JP/17/DUGD

JP/17/DUGD

'Dugderan' marks the beginning of Ramadhan, creates
business opportunities

Suherdjoko
The Jakarta Post/Semarang

Jostling among thousands of people, a 55-year-old grandmother,
Partiyah, from Simongan village, West Semarang, and her six-year-
old grandson, Ardi, struggled to reach a good position along Jl.
Pemuda in Semarang.

With her hands tightly holding Ardi's shoulders to keep him in
front of her, Partiyah looked straight ahead, waiting for the
arrival of the warak; mythical beasts used in the dugderan
parade.

It was Thursday Oct. 14, the day before this year's fasting
month of Ramadhan started -- the day of the dugderan, a
traditional festival held to welcome the arrival of the holy
month. Celebrating the tradition stretches back to 1881 when
Semarang was under the rule of Regent RMTA Purbaningrat.

The highlight of the day is a Warak Ngendog (Egg-Laying Warak)
procession, in which the figures up to 2.5 meters high, usually
made of wood and covered with colorful oil paper, are paraded in
a carnival from the Semarang City Hall to the Kauman Grand
Mosque.

"Look! The warak is laying eggs."

Partiyah shouted this repeatedly as the procession passed
along the street in front of her, while her grandson also eagerly
observed the procession although he did not see any eggs being
laid.

Being made of wood, with the body of a lion, a scaly skin and
the head of a dragon atop a snaking neck, it's hardly surprising
these effigies do not literally "lay" eggs, although real eggs do
feature in the procession.

The beast, a symbol of bad deeds and worldliness, and the
eggs, symbols of purity and renewal represent the journey through
Ramadhan, when Muslims are expected to renounce worldly pleasures
to reach purity by month's end.

Many believe the warak figure grew from the contact between
Javanese and early Chinese settlers in the area.

Others say the mythical beast was inspired by the bouraq, the
animal ridden by the Prophet Mohammad during his Isra' Mi'raj
pilgrimage. However, there is no obvious resemblance between the
warak and bouraq as the later is described in many religious
texts.

The word dugderan is believed to be an onomatopoeic
combination of the "dug-dug" sounds of a bedug, a large drum
beaten at mosques to summon the faithful to prayer, and the
(thun)"der-der" sounds of a cannon.

In the past, the drum was beaten before a cannon was fired to
mark the beginning of Ramadhan.

Some say the word warak, comes from the Javanese word warah,
which means good advice, while others say it is a derivation of
the Arabic word wira'i, which means polite or obedient -- how
Muslims are expected to behave during Ramadhan.

Whatever its original meaning, the effigies have become the
central figures in the festivities.

No dugderan day goes ahead without a warak procession and
smaller doll-sized versions of the beasts, of about 20
centimeters high, are sold at the festival for about Rp 15,000
each. Larger "goat-sized" dolls are sold 300,000 each, while the
tallest ones can reach Rp 3 million.

Realizing the festival attracts people to Semarang, the local
administration has developed the event into a tourist attraction.

As many as 14 groups participated in this year's festival held
at Raden Saleh Cultural Center, with a group from Gajahmungkur
village declared the champions.

During the festival, the medium-sized warak are carried by
four male dancers on their shoulders, while women accompany them
beating rebana (traditional tambourines), saron (metal gamelan
drums) and gongs providing the accompanying music.

The dance has some resemblance to the Sisingaan dance of the
Sundanese, which uses lion figures instead.

"We spent some Rp 3.5 million to come and participate in this
festival. There are 20 of us in the group, including the
musicians," said Widayat of Gajahmungkur, the group that has won
the festival four years running.

To make the procession more festive, a temporary night market
has been set up in the neighborhood around the Kauman Grand
Mosque.

The market sells everything from traditional and modern
textiles to electronic goods and features a carousel and a
haunted house.

The dugderan is no longer just a traditional festival to mark
the beginning of Ramadhan but also a day to shop, celebrate and
show off a unique event to the world.