian crafts are Jepara wood carvingand Kris. In 2005, UNESCO recognized Kris as one of Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity from Indonesia.

Literature

Indonesian literature

Pramoedya Ananta Toer was Indonesia's most internationally celebrated author, having won the Magsaysay Award as well as being considered for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Other important figures include the late Chairil Anwar, a poet and member of the "Generation 45" group of authors who were active in the Indonesian independence movement. Tight information controls during Suharto's presidency suppressed new writing, especially because of its ability to agitate for social reform.
In the book Max Havelaar, Dutch author Multatuli criticised the Dutch treatment of the Indonesians, which gained him international attention.

Modern Indonesian authors include Seno Gumira Adjidarma, Andrea Hirata, Habiburrahman El Shirazy, Ayu Utami, Gus tf Sakai, Eka Kurniawan, Ratih Kumala, Dee, Oka Rusmini. Some of their works have translated into other languages.

Poetry

There is a long tradition in Indonesia, particularly among ethnically Malay populations, of extemporary, interactive, oral composition of poetry. These poems are referred to as pantun. Contemporary Indonesian poets include among others, Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, Rendra, Taufiq Ismail, Afrizal Malna, Binhad Nurrohmat, Joko Pinurbo, Sapardi Djoko Damono.

Cuisine

Indonesian national dishes.

Soto and Satay, together with Nasi 

The cuisine of Indonesia has been influenced by Chinese culture and Indian culture, as well as by Western culture. However in return, Indonesian cuisine has also contributed to the cuisines of neighboring countries, notably Malaysia and Singapore, where Padang or Minangkabau cuisine from West Sumatra is very popular. Also Satay (Sate in Indonesian), which originated from Java, Madura, and Sumatra, has gained popularity as a street vendor food from Singapore to Thailand. In the fifteenth century, both the Portuguese and Arab traders arrived in Indonesia with the intention of trading for pepper and other spices. During the colonial era, immigrants from many different countries have arrived in Indonesia and brought different cultures as well as cuisines.

Most native Indonesians eat rice as the main dish, with a wide range of vegetables and meat as side dishes. However, in some parts of the country, such as Irian Jaya and Ambon, the majority of the people eat sago (a type of tapioca) and sweet potato. 

The most important aspect of modern Indonesia cuisine is that food must be halal, conforming to Islamic food laws. Haraam, the opposite of halal, includes pork and alcoholic drinks. However, in some regions where there is significant non-Muslim population, non-halal food are also commonly served.

 Nasi goreng (fried rice), one of the most popular Indonesian dishes.

Indonesian dishes are usually spicy, using a wide range of chili peppers and spices. The most popular dishes include nasi goreng (fried rice), Satay, Nasi Padang (a dish of Minangkabau) and soy-based dishes, such as tofu and tempe. A unique characteristic of some Indonesian food is the application of spicy peanut sauce in their dishes, as a dressing for Gado-gado or Karedok (Indonesian style salad), or for seasoning grilled chicken satay. Another unique aspect of Indonesian cuisine is using terasi or belacan, a pungent shrimp paste in dishes of sambal oelek (hot pungent chili sauce). The sprinkling of fried shallots also gives a unique crisp texture to some Indonesian dishes.

Chinese and Indian cultures have influenced the serving of food and the types of spices used. It is very common to find Chinese food in Indonesia such as Dim Sum as well as noodles, and Indian cuisine such as Tandoori chicken. In addition, Western culture has significantly contributed to the extensive range of dishes. However, the dishes have been transformed to suit Indonesian people's tastes. For example, steaks are usually served with rice. Popular fast foods such as Kentucky Fried Chicken are served with rice instead of bread, and sambal (spicy sauce) instead of ketchup. Some Indonesian foods have been adopted by the Dutch, like Indonesian rice table or 'rijsttafel'.
(courtesy of: wikipedia.)

The Magically of Javanese Dance

Ramayana's Dance

Javanese dance is the dances and art forms that were created and influenced by Javanese culture. Javanese dance is usually associated with courtly, refined and sophisticated culture of the Javanese kratons, such as the Bedhaya and Srimpi dance. However, in a wider sense, Javanese dance also includes the dances of Javanese commoners and villagers such as Ronggeng, Tayub, Reog, and Kuda Lumping.

Javanese dance is usually associated with Wayang wong, and the palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta due to the nature of dance being a pusaka or sacred heirloom from ancestors of the palace rulers. These expressive dances are more than just dances, they are also used for moral education, emotional expression, and spreading of the Javanese culture.

Javanese dance reflects the stratified hierarchy of Javanese society, and roughly can be identified within two mainstream of traditions:

1. Tari kraton (palace dances)
2. Tari kawulo (commoner dances)

Tari Kraton

The courtly Javanese palace dance is the type of dances that developed, nurtured and fostered by Javanese Kratons, mainly Yogyakarta Sultanate and Surakarta Sunanate, the patrons of Javanese Mataram culture. Javanese sultans are known as the patron and the creator of Javanese court dances.

Kraton dances employs sets of rules about certain dance movements, body and hand gestures that requires discipline to learn. Gamelan orchestra is the prerequisite for Javanese court dance performances as well as for other Javanese art forms such as Wayang performances. The serene elegance, slow pace and constrains of its movements gave Javanese dance a meditative traits. Javanese court dances were heavily influenced by Javanese Hindu-Buddhist legacy. As the result the costumes, jewelry and story, often reflects or based on Hindu epic tales of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

There are three basic types of courtly Javanese kraton dance:^{[citation needed]}

1. Beksan putra – These are the dances for men, which serve two purposes: a military close-order drill and highlighting martial skills. Dancers may learn beksan putra dances to familiarize themselves with the movements for narrative dances.
2. Beksan putri – Putri is the Javanese word for female, and these dances include courtly dances designed for royal events with very precise movements and distinct staging with subtle layers of meaning. Such dances were often used for entertainment or courtship.
3. Beksan wayang – These are narrative dances from epic poems, and usually are named after the characters in them, usually an alus-style hero and a gagah-style villain.

 Kawulo Dance

Also known as "Tari Rakyat", is the popular dances of the commoner. This is the type of Javanese dances that developed in villages or cities that located relatively quite far from Javanese kratons as the center of Javanese palace culture. Kawulo dances is lack in Javanese courtly dance discipline, constraints, and refinements. This type of dance relatively more open and adaptive to foreign influences.

Several dance is functioned as courtship or social dance, such as Ronggeng, Gandrung and Tayub, while others as celebratory dances such as Reog and Kuda Lumping. The movement of social dances, such as ronggeng and tayub are somewhat more vigorous and erotic, closely related to Sundanese Jaipongan. Because of this erotic nuances, this type of dance often gained shady reputation as the dance of the prostitutes. 

Ronggeng Dance

Ronggeng is a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong. Ronggeng might be originated from Java, but also can be found in Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.

Ronggeng probably has existed in Java since ancient time, the bas reliefs in Karmawibhanga section on 8th century Borobudur displays the scene of travelling entertainment troupe with musicians and female dancers. In Java, a traditional ronggeng performance features a traveling dance troupe that travels from village to village. The dance troop consists of one or several professional female dancers, accompanied by a group of musicians playing musical instruments: rebab and gong. The term "ronggeng" also applied for this female dancers. During a ronggeng performance, the female professional dancers are expected to invite some male audiences or clients to dance with them as a couple with the exchange of some tips money for the female dancer, given during or after the dance. The couple dances intimately and the female dancer might perform some movements that might be considered too erotic by standard of modesty in Javanese court etiquette. In the past, the erotic and sexual nuance of the dance gave ronggeng a shady reputation as prostitution disguised in the art of dance.

Wayang wong

Wayang wong also known as Wayang orang (literally human wayang) is a type of classical Javanese dance theatrical performance with themes taken from episodes of Ramayana or Mahabharata. Ramayana wayang wong performance is routinely performed in Prambanan temple, Yogyakarta, while the episode Mahabharata performed routinely in Sriwedari park theatre in Surakarta city and in Bharata Wayang Orang theatre in Jakarta.

While wayang gedog usually considered as cross variant of Wayang wong and Topeng dance, where the dancers wear mask. This theatrical performance that took the themes from the Panji cycles stories from the kingdom of Janggala, in which the players wear masks known as wayang topeng or wayang gedog. The word "gedog" comes from "kedok", which, like "topeng" means "mask". The main theme is the story of Raden Panji and Candra. This is a love story about princess Candra Kirana of Kediri and Raden Panji Asmarabangun, the crown prince of Jenggala. Candra Kirana was the incarnation of Dewi Ratih (goddess of love) and Panji was an incarnation of Kamajaya (god of love). Kirana's story was given the title "Smaradahana" ("The fire of love"). At the end of the complicated story they finally can marry and bring forth a son, named Raja Putra. Panji Asmarabangun ruled Jenggala under the official names "Sri Kameswara", "Prabu Suryowiseso", and "Hino Kertapati". Originally, wayang wong was performed only as an aristocratic entertainment in four palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. In the course of time, it spread to become a popular and folk form as well.

(wikipedia)

Jaipong Dance (The West Javanese Original Dance)

Jaipongan, also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people, West Java, Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and Pencak Silat movements.

In 1961, Indonesian President Sukarno prohibited rock and roll and other western genres of music, and challenged Indonesian musicians to revive the indigenous arts. The name jaipongan came from people mimicking of the sounds created by some of the drums in the ensemble. Audiences were often heard shouting jaipong after specific sections of rhythmic music were played. Jaipongan debuted in 1974 when Gugum Gumbira and his gamelan and dancers first performed in public.

The most widely available album of Jaipongan outside of Indonesia is Tonggeret by singer Idjah Hadidjah and Gugum Gumbira's Jugala orchestra, released in 1987, and re-released as West Java: Sundanese Jaipong and other Popular Music by Nonesuch/Elektra Records.

Jaipongan, also known as jaipong, is a musical performance genre of the Sundanese people in the Sundanese language of West Java, Indonesia. Jaipongan includes revived indigenous arts, like gamelan, but it also did not ignore Western music completely despite the ban on rock and roll. It used its sensuality and the sensuality found in a traditional village music and dance, ketuk tilu. However, many believe it is something purely Indonesian or Sundanese in origin and style. It is developed predominately from rural folk forms and traditions as a purely indigenous form. The rise of cassettes and films has led to the popularity of the musical form of jaipongan. It has spread from its home in West Java’s Sunda, to greater Java and Indonesia. It can be seen as many regional varieties of gong-chime performance found through much of Indonesia. As also an urban dance form, it is based primarily on the village forms of ketuk tilu and on the Indonesian martial arts, pencak silat. The musical genre is largely influenced from ketuk tilu with traces of the masked theater dance, topeng banjet and the wayang golek puppet theater. Ketuk tilu is its biggest influence, as a traditional Sudanese musical entertainment form.

Gong-chime performance is characterized by such features as: use of an ensemble dominated by idiophones, metallophones and knobbed gongs. It is a stratified polyphony, with lower-pitch instruments playing parts of lesser density and all parts are structured colotomically around time-cycles. This can be found in traditional Indonesian gamelan. There is improvisation on certain instruments. The modes used are grouped into two broad types: slendro and pelog.

Ketuk tilu was a musical genre based on ritual and celebration in the villages of the Sundanese people, meaning three kettle gongs. It was known for complex drumming coordinated with equally dynamic solo female dancers. The music was performed for planting and harvesting rituals and later celebrated village life, circumcision and marriage, expressed fertility, and displayed sensuality, eroticism and even sometimes “socially accepted prostitution.” Ketuk tilu was very popular in the Sundanese villages, but the urban Sundanese considered it unrefined and inappropriate because the music involved males and females dancing together suggestively, or mixed dancing between men and ronggeng, or prostitutes. Ronggeng probably has existed in Java since ancient time, the bas reliefs in Karmawibhanga section on Borobudur displays the scene of travelling entertainment troupe with musicians and female dancers.

Jaipong is less strictly associated with ceremonial functions, but performances are common in the Rayagung festival month, and with circumcisions and marriages. The performances now have the character of secular social functions, attended by young and old, primarily for entertainment and socializing. Public performance is now extremely frequent especially in clubs or street performances.

The cassette industry and its boom in Indonesia helped popularize jaipongan greatly and promoted regional styles rather than hurt them. Many learned the dance through cassette rather than the performance. The mass media have made jaipong ubiquitous. It has created competition in the styles of the drummers among ensembles. It has also helped to bring about many dance schools, altering dance and its label on females in West Java.

The song repertoire of jaipongan is varied, and that is why it is better understood as an intertwined performance style of music and dance. Many songs are associated with ketuk tilu or other wide reaching regional varieties, not traditional gamelan. It consists of songs of more recent origin often composed for jaipongan. Song topics vary, encompassing amatory, moralistic, bawdy, topical and spiritual subjects, often emphasizing grass roots culture.

Jaipong Music Instrument

Jaipongan takes much of its instrumentation from ketuk tilu ensembles. The ketuk tilu group is composed of pot-gongs. Besides the core three main kettle gongs (ketuk, tilu meaning three), the instruments include a rebab, a small upright bowed instrument, also known as a spike fiddle, other small gongs — a hanging gong and two iron plates, and two or three barrel drums. The traditional singer is female or a sinden, but also dances and invites men to dance with her sensually, so it is assumed she is a prostitute or ronggeng. The ensemble is small enough to be carried from village to village to places where a saron or kempul may be added.

Ketuk tilu songs, following a free rhythmic introduction, are structured sectionally, juxtaposing segments of short gong cycles (about 10 seconds) with those of longer gong-cycles (about 30 seconds) each section having a characteristic sequence of dance steps associated with it.

Gumbira took and retrofitted the dynamic and intense ketuk-tilu music. The role of the singer was emphasized to concentrate just on the vocals. He added to it traditional gamelan by expanding the drum section of the ketuk tilu as more of an urban, unique gamelan orchestra from two drums to six. He also sped up the music significantly, increasing the dance role. He also modified the accompanying dance. The modifications retained some of the original sensual moves of ketuk tilu, joining to them a popular martial art called pencak silat. Gumbira called it jaipong. Jaipongan cassettes really feature the singer with their name and alluring cover photos. The singer is given greatest prominence, no longer seen as a prostitute but professional and respectful. This goes with the market demand for solo-superstars.

The idiophonic accompaniment of jaipongan may also include a few saron or a gegung (an L-shaped row of gong chimes), and often a gambang (xylophone). Otherwise instruments are the same as in ketuk tilu.

The large hanging gong and smaller gongs used in jaipong, like ketuk tilu and gong-chime performance, serve colotomic functions, punctuating the time-cycles at regular fixed intervals. The several ketuk play a standardized three-pitch figure, high, low, medium-low. The spike fiddle often imitates the singer and solos when the singer is silent. All the musicians, and especially the drummer, freely supplement the texture with rhythmic cries and yells called senggak. The most important roles become the singer and the drummer. The drummer is more aggressive and assertive than in other Sudanese/Javanese ensembles, commanding attention with a variable cadential figure before a large gong stroke. Jaipongan drumming is more virtuosic and flamboyant, the drummer performs lively improvisations throughout, building up tension that culminates and is released at the gong stroke. A distinctive Sundanese feature is the variation of the pitch of the main drum, whose head tension is governed by the foot of the drummer. The singer is the central figure carrying the melody and dancing at the same time. It is this lively interplay between the drummer and the singer that was carried from ketuk tilu, and is an identifying feature. The dance is centered around the gong cycles, in which the tension is built up before each large gong stroke where the dancers will gracefully jerk their heads toward each other.

The male jaipongan dance style is less acrobatic and martial than that found in ketuk tilu, simpler. Whereas the female dancer in jaipongan is very active, more than the ronggeng in ketuk tilu. It is very choreographed with a sophisticated polish different than the coyness role played by the ronggeg for the male advances in ketuk tilu.

The sectional formal structure of ketuk tilu is one feature that has not carried over to jaipongan. A jaipongan piece opens with a few gong cycles, often in a different tempo than the rest of the piece, during which the spike fiddle player improvises over the idiophone and drum accompaniment. The vocalist then enters, usually singing four gong cycles consecutively, then allowing the spike fiddler to improvise for two of theses gongan. The piece alternates in this way until it ends with a deceleration leading to the final gong.

The melodies are set to madenda, the Sundanese variant of the pelog mode, or slendro, or a free combination of the two, or an alternating combination. The melodies are usually in the pelog or madenda scales, while the fixed pitch idiophonic accompaniment is strictly in slendro. This combination contrasts with the gamelan tradition. The scales of these modes, intonation and tonic are difficult and not consistent, for more detail on this see:.^[1] Intonation may be further obscured by the characteristic vibrato. These melodies in jaipongan can also be stereotypical; so much of the expressiveness and uniqueness comes in the introduction, improvised or pre-composed. It often establishes the modal pattern.

The verses are often organized into quatrains, each is one gong cycle, and in rhyme scheme aabbcc, each line having about eight syllables, as in most Sundanese folk and popular verse.

Jaipong Dance in Social Community

In 1961, the president of Indonesia, President Sukarno created a ban on western music, mainly the genre of rock and roll, due to the fact that western ideas, themes, values and morals began to infiltrate the area. With the ban, Sukarno urged the public to “return to and revive the musical traditions of the past”. Gugum Gumbira heard this and deiced to create a genre of music that would revive the musical interests of the past and added sexual undertones and a sense of elegance in order to bring it into the future. In addition to being a musical reincarnation, jaipongan also reincarnated martial arts and traditional dance. It became so popular that the government decided that it needed to be taught to be people of all generations.

When jaipongan was first introduced in 1974, there was a lack of acceptable music in the area of West Java; Sunda more specifically. It gained popularity instantly because it was a completely non-western form of music that the government accepted and promoted. It had all of the values of traditional Sundanese music to entice the older generations, yet had enough energy, vibrancy, and sexuality to entice the younger generations. Jaipongan was also based on the life of the lower class and elevated their stories and struggles. It allowed the people to see themselves in the music and feel as if they were a part of their culture. Once it became popular, many other musicians began recreating it.

When situations in Sunda became more political, the music shifted and took on themes of moral, political, social, spiritual awareness. Once the shift occurred, the government tried its best to end jaipongan. Due to its popularity with the people, it was able to maintain its craze, and even out lasted the ban on Western Music.

The sexual nature of the songs was taken from the idea of prostitution, and was then elevated in order to make it a more elegant, civilized part of art. This broke gender barriers because it changed the way in which men and women interacted. Never before had men and women danced or interacted together in promiscuous or sexually explicit or suggestive ways in performance in Indonesia. Even though jaipongan was created to stay away from musical themes of sex, love, drugs, and rock and roll, it incorporated some of these themes in small increments. When the government discovered the sexual nature of the songs and dances, they looked to curb the popularity of jaipongan, but it had already become the music of the people and their efforts were thwarted.

Jaipongan was a way for the Sundanese people to take back their culture from the Western ideas and rid themselves of the colonial Dutch influences. Jaipongan elevated the idea of village music or music of the people. It focused on love, money, agriculture, and as the world became filled with more turmoil, it became a vehicle for moral, political spiritual, and social awareness.

Jaipongan became so popular that in 1976, two years after its creation, it was recorded on cassettes on Gumbira’s record label Jugala. With the cassette’s release international popularity rose and helped to create a larger musical industry in Sunda and Indonesia at large. All of which was and still is used to help preserve the culture and history of the West Java and the Sundanese people.

The rapid popularity of Jaipongan along with the boom in cassette tapes helped the genre to spread and become popular in Asia, Europe, and America during the 1980s. In addition it created a tourism industry in Sunda. People from all over the world came to learn about and experience Jaipongan first hand. Music and dance schools were created in order to preserve the art form and history of the Sundanese people. The government felt that Jaipongan was such a cultural staple that it needed to be taught to all citizens.

Jaipong Dance Today and The Future

In 2011, the international popularity of jaipongan has decreased, but in Asia, it’s still extremely popular. It’s most popular in the areas of Sunda, where it was created, as well as the surrounding villages and cities.

Although it’s most popular in Asia, there are jaipongan dance troupes and musical ensembles in Europe in addition to the United States (like Harsanari of San-Francisco) and throughout other parts of the world.

In 2011, jaipongan is noted as a modern classical concert genre of music, which is often sampled in other Asian music, and has multiple subgenres. There is still is a large market for jaipongan CDs and mp3s.

Carassauga Festival 2012

 

 Carassauga Festival 2012

Carassauga is an annual multi-cultural festival in Mississauga, Ontario, founded in 1985. The Festival was developed in response to a challenge put out by Mayor Hazel McCallion to all ethno-cultural groups at a meeting she called in the old City Hall in the fall of 1985. From that point on, volunteers from different ethnic communities have organized a festival celebrating diversity and cross-cultural friendship. With a name based on a similar Toronto event, the Caravan Festival of Cultures and Brampton's Carabram, Carassauga's first event included Italian, Scottish, Ukrainian, and West Indian pavilions. In 2011, the festival had over 298,000 visits to 31 pavilions representing over 68 countries.
Each pavilion offers patrons their distinctive cuisine, crafts, and information about their heritage and history through traditional and modern cultural dance performances.
Carassauga Mississauga's Festival of Cultures 2012 dates: May 25, 26, 27  2012
Mississauga Transit runs free services connecting the pavilions, for people presenting a passport to the festival.

Pavilions

Countries, continents, states and geographic or cultural regions that have been represented at Carassauga through the years include Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, & Togo), Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Canada, Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Panamá, Perú, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia and Montenegro, South Pacific, Tahiti, Turkey, Ukraine, United States and Venezuela.

Sponsorship
Carassauga receives sponsorship from all levels of government (municipal, regional, provincial and federal), as well as numerous businesses, unions and cultural organizations.

For more information and ticket:: Consulate General of Indonesia - Toronto
contact number:  416 360-4020 
email: pensosbud@indonesiatoronto

Normal price ticket: CAD$. 12 for 3 days event.

Price ticket from consulate: CAD$. 8 for 3 days event

Indonesian performances dance show: Friday, 25 May 2012 (8:10 pm - 8:30 pm; 9:10pm - 9:30pm; 10:10 pm-10:30pm); 

Saturday  (4:10 pm-4:30 pm; 5:10pm-5:30pm; 7:10pm-7:30pm; 9:10pm-9:30pm); 

Sunday: (3:10pm-3:30pm; 4:10pm-4:30pm); 5:10pm-5:30pm; 5:40pm-6:00 pm). 

Please look at this link for a details  http://www.carassauga.com/?pavilion=indonesia.

Festival Internasional Seni Dekoratif di Moskow

KBRI Moskow telah berpartisipasi dalam Festival Internasional Seni Dekoratif ke-4 “Tradisi yang tidak terlupakan (Nezabytie Traditsii)” yang berlangsung tanggal 22 Desember 2011 hingga 5 Februari 2012 di Galeri “Belyaevo”, Moskow.

Barang-barang seni dan budaya Indonesia menghiasi Festival tersebut, seperti peta Indonesia dalam kain batik, wayang, miniatur becak dan ukiran-ukiran kayu, termasuk patung kayu pasangan pengantin Jawa. Gong Bali dengan ukiran kayu berwarna keemas-emasan memberikan daya tarik tersendiri bagi pengunjung.

Festival diikuti oleh para peserta dari Rusia dan negara-negara asing. Selain Indonesia, terdapat Jepang, Estonia, Belarus, Ghana, Latvia, Panama dan Benin. Tujuan dari Festival tersebut adalah melangsungkan tradisi budaya bangsa melalui karya seni dekoratif dan sebagai upaya meciptakan seniman-seniman baru berbakat. Karya-karya seni yang ditampilkan seperti karya seni dari kain, kaca, keramik, logam dan juga kostum.

Direktur Galeri Marina Sergeevna Bushueva menyampaikan apresiasi yang tinggi atas peran aktif KBRI Moskow ikut serta dalam Festival tersebut. Menurutnya, Indonesia memiliki keanekaragaman seni dan budaya yang dapat diketahui oleh masyarakat Rusia, seperti batik dan wayang kulit.

Sementara itu, Sekretaris Kedua Fungsi Pensosbud KBRI Moskow Enjay Diana mengatakan barang-barang seni dan budaya Indonesia yang ditampilkan dalam Festival ini merupakan bagian kecil dari keanekaragaman seni dan budaya Indonesia.

“Indonesia terdiri dari berbagai suku bangsa yang memiliki seni dan budaya yang berbeda-beda pula. Bali yang Anda ketahui hanyalah salah satu dari sekian banyaknya pulau di Indonesia”, kata Enjay Diana pada saat penutupan Festival.

Festival ditutup tanggal 5 Februari 2012 yang dihadiri pejabat Dinas Kebudayaan Administrasi kota Moskow Tenggara, seniman-seniman, Duta Besar Latvia di Federasi Rusia, Perwakilan Kedutaan Besar Estonia dan tamu undangan lainnya. Selama berlangsungnya Festival, lebih dari 5 ribu pengunjung menyaksikan berbagai karya seni dekoratif, temasuk dari Indonesia. (Sumber: Pensosbud KBRI-Moskow)

Kings Cultural Festival di University of Western Ontario

London, Ontario - Tanggal 2 Februari 2012, KJRI Toronto yang diwakili oleh Pejabat Fungsi Pensosbud telah menghadiri acara "King's Cultural Festival" di Bessie Labatt Hall, King University College, University of Western Ontario (UWO), London, Ontario.

Festival ini merupakan acara  multicultural tahunan yang diselenggarakan untuk memperkenalkan budaya dari masing-masing negara melalui kelompok atau perkumpulan mahasiswa di universitas tersebut.

Dalam festival ini Indonesia diwakili oleh perhimpunan mahasiswa Indonesia yang tergabung dalam Indonesian and International Student Association (IISA), menampilkan tari Pendet dari Bali yang dibawakan oleh 3 orang penari.

Dalam pidato pembukaannya Dr. David Sylvester, King's University College Principal memberikan ucapan selamat datang dan terima kasih kepada para peserta dan tamu undangan, diantaranya Mr. Harold Usher, City Councillor, City of London.

Selain dari Indonesia, kelompok mahasiswa lainnya yang berpartisipasi dalam acara ini, yaitu dari Philipina, China, Irlandia, Palestina, El Savador, Korea Selatan, Polandia, Pakistan, Afrika, India, dan beberapa negara Amerika Latin. Acara berjalan dengan sukses dan lancar dihadiri oleh sekitar 400 orang yang sebagian besar mahasiswa dari King's University College dan UWO. (Sumber: KJRI Toronto).

Promosi Indonesia pada “Cultural Awareness Fair” di Midwestern University, Greater Chicago

KJRI-Chicago berpartisipasi pada festival multikultural "Cultural Awareness Fair" yang di selenggarakan oleh Diversity Education Committee. Midwestern Univeristy di Greater Chicago, Illinois pada tanggal 1 Februari 2012. 

Partisipasi Indonesia dalam tarian, lagu, musik keroncong, pembacaan puisi, booth promosi pariwisata dan makanan menjadikan Indonesia sebagai “pusat perhatian” pada festival mumultikultural ini.

Festival multikultural ini merupakan yang pertama kalinya diselenggarakan oleh Midwestern University dan diikuti oleh beberapa negara antara lain Indonesia, Pakistan, Swedia dan komunitas Afro-American. Festival dipenuhi ratusan pengunjung yang terdiri dari mahasiswa, para dosen dan pimpinan Midwestern University .Indonesia menampilkan dua tarian Bali, yaitu Tari Topeng Ekspresi dan Topeng Keras yang dibawakan oleh Staf Fungsi Pensosbud, Ngurah Kertayuda. Pada acara “poetry reading” Konsul Pensosbud membacakan 2 buah puisi ciptaannya berjudul “I will” dan “Are you still a moon”. Tim KJRI juga menyanyikan lagu “Bengawan Solo” ciptaan Gesang diiringi dengan alunan musik keroncong KJRI Chicago.“Booth” Indonesia menampilkan barang-barang seni budaya, kerajinan tangan dan brosur-brosur promosi pariwisata Indonesia dengan menonjolkan tema keindahan taman laut Indonesia dan keunikan Pulau Komodo dengan “komodo dragon nya.Selain promosi seni budaya dan pariwisata Indonesia, KJRI juga mempromosikan kuliner Indonesia dengan menyediakan “mie goreng” yang sangat disukai oleh para pengunjung. 

Pada kesempatan ini, KJRI mengumumkan penyelenggaraan acara “Indonesian Night: A Celebration of Cultural Journey” yang akan diselenggarakan oleh Permias Chicago pada tanggal 11 Februari 2011 di International House, University of Chicago, serta mengundang para pengunjung untuk menghadiri acara dimaksud.

(sumber: KJRI-Chicago).

Pendet's Dance: indonesian-traditional-art.blogspot.com

Sanggar Caraka Buana news: Saman dance officially recognized by UNESCO

Aceh`s Saman dance has been officially included in UNESCO`s intangible world cultural heritage list, an official said.

The decision to include the Saman dance was reached at the 6th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage being held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from November 22 to 29, 2011, I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a tourism and creative economy ministry spokesman , told the press here on Thursday.

"At the session, the Saman dance from Gayo Lues and environs in Aceh province was officially included in UNESCO`s List of intangible Cultural Heritage in urgent need of Safeguarding," he said.

The UNESCO meeting was being participated in by around 500 representatives from 69 countries, international NGOs, cultural experts, and the media.

Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono expressed his appreciation for the inclusion of the Saman dance in the intangible world cultural heritage list.

The recognition of the Saman dance by UNESCO should become the beginning of serious efforts to preserve and promote the saman dance, he said.

The Saman dance is originally from Gayo Lues and environs in in Aceh Province. It was created by a Gayo tribe in the 13th century and later developed by Syeh Saman to convey religious messages.

The Saman dance shows very dynamic movements and interesting harmonious sounds without the help of any musical instrument. In the dance, its performers sit cross-legged or kneel shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. They wear traditional Gayo clothes featuring the symbols of nature and noble values. In the past, all Saman dancers were male and their number was always odd.

Javanese Gamelan Performance at Linclon Center New York

Javanese gamelan performance

Just like its title, "What makes it great?" this is a story of one of Indonesia's classical music, Javanese Gamelan. Monday night (11/14), Kusuma Laras, a group of Javanese Gamelan supervised by Indonesian Consulate General in New York, has an honor to perform in front of New York's public at the one of the prestigious art and culture center in New York, the Lincoln Center. The performance that night was a part of White Light Festival which was held from October 20 until November 19, 2011. The White Light Festival offers experiences of passionate beauty and occasion of profound insights into the many dimensions of our individual selves and the collective shared forces of the human condition. This year is the second year of the festival.

There's something special in the performance that night. Unlike the past performances of Kusuma Laras, there is a special commentator, Rob Kapilow (an exclusive Schimer composer who has been widely known in America, Europe, Asia and Australia), who gave approximately an hour long elaboration about Gamelan Jawa and what makes it great. Kapilow started by introducing each musical instrument played in the Gamelan. Every time he finished explaining an instrument, he would asked to audience to join him in copying the sound made by the instruments.

Kapilow also explain the deep philosophy of Javanese culture embed in the classical music of Gamelan Jawa. The music of Gamelan Jawa was all about harmony and balance between unity and variety. Each instrument exists and played to complement each other in creating a wonderful music. The way Kapilow interacted with the audiences, sharing with them the beauty and mystery of Gamelan, has catch their attention. In the end of the performance, audiences who were captured by the greatness of the music were not only able to enjoy the music, but they also able to appreciate the music.

The performance was opened by a song titled Geger Sekutha before Kapilow began his elaboration. After Kapilow's presentation, the show was followed by more songs such as Laler Mengeng, Panjang Ilang, and Asmarandana. As many as 268 New Yorkers came to the performance, and went home with a new knowledge of the beauty, mystery, moreover, greatness of one of Indonesian Classical Music, Gamelan Jawa. (Source: KJRI New York).

Note: Kusuma Laras was formed 28 years ago at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York. Kusuma Laras ("Flowering Harmony") has enthralled audiences in the US and Indonesia with its authentic performances of music and dance from the classical repertoire of the courts of Central Java. The ensemble has been a treasure of the New York City cultural science since its first performance in 1983 in a Tribeca loft, using instruments built especially for the Indonesian Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair in Flushing, New York.

KJRI-Bern: Charm of Saman Hypnotied audience 

Saman Dance performed by 16 dancers of Dance Students League Krida Budaya University of Indonesia (LTMKBUI) has hypnotized 389 guest who attended Indonesian Diplomatic Reception and Cultural performance, held in Theater National Bern, Thursday night (18/8).

The performance which has tagline “Colorful Indonesia” is held to celebrate 66 years of Independence of Indonesia and established through cooperation among Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Folkloreique Rencontre Internationale Committee and LTMKBUI. The Invited guests consisting of representatives from the diplomatic corps, government officials, businessmen, academics, press and media, travel agency, and friends of Indonesia.

Cultural performance “Colorful of Indonesia” is intended to promote arts and cultural diversity of Indonesia, especially in Switzerland, which in turn is expected to increase the number of tourist from Switzerland to Indonesia. 30 dancers and traditional musician, has performed wide range of traditional dances and musical performance, including dance Sprado (papua), Ubruk (Jakarta), Gantar Berlian (East Kalimantan), Delman, Pagelu (Tana Toraja), Jepin Kluang (West Kalimantan), Pajegan (Bali), Ganto and Saman (Aceh). The Guest also had the opportunity to watch the fashion show by Indonesian designer Aji Bram, which themed Unity in Diversity.

Aji Bram collection were presented by 20 models, swen on special fabric from Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke such as Lurik, Batik, Songket, and Sasirangan.

Cultural performance “ Colorful Indonesia” started by diplomatic reception, where guests had chance to taste Indonesian dishes, like Chicken Satay, Fried Rice, Fried Noodles, and Peanut Snacks. On his welcoming speech, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for Switzerland and Liechtensetain has highlighted the importance of Indonesia-Switzerland relationship which next year will reach 60 years.

The Ambassador furthermore expressed how rich in culture Indonesia is and invited guests to visit Indonesia in order to witness the real diversity of arts and culture. LTMKBUI, which has invited by International Folklore Festival COmitte, will be in Switzerland from 15-21 August 2011. The committee converged dances group of Students from different countries to perform in Fribourg. LTMKBUI is always invited every 2 years to the festivals. At the end of the event, the Ambassador has given token of appreciation to the coordinator of LTMKBUI Fadhlan Al Abraar and Designer Aji Bram

(source: Indonesian embassy cultural news)

The road to the Asia Festival

Sanggar Caraka Buana will be make a performance to The Road to Asia Festival in Toronto, Canada.

And we will  say goodbye to summer and head into fall, anticipation for The Road to Asia Festival is building. Mark your calendars for the weekend of Saturday November 5 and Sunday November 6, 2011. Make sure that you come and help us celebrate the 11th Anniversary of this fantastic multicultural festival of arts and culture!

SANGGAR CARAKA BUANA need your support and ask you to joint for the festival..... Finally, see our performances there!

And how far the place we'll trying to go there and the show must go on..... 

The beauty angels: The attractive dance will be shown.....

Pentas Tari Musik Caraka Buana di Pretoria

Pada tanggal 18 Agustus 2011, KBRI Pretoria dengan dukungan tim kesenian Sanggar Caraka Buana dan EFEF Band di Musaion Auditorium kampus Universitas Pretoria telah menyelenggarakan Malam Budaya Indonesia.

 

Tujuan penampilan di kampus ternama Afsel tersebut adalah dalam rangka upaya untuk lebih meningkatkan citra budaya Indonesia yang pada kesempatan ini dalam bentuk penampilan seni tari dan musik untuk meningkatkan minat dan pengetahuan generasi muda Afrika Selatan terhadap budaya Indonesia dan lebih jauh lagi guna mempererat rasa pertemanan dan saling pengertian di antara generasi muda kedua bangsa pada masa yang akan datang.

 

Acara yang berlangsung dari pukul 19.00 sampai dengan 22.30 dibuka secara resmi oleh Duta Besar RI, Sjahril Sabaruddin dan dihadiri tidak saja dari kalangan mahasiswa Universitas Pretoria, namun juga dari kalangan masyarakat umum, media cetak dan elektronik serta “Friend of Indonesia”. Para penari telah cukup berhasil menampilkan tari – tarian Indonesia dengan baik antara lain tari Belibis, tari Kipas, tari Punjari, tari Jaipong Kembang Tanjung, tari Merak, tari Nandak Ganjen, tari Marpangir, tari Jaipong Bajidor Kahot dan tari Saman, serta mendengarkan lagu – lagu Indonesia seperti Jali – jail, Bengawan Solo dan lagu – lagu daerah lainnya yang dikemas dalam musik semi rock yang sangat menarik.

 

Penampilan tari Nandak Ganjen yang genit dan jenaka membuat para penonton tertawa riuh rendah, sementara penampilan tari Saman membuat penonton berdecak kagum atas keunikan gerakan jari – jari tangan para penari tersebut. Para penonton dibuat bangkit dari tempat duduknya ketika para pemusik muda EFEF Band menyanyikan lagu Afrika Selatan yang berjudul “Shosholoza”, mereka naik ke atas panggung dan berjoget ria dengan para pemain band dan pengunjung lainnya.

 

Acara “Indonesia Cultural Evening” tersebut ditutup dengan lagu Poco – poco serta lagu Kopi Dangdut dimana semua penari beserta penonton berjoget bersama di atas panggung. Penutupan secara resmi acara tersebut ditandai dengan penyerahan cenderamata dari Duta Besar RI kepada Direktur Seni Universitas Pretoria, Dr. Mashita Hoane serta foto bersama dengan para penari dan pemusik muda dari Indonesia, dan dilanjutkan dengan ramah tamah.

Selasa, 23 Agustus 2011

Sekali lagi, KBRI Pretoria dengan dukungan tim kesenian Sanggar Caraka Buana dan EFEF Band pada tanggal 20 Agustus 2011 di Pierneef Theater, Pretoria telah menampilkan acara Indonesian dance and music. Tujuan penampilan mereka di Theater milik masyarakat kulit putih tersebut adalah dalam rangka membantu KBRI Pretoria guna meningkatkan citra Indonesia dalam bentuk penampilan seni dan budaya serta untuk menarik minat masyarakat Afrika Selatan terhadap Indonesia.

 

Acara yang berlangsung dari pukul 10.00 sampai dengan 12.00 dibuka dengan kata sambutan singkat dari Pejabat Fungsi Pensosbud yang pada intinya menyatakan bahwa kedatangan tim kesenian dari Indonesia tersebut adalah untuk memperkenalkan seni dan budaya Indonesia kepada kalangan generesai muda Afrika Selatan serta lebih jauh lagi guna mempererat rasa pertemanan dan saling pengertian di antara generasi muda kedua bangsa pada masa yang akan datang khususnya masyarakat kulit putih Afrika Selatan.

 

Acara yang cukup meriah tersebut ternyata dihadiri tidak saja dari kalangan masyarakat kulit putih saja namun juga dari kalangan masyarakat kulit hitam serta “Friend of Indonesia”. Para penari menampilkan tari Belibis, tari Kipas, tari Punjari, tari Jaipong Kembang Tanjung, tari Merak, tari Nandak Ganjen, tari Marpangir, tari Jaipong Bajidor Kahot dan tari Saman serta memperdengarkan lagu-lagu Indonesia seperti Jali-jali, Bengawan Solo dan lagu-lagu daerah lainnya yang dikemas dalam musik gitar akuistik.

 

Penampilan tari Nandak Ganjen yang genit dan jenaka membuat para penonton tertawa riuh rendah, sementara penampilan tari Saman membuat penonton kulit putih berdecak kagum atas keunikan gerakan jari-jari tangan para penari tersebut. Para penonton dibuat bangkit dari tempat duduknya ketika para pemusik muda EFEF Band menyanyikan lagu Afrika Selatan yang berjudul “Shosholoza”, kefasihan para pemusik muda Indonesia dalam menyanyikan lagu tersebut mendapat acungan jempol dari penonton khususnya yang berkulit hitam. Diakhir acara tersebut, para penonton meminta kepada pihak KBRI guna memberikan kesempatan kepada mereka untuk dapat melakukan foto bersama dengan para penari dan pemusik muda Indonesia sebagai tanda appresiasi spontan mereka terhadap budaya Indonesia dan penampilan memikat dari para penari dan pemusik Indonesia tersebut.