Sleman inaugurates new resort in Gamplong

Sleman inaugurates new resort in Gamplong

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Sleman, Yogyakarta

The usually quiet riverine village of Gamplong, some 40
kilometers southwest of Yogyakarta, looked completely different
last Monday evening.

This ordinary hamlet was adorned with decorations to welcome
guests, as the old-style village prepared to hold a traditional
festival.

On both sides of the narrow, dusty road heading to the
village, kerosene-fueled lamps, locally known as senthir, had
been hung.

In their traditional Javanese costumes, the villagers gathered
under the full moon and solemnly chanted the religious hadrah
shalawat (invocation songs). The rhythmic beat of a terbang
(tambourine-like instrument) accompanied the chant.

Sleman Regent Ibnu Subiyanto and the head of the regency's
agricultural and forestry office, Achmad Yulianto, were present,
along with dozens of representatives of local travel and tourist
agencies.

Gamplong, located on the banks of Progo River in the western
part of Sleman regency, was being officially inaugurated as a
tourist village on Monday. The village will now also be known as
the Pantai (pantai means beach) Cemplon tourist resort.

"Gamplong deserves to be named a tourist village. It has
everything that a tourist resort needs, including a handicraft
center, old traditions, historical elements and beautiful views,"
Ibnu Subiyanto said in his speech.

However, more than a few people were left wondering about the
village's new name. Gamplong lies along Progo River, on the
border between Sleman and Kulonprogo regencies, far from the sea.

A local elder, Dharto Sudiono, 65, said the name was picked to
commemorate an event that occurred in the 1940s, when a major
landslide and flood hit the village.

"About one and a half kilometers of the eastern riverbank
slide down, forming an oval cavity along the riverbank. It looked
like a cemplon (a traditional cake made of fried cassava dough
with coconut sugar inside), so people called the place Pantai
Cemplon," Dharto said.

Pantai Cemplon does have the potential to become a tourist
destination. In the face of modernization, the quaint village has
been able to preserve its old traditions. Every full moon, for
instance, residents gather around the village square for a
discussion and to chant hadrah shalawat while beating their
terbang. The ritual is called tirakatan.

"It has been our tradition for years. We keep it because it is
useful for maintaining harmony and bringing the villagers closer
together," Dharto said.

Home to some 900 families, Pantai Cemplon, is also
considerably green. It offers everything that a tourist needs for
a bit of self-contemplation and relaxation among the soothing
quiet of nature.

One of the local natural attractions is the small lake known
as Sendang Karangnongko, whose clear water is believed to have
the supernatural power to rejuvenate women.

"What you need to do to get the supernatural power of the lake
is wash your face with water from it every morning," said Dharto,
a retired civil servant.

The village, too, is rich in plants and trees such as
mahogany, acacia and turi (sesbania). From one of the village's
higher clusters of houses, people can enjoy the beautiful scenery
of the region, including the meandering Progo River.

Gamplong was also once a renowned handicraft center of
traditional woven cloth, and was as well the place where national
hero Pangeran Diponegoro once took shelter while escaping the
colonial Dutch army, Dwi Atmo Wibowo, 51, said.

Dwi Atmo said the management of Gamplong as a tourist village
would be carried out through a newly established association,
Dewigama, comprising representatives of the village's five
clusters. The association will develop and maintain the village's
tourist attractions, including the natural sights, the
traditions, the history and the craft center.

"It is also through the association that we will discuss how
to maintain and develop all our potential, as well as how to
market them to tourists," Dwi Atmo said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Sleman Regent Ibnu said the new
status given to Gamplong would hopefully improve the welfare of
residents, as tourist visits would have a multiple effect
economically.

"The handicraft center will reemerge, and so will other
economic sectors," Ibnu said.

He said the local government would do its best to help improve
the tourist business in the village, including providing support
facilities and infrastructure for the local community.

"But most of all, we have to promote the village and inform
travel and tourist agencies about it," said Ibnu.

Thanks to promotion efforts, a group of some 200 tourists are
scheduled to visit the new tourist resort of Pantai Cemplon in
Gamplong village next week.