Preserving 'reog' Ponorogo through festival<\/p>\n
By Sulistyo Budi N<\/p>\n
PONOROGO, East Java (JP): Besides being known as a city of
\nsantri (students of traditional Muslim schools), Ponorogo is also
\nfamous as the city of reog (traditional masked dance).<\/p>\n
Reog is well known across Indonesia, and a number of regions
\nhave their own reog groups. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in Jakarta
\nregularly features Ponorogo reog shows for tourists.<\/p>\n
If you happen to find yourself in Ponorogo, take the time to
\ngo and see the reog show. The dance is so impressive, the East
\nJava provincial administration has made Ponorogo reog one of the
\nprovince's recognized tourist attractions.<\/p>\n
Reog has been featured in a number of activities held by the
\norganization Cultural Relations between Indonesia and the United
\nStates, including one in California in 1991. It also was part of
\na cultural expo in Sevilla, Spain, in 1992.<\/p>\n
From March 31 through April 6, 2000, the Sixth National Reog
\nFestival was held in conjunction with Ponorogo's 504th
\nanniversary.<\/p>\n
The East Java provincial administration included the festival
\nin its tourist packages for the province. This year's festival
\nwas participated in by 35 groups from Ponorogo and around the
\ncountry, including from Balikpapan (Singo Manggolo), Riau
\n(Lancang Kuning), Kutai (Korda), Malang (Singo Lodra), Surabaya
\n(Singo Mangkujoyo), Jember (Sardudo Anurogo), Semarang (Singo
\nBarong) and Wonogiri (Singo Wiyono).<\/p>\n
Each group performed its own masked dance in the city square.
\nSome of the groups winning the audience's admiration were Singo
\nKrido, Sardulo Birowo and Singo Mulangjoyo -- all from Ponorogo
\n-- and Sardulo Anurogo from Jember, East Java.<\/p>\n
The audience was mesmerized by the agile movements of the
\ndancer from Sardulo Birowo, who was wearing a three-meter tall
\npeacock mask weighing some 40 kilograms.<\/p>\n
A reog dancer requires great strength to be able to dance
\nwhile wearing such a heavy mask. During this festival, which
\nfeatured some of the top troupes from the country, the dancers
\nhad the skill and strength to carry off their performances with
\nfew difficulties.<\/p>\n
According to Sudarmo, 40, a reog dancer from Ponorogo, before
\nperforming the dance he, like any other reog dancer, must first
\nfast for a couple of days to prevent any possible mishaps. He
\nalso said a complete reog troupe consisted of between 20 and 40
\npeople with one of them, called the Singobarong, being called on
\nto perform the peacock dance.<\/p>\n
\"This dancer represents a knight whose face is that of a
\ntiger, and on whose head a peacock, with its wings fully
\nextended, is perched,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Formidable strength<\/p>\n
A Singobarong must have formidable strength to be capable of
\ndancing with the peacock mask, which weighs from 40 to 100 kilos.<\/p>\n
Besides the peacock dance, a reog troupe traditionally
\nfeatures a dancer playing the role of King Klana Sewandono, who
\nis depicted as a person with magical powers and a magic whip
\ncalled Pecut Samandiman. There is also a dancer assuming the role
\nof Bujangganong, the king's chief minister, usually depicted as
\nan ugly faced knight with comical gestures, and two or more
\ndancers as the king's cavalry soldiers. These roles used to be
\ndanced by male teenagers called gemblak, but now female teenagers
\nfill the roles.<\/p>\n
Then there is an escort group comprising dancers donning
\ncostumes usually worn by warok, ascetics who are martial arts
\nexperts. They are fiery-looking men with thick moustaches and
\nbeards, wearing belts which nearly reach the ground. A reog
\nperformance is usually accompanied by music played on traditional
\ninstruments known as kendhang, kempul, kenong, angklung
\nand slompret (a flute which produces notes unique of a reog
\ndance).<\/p>\n
According to a well-known legend, the reog dance depicts a
\nprocession of the entourage of King Klana Sewandono, who is
\ntraveling to Kediri Kingdom to ask for the hand of Dewi
\nSanggalangit in marriage.<\/p>\n
A version of this legend says the reog dance originated during
\nthe Kediri Kingdom in the 11th century.<\/p>\n
The story goes that in the days of yore there stood a kingdom
\nknown as Batarangin, which was ruled by a wise young king called
\nKlana Sewandono. His chief minister, Pujangga Anom, possessed
\nmagical powers. (In a reog dance he is known as Bujangganong.)<\/p>\n
So one day the king dreamed that he had met a beautiful
\nprincess of the Kediri Kingdom, Dewi Songgolangit. At once the
\nking fell in love with the princess and sent Pujangga Anom to
\nKediri to ask for the hand of the princess in marriage.<\/p>\n
Dewi Songgolangit accepted the proposal on the condition that
\nthe king present to her a show that had never been seen by anyone
\nbefore. Hearing this request, Pujangga Anom remembered how King
\nSinga Barong, who had the head of a tiger with a peacock perched
\nupon it, was defeated by his king. The chief minister made use of
\nthis battle as the material for a performance to be presented
\nbefore the princess. The show was a success and the princess
\nagreed to marry the king.<\/p>\n
Another version of the origin of the reog has it that this
\ndance was first performed to mock King Brawijaya V, a Majapahit
\nking married to a Chinese princess. The mighty Majapahit king had
\nbeen subdued by the beauty of the princess.<\/p>\n
It is for this reason, so this version goes, that the peacock
\ndancer is depicted as a knight whose face is that of a tiger and
\non whose head a peacock is perched. The tiger represents King
\nBrawijaya V, while the peacock symbolizes the Chinese princess.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the reog festival, there was a round-the-
\ntown procession of the town's heirlooms in remembrance of its
\nfounding. Before the procession, the participants paid homage at
\nthe grave of Bathoro Katong, believed to be the town's founder.<\/p>\n
The procession commenced at the grave of Bathoro Katong in
\nSetono village, Jenangan subdistrict. The heirlooms carried
\nduring the procession were the Songong Tunggul Wulung, Tunggul
\nNogo, the spear of Kyai Baru and Cinde Puspito.<\/p>\n
The procession was led by Markum Singodimejo, who is in charge
\nof the day-to-day operations of the regency. Interestingly, all
\nPonorogo regency officials and participants of the procession
\ndonned costumes unique to Ponorogo: black shirts with jarit wiron
\nand loose black pants. They also carried a keris, a Javanese wavy
\ndouble-bladed dagger. Some participants were attired in penadon,
\nwhich is also unique to Ponorogo, with udheng gadung headbands
\nand loose black pants.<\/p>\n
Now that the festival is over and all the participants have
\nreturned home, one question remains: \"How long can this national
\nreog festival last?\" Can the festival help preserve reog as part
\nof our national heritage?<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/preserving-reog-ponorogo-through-festival-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}