Aceh

Acheh (Part 2)
Traditional House
Achehnese villages usually lie in the middle of cultivated areas where the houses are hidden among the trees for shade and coolness. An older traditional house is built without using any nails. The house held together with cord or pegswhich are made too small for its hole and is kept in place by large wedges.
An Achehnese house stand on pillars which is well designed for the climate. It is composed of five divisions (rueung). 16, 20 or 24 sturdy pillars, usually 6-8 feet in height, rise perpendicularly up from the floor, providing space for air circulation and for people to move about comfortably.

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Aceh

Acheh (Part 1)
cheh has a lot of potential cultures which are basically colored by Islamic religion. There are three major ethnic groups in Acheh; Achehnese, Gayo and Alas. The Achehnese are most numerous and inhabit the coastal areas of the region. However, in west and south Acheh, they intermingled with west Sumatra, which reflected in language, design and customs. The Gayo and Alas tribes are numerically minor groups who inhabited the highland of Acheh. The Gayo live in central Acheh while the Alas in southeast Acheh.
Acheh is often called "Serambi Mekkah" (The Verandah of Mecca). No wonder that the dominant religion in Acheh is Islam (Moslem). Of Acheh's about 4 million inhabitants, are Moslem (98.11%) and remainder are Protestants (1.32 %), Roman Catholic (0.16%), Hindu (0.02 %) and Buddhist (0.37 %). Even though the Achehnese are very strong believers and often called fanatics by other Indonesian. They are very open minded and understanding towards other people's religious needs. Churches and temples are always found in towns of Acheh.
In 1990 there were a total of 2359 Mosques, 6408 Meunasah (Moslem house of worship), 2955 Mushallas (simple place of worship), 91 church/school and 6 Bhuddish Temples. Islam literally means peace, surrender, obedience and submission. Islam (Moslem) stands for complete submisson and obedience to the only God, Allah.
Islam (Moslem) claims the right to govern and control every aspect of lives of its believers. It recoqnizes man's material, intellectual and emotional urges and the need to fulfill them. Yet, in achieving these goals, Allah can not be forgotten. With that mind, Moslem perform five obligations, The so called Five Pillar of Faith, i.e. confession of faith (Syahadat), prayers five times a day (Shalat), fasting in month of Ramadhan (Puasa), almsgiving (Zakat) and pilgrimage to Mecca if capable (Haji).
At the age of seven, children start to learn the prayers and tenets of Islam and to recite from the Koran (Al Qur'an). Boys and girls start to have religious duties and obligations at the onset of puberty. Knowledge and understanding of Islam make an individual into moral being capable to distinguish right from wrong. The religious leaders who teach the children ( Teungku/Tgk) make children into rational beings. Communion with Allah can only be achieved through prayers five times a day. The title "Teungku (Tgk)" is given to prominent religious leader. Title "Tuanku" or "Sayed" and " Teuku (T)" is used descendants of important land owning families during the sultanate, and title "Cut Nyak" or "Po Cut" and "Cut",are used for female of these fammilies.
The following descriptions about culture including architecture,crafts, adat ceremonies, etc. tend to apply to the coastal Achehnese group.

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others

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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