Gandrung
Encyclopedia
Gandrung is a traditional dance from Indonesia
. Gandrung has many variations and is popular in Bali
, Lombok
and East Java
, among the Balinese
, Sasak
and Javanese (especially Osing
Javanese). The most popular variation is Gandrung from Banyuwangi
region in the eastern peninsula of Java
, so much that the city is often referred 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 tourist attraction.
word for love. It is theorized that the dance originated in ritual dance to express love of the people to the rice goddess, Dewi Sri
, with trance and as a kind of fertility dance. However, it is currently lost its ritual connotations, especially among Muslims
Javanese and Sasak
. The dance evolved into social dance describing a girl looking for love companions. The dance therefore has been de-ritualized, and mostly lost its connection with the rice divinity.
Gandrung usually performed in an all-night performance that begins sometime around 9 p.m. and ends just before dawn. Gandrung is also commonly played as tourist attraction, for example in Bali
or in Grajagan Bay
in Banyuwangi. It is also performed as social dance in communal and social events such as circumcision
or wedding.
The "gandrung", or the main dancer, is usually an unmarried girl or a transvestite (or simply boys playing the role of female dancers). The dancer dressed in traditional costume, with fan, shawl and wearing ornamental headgear. Often there are more than one gandrung dancer in the performance.
Gandrung usually started with the dancer(s) in side of stage surrounded by gamelan ensemble. When the music started, the dancer would start the dancing movement with hip thrusting and move to the center stage. When the gandrung spots an audience member she wishes to dance with, she throws her shawl to the audience to bring him to the stage. The dancer and the audience member will then dance together. If there is more than one gandrung dancer in the performance, each dancer will choose a partner and dance with their respective partners. The audience member who had danced with the gandrung usually gives a small amount of money as token of appreciation.
Gandrung is now also performed as dance of courtship
and love, between girls and boys in central and eastern Lombok
. It is usually performed outdoors by the young men and women of the village with everyone standing around in a circle.
Similar dances are known throughout the Indonesian
archipelago, such as ronggeng
or tayuban in East
and Central Java
, jaipongan
in West Java
and Banten
, and joged in Jakarta
.
, often composed of two violin
s, gendangs, bonang
and gong
s with gamelan xylophone
s (gambang
). A singer is also present to sing the accompanying song for gandrung performance. Villages in Banyuwangi, Bali and Lombok sometimes has their own gandrung music ensemble. Variance in ensemble composition existed between difference area where gandrung is performed The music has been described as "vibrant and earthy" and has been recorded by several anthropologists.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Gandrung has many variations and is popular in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
and East Java
East Java
East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...
, among the Balinese
Balinese people
The Balinese population of 3.0 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok, and in the eastern-most regions of Java The Balinese population of 3.0 million (1.5% of Indonesia's population) live...
, Sasak
Sasak
The Sasak live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 2.6 million . They are related to the Balinese in language and race, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are Hindu....
and Javanese (especially Osing
Osing language
The Osing language , locally known as the language of Banyuwangi, is the language of the Osing people of East Java, Indonesia....
Javanese). The most popular variation is Gandrung from Banyuwangi
Banyuwangi
The Regency of Banyuwangi is located at the easternmost end of the Indonesian island of Java and it is a very strategic area for those who want to go to Bali, since it also serves as an important ferry port between Java and Bali. It is surrounded by mountains and forests to the west; by sea to the...
region in the eastern peninsula of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, so much that the city is often referred as Kota Gandrung or the City of Gandrung.
Originally a ritual dance dedicated to the goddess of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and fertility, Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri, or Dewi Shri , Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese pre-Hindu and pre-Islam era goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshipped on the islands of Bali and Java...
, it is currently performed as a social dance of courtship and love in communal and social events, or as tourist attraction.
Descriptions
Gandrung is named from JavaneseJavanese language
Javanese language is the language of the Javanese people from the central and eastern parts of the island of Java, in Indonesia. In addition, there are also some pockets of Javanese speakers in the northern coast of western Java...
word for love. It is theorized that the dance originated in ritual dance to express love of the people to the rice goddess, Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri
Dewi Sri, or Dewi Shri , Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese pre-Hindu and pre-Islam era goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshipped on the islands of Bali and Java...
, with trance and as a kind of fertility dance. However, it is currently lost its ritual connotations, especially among Muslims
Islam in Indonesia
Islam is the dominant religion in Indonesia, which also has a larger Muslim population than any other country in the world, with approximately 202.9 million identified as Muslim as of 2009....
Javanese and Sasak
Sasak
The Sasak live mainly on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, numbering around 2.6 million . They are related to the Balinese in language and race, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are Hindu....
. The dance evolved into social dance describing a girl looking for love companions. The dance therefore has been de-ritualized, and mostly lost its connection with the rice divinity.
Gandrung usually performed in an all-night performance that begins sometime around 9 p.m. and ends just before dawn. Gandrung is also commonly played as tourist attraction, for example in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
or in Grajagan Bay
G-Land
G-Land is an internationally renowned surf break situated on the Grajagan Bay, Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, about half a day by road from the popular tourist destinations of Bali...
in Banyuwangi. It is also performed as social dance in communal and social events such as circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
or wedding.
The "gandrung", or the main dancer, is usually an unmarried girl or a transvestite (or simply boys playing the role of female dancers). The dancer dressed in traditional costume, with fan, shawl and wearing ornamental headgear. Often there are more than one gandrung dancer in the performance.
Gandrung usually started with the dancer(s) in side of stage surrounded by gamelan ensemble. When the music started, the dancer would start the dancing movement with hip thrusting and move to the center stage. When the gandrung spots an audience member she wishes to dance with, she throws her shawl to the audience to bring him to the stage. The dancer and the audience member will then dance together. If there is more than one gandrung dancer in the performance, each dancer will choose a partner and dance with their respective partners. The audience member who had danced with the gandrung usually gives a small amount of money as token of appreciation.
Gandrung is now also performed as dance of courtship
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
and love, between girls and boys in central and eastern Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...
. It is usually performed outdoors by the young men and women of the village with everyone standing around in a circle.
Similar dances are known throughout the Indonesian
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
archipelago, such as ronggeng
Ronggeng
Ronggeng is a type of Javanese and Malay social dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong...
or tayuban in East
East Java
East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...
and Central Java
Central Java
Central Java is a province of Indonesia. The administrative capital is Semarang. It is one of six provinces on the island of Java.This province is the province of high Human Development in Indonesia and its Points Development Index countries is equivalent to Lebanon. The province of Central Java...
, jaipongan
Jaipongan
Jaipongan, also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people, West Java, Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and Pencak Silat movements.- Background :...
in West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
and Banten
Banten
Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...
, and joged in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
.
Music
The dance is performed to the tunes of a traditional ensemble similar with gamelanGamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
, often composed of two violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, gendangs, bonang
Bonang
The bonang is a musical instrument used in the Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame , either one or two rows wide. All of the kettles have a central boss, but around it the lower-pitched ones have a flattened head, while the higher...
and gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s with gamelan xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
s (gambang
Gambang
A gambang, properly called a gambang kayu is a xylophone-like instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the more typical metallophones in a gamelan...
). A singer is also present to sing the accompanying song for gandrung performance. Villages in Banyuwangi, Bali and Lombok sometimes has their own gandrung music ensemble. Variance in ensemble composition existed between difference area where gandrung is performed The music has been described as "vibrant and earthy" and has been recorded by several anthropologists.