Mang Udjo, the 'angklung' hero

Mang Udjo, the 'angklung' hero

By Matdon

BANDUNG (JP): He dedicated his whole life to the conservation
of angklung, traditional bamboo percussion. Even after his death
at 72 on Thursday, Mang Udjo Ngalagena, remains synonymous with
angklung.

Mang Udjo died on Thursday after three months of complications
from diabetes, hypertension and ulcers.

A modest man of great achievement, Mang Udjo is well-known not
only among traditional music lovers in Indonesia but also abroad.
He founded a workshop, Saung Angklung, in 1966 at Padasuka, some
seven kilometers from the city center.

"Saung" is the Sundanese word for hut where farmers take
shelter. Mang Udjo's saung is a place where people can learn to
make and play angklung.

It was at this workshop that Mang Udjo made and played
angklung in his bid to preserve its cultural heritage. The artist
was known as an easygoing and friendly man. He is remembered as a
man who would fiercely cling to orthodoxy.

He learned angklung from Prof. Daeng Soetigna in 1948. Mang
Udjo was Daeng's only student who inherited his angklung-making
skills. Mang Udjo became a master at the art: he knew how to
select the best bamboo, how to properly cut bamboo and he knew of
the tricks on how to tie up the bamboo to produce the most
melodious sounds possible.

The origin of angklung is unknown. "Some say it began in Bali
but others say it was from Tasikmalaya or Banten (West Java),"
Mang Udjo once said.

It is understood that angklung already existed in the 16th
century. Before it was known worldwide, it used to be played
during rice harvest revelries, wedding parties or during night
security patrols in the neighborhood.

In the early 1930s, Daeng could alter the diatonic note to
pentatonic in angklung, allowing the instrument to be used in
different music genres, such as jazz, dangdut and rock.

Mang Udjo was Daeng's favorite student. He performed for the
first time on stage with his teacher in 1953. "I used to receive
Rp 2.5 and often I got no payment at all," he recalled.

Daeng died in 1955 and Mang Udjo had to strive to popularize
angklung alone. His hard work paid off. In 1968, or two years
after he established his workshop, the government introduced
angklung at schools.

As a token of support, the local government offered Rp 100,000
to the workshop.

Mang Udjo's workshop became well-known worldwide in 1978. The
place became a popular tourist destination in Bandung. Meanwhile
he began going international, performing in various countries,
such as Germany, the Netherlands, United States, Canada, France,
Belgium, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

The workshop located in an eastern suburb offers a break from
the hustle and bustle of the city. It has an atmosphere of rural
peacefulness and beauty. Its interior is made of wood, bamboo and
has a shingled roof. It has become one of Bandung's landmarks.
Even taxi and pedicab drivers are generally familiar with the
complex on Jl. Padasuka which has a spacious parking lot.

Every day, hundreds of local and foreign tourists visit the
workshop where they can have a look around, learn how to play the
instrument or buy a piece as a souvenir.

Mutiara, Mang Udjo's daughter, said that foreign visitors have
dropped by some 75 percent since the economic crisis began in
mid-1997.

Dozens of youths play angklung music at his workshop. It is a
great attraction for visitors because the same instruments can be
used to play different genres, from jazz to the traditional
keroncong.

"I often ask myself if I can fulfill many people's hopes,"
Mang Udjo said. "I had never imagined before that my workshop
would become a tourist attraction."

His prime concern was that young people are generally
reluctant to preserve cultural heritage like angklung but he had
the full support of his 10 children for the continuation of the
work he had started.