EVERYTHING ABOUT WEST JAVA: RECOGNIZING THE DYNAMICS OF WEST JAVA CULTURAL HERITAGE Arthur S. Nalan West Java today is rich in culture. The eth- cluding the drinks. The culinary world in West nic diversity of its inhabitants, both native (Sun- Java has become part of the world of culinary danese ethnic) and ethnic immigrants (Javanese, tourism that has “excellence” (in 2015 there Padang, Batak, etc.) also shows the cultural di- were 30 types of Indonesian superior culinary versity of cultural heritage and cultural heritage originating from various regions), including brought from their respective regions of origin. from West Java, including Sorabi, Sate Marang- As known together, West Java is actually a geo- gi, Gado-gado, Lotek. political area, not a cultural area. Meanwhile, the Traditional clothing in West Java is quite di- cultural zone is understood as an area inhabited verse (tak, somah, cacah), especially tradition- by certain ethnicities, having a certain mother al clothes which are seen from the design and tongue, certain customs, and certain belief sys- appearance and the colors are very attractive tems, as well as certain cultural heritage as well. because they are motivated by customs, beliefs Judging from the cultural area of ​​West Java, it and the influence of the natural environment. can be divided into five areas, namely: Central The materials for the clothing, both from woven Priangan, West Priangan, Pakidulan, Kaleran, and hand-written batik, are complete with ac- and Cirebon. This has a great opportunity to be cessories and knick-knacks. Traditional clothes occupied, played, and functioned for the chang- have their own characteristics that need to be es and progress of West Java in future. preserved and preserved, as well as being an The changes and progress of West Java can “inspiration” for West Javanese designers to be be realized through the re-mapping of West Ja- brought to the national and international levels. vanese culture which is full of diversity. Map- Music in West Java is very diverse and ping (remapping) was carried out to clarify unique, especially Sundanese ethnic music again about West Java culture. One way is to which is generally practical because it used to borrow the cultural iceberg theory. Where one be nomadic (angklung, flute, toleot, karinding, can see visible and invisible culture. kohkol, celempungan etc.) which eventually Visible culture is a culture that is visible and developed into typical popular music found in can be seen, heard, felt by us, including: food, traditional villages and even is now studied as clothing, music, fine arts, drama, crafts, dance, a Angklung and Bamboo Music study program literature, language, celebrations, games. at the ISBI Bandung Performing Arts Faculty. The food in West Java is very diverse, in- Music that is simple (its instruments are limit- Proceeding International Conference 2020 2 ed) and that is complete (such as the gamelan Theater, Uyeg, Topeng Banjet, Topeng Kaleng, pelog Salendro and Degung) is finally grow- Gekbreng, etc. Even though conditions are cur- ing and developing today as the strength of the rently experiencing “ups and downs”, there are identity of West Java. In addition, modern mu- still some that are able to survive. For example sic that moves dynamically in a variety of mu- the Sundanese Golek Wayang (because there sical genres and musical groups is part of the are also Cepak Golek Wayang in Cirebon). The dynamics of music in West Java. Even the city dalang generation in West Java grew and devel- of Bandung is often referred to as the city of oped, especially after the Padepokan Girihardja music (because it has many big and popular mu- and Munggul Pawenang generations who were sicians). The music world of West Java has also able to maintain their respective styles. The Gi- produced a number of musicians, songwriters, rihardja icon is a Cepot figure who contributes singers, etc., both traditional and modern. to cultural products (wayang souvenirs, sculp- West Java fine arts, both ethnic and non-eth- tures, T-shirts, helmet accessories, etc.). West nic art, have long been growing and develop- Java handicrafts are numerous and have unique ing. West Java art has a long history and has variations and motifs. Produced from various experienced ups and downs of development, places, both those that have been passed down influenced by politics and also market interests. from generation to generation such as batik West Java Fine Arts has given birth to legendary (Trusmi Cirebon, Paoman Indramayu, Suka- painters, proud sculptors, and other artists. pura Tasiklamaya, Garut, Ciamis) and newly West Java drama in its development has a developed identities (Bogor, Majalengka, Band- long history. The West Java drama has given ung). Likewise in souvenirs, aesthetic elements, birth to actors and directors, both playwrights clothing accessories, etc. West Java handicrafts and directors. In West Java, the world of drama already have their own market share, both do- is more familiarly called the world of theater, mestically and abroad. even though drama and theater have significant West Javanese dances have become world- differences. Drama starts from the play that is wide, including Jaipongan which was created played, while theater starts from certain ideas, by the choreographer Gugum Gumbira, and the some use scripts, some only use synopsis, some Peacock Dance created by Tjetje Soemantri. use puppets and puppets, some even use the There are also many new dance works inspired body alone, some use multimedia. The title also by the richness of Sundanese and other ethnic varies: puppet theater, children’s theater, body dances that have been “creatively engineered” theater, multimedia theater etc. West Java has by their creators, often oriented towards glamor, many folk theaters, which are traditional in na- especially for tourist offerings and celebrations ture, for example Wayang Golek, Longser, Sun- abroad. Various dance festivals have been held danese Theater, Indramayu Theater, Cirebon and regularly held, for example the BDF (Band- Reposition of The Art and Cultural Heritage After Pandemic Era 3 ung Dance Festival) which is organized by the Celebration (ceremonial) in West Java is in- ISBI Bandung Dance study program. herent as part of ritual culture in various cultural West Javanese literature has been known for areas. Celebration is closely related to customs, a long time, both in the realm of oral literature including customs of birth, circumcision, mar- (part of folklore) and in the realm of written lit- riage, death, and old beliefs, respect for ances- erature. A lot of oral literature that was owned tors, etc. The celebration in its development also by each region was finally successfully written gave birth to festivals that originated from these and recorded. A lot of oral literature has also be- feelings and have been “packaged” for tourism come the “inspiration” of West Javanese writers needs, besides the emergence of new festivals which is transformed into poetry, prose (short that were created by its creators. stories, cerber, novels, novelets) and drama (the- Games in West Java have long been associ- ater plays). West Java has had excellent writers ated with leasure time, when ethnic and sub-eth- from the past until now. Two figures with re- nic groups have a division of work time and free corded achievements in West Java and even In- time. During this free time, it gives birth to var- donesian literature, among others, are Ajip Ros- ious games, both those played by children and idi who gave birth to the literary prize Rancage, those done by adults. These games are passed as well as Saini KM who gave birth to the series down from generation to generation. Modern Puragabaya. The literary world and literary his- games have also sprung up from outside the re- tory of West Java have been written in the form gion and abroad, both using simple to sophisti- of books, theses, theses, and dissertations. The cated technology. literary world of West Java has become part of A glimpse of the introduction of the cultural Indonesian literature, even the world. heritage of West Java, which can be seen is ac- Regional language is the language of taste tually a cultural capital that other nations don’t and ethnic identity. Commonly referred to as have. Such cultural capital must be remapped the local language (mother tongue) found in (remapping) because the dynamics of culture various regions in West Java, the dominant lan- continues, old traditions are very likely to change guage is Sundanese and others are Cirebon and evolutionarily but surely, even old traditions can Indramayu Javanese. Local languages have​​ also be reinterpreted into new “creations”, because produced many local literary works for a long tradition is actually “a never-ending inspiration. time. There are various forms, there are poems, “As long as the human being is creative. there are mantras or jampe, satires, etc. Local Meanwhile, the unseen introduction of cul- languages ​​have been used as creative “inspira- ture in West Java is actually more hidden in the tion” by West Javanese writers in various liter- basics of understanding beliefs and behavior ary forms (poetry-prose-drama). Even now Fik- and daily life. We can browse one by one to get simini appears on social media. brief pictures of the unseen culture. Proceeding International Conference 2020 4 Manners in West Java at the level of every- Meanwhile, propane time is the time spent in day life are in the environment of ethnic customs everyday life. Nevertheless, certain cultural ar- in the cultural area as ethics and manners, both eas that are still strongly used (the cultural areas within the family environment, limited commu- of Pantura and Cirebon) have a distinctive time nities (customary communities), rural commu- division and have been inherited from genera- nities who still respect the life of their ancestral tion to generation.