Ancient 'reog' dance retains popularity in E. Java<\/p>\n
By Text and photos by Widyarto<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): A reog mask dance is not only an art
\nperformance but also a historical legacy now taking on a strong
\nrole in nurturing the religiosity and sociopolitical awareness of
\nthe Javanese communities.<\/p>\n
In a reog dance, the plot of the dance story is fully
\nintertwined with a harmonious blend of movement, sound and
\ncostume.<\/p>\n
One may wonder how a reog dance can survive the passing ages
\nwithout being affected by changes. Then, how can it earn a
\nrespectable place in the trove of arts and culture in East Java
\nin particular and in Indonesia in general?<\/p>\n
To the agrarian people of East Java, it is a matter of pride
\nto be able to present a traditional reog dance performance as
\npart of the harvest rites or in individual or community parties
\nand celebrations of national days.<\/p>\n
Obviously, reog is not only a tourist attraction or an item on
\na list of programs to be performed by international arts-exchange
\ndelegations. As a folk art, reog is part of the traditional
\nsociocultural aspect of the East Javanese way of life.<\/p>\n
\"It is understood that Ponorogo was the birth place of reog,\"
\nsaid Mbah Gembong, chairman of 57-strong Reog Singoyudo art
\ntroupe of Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
\"Now the reog dance has found a fertile soil for development
\nall over Java. It is even popular outside Java. In an annual reog
\nfestival in Ponorogo there are always some reog groups from
\nplaces in Sumatra and Kalimantan, for example.\"<\/p>\n
\"This means that reog can transcend geographical and cultural
\nborders,\" he said, adding that reog could be accepted by all.<\/p>\n
According to statistics at the East Java tourist office, there
\nare 153 reog groups all over the province. The tourist service
\nsends these groups abroad in turn. Singoyudo, for example, went
\non its 10-month European tour in 1992.<\/p>\n
\"Despite the economic crisis and no matter how bad conditions
\nmay be, the custom should survive. Reog and related customs are
\nour source of livelihood,\" Gembong added. \"Hundreds of years of
\ncolonial rule could not kill reog. I believe it will survive till
\nthe end of time.\"<\/p>\n
Patriotism<\/p>\n
Demang (village headman) Ki Ageng Kutu Suryongalam laid the
\nfoundations for reog in the middle of the 14th century, then
\nunder the name of Barongan.<\/p>\n
This ruler of Wangker was descended from a royal Balinese
\nfamily and was originally called I Ketut Suryongalam. He adopted
\nthe Balinese Barongan dance with the head of a tiger and the
\nfeathers of a peacock as the main dance features.<\/p>\n
Initially, he created this dance only as a means to
\ndisseminate information to and establish communication with the
\nmasses.<\/p>\n
Suryongalam used the dance as a satire of the Majapahit King,
\nPrabu Brawijaya V (Arya Angkawijaya). The scene depicting the act
\nof setting foot on the tiger's head (the dancer of Dhadhak Merak)
\nand that of carrying the Merak dancer (a woman dancer: Djatilan)
\non the shoulders symbolize the subjugation of the king by the
\nqueen.<\/p>\n
In this dance, Suryongalam trained his Wangker soldiers
\n(jadhuk) in the skills of warfare and invulnerability to weapons.
\nIt was also through reog that Hinduism developed and spread to
\nEast Java. And at this point Wangker was in turmoil.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, as the Demak sultanate under Raden Patah became
\nstronger and encompassed the coastal area of Java, the rule of
\nMajapahit became weaker and weaker. Wangker seized this
\nopportunity to withdraw itself from the sphere of Majapahit's
\nrule.<\/p>\n
To put an end to this rebellion, the next Majapahit king,
\nPrabu Brawijaya V (Bre Kertabumi), sent his son, Bathoro Katong,
\nto Wangker in 1468. Thanks to the help of Ki Ageng Mirah, a
\nMoslem preacher, and Seloadji, the rebellion in Wangker was put
\ndown.<\/p>\n
This rebellion was quashed not through war or violence. but
\non the basis of peace and a brotherly approach. This nonviolence
\nyielded fruits only scores of years later.<\/p>\n
Bathoro Katong then wedded Niken Sulastri, Suryongalam's
\ndaughter. Afterwards, Suryongalam, Bathoro Katong, Ki Ageng Mirah
\nand Seloadji jointly became wise rulers of Wangker as from 1482.
\nThey improved their people's knowledge of rice cultivation. The
\noutcome of their hard work is still evident today: Wangker
\n(Ponorogo) is one of the national rice granaries.<\/p>\n
The Barongan art developed rapidly. It was thanks to Ki Ageng
\nMirah and Bathoro Katong that the Barongan art was later known as
\nthe reog dance. (Etymological reog comes from Arabic riyoqun,
\nwhich means a human's awareness of, faith and submission to God.)<\/p>\n
The riyoqun art was also effective in the propagation of
\nIslam, particularly in Wangker and in Java in general. The close
\nproximity between Wangker and the Demak sultanate strengthened
\nthe position of Islam in Java and made it a religion very close
\nto the people.<\/p>\n
In later centuries, the reog or riyoqun art continued to be an
\neffective means to attract people and disseminate information.
\nThat's why the Dutch colonial administration considered the reog
\ndance a manifestation of rebellion against colonialism in
\nIndonesia. It was also for this reason that in 350 years of Dutch
\ncolonialism, the reog dance was banned.<\/p>\n
However, local people defied this ban and continued, albeit in
\na guerrilla-like manner, to perform this dance in certain
\ncelebrations.<\/p>\n
As a political propaganda means, the reog dance was heavily
\nused in the 1960s. The communists (the Indonesian Communist
\nParty) made use of this folk dance as part of their agitprop.
\nDuring these years, the reog dance was simply a legitimate
\npropaganda tool for the Nasakon (Nationalism, Religion and
\nCommunism) ideology then obtaining, especially with the
\nestablishment of the Ponorogo Reog Front (BRP) in 1965. Obviously
\nBRP's establishment in support of the Nasakom ideology robbed the
\nreog dance of its religious significance.<\/p>\n
Then, in order to restore the reog dance to its original
\nposition as a cultural legacy, a drive was in full swing in 1968
\nto purify the reog dance art, cleansing it of all elements
\nsmacking of ideological propaganda.<\/p>\n
In this context, the Indonesian Nationalist Party, for
\nexample, set up the National Reog Front (BREN). Ulemas and
\nteachers of Islam also worked hard to give back to the reog dance
\nis religious substance. They set up, for example, Religious Reog
\nArt (CAKRA) and Islamic Reog Art (KRIS).<\/p>\n
However, as arts and culture can never be completely free from
\npolitical interests no matter who the power holders are, the reog
\ndance is also in the same boat. The annual festival of reog or
\nGrebeg Suro, is an example in this respect. Then in the New Order
\nera, yellow -- the color of the ruling Functional Group (Golkar)
\n-- was required to be added to black and red, the originally
\ndominant colors of the costumes of reog dancers.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, a reog dance remains a traditional work of art.
\nIts passage through centuries, often not smoothly, has proven its
\nstaying power as an attractive folk art form with its dancers,
\nprops, choreography, costume symbolization and the color of its
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
The strength of a reog dance also lies in a combination of
\ndynamic movement and the color of its music as this blend is in
\ntune with the present global culture which idolizes speed and
\nhigh intensity.<\/p>\n
In other words, a reog dance tells the story of a process. It
\nis the portrait of a sociocultural and religious structure of
\nhuman civilization depicting peaceful coexistence as reflected in
\nthe struggle put up by Bathoro Katong. A certainty indeed.<\/p>",
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