Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones and a set of hand-drums called kendang, which keep the beat. The kemanak, a banana-shaped idiophone, and the gangsa, another metallophone, are also commonly used gamelan instruments on Bali. Other notable instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed string instrument called a rebab, and a zither-like instrument called a siter, used in Javanese gamelan. Additionally, vocalists may be featured, being referred to as sindhen for females or gerong for males.
Indonesia is a country with many different tribes and ethnic groups, and its music is also very diverse, coming in hundreds of different forms and styles. Every region has its own culture and art, and as a result traditional music from area to area also uniquely differs from one another. For example, each traditional type of music is often accompanied by its very own dance and theatre. Contemporary music scene have also been heavily shaped by various foreign influences, such as America, Britain, Japan, Korea, and India.
West Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. The area of this province is 19,675.89 km2 (7,596.90 sq mi) which consists of two main islands, namely Lombok Island and Sumbawa Island as well as several other small islands. The two largest islands in this province are the smaller but much more populated Lombok in the west and the much larger in area but much less densely populated Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. It shares maritime borders with Bali to the west and East Nusa Tenggara to the east.
The angklung is a musical instrument from the Sundanese in Indonesia that is made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to produce a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves, similar to Western handbells. The base of the frame is held in one hand, while the other hand shakes the instrument, causing a repeating note to sound. Each performer in an angklung ensemble is typically responsible for just one pitch, sounding their individual angklung at the appropriate times to produce complete melodies.
The Sasak people live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 3.6 million. They are related to the Balinese in language and in ancestry, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are predominantly Hindu. Sasak people who practice pre-Islamic beliefs are also known as Sasak Boda in reference to the name of the Sasak people's original religion, Bodha.
A kendang or gendang is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the gamelan ensembles of Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese music. It is also used in various Kulintang ensembles in Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups. It is related to the Indian double-headed mridangam drum.
Reog or Réyog is a traditional Indonesian dance in an open arena that serves as folk entertainment and contains some magical elements. The main dancer is a lion-headed person with a peacock feather decoration, accompanied by several masked dancers and Kuda Lumping. Reog is one of the performing arts from the northwestern region of East Java and Ponorogo is the region where Reog originated. The city gate of Ponorogo is decorated with warok and gemblak, two characters who were present at the time when Reog is performed. Reog is one of Indonesia culture that is still very strong with mystical elements and mysticism.
Gandrung is a traditional dance from Indonesia. Gandrung has many variations and is popular in Bali, Lombok, and Eastern Java among the Balinese, Sasak, and Javanese. The most popular variation is gandrung from the Banyuwangi region in the eastern peninsula of Java; thus, the city is often referred to as Kota Gandrung, or "the city of gandrung". Originally a ritual dance dedicated to the goddess of rice and fertility, Dewi Sri, it is currently performed as a social dance of courtship and love in communal and social events, or as a tourist attraction. The Gandrung Sewu Festival is held at Banyuwangi annually.
Gendang beleq is a dance and music performance from Lombok island, Indonesia. It is a popular performance among the native Sasak people.
Sundanese dances is a dance tradition that is a part of ritual, artistic expression as well as entertainment and social conduct among the Sundanese people of West Java and Banten, Indonesia. Sundanese dance is usually cheerful, dynamic and expressive, with flowing movements in-sync with the beat of kendang accompanied with Gamelan degung music ensemble.
The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional Asian folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of peacocks. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, including the peacock dances of Myanmar, of the western and northern parts of Cambodia, of West Java in Indonesia, and of the Indian subcontinent in Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
Gending Sriwijaya is the name of the traditional performance whether it is a song, music, as well as dance that originated from Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. Both of the song and the dance was created to describes the splendor, cultural refinement, glory and the grandeur of Srivijaya empire that once succeed on unifying the western parts of Indonesian archipelago and Malay world generally.
Pura Lingsar is a Balinese temple built by Anak Agung Ngurah of Karangasem in 1714, located 15 km from Mataram. Lingsar originates from the sasak language and means "clear revelation from God". The area has a spring, which is considered sacred by the local Sasak people, especially those who believe in Wetu Telu.
Barong dance is a style of traditional Balinese from Bali, Indonesia. The dance demonstrates about the mythological depiction of animals that have supernatural powers and the ability to protect humans. Barong is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and the enemy of Rangda, the demon queen and mother of all spirit guarders in the mythological traditions of Bali. The Barong dance featured a battle between Barong and Rangda to represent the eternal battle between good and evil.
Rudat dance is a traditional dance of Sasak people in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, originated from Indonesia. This dance demonstrates pancak silat martial art movements. Rudat dance might be performed by a group costumed and dressed up like prajurit (warrior) with a songkok.
Payung dance is a folk dance-drama tradition of the Minangkabau-Malay ethnic group in Sumatra, Indonesia. This dance is a Minangkabau version of other Malay dances from Sumatra. Folk theatre such as toneel and sandiwara often incorporates payung dance as part of the show. The payung (umbrella) is the main prop used in this dance, and the dance itself, which is usually performed by three or four dancers, symbolizes affection and the relationship of young people. The dance originates from Western Sumatra, Indonesia.
In Indonesia, a fire performance is a group of performance arts or skills that involve the manipulation of fire. It includes using fire as a finale in an otherwise non-fire performance. Performances can be done as choreographed routines to music.
Tandok dance is a traditional Batak dance originating from the North Sumatra, Indonesia. This dance tells about the activities of harvesting rice using tandok carried out by mothers in the fields. In addition, this dance also contains the importance of family values between each other.
