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)