Antique brought in for Islamic festival

Antique brought in for Islamic festival

JAKARTA (JP): A bedug (leather drum) and a set of gamelan,
both from the 13th century, will be brought to Jakarta in
processions from Surabaya and Surakarta respectively, for the
Islamic Istiqlal Festival this month.

The organizers of the festival told reporters yesterday that
the Bedug Ampel and Gamelan Sekaten will depart from their homes
on Saturday. They will cross paths in Rembang, Central Java, from
where the procession will merge into an even bigger convoy.

The instruments will be mounted on to vehicles and proceed in
long convoys. They will stop in various cities on their way to
Jakarta and will be played as a kind of introduction to the
festival.

They will arrive in Jakarta on Sept. 21, two days before the
two-month Second Istiqlal Festival begins, on Sept. 23,
Aminuddin, the chairman of the committee of the procession told
newsmen yesterday.

"The procession of the Bedug Ampel and Gamelan Sekaten is
meant to commemorate the historical struggle of the Wali Songo,"
added Aminuddin, who is also the senior public relations manager
of PT Astra International, one of the main sponsors of the
procession.

The Wali Songo are the nine Islamic leaders who promulgated
the religion throughout Java in the 13th century.

The Bedug Ampel is a leather drum found in Sunan Ampel mosque,
one of the oldest mosques in Indonesia. The instrument is
commonly used in Indonesia to summon, and remind Moslems of
prayer times. The Bedug Ampel dates back to the 13th century,
during the life of Sunan Ampel, one of the nine Wali Songo.

Gamelan Sekaten comes in two sets, one named Kiai Gunturmadu
and the other Kiai Guntursari. The instrument has been used for
Islamic promulgation since the ruling of Sunan Kalijaga, another
Wali Songo member, of the Demak kingdom in the 13th century.

According to Aminuddin, the Bedug Ampel procession will pass
through Gresik, Lamongan, Tuban, Rembang, Pati, Kudus, Demak,
Semarang, Pekalongan, Tegal, Cirebon, and Bandung, and end in
Jakarta.

The Gamelan Sekaten will leave from Surakata, travel to
Purwodadi, Blora and join up with the Bedug Ampel procession in
Rembang.

The whole procession will involve a motorcade of more than 20
Isuzu, Nissan Diesel and Daihatsu cars and trucks of Astra
International.

Deputy chairman of the procession, Parni Hadi, reminded the
public not to make a cult of the two instruments.

"The Bedug Ampel and Sekaten Gamelan are common instruments,"
said Parni who is also the chief editor of the Republika daily.

The Wali Songo are so revered that their graves are considered
by some as sacred and many people go to them to meditate and
offer prayers, which is in contravention of Islamic beliefs.

The festival is being staged by the Istiqlal Festival
Foundation, an organization for the development of Islamic
teaching and promulgation, which is headed by Minister of Finance
Mar'ie Muhammad. The first festival, in 1991, was widely
considered a success and the organizers decided this time to
stage it for two months, rather than just one month.

The Rp 10 billion (US$4.4 million) festival will feature
exhibitions on Islamic books, architecture, traditional and
contemporary art, seminars, a bazaar, contests and artistic
performances.

There will be participation from various foreign countries,
with Britain, Turkey, and Egypt among those who have already
confirmed.

"We are still waiting for confirmation from other Islamic
countries, to either join in the exhibition, or send speakers to
a seminar that will be held during the festival," Andri, a public
relations officer of the festival, said. (imn)