`Dugderan' festival greets Ramadhan<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang<\/p>\n
Sweat trickled down the innocent faces of Dodi, 5, and Sigit, 8.
\nUnder the scorching sun, the kids and their parents lined up
\nalong the sidewalk on Jl. Pemuda here.<\/p>\n
Dodi and Sigit craned their necks, anxiously waiting for the
\nDugderan parade to pass the street. The parade is an annual event
\nto greet the holy month of Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
\"Even though we are not from Semarang and moved here from
\nYogyakarta only half a year ago I really want to see this event,
\nwhich is apparently characteristic of the city,\" said Hartono,
\nthe children's father, who lives in Pedurungan, Semarang.<\/p>\n
Dugderan is a festival related to Islam and held one day
\nbefore the fasting month. The origins of the festival date back
\nas far as 1881, when Semarang was under the authority of Regent
\nRaden Tumenggung Suryokusumo (1860-1887).<\/p>\n
To this day, the regent beats the drum at the mosque to mark
\nthe beginning of the festival, followed by the salvo of a canon.
\nThe sound of the drumbeat, \"dug... dug... dug... \", and the
\nsalvo, \"der... der... der...\", inspired the Javanese to call it
\n\"Dugderan\".<\/p>\n
The mascot of Dugderan is the warak, a four-legged beast, with
\nthe body of a horse, a long neck like a giraffe and the head of a
\ndragon. The animal sports colorful curly hair, its wide-open
\nmouth revealing its teeth.<\/p>\n
This hybrid is thankfully not known to the real world nor
\nhails from Javanese myths or legends.<\/p>\n
Some believe that it might be symbolic of Buraq, the giant
\nbird that carried the Prophet Muhammad to the heavens. But many
\nothers doubt this theory. An idea which is widely accepted is
\nthat the warak was born of the acculturation of the Chinese,
\nJavanese and Islamic cultures.<\/p>\n
The spread of Islam in Semarang can be traced through the
\nTionghwa Chronicle that is kept at the Sam Po Kong temple. The
\nchronicle relates that in 1413, a ship from the Ming Dynasty
\nstopped in Semarang for one month to undergo repairs.<\/p>\n
During their brief stay in the city, Admiral Haj Sam Po Bo, Ma
\nHuan and Fe Tsin, three Muslim officials, often performed their
\nprayers in (what is now called) the Hanafi Chinese mosque.<\/p>\n
It is assumed that from this point, Islam was spread to the
\nnorth Java coastal areas. Following a successful crusade, Raden
\nPatah (who was called Djin Bun in the Tionghwa Chronicle and was
\nsaid to be of Chinese descent) established an Islamic kingdom in
\nnearby Demak in 1475.<\/p>\n
Other people believe the word warak is derived from the Arabic
\nword wira'i, which is known among the sufi (Muslim mystics).<\/p>\n
Wira'i means to purify oneself from evil deeds. This sounds
\nplausible if the meaning is related to the significance of
\nRamadhan as Muslims are expected to refrain from impure thoughts
\nduring this time. Apparently, the Javanese found it difficult to
\npronounce wira'i, so they simplified it to warak.<\/p>\n
Symbolizing that those who refrain from evil acts can be
\ncleansed, the warak -- which represents evil, with its wide,
\nthreatening eyes -- lays a white egg to signify purification.<\/p>\n
The parade starts from the City Hall on Jl. Pemuda and the
\nSemarang mayor play-acts as Regent Tumenggung Suryokusumo. All
\ncity officials wear traditional Javanese costumes from the
\ncoastal areas. The traditional Patangpuluhan soldiers of
\nSemarang, led by Manggalayudha (commander of the troops), also
\ntake part in the carnival.<\/p>\n
In last week's Dugderan festival, Semarang Mayor Sukatawi
\nSutarip acted as the Regent. After he received a report from the
\npolice chief of Kauman Subdistrict, Arwin Helmi, saying that
\nRamadhan was about to begin, the mayor beat the drum. This was
\nfollowed by the firing of a canon fueled by carbide.<\/p>\n
The parade -- including the warak, 14 marching bands from
\nseveral schools in the city and traditional dancers -- moved
\nthrough Jl. Pemuda toward the Semarang Grand Mosque, which is
\nabout two kilometers away. Dodi, Sigit and their parents were
\namong thousands of people who braved the heat to watch the event.<\/p>\n
The Dugderan parade also marked the end of the two-week
\ntraditional night market, called Sekatenan, which is held to
\ncelebrate Prophet Muhammad's birthday and is similar to markets
\nheld in Yogyakarta and Surakarta.<\/p>\n
Warak dolls were available during Sekatenan for between Rp
\n7,500 (85 U.S. cents) and Rp 20,000 each. Each doll came with a
\nbonus chicken egg.<\/p>\n
\"I did good business this time. I made 400 warak and they
\nsold-out,\" said Supardi.<\/p>\n
Slamet Riyadi, another vendor at the night market, also sold
\nall four of the goat-sized warak he had made for Rp 350,000 each.<\/p>\n
But the biggest warak were made by Kamadi, 45, and his wife
\nSupriyati, 42. Their warak were commissioned by the Central
\nSemarang and East Semarang regencies and were as big as horses.<\/p>\n
They spent Rp 750,000 on materials to make each of the dolls
\nand sold them for Rp 1.5 million each.<\/p>\n
\"Not a bad start to prepare for Idul Fitri,\" Kamadi remarked.<\/p>\n
As part of the Dugderan celebrations a Warak Festival was held
\nat the Raden Saleh Semarang Art Center, featuring many colorful
\nwarak and an exhibition of martial arts, accompanied by
\ntraditional music. One brave child was seen riding a giant warak.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dugderan-festival-greets-ramadhan-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}