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Gamelan, the Javanese Orchestra

Gamelan is surely not a foreign music. It has been popular in most continents and has created new music integration, for example jazz-gamelan, has born institution as learning space and gamelan music expression and it has produced famous gamelan musicians. Gamelan music instrument can now be enjoyed in various parts of the world, but Yogyakarta is the right place to enjoy it since you can enjoy the original version of gamelan.

Gamelan that grows in Yogyakarta is Javanese gamelan, one form of gamelan that is different from Balinese gamelan or Sundanese gamelan. Javanese gamelan has softer and slower tones; it is different from Balinese gamelan that is very dynamic and Sundanese gamelan that is melodious with domination of the voice of seruling or traditional bamboo flute. The difference is just natural since Java has its own view of life that is expressed in its gamelan music melody.

The Javanese view of life that is expressed in its gamelan music is the harmony of physical and spiritual lives, harmony in talking as well as behaving in order not to create explosive expression and to realize people tolerance. The real form of harmony in Javanese gamelan music is the moderate play of rebab string, voice harmony of kenong, saron kendang and gambang and the voice of gong ate each closing of the melody.

There is no definite history of gamelan existence. The development of gamelan music is predicted to begin from the existence of kentongan, rebab, tap on the mouth, rubs on string and thin bamboo until the introduction of metal music instruments. Further development after named by gamelan, this music was used to accompany leather puppet show and dances. Later it became independent music and it was completed with voices of female singers called sinden.

A set of gamelan consists of several music instruments; some of them are drum called kendhang, rebab, and celempung, gambang, gong and bamboo flute or seruling. The main components composing the gamelan music instruments are bamboo, metal, and wood. Each of the instrument has its own function in a gamelan music show, for example the gong functioning to close the long music melodies and to give balance after the music was previously decorated by Javanese music melodies.

Javanese gamelan is music with pentatonic melodies. A complete gamelan play consists of two cycles, namely slendro and pelog. Slendro has 5 melodies per octave, namely 1 2 3 5 6 [C- D E+ G A] with small interval difference. Pelog has 7 melodies per octave namely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [C+ D E- F# A B] with big interval difference. Gamelan music composition was created with some rules, namely consists of some cycles and pathet, confined by one gong and the melodies were created in a unit consisting of 4 melodies.

You can see gamelan as an independent music performance or a companion of a dance or performance arts such as leather puppet show and ketoprak. As an independent performance, gamelan music is usually combined with the voice of the Javanese singers (male singers are called wiraswara and female singers are called waranggana or sinden). Gamelan music performance can be classic or contemporary. One form of contemporary gamelan is jazz-gamelan as a combination of music with pentatonic and diatonic melodies.

One of the places in Yogyakarta where you can see gamelan performance is Yogyakarta Kingdom. On Thursdays from 10:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. gamelan is performed as an independent music performance. On Saturdays at the same hours, gamelan is performed as companion of leather puppet show, while on Sundays at the same hours, gamelan accompanies Javanese traditional dance. Please come to Bangsal Sri Manganti to see the performance. Meanwhile, in order to see older gamelan music instrument, you can go to other hall of the kingdom that is located a little further at the back.
gamelan sound

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Singgih Dwi Cahyanto
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

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DJOGYA

YOGYAKARTA

Yogyakarta (some people call it Jogja, Jogjakarta, or Yogya) is a city with outstanding historical and cultural heritage. Yogyakarta was the centre of the Mataram Dynasty (1575-1640), and until now the kraton (the sultan's palace) exists in its real functions. Also, Yogyakarta has numerous thousand-year-old temples as inheritances of the great ancient kingdoms, such as Borobudur temple established in the ninth century by the dynasty of Syailendra.

More than the cultural heritages, Yogyakarta has beautiful natural panorama. The green rice fields cover the suburban areas with a background of the Merapi Mountain. The natural beaches can be easily found to the south of Yogyakarta.

Here the society lives in peace and has typical Javanese hospitality. Just try to go around the city by bike, pedicab, or horse cart; and you will find sincere smiles and warm greeting in every corner of the city.

An artistic atmosphere is deeply felt in Yogyakarta. Malioboro, as the center of Yogyakarta, is overwhelmed by handicraft from all around the city. Street musicians always ready entertain the visitors of the lesehan food stalls.

Those who have visited Yogyakarta reveal that this city makes them long for it. Just visit here, then you will understand what this means.

Transportations to Yogyakarta:

* Train
You may reach Yogyakarta by train from Jakarta, Bandung, or Surabaya
* Bus
Yogyakarta is reachable by bus from Sumatra Island, Bali Island, and most cities of Java Island.
* Plane
Recently, international direct flights from Kuala Lumpur are established to Yogyakarta. In addition, domestic flights to Yogyakarta from Jakarta, Denpasar, Balikpapan, and many others, are available now. Please check the Yogyakarta Regular Flight Schedule.

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LOMBOK ISLAND

Lombok is dominated by Mount Rinjani, the Indonesia's second highest volcano (after Mt. Kerinci in Sumatra). Located in the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat (West Nusa Tenggara), it's dense primary rainforest still covers the steep slopes of the mountain complex. The Senggigi is well known with its marine tourist activities such as white sandy beach, diving and snorkeling spots, island cottages, the unique culture of Sasak tribes made Lombok - the 'neighbor' island of Bali which isn't tourist yet - in the future will compete Bali.



Sasak, physically and culturally have much common with the Javanese, Balinese and Sumbawanese. Most Sasak are normally Muslim, but many retain elements of the ancient animist beliefs.



Islam and Balinese Hinduism are the two main religions on Lombok, there are also Christian and Buddhist. WEKTU TELU is an indigenous religion, unique to Lombok and thought to have originated in the northern village of Bayan. It is a mixture of Hindu, Islamic and animist influence that make up this religion and the concept of a trinity is embodied in many Wektu telu beliefs.





MATARAM: Mataram is the administrative capital of the province. Some of the public buildings, such as the Bank Indonesia, the new post office and governor’s office and residences are substantial.



SENGGIGI: Senggigi is the most developed tourist area on Lombok, all the tourist facilities are here, plus a range of top-end and mid-range accommodation. Senggigi has fine beaches, although they slope very steeply into the water. There are some snorkeling off the point and in the sheltered bay around the headland. The beautiful sunset over Lombok Strait can be enjoyed from the beach. As the darkness comes, the lights of fishing boats look like a little city just off shore.



GILI ISLANDS: Gili Air, Gili Trawangan and Gilio Meno are three small, coral-fringed islands situated off the north-west of Lombok. These islands have superb, white sany beaches, clear water coarl reefs, brilliantly colored fish, and the best snorkeling on Lombok.



BATU BOLONG TEMPLE: Is a temple on rocky point which just into the sea. The rock on which its seats has a natural hole, giving the temple its name (which literally means ‘rock with hole’. Being a Balinese Temple, it’s oriented toward Gunung Agung, Bali’s holiest mountain, across the Lombok Strait.



MAYURA WATER PALACE: Is an artificial lake with an open-sided floating pavilion that was built in 1744 and once was a part of the royal court of Balinese Kingdom. The pavilion is connected to the shore by a raised footpath and was used both as the court of justice and a meeting place for the Hindu lords. Today the palace grounds are used to for offerings and the occasional cockfight. It’s a pleasant retreat these days but in 1894 this was the site of bloody battles as Dutch and Balinese forces fought over control Lombok.



PURA MERU: Directly opposite the water palace, Pura Meru is the largest temple on Lombok. It was built in 1720, under the patronage of Balinese price, Anak Agung Made Karang, as an attempt to unite all the small kingdoms on Lombok. Intended as a symbol of the universe, the temple is dedicated to to the Hindu’s trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.



NARMADA: Was constructed in 1805, by the King of Mataram. Laid out as a miniature replica of Gunung Rinjani and its crater lake and it has Pura Kalasa, a Baslinese Temple that still use for Pujawali celebration to honor God Batara, who dwells on Gunung Rinjani.



LINGSAR: It is a large temple complex, said to have been built in 1714 for both Hindu and Wektu Telu religions. The Hindu’s temple is on the northern section, little hinger and the Wektu Telu’s temple is on the southern section.



SURANADI: Set in pleasant gardens, is noted for its bubling, icy cold spring water and restored baths with ornate Balinese carvings and it has one of the holiest temple on Lombok.



BANYUMULEK & PENUNJAK: The main traditional Gerabah pottery industries of Lombok. The pottery are made from a local clay with simplest of techniques. It is a rich terracotta color, unglazed but hand burnished to a lovely soft sheen.



SUKARARE: The small village of Sukarare is a traditional weaving center. There’s such a variety of style, quality and size.



REMBITAN & SADE: These are two of Sasak Village of Lombok. Both has an authentic cluster of thatched houses and Lumbung (the traditional rice barns and an architectural symbol of Lombok) surrounded by a wooden fence.



KUTA BEACH: Is the best known place on the south coast of Lombok. There is a magnificent stretch of white sand and blue sea with rugged hills raise around it. Local people flock to Kuta Beach for a yearly traditional festival of Nyale fishing celebration. This is a festival when hundred of Sasaks gather on the beach to catch the worm-like ‘Nyale Fish’, a good catch is a sign that the rice harvest will also be good.
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Trailing the Treasure Island of Lombok

Trailing the Treasure Island of Lombok

Lombok Island is a mere 25-minute flight east from the island of Bali or a 2-hour, direct flight from Singapore. But don’t let the flight time fool you-flying to Lombok is like being transported to a different era.
Like Bali, it has a beautiful surfing beach named Kuta. But unlike Kuta in Bali, which is densely populated with hotels ranging from the local inns to the five-star hotels, the Kuta beach in Lombok is remote and ideal for honeymooners. There is only one five-star hotel there where most up-market tourists stay.
Near the beach are several Sasak villages where the native Sasak people live. Their ancestors migrated to the island from the ancient Hindu Majapahit Kingdom in East Java at the end of the 14th century. Though the majority of the Sasak today are Moslems, anthropologists have noted that their language, songs, and dances show a strong link with the Hindu and Buddhist cultures that once dominated the Indonesian archipelago.
The Sasak people are among one of the many underdeveloped groups in Indonesia. Not many adults can speak the national language, Bahasa Indonesia. The majority of them are wet-rice farmers, though in some villages, many work as pottery makers. I once visited a village near the beach. The village was so picturesque. There were some Sasak women sitting on the veranda of their traditional Sasak huts, preparing food for their family’s lunch. I was trying to speak some Bahasa Indonesia to them, but they did not seem to understand. Finally, my guide translated my questions to them in the Sasak language.

Another time, I was visiting a pottery village in the western part of Lombok. The signs of abject poverty is quite obvious here. The children were running to and fro in torn and dirty clothes. They were following us, the tourists, merrily while we roamed around their village. "There are not many tourists visiting the villages nowadays," our guide told us.
He explained that the 9/11 tragedy in New York also had an impact on this small village of Lombok. There are a fewer number of tourists visiting Indonesia and Lombok since the catastrophe. The situation worsened with the Bali bombing that shocked the world in October 2002 and the SARS issue that hit Asia severely soon afterward.
The guide’s explanation matches the World Bank’s assessment of Indonesia that was issued after the Bali bombing. The assessment, produced before the SARS issue hit Asia, says that though the Bali bombing hit Bali the most, the impact also affects those villages that are also tourism dependant, like those in Lombok. The poverty rate was expected to increase to about 16.7 percent in 2003 from the 16 percent in 2000, rather than declining to the 15 percent that was projected before the bombing.
"The people in this village used to sell many of their terracotas to the retailers in Bali. Presently, only a small number of these terracotas can be sold," my guide told us. He also said that the price of the Sasak’s terracotas sold in Bali can be ten times more than those sold directly in the Lombok’s villages.
I’m not sure whether the guide was exaggerating, but it is easy to believe considering the current difficult situation. In my second visit to Lombok, in 1999, I bought a beautiful terracota candleholder at a cheap price in one of these pottery villages. A few days later, I flew back to Bali and found exactly the same stuff with similar design and colour sold by some art shops in Kuta beach Bali. The art shop’s prices were around three times as much as the one I bought directly in the Lombok pottery village.
I like Lombok pottery because the brownish colour of their terracota is darker and gives the impression of being ancient more so than those usually produced in other parts of Indonesia.
Unlike its lush neighbour of Bali, the majority of the land in Lombok is much drier and rugged like the Australian outback. The 19th century naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, theorized that there lies a border that divides the Asian ecosphere with its flora and fauna, from the Australian zone which has different kinds of species. This imaginary boundary is located between Bali and Lombok and is called the Wallace Line. It probably explains the uniqueness and the high quality of clay materials used for making pottery in Lombok.
Wallace’s theory also explains the fact that though the island is dry, its weather, especially in the Senggigi bay area, is much cooler than Bali. Senggigi is a four-kilometer strip of beach front, restaurants, and luxury resorts. Located about half an hour ride by car from the airport, it was first established and developed as a tourists area in 1986 by the Indonesian government. The majority of the four- and five-star hotels in the island are located here. Its fame comes mostly from the breathtaking view of its bay facing the Lombok strait, which is also paralleled by the lush hills that blow a cool breeze to the whole Senggigi area.
My favourite activity in Senggigi is cycling along its hilly landscape and watching the beautiful sunset gleaming faintly at the Lombok strait from the top of the hills. In the morning, cycling to the eastern part of Senggigi is usually an option that satisfies my hunger for natural beauty. With the azure sky as the backdrop, the misty Mount Agung, the highest and most sacred mountain in Bali, can be clearly seen from the distance.
During my latest trip to Lombok, I noticed a cluster of bamboo structures offshore in the water nearby Senggigi. At first, I first they were the sea-fish hatcheries, but later I learned that they were pearl farms that produce high-quality pearls.
"Lombok is renowned for its pearls. There are about 15 pearl companies here. Most of them are internationally-owned as it requires a lot of capital to build a pearl farm. Many consider the quality of the pearls here as one of the best in the world," explained my guide when I asked him about it. Inilah Lombok, a magazine published by the Lombok promotion body, says that there are two kinds of pearls sold on the island: salt-water pearls and fresh-water ones.
"Salt-water pearls are generally more expensive and of higher quality than freshwater pearls. They have a good luster and the shape is more round. The more perfectly round the pearl, the more expensive it is. Meanwhile, the fresh-water pearls are characterised by their ‘imperfect’ appearance, having a striated surface and asymmetrical natural shapes," according to the magazine.
I never knew about this beforehand. So it was quite a coincidence that some beach-hawkers offered me these pearls the same day I noticed the existence of those pearl farms. The hawkers were selling both the fresh-water and salt-water pearls for quite a fair price. However, since I do not understand much about pearls, I was not sure whether they were real or fake. Later, I learned that there are some pearl shops along the way to the airport. It is indeed a hidden treasure unknown to many people, even to Indonesians.
I believe there are many more ‘hidden treasures’ in Lombok. From a hotelier in Senggigi, I learned about the secluded Moyo island, a short, 20-minute flight east of Lombok. There is a highly up-market resort in the isle where internationally renowned celebrities like to spend time. The late Princess Diana once spent her holiday there for almost two weeks before the paparazzi finally found her.
Besides the internationally famous Moyo isle, there are other small isles near Lombok, such as the Gilis (Gili means ’small isle’ in the Sasak language). The biggest one is Gili Trawangan where the only international-standard hotel resides. The other ones are Gili Air and Gili Meno where various cheap inns provide shelter mostly for the backpackers visiting the isles.
I was surprised to see the internet cafes in Gili Trawangan during my last visit there. The isle is not that secluded from the outer world anymore. The Gilis offshore are the perfect places for snorkeling and diving. Guy Buckles, in his book "The Dive Sites of Indonesia," mentions at least six diving sites around the Gilis, which range from average to first class as well as two snorkeling sites that range from good to highly recommended.
Just like on the mainland, Lombok, the number of tourists visiting these isles is also dropping significantly. To some extent, it gives a nice feeling, like you own the whole isle for yourself with only a few neighbours around, but I also realize that this situation is not advantageous for many of the locals whose livelihood depends on tourism.
I believe, it is a high time to visit and re-visit Lombok and search for its hidden ‘treasures.’ (Bajang Zul)

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Fish & Surf in Kuta Lombok

Fish & Surf in Kuta Lombok

Driving far south on Lombok you will eventually reach the small village of Kuta, about 54 km south of Mataram. This is the only area on the south coast which has some tourism of any significance, but must not be compared to Kuta on Bali. This place is much more quiet with only a fraction of the tourists and facilities, but there are some plans to continue to develop the southern coast with some large luxury hotels. Kuta is great as a base for exploration of the southern parts of Lombok, here you find traditional Sasak villages (like Sade), remote and beautiful beaches, mountains and cliffs. Beaches nearby are Putri Nyale on Kuta, Seger and Tanjung Aan. This place has no nightlife, unless you arrange some yourself. Kuta has a certain reputation among surfers as there are good surfing conditions on the reef and further west of Kuta.

Traditionally this is a fishing village, and the yearly Nyale fishing festival is arranged here in February or March. The festival will draw hundreds of local Sasak people to the beach and starts on the 19th day of the tenth month of the Sasak calendar. The wormlike Nyale fish will then surface and the festivities can start with a lot of singing and fun activities. The first fish will normally be cached during dusk, and eaten raw or grilled it is considered as a good aphrodisiac, a good catch is also a sign of a good rice harvest. The facilities here are largely of simple standard, maybe too simple for some, but two-three hotels are quite acceptable. Not far from Kuta there is a new hotel built by Novotel in traditional Sasak style on the outside, and luxurious inside. The location is beautiful in a remote, peaceful bay. This is the first large, high standard hotel built in south Lombok, and is probably just a start of something which (unfortunately) in some years will become a major tourist spot on Lombok. A new international airport is also planned not far from here, but is on hold due to the financial crisis. The roads here are of low standard, especially in the rainy season. To be flexible it is a good idea to rent a car to get around the area, but most of the larger hotels also offer their own transport to the most popular beaches.

Taken from bjorn

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