Banyumas People's Characteristics Symbolically Reflected on Calung

Home , Banyumasan dialect, Calung

Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018), 82-96 p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: 10.15294/harmonia.v18i1.11570

Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected on Calung Banyumasan Performance

Suharto

Department of Drama, Dance and Music, Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia

Received: Oktober 19, 2017. Revised: April 23, 2018. Accepted: June 10, 2018

Abstract

This research aims at examining how Banyumas people’s characteristics are symbolically expressed in Calung Banyumasan performance. This qualitative research employs a hermeneutic approach to examine any symbolic meanings in calung performance. The data are collected by literary study, document study, observation and interview, which are then analyzed using content analysis and interactive analysis of Miles and Huberman. The research results show that some song lyrics identify Banyumas people’s images and characteristics such as equality and honesty (cablaka) just like the ngoko level language they use. The performance consists of opening, Lenggeran, Badhudan, and Baladewan acts in the process of illustrating the character of Banyumas people who love jokes and crowd. Some aspects arising in performance reflect Banyumas people as an egalitarian, straightforward, like-to-gather, and syncretic society.

Keywords: Calung Banyumasan; Characteristics Symbolically; Banyumas People

How to Cite: Suharto. (2018). Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected on Calung Banyumasan Performance. Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 18(1), 82-96. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia. v18i1.15524

INTRODUCTION round needs to be thoroughly studied. They only study senggakan “in plain view” When we pay attention, many song and technically from musical perspective lyrics and dance moves in lengger, dagelan, by mentioning it as an identity, but they and senggakan are very special and reflect have not thoroughly discussed the mea- Banyumas people. The expressions used in ning behind senggakan. Therefore, the mea- senggakan, for example, tend not to have le- ning of “noisy” impression proposed by xical meaning, but do exist in every calung Sutton can be examined. performance (Murwaningrum, 2012a). The music of calung used to accom- Moreover, Sutton, (1991a) calls this activi- pany certain art performance has certain ty “noisy” or “busy”. Repeated appearan- work which is well processed by its sup- ces of senggakan throughout performance porting artists, thus Banyumasan styled are not necessarily presented without any karawitan appears with style and work meaning, primarily in the context of per- similar to karawitan which uses gamelan formance and culture as the background. ageng. This work model, which is consi- Its musical aspect has been discussed by dered typical, is also supposed to appear both researchers, but the cultural backg- in adjustment to Banyumas people’s sen-

 Corresponding author: B2 Building, 2nd Floor, Sekaran Gunungpati, Semarang 50229, Central Java, Indonesia E-mail: [email protected]

82 Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 83 se. This artistic sense may appear based Priyadi’s dissertation (2010) entit- on the character of its supporting society, led “Dinamika Sosial Budaya Banyumas da- which is also reflected in a play style like lam Babad Banyumas Versi Wirjaatmadjana” that in calung style, which is not like that in shows that the value system of Banyumas gamelan ageng play. culture is based on cablaka which produces That songs with lyrics in thick Ba- paradoxical/contradictive values as ref- nyumas dialect are added into calung play lected in its figures’ character. The upheld shows its distinctiveness. Specific nuance values tend to be paradoxical, in which is produced by how quick instruments are thesis is faced with antithesis, which then struck, complementary plays and sengga- produces a synthesis. Meanwhile, the va- kans made by nayagas and sindhens. These lue orientation of Banyumas culture is at plays create very ramé (boisterous) im- traditional and modern positions, which pression. However, the word ramé in some may be observed from Banyumas people’s studies is considered something positive, view on the meaning of life, work, percep- not something negative, by certain com- tion of time, and relation between human munities, primarily in the context of art and human and nature. performance (Mulyana, Haryono, Sima- Previous researches conducted tupang, & Mada, 2012). According to the by Priyadi, (2003; 2007) show that Ba- research conducted by Mulyana, the ramé nyumas people have a specific character dimension which appears in art world called cablaka. Cablaka is the main model exists in many regions with a meaning far of Banyumas people’s character. Blakasuta, from negative element. This means that thongmelong, or cablaka has the same mea- the organizer and the players want their ning, which is to talk as it is or frankly. performance to be ramé. What does ramé in Banyumas people with Banyumasan dia- Calung Banyumasan art performance with lect has established an egalitarian culture, different cultural background mean? which is to acknowledge equality among The research conducted by Priyadi, its people. The researches conducted by (2003) proposes that Banyumas people’s Priyadi (2003, 2007, 2010), from Banyumas character may be examined from their people’s character to people’s view on the daily behavioral elements in social inter- relation with the nature, have not specifi- action, figures’ character, taboos, and pro- cally studied how art and culture as a form verbs. These elements may exist in calung of cultural expression take a role in the performance, including song lyrics, per- dynamics of people. Do art and culture, formance presentation, and the content of including Calung Banyumasan, also reflect performance itself. Since art is the expres- the dynamics of people as observed from sion of people’s culture, then art content, the form of performance and performance including calung, may reflect the character elements? of people who produce such culture. It is Banyumas people’s character is ref- very interesting to study their relationship. lected in the existing value system in their A cultural analysis is based on an socio-cultural life. Calung is born and de- idea that daily life stretches out in a mea- veloped from a dynamic people’s social ningful arrangement (Mulder, 1996). This life, which in its birth is a civilization and concept explains that esthetic activity part of their cultural system. Songs in ca- through calung performed by Banyumas lung have lyrics in Banyumas typical lan- people is something inevitable which has guage, which reflect Banyumas people’s important meaning for their lives. The ine- character (Suharto, 2016). According to the vitability and meaning-making takes place rhythm of songs, its gendhing playing style in the world of shared knowledge, which which refers to gamelan ageng is the symbol is Banyumas culture, which may be analy- of low-class people’s culture which repre- zed as a system of perception, classificati- sents low-class culture, in which they want on and other interpretation they may have. to reflect on how thepriyayi play gamelan as 84 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 a representation of a bigger culture, which maintain culture hereditarily acquired is Javanese culture. from their ancestor. Song lyrics and how they are sung in Because of its local nature, Banyumas Banyumasan music like Calung Banyuma- culture becomes an integral part of a more san, for example, cannot be separated from general culture adopted by the Javanese. those characteristics. The expressions in However, its remote geographical locati- use –some community groups say it rude– on from the center of kraton‘s power and is the reflection of people’s daily life. Ho- the inherent view of life make Banyumas wever, those expressions are considered people’s various cultural aspects different. rude only by ethnocentric people, who Banyumas people have been estab- view art from the different cultural cor- lished with characters of having popular ner like kraton culture, which is inciden- spirit and acceptance of given condition tally created from a new culture to restrict because of helplessness. These behaviors themselves (kraton) from low-class culture. are then called sense of inferiority from ot- Culture belongs to people, which her economically, politically or culturally is collectively used as guideline or terms stronger or superior strata. of reference for relevant people. People’s Banyumas culture is also formed behavior is not free from culture, which from a combination of the elements of is essentially the complex of knowledge, old Javanese culture and local public life values, ideas, and faiths or beliefs which pattern. In its journey, Banyumas culture controls them (Bachtiar, 1985). The relevant is influenced by New Javanese culture as guideline may become model selectively bigger culture, Sundanese culture, Islamic used by supporting people to communi- culture, and Western culture. It is pre- cate, to preserve and to connect knowled- valent that a bigger culture influences a ge, to behave and to act, not only to fulfill smaller culture. Moreover, the elements of life necessities, but also to solve constantly Old Javanese culture (Ancient and Middle evolving life challenges (Geertz, 1993). Javanese) is influenced by Indian cultu- Meanwhile, Geerts also defines “Cul- re (Hinduism-Buddhism) which has long ture is a system of arranged meaning and time ago been disseminated by a priest na- symbol, in the sense that individuals de- med Aji Saka (Yusmanto, 2006). fine their world, express their feeling and Based on the background above, the provide valuation; a meaning pattern his- main problem is how the calung Banyuma- torically transmitted, realized in symbolic san performance presentation may descri- forms through media where people com- be Banyumas people according to musical municate, monumentalize and develop and non-musical meaning in its perfor- their knowledge and attitudes toward life; mance. a collection of symbolic equipment to re- gulate behavior, extra-somatic source of METHOD information. Since culture is a symbolic system, the cultural process must be read, Approach and Focus of Study construed and interpreted (Bauman, 1978; This qualitative research employs Kuper, 1999). a hermeneutic approach with Calung Ba- Banyumas is a region smaller than nyumasan music and socio-cultural inte- the whole region of Javanese culture, ractive-adaptive patterns underlying the which is called bigger culture. Differences process of emergence of calung music and in character from a bigger culture will usu- its development until now as the objects of ally make Banyumas people’s character study. This is on the reasoning that calung and behavior different. Cultural changes music and all of its musical systems which brought from the center of culture only forms calung music develop to acquire reach the elites, while low-class peop- support from people of the extensive area le who live in the remote area remain to from several regencies. Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 85

In this symbolic study, calung art mance often presented. This study is asso- performance is in this case construed as ciated with Banyumas people’s character “text”. This method is made only to under- to examine whether this performance ref- stand the analysis in use. In this study, the lects Banyumas people’s life. researcher tries to construe a work as rea- Pursuant to the research problems, dable text. According to the hermeneutic the following data are needed. The sour- perspective, a researcher may construe an ce of data in the form of the document art performance or event by first paying comprises demographic data of Wangon attention to the views of artists in the com- village of Banyumas regency, art group’s munity to which the art belongs and then document, musical notation of songs in proposing his/her interpretation (Ahim- possession of group “Wahyu Sejati”, and sa-Putra, 1999). photos and recordings in the form of Video This study focuses on lengger calung Compact Disk. Besides offline data, videos performance presentation which contains are also taken from the Youtube page. The many symbols such as music, dance, lite- document data, which belong to Wahyu rature, etc. Each of these elements has its Sejati and Studio Bintang, are uploaded to own symbol system. However, according the video-sharing website Youtube. to (Turner, 2008; 1974), visual symbols Informant needed in this research bear the meaning at two levels: first, whe- constitutes Banyumas humanists, calung re such symbols are placed, and; second, artists, historians, leader of group “Wa- in the social context where such symbols hyu Sejati”, players of “Wahyu Sejati” and appear. children involved in lengger calung trai- That lengger calung performance is ning. Societal elements involved in calung essentially a performance which study is preservation and supporting community conducted to the elements of performance, are also taken as the main sources of data. constituting the performance. However, lengger calung performance becomes formal elements cannot be ignored as its the primary source of data in this rese- supporting elements. Lengger calung per- arch. Acts in performance presentation formance consists of some formal elements are carefully observed. The elements of such as music, dance and, sometimes, performance which becomes the source of theater, and for the influence of pheno- data involved in performance are calung menological thinking, it focuses on the players, host, and audience. performance itself. This view emphasizes that music, including songs, is created for Data Collection Technique singing, thus the event of singing should Observation is conducted to lengger be the center of all analyses on the song. Si- calung performance both at stage and taken milarly, dance is created to be performed/ from performance document in the form of presented, thus the event of dancing, for VCD obtained from the owner of lengger example during the performance, should calung group, which is group Wahyu Seja- be the center of any analyses on dance (Si- ti of Wangon Village, Banyumas and from matupang, 2013). some recording studios which often record Calung performance from its start it. The observation includes songs sung, to the end is a series of art performance dance moves and types of accompanying events which in this approach is conside- music, with the center is the performance red text. Since performance is considered presented. Observation is also performed text, it must be read and interpreted. The- during the group’s trainings. refore, the approach employed in this rese- Thorough interview is necessary to arch is essentially a study of performance. obtain necessary data. Interview is addres- The study is focused on performance sed to the players of lengger calung of Wa- presentation by finding the symbolic mea- hyu Sejati and Probo Laras, supporting com- nings in the acts of lengger calung perfor- munity, academicians, local humanists and 86 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 art performance critics. ing, Lenggeran Act, Badhudan Act, and Baladewan Act. Document Study. Document Study is necessary to re- Pre-Opening and Opening veal the history of art in Banyumas, types Before show starts, the master of ce- of script, especially of songs and music remony will give a code to the operator of calung from time to time, performan- to prepare anything with regard to sound ce recording in the form of audio visual system setting. This is to anticipate any (Compact Disk Video/VCD) in possession technical error during the performance. of group leader, studio Studio Bintang, After such uborampe are complete, the mu- or those distributed in the society. sic players play their instrument for three songs, and after the music instruments Data Analysis Technique stop, the master of ceremony (MC) will call This research employs song com- all sindhens to come to the stage, and the position analysis (content analysis) and opening starts. interactive analysis of (Milles, 1984). The In this pre-opening act, the calung content analysis is needed to analyze the group always presents songs with vib- formal data of music works often played rant rhythm and happy tone. This part is in lengger calung performance covering a symbol of notice to surrounding society instrumentation (ricikan), songs, play style, that the performance has started. Gend- etc. hings usually played in an opening include Data collecting process may be si- Sekar Gadung, Gudril Banyumas, etc. These multaneously performed with qualitative opening gendhings are chosen for their ex- analysis referring to an interactive analy- citement from lancaran type, aiming at in- sis model as proposed by Miles and Hu- viting audience or as a mark that calung berman (1994), including data reduction, performance will immediately start (Walu- data presentation, and conclusion. In data yo, 2017; Yusmanto, 2006). reduction, the researcher selects, focuses In the opening of a calung music per- and simplifies the data obtained from the formance of many group, an MC will open interview which are selected based on the the show by greetings addressed to the designated scope of the problem. As pro- host, audience, and guests, and introdu- posed by Miles and Huberman, reducing cing the crews of calung music (group). In data means selecting and summarizing the this opening, the MC will also congratulate main things, focusing on important things, the host for his/her son/daughter’s mar- and then searching for the theme and pat- riage or circumcision, and pray that Allah tern based on the collected data. Presen- SWT will always bless them. The perfor- ting data is a process to arrange informati- mance starts when the opening ends. on obtained from the interview, document, A ritual to pray to God and a thank observation and literary study descriptive- you note to the audience and guests as well ly presented in the form of description of as request for blessing have become tradi- words and pictures of the development of tion and never been missed in any lengger lengger calung performance form. The last calung or ebeg performance. Offerings con- one is the conclusion. taining various foods and food ingredients such as kembang telon, banana, and other RESULTS AND DISCUSSION market snacks are put onto a tampah, and is then placed in the middle of stage. Calung Banyumasan Presentation Order In this act, Master of Ceremony (MC) The order of a presentation usually plays a quite important role in guiding, gi- consists of pre-opening, opening, presen- ving introduction speech and giving warm tation and closing. Presentation often per- tone to the performance. The offerings are formed consists of Pre-opening and Open- placed in the middle of stage to symboli- Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 87 ze their gratitude to God and to pray for since some audiences participate in sin- smooth course of performance. The host, ging, dancing and mbancer (tipping). This lengger holds a bowl containing yellow rice often called lenggeran act gives opportuni- and some coins, symbolizing the hopes of ty to the audiences to get onto the stage to all performance supporting parties that dance with the dancers (lengger). The com- they will be blessed and earn living from munication pattern between audiences the performance. Likewise, coins are put and players changes from one-direction to into a washbasin or plate, which are then multi-direction. disseminated to the audience at the start Moves used in this part are those of performance. This sequence must be commonly played, in the sense that they performed, particularly when the perfor- are self-taught moves since there is no mance is a promise (ujar kaul) of the host standard (pakem). These moves tend to be (interview with Legono (50). monotonous and repeated, as explained by The song Sekar Gadung is often sung Bawor. They are reworked to make moves in an opening, particularly during offe- of each sekaran clear, thus a sekaran will rings ceremony. Gending with wetanan tone differ from the other. In addition to seblak gives distinctive nuance during this ritual. sampur, gerak ukel and gerak geol, there are In the scene of these acts, the grand ritu- now some additional moves such as pent- al nuance is particularly felt to give quite hangan tangan, entragan, lampah tigo, kose- deep meaning for those who understand kan and penthangan sampur. However, this it. People who usually watch lengger ca- depends on lenggers’ skill. SMKI students lung will understand that a performance often add more moves to them (Interview has just started if such songs and offerings with Bawor, May 2017). scene are played. Therefore, any person Meanwhile, lenggeran act usually who is going to become a host of such uses Gendhing Malangan and Sekar Gadung. event will readily perform it. However, those gendhings are of lengge- The solemn tone is created by music ran standard. When there are many re- players, lengger dancers and also audien- quests for songs, then they will adjust to ces. The audiences and music players seem the rhythm of the performance. Lenggeran to be used to this kind of ritual in lengger which is thought to be a Hindu influence, calung performance. A lengger lanang dee- as an expression of celebrating after the med as senior may become “supernatu- harvest, is still favored by the Banymas rally very powerful” that some mothers community until now. In this loose round, approach the stage to have their children the audience was given the opportunity blessed by the lenggers. The lengger then to dance together (Koentjaraningrat, 1994; prays for the toddlers and kisses their fo- Priyanto & Jurusan, 1980; Yusmanto, 2006). rehead while their mother brings them to Opportunity to respond to received the edge of stage for the lengger’s “bles- message comes to an end. The musical sing”. According to Bawor (59), the leader communication process is analogized as of lengger calung Wahyu Sejati, some of the a tree in which the root is performance people still believe that lenggers have po- players and the audiences are at the top of wer to bless people and even heal disease. it which may ramify depending on their According to some witnessing audiences aesthetic experience. Esthetic experience and the mothers, this supernatural power is, according to (Regelsky, 1981), action is caused by indhang that has possessed the learning and, according to Jamalus, (1988), lengger, giving him healing power. This musical experience, which causes the opinion is supported by a Banyumas hu- audience’s various reactions. manist, Gitosewojo (72). Audiences involvement in an art performance is no a disturbance, but is inten- Lenggeran Act tionally created, as proposed by Meyerhold This section takes fairly long time (1999) that audience in performance is the 88 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 fourth creator after scriptwriter (McAu- re, a Bandhud must skillful in dancing, not ley, 2002, p. 238). Emigh (1996) considers only lengger dance, but also other types of that performance is not merely an event dance, since he/she has to improvise in va- of self-expression or demonstration of rious genres of dance to make it attractive standard techniques, but is an interactive and funny. event between performer and others (au- Bandhudan is presented using Ba- dience) in the context of the certain show. nyumas dialect in its communication, both That the role played by non-performing between co-players and with audiences in participants is very important, researchers a straightforward manner without any par- should pay attention to this aspect in re- tition, symbolizing that all of them on the search of art performance (Simatupang, stage are one. They are considered equal 2013). and of the same level, thus anyone will be involved or be targeted, either in the form Badhudan Act of satire, greeting, or singing and dancing Bandhudan act performance is always together. They symbolize themselves ega- awaited by audience in lengger calung per- litarian panginyongan people. Anyone in- formance. In this act, the audience will be cluding the host must feel it, thus he/she entertained by a combination between mu- must also sing and tip. Host’s participation sic plays, either instrument or songs, and is indeed expected and he/she will do it dance as well as banyolan/dagelan (jokes). with pleasure when so requested during Bandhudan act may take more than Bandhudan or Lenggeran. an hour depending on how much time the host desires it will take. This will get lon- Baladewan Act ger if a high-rated “badud” is hired. This Baladewa dance is presented in Ba- Bandhud appearance on the stage marks ladewan act. This dance is one of the dan- the end of lenggeran act and beginning ces in lengger calung performance growing of Bandhudan part. Bandhudan serves to and developing in the distribution area of refresh the tone, presented on stage to in- Banyumas culture, including the admi- vite laughter with jokes and funny moves, nistrative regions of Banyumas, Cilacap, in which badud may directly interact with Purbalingga and Banjarnegara Regencies the audiences. In this Bandhudan part, the (Agustina, 2017). In Baladewan act, general- audience may also request for songs and ly in lengger calung performance, a dancer dance with lengger and Bandhud. A reque- gets onto the stage after changing to Bala- sted song is usually written on a paper and dewan dancer costume. Baladewan dance given to Bandhud and lengger dancer. This illustrates the character of Baladewa. Bala- request is sometimes inserted into a box dewa also plays the role of king of Mandu- of cigarette or in the form of cash. Upon ra in Mahabharata story. This character is receiving gendhing demand, lengger dancer illustrated as a gallant and hot-tempered will sing the requested gendhing and dance but funny character. with Bandhud. Songs used in Baladewan act are Bandhudan makes a performance usually of cheerful and gallant rhythm more attractive, of course, if the Bandhud is that the costume, make up and moves pre- able to balance the playing pattern. A Ban- sented reflect gallant and vigorous charac- dhud will perform his/her entertainment ter. In the past, Baladewan dance in lengger duty by teasing lengger, singing songs with is performed by highly experienced lengger funny lyrics, and performing dance moves dancers (senior dancers), since after per- which are usually his/her own creativity forming lengger dance, they must perform and spontaneous, following the rhythm a gallant Baladewan dance. Baladewan of music such as kendang playing. That is dance is a male gallant dance, that even if why, according to (Budiarti, 2008), Band- the dancer is female, she has to perform it hud is a dancer of improvisation. Therefo- in a gallant way ( in private interview to Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 89

Legono, Januari 2017; Agustina, 2017). with “spell” reading ritual performed by Songs usually presented are those senior lengger while a plate containing with sigrak rhythms such as Bendrong Ku- yellow rice and coins is mutually held lon, Kulu-kulu and Ricik-ricik. These songs with the host. They are then dissemina- are sung in a medley way. However, as ted to the audiences from the surrounding dancers are about to enter the stage, gend- area who watch the performance. Similar- hing Kulu-Kulu is often played. Kulu-kulu is ly, lengger’s blessing of toddlers directly derived from the word “kuluh” which me- brought by their parent to lengger is consi- ans kuluh or shabby and rumpled fabric or dered as bringing luck. gombal usually used for kelud/or to clean Gitosewojo who is also a dalang dirty item. This song must be presented in (puppeteer) in the 80s and MC in celebrati- Baladewan act to give the meaning of “clea- on events also performs such ritual, which ning up”. This song also bears the meaning sometimes starts with burning incense, or of finishing as cleaning up since the perfor- fragrance, to start any event he participates mance is about to end, thus the condition in. According to Gitosewojo, “Frankincen- must be clean before leaving (interview se or incense is a symbol of fragrance that with Legono, 2017; Bawor, 2016). is worth giving to respected ancestors” According to Bawor, the leader of “Wahyu Sejati”, Baladewan dance must be Egalitarian Society presented as the closing of performance. An egalitarian society is reflected However, for some reason, such as for its throughout calung performance. Howe- far distance from residence or in the field, ver, the most prominent act showing egali- a Baladewan dance does not necessarily tarian people’s characteristics is Bandhudan change her costume. All dancers on stage act. Some art expressions reflecting egali- must perform Baladewan dance with songs tarian society appear in this act. Glowehan with gallant rhythm such as Bendrong Ku- or glewehan made by mocking others, host lon, Kulu-kulu, or Ricik-ricik. Every time Ba- and lengger show that they are equal. They ladewan dance is presented, all audiences, perform glowean but do not intend to of- host, and all performance crews will un- fend others, since all of them understand, derstand the meaning, as if it is a symbol thus anything happens are considered fun- that lengger calung performance will im- ny and makes them laugh. mediately end, and they who still want to Straightforward attitude (cablaka) ari- further dance will understand it. ses in this egalitarian society and even eve- ryone talks straightforwardly without con- Banyumas People’s Characteristics in sidering any consequence of it (blakasuta). Calung Performance Presentation In this Bandhudan act, anyone may become Some of Banyumas people’s charac- object of the joke. Egalitarian character teristics are reflected in a calung perfor- also appears in every song played either mance. These characteristics may be in the by sindhen, lengger, penyenggak or Bandhud. form of personal matters, social life, natu- Banyumas songs with Banyumasan dialect re, or philosophy of life. Some of these cha- show such egalitarian character. racters may be described below. Cablaka is a character spontaneous- ly expressed by Banyumas people of any Syncretic Society phenomena appearing before them wit- A supplication reading ritual is made hout cover. Therefore, Banyumas people’s at the start of every calung performance, cablaka should be considered as an attitude preceded with MC’s Islamic introduction of frankness, open mind, intimacy, or free- and sentences using opening words such dom expression to state anything without as Basmallah with an expectation that Allah anything covered up (tanpa tedheng aling- SWT will bless them. However, such Isla- aling). mic recitations are simultaneously made Some Banyumasan songs are always 90 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 played in every art performance in Ba- ans certain phrases useful to fill a vacancy nyumas, for example, according to Bawor, in parts unfilled with wangsalan or parikan. the song ‘Eling-Eling”. This song describes Similarly, this should apply to the work of the life of Banyumas people to a large de- Jalungmas dance moves. gree, and even describes the philosophy Wangsalan. Wangsalan is a type of of Banyumas people that we may only Javanese literary text, particularly western submit to God, while we are equal among part of Central Java including Banyumas, human. We must always be aware of our Brebes and Cirebon. Wangsalan usually identity as God’s creation. played in Banyumasan music and Cire- bon tarling brings cheerful impression. Esthetic Society Such songs have sigrak rhythm and con- Songs with lyrics in Banyumas dia- tain amusing and funny lyrics because of lect are played during the performance, their funny and beautiful puzzle content. starting from Pre-performance to Balade- Wangsalan is beautiful since it is a type of wan act. It is interesting to hear songs with literature. The rhymes appearing in the lyrics containing local literature like cake- phrases are beautiful and funny. This ref- pan. Cakepan is a text/lyric form of literatu- lects the character of Banyumas people re used in sindhenan. Such text is played by who love cheerful songs. sindhen or swarawati in a karawitan perfor- Wangsalan is a sentence of song con- mance and also by other penayaga (music sisting of two phrases which contain the player), including Bandhud in Bandhudan puzzle of which answer is given in the act. sentence. Since it is a puzzle, the answer This cakepan literature usually has will be found by connecting words in the a theme of human life containing advice, sentence (Budiarti, 2016). According to character education, household life, life Budiarti, there are 4 wangsalan, which are guide, etc. This also applies to cakepan of wangsalan lamba, wangsalan rangkep (cambo- Banyumasan songs. Although there are ran), wangsalan memet and wangsalan padin- only a few of them and no specific atten- tenan. tion is given, some cakepan sindhenan also In the lyric of song “Ricik-Ricik”, for contains advice, ideology and ideals or example, the phrase “Janur gunung, sakulon utopia. Utopia is the ideal of an ideology. Banjar Patoman” is a question and the ans- The concerned ideology constitutes local wer will be found in the next phrase. The genious adopted only by a certain society, phrase “Kadingaren, kadingaren wong bagus that is the Javanese and, more specifically, gasik tekane” is the answer of puzzle in the Banyumas or Panginyongan people. The previous phrase. The word “janur gunung” song Eling-eling, for example, is a remin- in Banyumas language means “aren” (su- der for a human to always be aware of and gar palm) which is realized in the answer remember Almighty God, that we must phrase ‘kadengaren’ that has rhyme at the only be afraid of God, while we are equal end of word ‘aren’ in the end of word ‘ka- among human. dengaren’. Banjar Patoman in Banyumas Cakepan in Banyumasan songs society is known as an area called Tasik, comprises, among others, wangsalan, pari- the name of an area in eastern part of West kan and isen-isen. Cakepan usually employs Java. Therefore, the phrase ‘Banjar Pato- the beauty element, mainly current songs man’ is answered by the phrase ‘wong bagus which has free form. Wangsalan means gasik tekane” in which the word ‘gasik’ is a a type of poem in the form of cangkriman wordplay of the word ‘tasik’. Wordplay (quiz) with answer available within the in Javanese society including Banyumas content. Parikan means a poem of which usually has rhyme at the end of phrase or stanza consists of sampiran and content. word of a parikan. Parikan is divided into two types, which “Janur gunung, sakulon Banjar Pata- are two lines and four lines. Isen-isen me- mon/Kadingaren wong bagus gasik tekane” is Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 91 the most popular wangsalan in Banyumas since Banyumas people adopt patrilineal society. This wangsalan is also used by sind- principle. hen to fill lyrics in similar songs other than It cannot be denied that the work of “Ricik-ricik”. It can even be used to repla- songs in calung presentation is full of va- ce any lyric, if sindhen forgets the lyric of luable esthetic elements. From the form a song she is singing and she may freely of songs played to the work reflects -Ba apply it. If there is more or less syllable, nyumas people who have high musical a sindhen may cut lyric or repeat certain sense, thus it is the people’s character. word two or three times in adjustment to Banyumas culture is known as the the song beats (interview with Yusmanto, junction of two axes, which are Javanese 2017). cultural axis and Sundanese cultural axis Parikan. Parikan is a sentence con- (Interview with Yusmanto, October 2017). sisting of two phrases, in which the first This junction of two cultures is caused by phrase and the second phrase has rhyme. the geographical location meeting of Java Most of gendhing Banyumasan uses parikan (eastern part) and Sunda (western part). and wangsalan. In addition, some gendhings In addition, the origin of Banyumas peop- also use pepantunan, for example: gendhing le is believed to be from the meeting and Rengong Manis, Bendrong Kulon, Ijo-ijo, movement of some Sundanese (from Paja- Malang Dhoi and Dhober (Budiarti, 2016). jaran kingdom) with Javanese (from Pasir Abon-abon. In sindehenan, abon-abon kingdom) because of a marriage of two in- is often called isen-isen which serves to be dividuals from different cultures, Banyak intermezzo or complement. Abon-abon ac- Catra from Pajajaran and Ciptarasa from cording to Kamus Umum Basa Jawa means Pasirluhur. This marriage causes move- ubarampe. Ubarampe means completeness ment of men of Sundanese culture to wo- or complement. Abon-abon is text in the men of Javanese culture (Priyadi, 1996). form of word or words in which the mea- The influence of these two cultures ning of sentence is not related to the text is also reflected on the character -of Ba of main sentence (sindhenan), thus we may nyumas people’s traditional music as an say it an intermezzo. expression of their cultures and arts, one of Abon-abon or isen-isen text (cakepan) which is Calung play in Banyumasan sty- usually used in Banyumasan sindhenan le. “There are 3 very popular songs in Ba- includes rama, rama-rama, ramane, yo mas, nyumas often played in calung performan- kakang, etc. Abon-abon text in gendhing Ba- ce, which are Ricik-ricik, Eling-eling and nyumasan, besides serving as independent Bendrong Kulon. The songs Ricik-Ricik and decorator or adornment, is often put in ca- Eling-Eling have thick Javanese nuance kepan or wangsalan, either at the start or in while Bendrong Kulon has Sundanese nu- the end of cakepan. For example, in gend- ance. Therefore, the songs Ricik-Ricik and hings Malang Dhoi (mas malange dhoi) and Eling- Eling when played in Surakarta sty- Renggong Manis (man-eman Renggong Ma- le will convey a strong feeling of Javanese nis, man-eman renggong manis ramane). nuance, and, on the contrary, when played Words appearing in Abon-abon, in Sundanese will convey the strong fee- which are intermezzo and complement of ling of Sundanese nuance (Interview with sentence in lengger calung performance, in- Yusmanto, October 2018). clude rama-rama, ramane and kakang. It is a These two types of rhythm produ- reflection of Banyumas people’s daily life. ce Banyumas specific color, particularly According to Gitosewojo (72 years old), the from the perspective of kendangan style. words rama or ramane is used more than bi- The song “Bendrong Kulon” will be sui- yung or biyunge in isen-isen since pesinden tably accompanied with jaipong rhythm”. symbolizes that a daughter in Banyumas These two styles go hand in hand depen- people’s culture depends more on her fat- ding on the music players and the area. Ca- her (rama) than on her mother (biyung), lung played by a group in the border area 92 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 of West Java will tend to play Sundanese res do not develop as fast as those of other style, as reflected inkendangan style played Javanese areas, including the development (interview with Wendo, September 2017). of New Javanese language which does not Banyumasan gendings have an equal reach rural areas. Most of the people in form with Surakarta and Yogyakarta sty- rural areas remain using original langu- led karawitan, which are in the form of age until now. They who live in villages in gangsaran, lancaran, ketawang, ladrang and rural areas distributed in Banyumas area gending. According to form perspective, use Banyumas dialect. They have used this there is gending Eling-eling with lancaran language far before New Javanese langu- form consisting of four gongan. This form age arises and is distributed to all areas. is mostly found in Banyumasan songs. Ac- They are loyal to their language which is cording to garap (work) perspective, there not interfered by any changes made by are two garap irama siji and garap irama loro. the Kraton (Palace) in its period until now. Only certain limited people are willing to Agricultural Society use it, the priyayi (Priyadi, 2010; Gitosewo- Banyumas Regency is spread jo, 2017). 1,327.60 km2 in the area or equal to 132,759.56 ha. It has plains & mountains Calung Instruments as the Character Ag- consisting of the Valley of Serayu River for ricultural Society’s Music agricultural land, highland partially for Bamboo has become part of rural settlement, people’s yard, and mountain people’s life in Banyumas, that it is used partially for plantation and tropical forest in many occasions such as house construc- located on the southern slope of Mount tion, chairs, beds, kitchen utensils, hous- Slamet. ehold appliances, esthetic expression These various conditions of and media, means of transportation, etc. (Yus- wide nature cause New Javanese culture manto, 2006). In-house construction, some brought from the Kraton (Palace) is une- parts of the house use bamboo as raw ma- venly disseminated to all corners of Ba- terial, including: structure (saka, blandar nyumas area. The people keep the culture or penglari and pengeret), wall, roof and they have hereditarily adopted with re- accessories such as glathak, wall decorati- gard to faith, how to communicate, and ag- on, lamp, etc.). Bamboo for rural people in ricultural technology (Priyadi, 2002, 2003, Banyumas is identical to simplicity. Items 2010; Tohari, 2011). made of bamboo are considered simple Characters like popular spirit, cablaka items. Therefore, a bamboo house is con- (transparency), exposure and society-life sidered as a simple house (Interview with based culture are the pattern of traditional- Yusmanto, 2017). agricultural life. This tendency is the result Calung is a type of musical instru- of the distance of Banyumas area location ment made of bamboo of grassy type (gras- from the big kingdoms (Jogyakarta, Sura- sophone) with a different character from karta). This causes their cultures generally music instrument made of metal, in which develop slower than Negarigung cultures. this grassophone music instrument does not Most of native Javanese ethnic group have sustain. For longer sound, it must be is located in rural areas, which are those played by nritil (repeatedly struck as ne- collectively called Kejawen areas, compri- cessary/necessary not value) thus it will sing Jogyakarta, Surakarta, Banyumas, not produce short sound since it has poor Kedu, Madiun, Malang and Kediri. (Ko- sustain (Wendo, 2017; Yusmanto, Novem- entjaraningrat, 1984). Banyumas people ber 2017). are not really different from the condition The sound heard from calung struck of Javanese in general. However, as pre- in a nritil basis seems to be straightforward viously explained, the wide geographical and ramé (boisterous). This impression be- condition causes Banyumas people’s cultu- comes the character of Banyumas folk art Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 93 in general. This straightforward and ramé ance by participating and getting onto sta- impression is also identical to Banyumas ge while mbancer (tipping). people’s character of straightforward or In the context of performance itself, cablaka (Priyadi, 2007). performers intentionally create ramé nu- Lengger play accompanied with ca- ance in performance since it is a symbol lung will give a very typical nuance. The of the success of a lengger calung perfor- songs, playing style, dance and senggakan mance. That is why an individual is spe- will follow the rhythm of calung playing cifically assigned to be penayaga as well as character. This musical instrument play to play senggakan in a lengger calung group. tends to be sigrak and seems to be cheerful. The individual who plays senggakan must Therefore, most of the songs played have have the high musical ability, particularly cheerful rhythm. in mastering Banyumasan gendhing and songs. Ramé as a Reflection of the People who This ramé nuance resulted from seng- Love Togetherness gakan is the concept of Banyumas people Senggakan always appears in every intentionally formed to fill empty, quiet song and almost throughout the perfor- or meaningless spaces of life. This conditi- mance. From the perspective of presenta- on also becomes the symbol of Banyumas tion, senggakan in karawitan has ramé (bois- people who prefer living in group and con- terous) impression. Therefore, senggakan sidering all people as equal, thus any jokes may be interpreted as joint or sole vocal in song lyrics and senggakan are merely in- using cakepan parikan and or a series of tended to be entertainment and expression words (sometimes without meaning), and to create cheerful and ramé nuance. Ramé even seems to be saru (less polite) which (boisterous) is not merely meaningless serves to support the realization of boiste- noisy as proposed by (Sutton, 1991) that rous nuance in a gendhing presentation. senggakan is “noisy” or “busy” since there This senggakan is quite flexible, of is indeed crowd which is seemingly busy which meaning may be interpreted by and noisy. However, ramé has become a anyone in a logical and contextual sense. standard of success for art performance in Senggakan in gendhing Banyumasan takes a Banyumas. position as vocal gendhing, thus they will Ramé is also caused by interaction be quiet without senggak. between music players, singers and audi- Senggakan in Banyumasan music is ences. The audience becomes an integral Banyumas people’s expression of freedom. part of the art performance in Banyumas. Senggakan with its generation of ramé (bois- The existence of conditioned ramé has ne- terous), cheerful and sometimes seemingly ver existed without meaning or action. On vulgar nuances illustrates the expression the contrary, it always exists in the relation of the art of Banyumas people who love of the event between a cause and its effect, freedom, equality and honesty (Murwa- or an action and its reaction. ningrum, 2012b). Senggakan is an element The host will also feel his/her “ob- of gendhing Banyumasan. Lengger perfor- ligation” to create this ramé nuance. A mance uses gendhing Banyumasan as its ac- performance may be stated as successful companying music. if according to people’s perspective, such An indicator of successful perfor- performance is ramé (boisterous). Many mance for Banyumas people is ramé nuan- audiences, many individuals tipping and ce, which will be seen in the expression of existing interaction between players and songs in lengger, ebeg, or wayang (puppet) audiences are the indicators. That interacti- performance. It may be created by pesinden on exists means that there is an expression or nayaga, including dalang (puppeteer) of joy in the form of a smile, laughter, a mo- through this senggakan, and audiences may vement following song rhythm and dan- have themselves involved in this ramé nu- cing while tipping. Tipping scene for local 94 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 18 (1) (2018): 82-96 people is not something pornographic, but ley, energy change occurs between players communication between audiences and and audiences in a performance. lengger dancers, thus all audiences, both Some of Banyumas people’s charac- they who tip or only watch become an in- teristics identified from calung performan- tegral part of it. As stated by Gay McAu- ce may be summarized in Table 1. Table 1. Banyumas People’s Characteristics in Calung Performance Media of Expres- Meaning Character Act Type of Symbol sion - Singing/song Egalitarian glewehan Bandhudan - Joke Equality Society clemodan - Geol - mbancer/nyawer - Dance Lenggeran Intimacy - Song lyrics Epic dance Baladewan Dance moves Respect to hero (Baladewan) - Offerings - Spreading yellow rice - Kembang telon - Prays/spells (three types of - Human is small - Burning frank- flower) Opening of in the eye of God Syncretic society incense - Yellow rice performance - Respect to an- - Blessing by - Coin cestors/ elders senior lengger - Offerings - Lengger kisses - Frankincense toddlers’ fore- head Pre-opening - Singing Banyumas people Esthetic Society Lenggeran - Wangsalan have highly Singing/song (in literature) Bandhudan - Parikan esthetic sense of Baladewan - Candaan literature -Senggakan Banyumas people Esthetic Society -Wangsalan -Song composition have highly (in music/ -Garap lagu -Garap lagu esthetic musical work) -Song composi- sense tion

- Senggakan - Song lyrics Banyumas people - Parikan - Garap lagu have high sense - Wangsalan - Cash for mbancer Love joking / of humor -Lenggeran - Mbancer - Vulgar language/ humor - Smile clemod Vulgar dance - Multi-direction - Communication means intimacy communication with audience

- Glewehan - Song lyrics - Wangsalan - Garap lagu Banyumas has - Garap lagu -Bandhutan - Geyol a high sense of - Funny moves - Communication humor - Multi-direction with audience communication

- Imitating hero’s Respect to hero is -Baladewan Dance moves moves an obligation Suharto, Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected ... 95

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