'Ronggeng' struggles against changing times<\/p>\n
Agus Maryono and Mamock Ng, Contributors, Banjarnegara, Central Java<\/p>\n
The traditional dance of Banyumas, ronggeng or lengger, famous
\nfor its dynamic music and dance, is struggling to stay afloat on
\nthe tide of time.<\/p>\n
Until very recently, ronggeng was widely performed in many
\nvillages, with ronggeng troupes hired to perform at wedding
\nparties, village festivals and other special occasions, including
\ntraditional and religious ceremonies.<\/p>\n
Now, however, people prefer to invite groups offering more
\ncontemporary performances, mainly campursari -- an innovative
\nfusion of traditional and popular Javanese musical genre -- which
\nhas prompted several ronggeng troupes to adapt to the latest
\ntrend, leaving the traditional form behind.<\/p>\n
\"We've been forced to leave the traditional show behind to
\nmeet people's demands, otherwise, we won't survive,\" said
\nSolichin, 57, leader of a ronggeng troupe in Kecitran hamlet,
\nPurworejo village, Klampok subdistrict, Banjarnegara.<\/p>\n
Bending to demand, Solichin has added modern instruments like
\nelectric guitars, a keyboard and even a drum set, to replace
\ntraditional instruments such as gongs, saron and kendang (a type
\nof drum) that originally accompanied the troupe's calung, or
\nbamboo instruments.<\/p>\n
\"In difficult times as these, we find it hard to stick only to
\nauthentic ronggeng. The show is now more like campursari,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
His troupe indeed faces difficult times, with not a single
\nrequest for a performance over the past month, compared to an
\naverage seven to nine shows per month a few years ago.<\/p>\n
The troupe, which performs for Rp 1.5 million per show, has
\nbeen in business for many years, and its members are all life-
\nlong ronggeng performers -- they have no other source of income.<\/p>\n
The troupe's dancers and singers are now having to master
\ncampursari and dangdut (popular music with Arab\/Indian
\ninfluences) songs and dance styles to cater to audiences with
\nmore contemporary tastes.<\/p>\n
The songs of traditional ronggeng, like Randa Nunut and Ricik-
\nricik Banyumasan, have been replaced by popular campursari songs
\nlike Lingsir Wengi, Wes Ewes Ewes and Ing Taman Jurug.<\/p>\n
\"Campursari music, like dangdut, requires a higher level of
\nendurance. It's more dynamic, and I just have to get used to it,\"
\nsaid 27-year-old singer Suliah, who has been with Solichin's
\ntroupe since she was 16.<\/p>\n
Another ronggeng troupe, the Ngudi Laras troupe from Merden
\nvillage, Purwonegoro subdistrict, Banjarnegara, has also been
\nfaced with the option to either change with the times or become
\nextinct.<\/p>\n
Troupe leader Marsudi, 63, said the troupe felt they were
\nquickly being left behind by campursari, something that had never
\nhappened before.<\/p>\n
\"There's been langgam (traditional Javanese genre), keroncong
\n(popular music with Portuguese influence) and dangdut, but we
\nhadn't been particularly influenced by them. But since campursari
\ngained in popularity, we, like it or not, have been losing our
\naudience to them,\" said Marsudi, who has been a ronggeng
\nperformer for 36 years.<\/p>\n
A clear sign that the dance was losing its attraction, he
\nsaid, was their audience's repeated and constant requests for
\ncampursari songs every time they performed.<\/p>\n
\"To be honest, my troupe has also been contaminated by
\ncampursari. But one thing for sure, we'll never stray from the
\nronggeng guidelines, like opening with the Gambyong Banyumasan
\ndance and closing with the Baladewaan,\" he said with feeling.<\/p>\n
Whenever the troupe performed, Marsudi tried his utmost to
\nperform the opening and closing dances as in a traditional
\nronggeng performance. He also insisted on including the dance's
\nsignature song, Randa Nunut.<\/p>\n
\"We're afraid of being cursed if we cut the song from our
\nshow, because it's the song that gave birth to ronggeng.\"<\/p>\n
Campursari has increasingly become popular in Java, thanks
\nlargely to Yogyakarta musician Manthous, who cleverly fused
\ntraditional Javanese songs with dangdut. In addition, campursari
\nshows are aired on television featuring famous performers, such
\nas Surakarta artist Didi Kempot.<\/p>\n
Campursari, in its way, brings a breath of fresh air to
\nJavanese songs. Yet, for Solichin and Marsudi, and maybe many
\nother ronggeng artists, it is considered a real threat to their
\nexistence.<\/p>\n
While troupes with enough money -- who can afford modern
\nmusical instruments -- can survive, this survival comes at the
\ncost of authenticity; and those troupes that are less well off
\nface a bleak future of either disbanding entirely or performing
\ndoor-to-door to make a living.<\/p>\n
Head of culture at Banjarnegara's educational office Otong
\nTjundaroso said 112 ronggeng troupes existed in the regency in
\n2001. Today, only two years since, about 75 percent of them
\nremain -- but after abandoning the original ronggeng for
\ncampursari. The others have either disbanded or are performing
\nfrom door to door.<\/p>\n
Otong also noticed that even the graceful movements of lengger
\nbecame more dynamic, even erotic, when the singer belted out
\ncampursari songs quite similar to dangdut.<\/p>\n
He said no precise \"formula\" had yet been found to protect
\ntraditional ronggeng from extinction.<\/p>\n
\"We have been providing supervision to preserve traditional
\nperformances, but we also need to conduct more research to see
\nwhether the decrease in ronggeng's popularity is really because
\nof campursari, or because of a general reluctance to watch
\ntraditional performances,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ronggeng-struggles-against-changing-times-1447893297",
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