LABUHAN ALIT
During his reign, Panembahan Senopati was in love affair with Kanjeng Ratu Kidul. This authority of the South Sea was willing to help Panembahan Senopati in all of his problems and Panembahan was requested to give offerings to Kanjeng Ratu Kidul. This is the legend and the belief of the local community.
The Commemoration of the Sultan Coronation
Labuhan Alit is part of the commemoration of the Sultan coronation. The ceremony is started in Parang Kusumo beach and ended in the Merapi and Lawu Mountains at the same time.
The offering to the sea (labuhan) was initiated by Panembahan Senopati as being grateful to the continuation of Mataram Kingdom and to pray for the safety of the Sultan of Yogyakarta Kingdom and Yogyakarta people.
Labuhan comes from the word labuh that means to float offerings to the sea. Labuhan Alit that used to be done twice a year is changed to once a year by Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X; only on the commemoration day of his coronation. Labuhan Agung is done once every eight years.
The Place and the Implied Meaning
The ceremony of Labuhan Ageng is done based on Dal year, thus it is only done once in eight years. The goods are divided into four to be floated in Parangkusumo beach, and to be offered in Merapi Mountain, Lawu Mountain and Dlepih Kahyangan. Those four locations were selected based on the consideration that those places were used by the kings of Mataram (especially Panembahan) to isolate himself and to communicate with the spirits.
On the other hand, Labuhan Alit is done every year. This ceremony usually does not include Dlepih Kahyangan as the offering place. Local community has the belief that Ratu Kidul will get angry if they stop giving the offerings; genies and evil spirits will be sent to spread diseases and calamities.
Two main places, namely Pantai Kidul and Merapi Mountain, are symbols of harmony between human being and nature. The South Ocean is element of water and Merapi Mountain as element of fire; a wisdom to harmonize human being and their dwelling places.
Procession and the Goods to be Offered
The labuhan is started with the ritual of pasrah penampi (handing over offerings) from the representative of Yogyakarta Kingdom to the Regent of Bantul in Kretek Sub-District hall. After that, the articles of the offerings are brought to Parangkusumo hall to be checked out before they are handed over to the caretaker of Parangkusumo beach, as well as to be prayed. The praying is done is a certain location in Parangkusumo beach where there is a stone that is believed to be the meeting place of Panembahan and Ratu Kidul.
After saying the prayer, one of the offerings containing Sultan's used clothes, fingernail, and hair of one year period is planted at the corner of the place while spreading flowers and burning incense.
The rests of the offerings consisting of nine sheets of clothes with different styles and colors, money as much as five hundred rupiah placed on them, special oil, incense, some kinds of dried flower, residue of water used to wash sacred weapons, and traditional cookies are carried on a litter passing through the pathway leading to the seaside on which both sides are bordered with poles.
The articles are then floated to the sea. When the offerings are sent back to the shore by the waves, people rush to get them. Those articles are believed to bring luck. YogYES that had the opportunity to see the ceremony considered it one of the appeals of the ceremony itself.
The King servants then leave for Merapi Mountain. Before labuhan, the articles in the forms of nine rice cones and one uluwetu huge cone are brought from Palemsari village to the house of the Merapi Mountain caretaker to be prayed and stayed a night.
The procession of the offering is accompanied with a dancing fragment entitled Wahyuning Mongsokolo Labuhan, traditional arts such as jathilan, uyon-uyon and karawitan. In the following night, there will be performance of leather puppet entitled Semar Bangun Kahyangan. In the next early morning the offerings are brought to the second post at the southern part of Merapi Mountain foot. Merapi offering giving is done at the same time with the one done in Lawu Mountain in Karanganyar, Central Java.
You can check with our updated calendar of events to see the ceremony.
When you have the opportunity to see this ceremony, you will get spiritual experience in addition to awareness that the existence of human being and nature is inseparable; a fusion of culture and religion that touch your soul.
PESAN - PESAN PERJUANGAN ATAU KATA MUTIARA
DARI PAHLAWAN NASIONAL
1.
Pesan Pahlawan Nasional Nyi Ageng Serang :
" Untuk keamanan dan kesentausaan jiwa, kita harus mendekatkan diri kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, orang yang mendekatkan diri kepada Tuhan, tidak akan terperosok hidupnya, dan tidak akan takut menghadapi cobaan hidup, karena Tuhan akan selalu menuntun dan melimpahkan anugrahNya yang tiada ternilai harganya"
(Disampaian pada saat Nyi Ageng Serang mendengarkan keluhan keprihatinan para pengikut/rakyatnya akibat perlakuan kaum penjajah)
2. Pesan Pahlawan Nasional Jenderal Sudirman:
" Tempat saya yang terbaik adalah ditengah-tengah anak buah saya, Saya akan meneruskan perjuangan ini . Met of zonder Pemerintah TNI akan berjuang terus untuk negeri ini"
(Disampaikan pada jam-jam terakhir sebelum jatuhnya Yogyakarta dan Jenderal Sudirman sesungguhnya dalam keadaan sakit, ketika menjawab peryataan Presiden yang menasehatinya supaya tetap tinggal di kota untuk dirawat sakitnya)
3. Pesan Pahlawan Nasional Prof. DR. R. Soeharso :
" Right or Wrong my contry, lebih-lebih kalau kita tahu, negara kita dalam keadaan bobrok, maka justru saat itu lah kita wajib memperbaikinya"
(Pernyataan sebagai seorang nasionalis dan patriotis)
4. Pesan pahlawan nasional Prof. Moh. Yamin,SH
" Cita-cita persatuan Indonesia itu bukan omong kosong, tetapi memang benar-benar didukung oleh kekuatan-kekuatan yang timbul pada akar sejarah bangsa Indonesia Sendiri"
(Disampaikan pada kongres II di jakarta tanggal 27-28 Oktober 1928 yang dihadiri oleh baerbagai perkumpulan pemuda dan pelajar, dimana ia menjabat sebagai sekretaris).
5. Pesan Pahlawan Nasional Supriyadi :
" Kita yang berjuang jangan sekali-kali mengharapkan pangkat, kedudukan ataupun gaji yang tinggi"
(Disampaikan pada saat Supriyadi memimpin pertemuan rahasia yang dihadri beberapa anggota Peta untuk melakukan pemberontakan melawan pemerintah Jepang)
6. Pesan Pahlawan Nasioanl Teuku Nyak Arif :
" Indonesia merdeka harus menjadi tujuan hidup kita bersama"
(Disampaikan pada pidato bulan Maret 1945, dimana Teuku Nyak Arif menjadi Wakil Ketua DPR Seluruh Sumatra)
7. Pesan pahlawan Nasional Abdul Muis :
" Jika orang lain bisa, saya pun juga bisa, mengapa pemuda pemuda kita tidak bisa, jika memang mau berjuang"
(Menceritakan pengalamannya di luar negeri kepada para pemuda di Sulawesi, ketika Abdul Muis melakuan kunjungan ke Sulawesi sebagai anggota Volksraad wakil SI)
8. Pesan Pahlawan Nasional Pangeran Sambernyowo/KGPAA Mangkunegoro I :
- Rumangso melu handerbeni (merasa ikut memiliki)
- Wajib melu hangrungkebi ( wajib ikut mempertahankan)
- Mulat Sario hangroso wani (mawas diri dan berani bertanggung jawab)
(Merupaan prnsip Tri Dharma yang dikembangkan oleh Mangkunegoro I)
Yogyakarta Water Castle
Water Castle
Taman Sari is a water castle that is located only about 1 kilometer at the west side of the Sultan Palace, Kraton Yogyakarta. It was built on the era of Sultan Hamengku Buwana I that was finally finished by Sultan Hamengku Buwana II. He built this place by creating a new style that was a combination and a mixture of Javanese and Portuguese architecture.
Some say that Taman Sari has been built after the Treaty of Giyanti (1755). During the time, Sultan Hamengku Buwana has been dealing with battles and conflicts. Therefore, Taman Sari was intended to be a place where Sultans can find a peaceful heart and mind as a refreshing place. It was also created as a fortress to anticipate the emergency situation, as a place for worship that is also equipped with a little mosque at the Sumur Gumuling.
Taman Sari consists of:
1. The Sacred Room
There is the sacred place in the complex showing a separated building, which once functioned as a hermitage place for the Sultan and his family
2. The Bathing Pool
This part was formerly a pleasure place for the royal family. Consists of two bathing pool that are separated with a 2-storey building. From this building the Sultan watched all the women swimming in the outer pool. Then he might ask some of them to accompany him into the inner pool. The water sprouts from a forming animal statue into the pool. The pool is also adorned with some big flowerpot.
3. Kenanga or Cemeti Island
This part compounds of some building such as Kenanga or Cemeti Island (forming Island), Sumur Gemuling and underground tunnels.
Taman Sari was once a beautiful and sophisticated water-park that long time years ago was also called as 'Segaran' which is in the Javanese word means artificial sea.
Long time ago, every time Sultan visited the park, he went there by rowing a private canoe through the suspension bridge called 'Kreteg Gantung' which lay in front of the palace gate, southward or northward Kemandungan. The remainder of the building that was once connected by the suspension bridge can still be seen. Besides water transportation, there was also an underground passage or alley from the Kraton of Yogyakarta leading to one of the park buildings which is called Pasarean Ledok Sari.
Formerly, the water castle was not only a beautiful park but also the means of avoiding danger. Whenever the enemies attacked the palace, Sultan and his family would flee away through the underground passage. When all were in a safe place, the Watergate would be opened and the water would overflow the passages and the enemy would be sunk.
One part of the place was called Pulau Kenanga because in the front of the front yard of the building grew Kenanga trees (Canangium Odoratum). The flowers spread out the sweet fragrance through all parts of the park. The lofty buildings such as the pond were built especially for the Sultan and his family as a bath-place. The underground passage leading to the west area, and the bulwark which encircled the area of the palace, as well as the one which leads south ward to a small village called Krapyak, have been restored.
Versions on the Establishment of Taman Sari:
First Version
This version states that, in Mancingan (a place in beach of south Yogyakarta), there was a unknown person whom the people consider him as a spooky. He did not speak Javanese. As the people took him to Sultan Hamengku Buwana II, the king took him as a servant in the palace. Afterward, the strange man began to speak Javanese. He said that he was a Portuguese. By Sultan, He then was declared as an architect.
Sultan Hamengku Buwana II ordered him to establish a fortress. For his work, the Portuguese was promoted as a demang called Demang Portegis or Demang Tegis. It was Demang Tegis who was considered as the architect of the Taman Sari. The concept of the building was known came from Portugal seen from its art and design.
Second Version
The second version states that once upon a time, the regent of Madiun named Rangga Prawirasentika who has served Sultan Hamengku Buwana I for years asked him to be freed from the taxes obligation. Rangga Prawirasentika will agree with certain conditions if only Sultan Hemengku Buwana I asked him to complete the ornament of the palace. Sultan then agreed with the condition.
By Sultan Hamengku Buwana I, in 1684 Raden Rangga Prawirasentika was ordered to create brick stones and other materials to make a garden as a place for recreation as the result several wars. The order was marked by 'Sengkalan Memet' that stated atur Naga Rasa Tunggal' (1684).
To establish the garden, the project was led by Raden tumenggung Mangundipura and directed by K.P.H. Natakusuma, who later became K.G.P.A.A. Paku Alam I (Sultan's son from his wife Bendara Raden Ayu Srenggara). The making of Gua Siluman is begun 1687 and marked with candra sengkala Pujining Brahmana Ngobahake Pajungutan (1687). The doors and the gates, then finished in 1691.
The end of the project was marked with Sengkalan Memet 'Lajering Kembang Sinesep Peksi' (1691). It described birds that absorbed the honey of the flowers.
This version also explained that the price to create the garden was even bigger that the amount of money to be submitted for two years. Raden Rangga Prawirasentika then asked Sultan to cancel the project. Sultan agreed and ordered K.P.H. Natakusuma to finish the garden with his own money.
Nilai Estetis Tari Gambyong
Komunitas awam apalagi seniman tentu mengenal tari Gambyong. Suatu tarian yang disajikan untuk penyambutan tamu atau mengawali suatu resepsi perkawinan. Biasanya penarinya rata-rata masih muda dan parasnya cantik. Sebagai suatu bentuk performance art, tari Gambyong menjadikan santapan estetis tersendiri bagi siapa saja yang menyaksikan.
Awal mula istilah Gambyong tampaknya berawal dari nama seorang penari taledhek. Penari yang bernama Gambyong ini hidup pada zaman Sunan Paku Buwana IV di Surakarta. Penari taledhek yang bernama Gambyong juga disebutkan dalam buku Cariyos Lelampahanipun Suwargi R.Ng. Ronggowarsito (tahun 1803-1873) yang mengungkapkan adanya penari ledhek yang bernama Gambyong yang memiliki kemahiran dalam menari dan kemerduan dalam suara sehingga menjadi pujaan kaum muda pada zaman itu.
Tari Gambyong memiliki daya tarik yang sangat kuat karena estetika gerak-geraknya yang bersifat erotis. Motif-motif geraknya merupakan gerak-gerak nonrepresentatif (tan wadhag) atau gerak-gerak yang sangat distilisasi sehingga tari tersebut mempunyai teba tafsir yang lebih luas bagi penonton atau penikmat. Selain itu, motif-motif gerak yang bervariasi dengan tempo gerak yang cepat serta cekatan menjadikan tari Gambyong lebih dinamis. Juga karena spesifiknya motif-motif gerak tarinya yang disebabkan oleh tuntutan untuk dapat menimbulkan kesan erotis menjadikan penyajian tari Gambyong menarik untuk dinikmati para penonton atau penikmat.
Koreografi tari Gambyong sebagian besar berpusat pada penggunaan gerak kaki, tubuh, lengan, dan kepala. Gerak kepala dan tangan yang halus dan terkendali merupakan spesifikasi dalam tari Gambyong. Arah pandangan mata yang bergerak mengikuti arah gerak tangan dengan memandang jari-jari tangan menjadikan faktor dominan gerak-gerak tangan dalam ekspresi tari Gambyong. Hal ini dapat diamati pada gerak ukel asta (memutar pergelangan tangan) sebagai format gerak yang sering dilakukan.
Gerak kaki pada saat sikap berdiri dan berjalan mempunyai korelasi yang harmonis. Sebagai contoh, pada gerak srisig (berdiri dengan jinjit dan langkah kecil-kecil), nacah miring (kaki kiri bergerak ke samping, bergantian atau disusul kaki kanan di letakkan di depan kaki kiri), kengser (gerak kaki ke samping dengan cara bergeser/posisi telapak kaki tetap merapat ke lantai). Gerak kaki yang spesifik pada tari Gambyong adalah gerak embat atau entrag, yaitu posisi lutut yang membuka karena mendhak (merendah) bergerak ke bawah dan ke atas.
Penggarapan pola lantai pada tari Gambyong dilakukan pada peralihan rangkaian gerak, yaitu pada saat transisi rangkaian gerak satu dengan rangkaian gerak berikutnya. Sedangkan perpindahan posisi penari biasanya dilakukan pada gerak penghubung, yaitu srisig, singget ukel karna, kengser, dan nacah miring. Selain itu dilakukan pada rangkaian gerak berjalan (sekaran mlaku) ataupun gerak di tempat (sekaran mandheg).
Tari Gambyong sebagai tarian wanita mempunyai regulasi-regulasi dalam implementasi geraknya sehingga privasi geraknya tampak dibatasi. Hal ini dilakukan agar sifat kewanitaan yang halus selalu dapat dipertahankan atau ditonjolkan. Dalam tarian wanita jarang ditemukan luapan emosi, tetapi harus selalu lembut, halus, dan sopan. Sifat wanita yang ideal dan luhur ini selalu dihormati dengan ungkapan seni yang halus. Oleh karena itu, tidak ada gerak lengan yang lebih tinggi dari bahu, tidak pernah ada gerak meloncat, dan kedua paha selalu rapat. Bentuk torso (badan) wanita yang halus dan kelenturan anggota badannya menyempurnakan garis-garis kewanitaan menjadi sangat indah. Ini dapat tercapai dengan naluri dan budi pekerti yang halus. Keharmonisan
Perkembangan tari Gambyong tidak terlepas dari nilai estetis yang mengungkapkan keluwesan, kelembutan, dan kelincahan wanita. Nilai estetis ini terdapat pada keharmonisan dan keselarasan antara gerak dan ritme, khususnya antara gerak dan irama kendang. Sinergitas antara gerak dan ritme ini menjadikan tari Gambyong tampil lebih sigrak (tangkas). Nilai estetis tari Gambyong akan muncul apabila penarinya juga menjiwai dan mampu mengekspresikan dengan perfek sehinga muncul ungkapan tari yang erotis-sensual.
Busana dan rias pada tari Gambyong mempunyai peran yang mendukung ekspesi tari dan faktor penting untuk suksesnya penyajian. Bentuk rias corrective make up yang menghasilkan wajah cantik dan tampak alami, menarik untuk dilihat.
Sementara itu, busana tari Gambyong yang disebut angkinan atau kembenan menjadikan lekuk-lekuk tubuh penari tampak terbentuk. Dengan demikian, bagian-bagian tubuh yang digerakkan kelihatan jelas sehingga gerak seperti ogek lambung yang bervolume kecil dapat tampak lebih jelas. Bentuk busana ini memungkinkan juga memberikan keleluasaan gerak sesuai dengan manifestasi dan kelincahan tari Gambyong.
Dengan penggunaan kain yang diwiru, maka pada saat berjalan atau bergerak, lipatan kain (wiron) itu akan membuka dan menutup serta kelihatan hidup sehingga dapat memperkuat impresif kenesnya. Maka, busana yang dianggap sesuai dengan ekspresi tari Gambyong adalah busana angkinan dengan gelung gedhe.
Bagian bahu dibuat terbuka, bahkan kadang-kadang payudara dinaikkan sehingga tampak montok dengan sebutan glathik mungup (lekukan payudara, tampak seperti burung gelathik muncul). Perkembangan busana tari Gambyong yang beragam saat ini lebih terkesan dekoratif dan kurang memerhatikan kemungguhan (kesesuaian) tari. Meskipun demikian, perkembangan busana itu tetap membuat penyajian tari Gambyong semakin beragam dan menarik.
Penyajian tari Gambyong akan dapat mencapai nilai estetis apabila dilakukan oleh penari yang memiliki basic tari yang kuat. Kemantapan sajian tari dari seorang penari dipengaruhi oleh latar belakang budaya yang membentuk diri penari, di samping faktor kebiasaan dan kematangan. Kebiasaan dan kematangan pada tari Gambyong akan membentuk penari itu menjadi penari yang luluh atau menyatu dengan tari yang disajikan. Karena disadari penari tidak sekadar bergerak secara fisik saja, tetapi yang lebih penting adalah mampu mengungkapkan intuisi lewat gerak yang dinamis dan proporsional.
Kroncong (pronounced "kronchong") is the name of a ukulele-type instrument and an Indonesian musical style that typically makes use of the kroncong, a flute, and a female singer.
Characteristics
The name "Kroncong" may be derived from the jingling sound of the kerincing rebana, as heard in the rhythmic background to the music created by the interlocking of instruments playing on or off the beat. This background rhythm runs faster than the (often) slow vocal or melody, and is created, typically, by two ukuleles, a cello, a guitar and a bass. These instruments, especially the pair of ukeleles, interlock as do the instruments in a gamelan orchestra, and it is clear that the musical traditions of Indonesia have been applied to an orchestra of European instruments.
One ukulele, called the "cak" (pronounced "chak") may be steel-stringed and the instrumentalist strums chords with up to 8 strums per beat in 4/4 rhythm. The off-beat strums are accentuated. The other ukulele, called the "cuk" (pronounced "chook"), is larger and may have 3 gut or nylon strings. The instrumentalist may pluck arpeggios and tremoloes using a plectrum, and the on-beat is emphasised. As a set, the cak and cuk form an interlocking pair that mostly gives Kroncong its characteristic kron and chong.
The cello may have 3 gut or nylon strings and chords are plucked rapidly, often with a unique skipped-beat, using the thumb and one finger. This instrument then adds both rhythm and tone. The guitar may play similarly to either cak or cuk but, more often, plays extended scalar runs that provide an undulating background to a chord or bridge chord changes. The bass often is played in a minimalist style reminiscent of the large gongs in a gamelan.
On top of this rhythmic layer the melody and elaborate ornamentation is carried by a voice, flute or violin. The violin or flute are used to play introductory passages (often elaborate), fills and scalar runs, both faster and more elaborate than the guitar. The vocalist sings the melody which, in traditional Kroncong, is slow with sustained notes.
The repertoire largely uses the Western major key with some arrangements in the minor. One departure from this occurs when Kroncong orchestras play Javanese songs (Langgam Jawa). Javanese music ordinarily uses scales and intervals that do not occur in Western music. Kroncong Jawa maintains Western intervals but adopts a 5-tone scale that approximates one of the main Javanese septatonic scales. When playing this style, cak and cuk leave their characteristic interplay and both play arpeggios to approximate the sound and style of the Javanese instrument the siter, a kind of zither. The cello adopts a different rhythmic style as well.
[edit] History
Kroncong music began in the 16th century as sailors brought Bobian instruments and music to Indonesia. Lower-class citizens and gangs, commonly called buaya (a reference to "buaya darat" or crocodile on land, a term used to describe playboys to this day) adopted the new musical styles. Eventually, they were assimilated by the upper-class citizens. Paul Fisher writes,
The small kroncong guitar, also the name of a music, is derived from the Portuguese braguinha, sharing its root with the Hawaiian ukulele. Kroncong music is believed to have originated in the communities of freed Portuguese slaves in the 16th century. European influence from this time can also be heard in the music of the Batak people of North Sumatra, and from the end of the 19th century, the beginnings of guitar accompaniment incorporated within a distinctly Indonesian idiom in music from Sumatra, South Sulawesi and elsewhere.[1]
Kroncong (currently spelled Keroncong in Indonesian) is now considered old-fashioned folk music by most Indonesian youth, although efforts have been made since the 1960s to modernise the genre by adding electric guitars, keyboards and drums, notably in so-called Pop Keroncong sung by Hetty Koes Endang. The melancholic spirit of traditional, acoustic Kroncong (so similar to Portuguese Fado music) has been recorded by Samuel Quiko and the members of his Jakartan Krontjong Tugu Orchestra, who have performed at the well-known Pasar Malam in The Hague.
