Traditional music marks annual thanksgiving festival

Traditional music marks annual thanksgiving festival

Text and photos by Mulkan Salmona

SUKABUMI, West Java (JP): Something interesting happened two
weeks ago in Cipta Rasa hamlet in the village of Sirna Rasa,
Cisolok subdistrict, in the regency of Sukabumi.

Cipta Rasa field, which is usually quiet, on that very Sunday,
turned into a scene of festivity. In the middle of the square,
about 100 bundles of paddy were tied to a bamboo pole, ready to
be pounded or stored. Several farmers, dressed in black,
approached the pole and picked up some bundles of paddy and tied
them to a bamboo carrying pole called reunggong. There were holes
in the bamboo poles, so that when they were moved to the left and
to the right, a rhythmic sound was heard, like the thunderous
sound of the wind.

Meanwhile, in another corner was a dog-dog lojor group of
artists ready with their bamboo musical instruments, drums and a
trumpet. Suddenly, one of them shouted loudly as a sign to start
the show. They played their instruments together, swaying their
hips as they strode. The rhythm of the drum was like the repeated
sound of gunfire, the soft sound of angklung (a musical
instrument consisting of suspended bamboo tubes which sound when
shaken) and the shrieking sound of trumpet, all this made the
atmosphere increasingly lively and very interesting, even without
the sound of the reunggong. It was extremely astonishing and was
like a presentation of contemporary music.

But this was not a music concert. It was the seren taun, an
annual thanksgiving festival, held by the villagers to express
their gratitude after harvest time.

The ceremony continued with the appearance of a group of
young, long-haired women wearing batik. Accompanied by an older
woman, they walked slowly, carrying baskets of paddy. Then they
sat with an old man who was putting those bundles of paddy in
order on the grass. When the young women surrounded him and put
down their baskets, the old man began to burn incense for the
ceremony, and read out magic formulas while swaying the already
smoking incense, asking almighty God's blessing so that
everything would run well and smoothly.

The old man then stood up and signaled to a bare-chested man
with a machete at his waist. The latter suddenly drew the machete
and slashed his arm with the it. He also sliced areas of his neck
and tongue. But not a single drop of blood, however, appeared.
Then some people in his group copied what he did.

Then the old man then asked them to line up, and was followed
by other groups.

A group of men with divine power then moved slowly in front
while demonstrating their supernatural powers. Behind them were
the long-haired young women, followed by the group carrying paddy
in bundles, the group of dog-dog lojor artists, another group of
paddy carriers and finally farmers and their wives.

This procession moved toward the square and the residence of
their leader, Abah Anom, about one-kilometer away. Along the
road, there were crowds of locals and visitors waiting, as well
as hawkers. As the road rose steadily upward, they had to walk
slowly in order not to slip and fall. After crossing rice fields
and houses, they arrived at the town square and were welcome by
married women who were pounding the paddy in a long mortar called
lesung.

The procession stopped for a while to watch the women before
they went to the Leuwih Jimat rice barn.

Abah Anom and his family, invited guests such as officials of
the regional government and relevant institutions were waiting in
front of the rice barn. There was also a group playing kecapi
(plucked stringed instruments) and suling (flutes), and singing
Sundanese songs. The songs said we should live peacefully and
amiably, not reciprocally taking that which is not ours and to be
wiser in upholding harmony.

What started out as a loud affair turned into a serene one,
especially when the paddy was put in the rice barn. Abah Anom and
his family later entered the barn and when they emerged several
minutes later, they were welcomed by music from the dog-dog lojor
group.

The ceremony then continued in the nearby village meeting
hall, where elderly figures of the South Banten community had
gathered.

The main event was a speech from Abah Anom on sustainable
rural development and aid to the neighboring villages' citizens
who were suffering from difficulties.

"The community must care for the environment; don't till the
land at will as there is a kind of land that can be tilled for
plant growing, but there is also another kind of land that can't
be cultivated," he said.

When the speech was over, he invited the audience to observe
his people's products in the form of vegetables and small
handicrafts, and asked them to enjoy the refreshments.