Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017), 129-135 p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: 10.15294/harmonia.v17i2.9284

The symbolical meaning of Macanan dance in Barongan Blora

Elinta Budy

Institut Seni , Indonesia

Received: March 21, 2017. Revised: August 23, 2017. Accepted: October 10, 2017

Abstract

This study is aiming at finding out the symbolical meaning of Macanan dance in Barongan Blora. The method implied in the study was qualitative with ethnochoreology approach. Results in- dicated that Macanan dance is a typical dance immitating the movement of an animal which is a tiger, which is known also in Indonesia as ‘macan’. It also illustrates some movements which resemble the activity of a group of farmers. This study concluded that the movement of Macanan dance contained specific meanings; specifically representing and illustrating the life of Blora -Re gency’s agricultural community in Indonesia.

Keywords: meaning; symbol; dance; Macanan; Barongan

How to Cite: Budy, E. (2017). The symbolical meaning ofMacanan dance in Barongan Blora. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 17(2), 129-135. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v17i2.9284

INTRODUCTION rongan can be seen some ritual activities, like in Lamporan ceremony on which the Barongan is a kind of performance Barongan is used as a means of an impor- which uses big mask and a sheet of cloth tant symbol of safety for the society. The in stripes motives covering body. It pur- emergence of Barongan was started from poses to make the performer to look like aritual activity as part of Bersih Desa cere- tiger. The choice of Tiger mask to be wornmony done by the Blora society, such as, in Barongan Dance by the Blora people isLamporan, Murwakala, Sedekah Bumi, because of the belief hold by the peoplecircumcision and wedding ceremony ri- that tiger is the strongest animel which istual. The Blora society uses Barongan as a able to protect all mankind (Slamet, 2003). means to send bad luck away, especially Beliefs hold by the Blora people towards disease epidemic, by walking the Barongan the tiger becomes the main consideration around the (known asArak-arakan). of the use of tiger mask and the choice of Barongan that is being developed re- Barongan dance movements. cently, is a kind of stage performance con- Functionally, Barongan has a signi- sisting of several smaller parts, like,Maca- ficant role in the life of the society, whichnan, Bujangganong, Jaka Lodra, Jaranan/ is as part of social activity which is well Jathilan, Untub Nayantaka, and Nggainah. known as ‘Bersih Desa’ ceremony.Bersih The Macanan dance is a part that always means clean and Desa means village. Here, exists in the initial part of the Barongan Bersih Desa refers to a kind of ritual aims to performance. In 2003, the Macanan dan- clean the village from evil spirit and bad ce is packed into 10 main movements as a luck. Slamet (1999) once delivered that Ba - form of stage performance. As a stage per-

 Corresponding author: Jl. Ki Hajar Dewantara No. 19 Kentingan, Jebres, Surakarta 57126 E-mail: [email protected] 129 130 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 129-135 formance, the form of Barongan here will same topic from Allegra Fuller Snyder, be a bit different with the type of Barongan which stated that dance is the symbol of dance used in ‘Arak-arakan’. Slamet (2004) human life and is an expressive kinetic ac - mentioned that there are 10 main move- tivity. The meanings are formed through ments in Macanan dance, Dekeman, Geby- the stimulation, transformation, and unity. ah, Senggot, Ngaklak, Kucingan, Geter, Tha- The theory delivered by Bandem ex - takan, Glundungan, Mbekur, and Thapukan. plained before is considered relevant to be In general, movements shown in Macanan used to analyze the meanings contained dance resembles the movements of a tiger in Macanan dance movement in Barongan and is adjusted with the habit and cultu- Blora dance. The theory helps the resear - re had by the society which mostly works chers to analyze the macanan dance from as a farmer. The term Macanan itself taken the perspective of society and culture, from the Javanese word of ‘tiger’ which is considering that the Macanan dance from known as Macan. Blora is a product resulted from Since the first emergence of- Ba culture. Meanings contained in the Maca - rongan performance till now, the dance nan dance can be seen from the process of always shows the movement of ‘tiger’ in movement formation, which consists of: every of its show. The Macanan dance as (1) stimulation, revealing terms and move - stage performance here emphasizes more ments; (2) transformation, revealing chan - to the aesthetic perspective in every of its ge; (3) Unity, revealing formations and its show. It is seen from the well-ordered mo- meanings of Macanan dance. vement pattern. In addition, the existence of Macanan dance can be seen more domi- METHOD nant in the Blora Barongan performance. This is shown by the duration of Macanan This study employed qualitative dance show which took place in both the method. The approach used in this study initial and the end of performace as well as was ethnochoreology. Soedarsono stated the length of duration which is longer than that ethnochoreology, as like ethnomusi- any other dances containing in the same cology needs to borrow theories, concepts, performance. or system from other disciplines, therefore, Macanan dance as the object of stu- the approach will be categorized as multi- dy here raises several research questions. discipline (Pramutomo, 2007; Cahyono, Spradley (1983) mentioned three basic as- 2014). The data collection techniques of the pects used to study culture: it is related tostudy were in the form of observation, in- what is done by people, what is knownterview, and documentation study. by people, and what is used by people. The data analysis was conducted by The first aspect refers to the cultural- be employing interpretative analysis which haviour or the act of doing arts. Here, it isis a direct data verification process in the the Barongan dance as the art. The seconddata collection.The data gathered during aspect refers to the knowledge of culture the research are organized in order and symbolizes in meaning, or the symbolical classified based on different characteristics meanings of art. The third aspect refers toand types. The related data in this study the result or product of a culture, which isare categorized based on the types of mo- the Macanan dance. Therefore, this study vement and symbolical meaning contained is aiming at studying deeper the Maca- in the dance. nan dance. To be specific is the symbolical meanings contained in Macanan dance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Related to further explanation about meanings contained in the Macanan dance, The Macanan dance movements in a theory was taken from Bandem (1996). Barongan Blora performance received - se Bandem earlier took the theory about the veral treatments before it became into a Elinta Budy, The symbolical meaning of Macanan dance in Barongan Blora 131 whole and perfect set of movement. The as beksan) while hands are placed in front process was initiated by the emergence of face, moving downward, as like worshi- of idea which was influenced by intuiti- ping. The head is nodding looking at the on, then was developed into imagination. floor, while the mask is facing forward up From the imagination, it was continued high. The feet are opened widely and the into dance movement creation which was body is crouching. The dekeman movement then resulted into ideas (Smith, 1976). It illustrates the attitude of a tiger while wa- can be said that the Imagination or intui- king up from sleep. A tiger will only look tion of a dance creator will only be used pointlessly to the surrounding, while high- or activated during the process of dance ly cautious, waiting for a prey. A tiger has creation only. Imagination is influenced a very sharp natural instinct in deciding by the ability or talent to form a realizati- which prey will it eats. Dekeman, further, on of an idea that is used to do creation. has meaning that as a human being, one The Barongan dancers as well as the cho- should be focus in order to be success to reographer have a freedom of imaginati- achieve goals. on towards the dance they perform. This intuition is supported by the knowledge of the barong dancer related to the kinds of movements as the main materials in the process of movement formation. Ideas were taken from experiences in the form of stimulus in a series of movement that are transformed to a unity of movement till it may form meanings. From the previous research of Mu- lyono (2003) about Barongan as a tourism Figure 1. The dekeman movement using a tiger mask (Elinta, 2017) package that described about the manifes- tation of cat in arts, theory from Desmond The Gebyah Movement Morris was applied. The theory discussed The Gebyah movement is done the theatrical mimicry which immitates by moving the tiger mask upward and the real movement of the real living object. downward,the hand is holding the mask, The same as the study conducted by Mu- the body stands upright, while the leg is lyono, Macanan dance in Barongan Blora on jengkeng position; or legas are opened also contains movement adapted from the widely, the body of the barongan dancers surrounding neighborhood, both animal moves by following the movement of the and human’s movements. Therefore, the mask. The term gebyah itself is taken from immitation movement can be classified the behaviour of Blora society in farming. into two: (1) immitative, an immitation Gebyah is the society habit, done every sea- movement originally adapted from the son while they are putting the rice plant immitation of animal and nature’s move- to dry under the sunshine. While drying ment, (2) mimitive, an immitation move- the rice plant outside, the farmers always ment, adapted from human movements stomp the rice plant’s bunch for the rice and gestures (Soedarsono, 1976). plant to blossom or expanding. The mea- ning presented here is the tradition that is The Formation of Movement and Simbolical Meaning in Macanan Dance still preserved by the society to maintain The dekemen movement is a kind of interaction for the tolerance and communi- movement which requires the dancers to cation to be upheld well. It has the meaning move forward entering the stage (known that no matter one has reached success or not, one should not forget his origin. 132 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 129-135

advantegous, and disadvantegous is based on the human itself. However, as human beingm we have to be selective towards it.

The Ngaklak Movement The Ngaklak movement is a mymesis of the movement of a tiger. On the other hand, Ngaklak is the immitation of the tiger movemnt while eating, specifically after Figure 2. The gebyah movement wearing mask the process of stilative and distortive. In (Elinta, 2017) ngaklak movement, the mouth of the face are opened with the hands holding the The Senggot Movement mask and moving it upward and down- Senggot movement is done by mo- ward following the music accompaniment. ving the mask to the right and left sidesIt can be done both in fast and slow mo- while hands are holding the mask. Thetions. leg can stay stand straight orjengkeng, bending the leg up to 90 degrees. Like ge- byah, senggot is also a tradition for Blora society. Senggot is the activity of cutting grass by using arit, a Javanese traditional bladder. The farmer itself usually do seng- got in the rice field, or just around the the rice plant. The grass taken by the farmer is not allowed to be thrown carelssly, but to be given to the livestock. Besides wor- king in the ricefield, the farmers also rises Figure 4. The Ngaklak movement by wearing livestokc,such as: goat, buffalo, and cow? mask (Elinta, 2017) The grass here bring both advantage and disadventage for the farmers. The advan- The Kucingan Movement tage received by the farmers in harvesting Kucingan represents the movement period was doubled. The fee result of the of a tiger while targetting the prey. While harvest then can be used to filfill everydaytargetting its prey, a tiger uses his eye six needs. times better rather than a human. A tiger will always pay attention to its prey and kill it in the precise and correct time. The kucingan movements show the head of the barongan to get beaten by the barongan dan- cer, while moving and looking at surroun- ding, haunting a prey. The movement is naturally free and depends on the creativity of the dancers. It can be danced individually, in pairs, or even in a group. The movement of kucingan Figure 3. The Senggot movement wearing can be done both in high and low levels. mask (Elinta, 2017) Moreover, since it is a kind of spontaneous movement, the music accompaniment pat- Meaning contained in the senggot tern should adjust with the movement of movement is about how to value somet- the music players, mainly the kendhang. hing positive and negaitve , good or bad, Elinta Budy, The symbolical meaning of Macanan dance in Barongan Blora 133

the available natural resources. The word thathakan was originally taken from the movement that produces the sound thak- thak on the hit wood.

Figure 5. The Kucingan movement by wearing mask (Elinta, 2017)

The Geter Movement Geter is the movement of the dan- cers vibrating the mask. This movement is Figure 7. Thathakan movement by wearing done with the movement volume narrow mask (Elinta, 2017) and fast dynamics. The character emerging from the movement is strict and stiff. The The Glundungan Movement geter movement also functionalized as the Glundungan, is movement immita- connecting movement between one main ting the tiger while it is rolling its body- af movement to another main movement. ter experiencing the phase of stilative and The geter movement is an immitation distortive process. Glundungan is move- of a person who is cutting woods by using ment on which the ‘tiger’ is rolling is body sewer machine. Small number of native to the right and left side. Blora society work as wood cuter in the woods which is known as mblandong. The activity is still frequently able to be seen till now since Blora is well-known for its forest wealth.

Figure 8. Glundungan movement by wearing mask (Elinta, 2017)

The Mbekur Movement The mbekur movement shows the Figure 6. Geter movement by wearing mask position of the tiger scratching its feet by (Elinta, 2017) doing wavy movement. It is done alterna- tely from the right foot to the left foot with The Thathakan Movement the biting technique. Mbekur is a kind of Thathakan is moving the mouth of immitative movement from the real tiger the mask open and close while biting. The behaviour while biting its own foot after movement is done by hitting both hands getting hurt or injured. A tiger, leaking its into the mask’s mouth in turns. The mo- own leg while getting injured, so by sho- vement of thathakan emerges from the ac- wing this movement, it is hoped that one tivity when people are hitting woods. The should have good impact both to himself wood craftsman is one of a profession had and to other people within society by dig- by the society in Blora to make the use of ging potential had by human being. 134 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 17 (2) (2017): 129-135

The Locomotion Locomotion can also be categorized as transition movement. This movement is used to every transition, both in the dance (floor) pattern and the movement. These movements are danced by the dancers as the transition between two main stage pat- terns. Besides, it also uses to connect one movement to the other movements. The Figure 9. Glundungan movement by wearing movements belong to this category areku- mask (Elinta, 2017) cingan and glundungan.

The Thapukan Movement The Pure Movement Thapukan is the movement of cat- The pure movement in the Macanan ching done in the position of sitting as well dance of Barongan Blora does not have as standing with the biting the Barongan any specific meaning. This movement technique. The movement is started by loo- is used to show the character of the tiger king upward ad then crossing both hands mask that is dnaced. Usually, the move- as if the tiger is about to catch an object. ments are taken from the movements of a The thapukan movement is an immi- real tiger after they experience the phase tation of the tiger’s activity while catching of stilative and distortive. The pure move- its prey. Macan is known to have vivid ments in this dance are gebyah, senggot, and sensitivity and ability to catch its prey thathakan. that will be impossible for the prey to run and get their freedom after getting caught. The Gesture Meaning attached within the movement is Gesture in the Macanan dance of to use all of our energy to achieve the best Barongan Blora has specific purpose. The for us. meanings are related to the behavioral pattern of Blora citizen as traditional so- ciety. All the meaning behind the dance is the reflection of the behaviour of the so- ciety living in the region where the dance were created. On the other hand, the dance contains value of society that is reflected through movements. Gesture in this dan- ce are seen in the movements ofdekeman, ngaklak, mbekur, and thapukan.

Figure 10. Thapukan movement by wearing The Baton Signal mask (Elinta, 2017) The baton signal is the most domi- nant movement in Macanan dance of Ba- The Movement Organization in Macanan rongan Blora. This movement is related to Dance the ability of the Barongan dancers as well Soedarsono (1999) and Cahyonoas the appropriate movement technique so (2014) once stated that movement consiststhat the expression can be seen based on of locomotion, pure movement, gesture,the character of the mask that is perfor- as well as baton signal. Therefore, the- momed. Here, the movement belongs to the vement in Macanan dance is considered to baton signal is geter. have the four kinds of movement as stated above. Elinta Budy, The symbolical meaning of Macanan dance in Barongan Blora 135

CONCLUSION Blora. Skripsi. Surakarta: Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta,. The philosophical meaning is formed Pramutomo. (2007). Enokoreologi Nusantara by the behavioral pattern of the society (batasan kajian, sistematika, dan aplikasi and the tiger as a symbol that is sacred by keilmuannya). Surakarta: Institut Seni the society, that is believed to be able to Indonesia Press. protect the society from disaster and bad Slamet. (1999). Barongan Blora dalam Ri- luck. In addition, the Macanan dance mo- tus Lamporan: Kelangsungan dan vement in Barongan Blora illustrates the Perubahannya. Jurnal Sosiohumanika, activity done by the society whose occu- 12(2), 131-140. pancy mostly are farmer; besides also sho- Slamet. (2003). Barongan Blora. Surakarta: wing the immitation of a tiger movement. Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia Press. The movement illustrating the activity of Slamet. (2004). Barongan Blora dalam Ke- certain society is used to beautify and -st masan Seni Wisata. Jurnal Imaji, 2(2), rengthen character, while the symbolical 167-182. meanings are formed from the immitation Smith, J. (1976). Komposisi Tari Sebuah Pe- of the movement of a tiger. tunjuk Praktis Bagi Guru. Translated Ben Suharto. : Ikalasti. REFERENCES Soedarsono. (1976). Pengantar Pengetahuan Tari. Yogyakarta: ASTI. Bandem, I. M. (1996). Etnologi Tari Bali. Soedarsono. (1999). Seni Pertunjukan Indo- Denpasar: Pustaka Budaya. nesia dan Pariwisata. Bandung: Ma- Cahyono, A. (2014). Pertunjukan Barong- syarakat Seni Pertunjukan Indone- sai dalam Pendekatan Etnokoreolo- sia. gi. Mudra Jurnal Seni Budaya, 29(1), Spradley, J. P. (1983).Calture and Kognition: 1-10. Rules, and Maps and Plans. USA: Mulyono, H. (2003). Tari Barongan Group Chandler Publising Company. Risang Guntur Seto di Kabupaten