'Rodad': Wonosobo's religious art show

'Rodad': Wonosobo's religious art show

By Bambang M

WONOSOBO, Central Java (JP): The cool town located at the foot
of Sumbing and Sindoro mountains has charmed millions of people
with its breathtaking scenery.

But the gorgeous landscape on the Dieng Plateau is not the
only fascination that Wonosobo has to offer. Visitors often come
to the town to see its cultural shows, the best known being a
religious art performance called Rodad.

Performed by 12 to 16 men and accompanied by Islamic songs,
the dance was adopted from the graceful fighting style of the
indigenous Pencak Silat martial art.

Standing face to face in two rows, the movements consist of
kicking, punching and deflecting the opponent's attack.

A rodad performance usually lasts for about an hour, during
which some 15 songs are sung by six to eight singers. Some sing
while beating traditional drums locally known as rebana and
jidor. Four rebanas and a jidor are usually used.

"Rodad is one of the popular Islamic art performances in the
region," said Suprapto, 39, leader of the Putra Remaja rodad
group from Tembi village, Wonosobo. He added that almost all the
villages in the region have a rodad group.

Many rodad songs consist mostly of Islamic preaching,
reminding Muslims not to ignore their duty to say their prayers
five times a day and to recite the holy Koran verses. Some songs
also tell people to promote peace and be loyal to the Indonesian
government.

There are no reliable records on the history of rodad.
Mujiyono, an instructor of Putra Remaja, says rodad was created
by Kyai Nachrowi, a tarekat Muslim cleric from Yogyakarta. He
created the dance after he moved from Yogyakarta to Wonosobo in
1942. Then Kyai Nachrowi built an Islamic boarding school there
and began to introduce the art.

In the past, the dance was performed only by young men. They
were mostly students of Islamic boarding schools who were
learning the Koran.

"Kyai Nachrowi created it to make his students more active in
reciting the Koran's verses," Mujiyono says.

Members of Putra Remaja practice rodad every Sunday and
Thursday nights after they say their evening prayers (Isya)."We
train from 8.p.m.to 10 p.m. in the yard of al-Huda Musholla
(small mosque) in Tembi," says Suprato, who is also a potato
farmer.

Even though all rodad dances have the basic movements of
Pencak Silat, each rodad group has its own style. They also wear
different costumes. It's not surprising, therefore, to see some
rodad groups wearing Pencak Silat costumes while others choose to
wear the dress of the traditional drama ketoprak.

Putra Remaja's shows focus strictly the basic movements of
Pencak Silat. Other groups, such as Sari Sakti from Sariyoso
village, show a more rigorous fighting style.

Others combine the dance with the use of inner energy. In one
performance, a dancer had a large boulder put on his stomach
which was then hammered to pieces. In another, a dancer enters a
trance and proceeds to eat flowers and glass or drink perfumed
oil. By the end of the show, a shaman will bring the tranced
dancer back to normal by blowing air into the dancer's ear.

Rodad is often performed in Wonosobo Town Square during
special events, such as the town's birthday ceremony to attract
visitors. In villages, rodad is performed to commemorate Prophet
Muhammad's birthday, wedding parties, and mass recitations of
Koranic verses.