Reog

ReogorRéyog(Javanese:ꦫꦺꦪꦺꦴꦒ꧀) is a traditionalIndonesian dancein an open arena that serves as folk entertainment and contains some magical elements. The main dancer is alion-headed person with apeacockfeather decoration, accompanied by several masked dancers andKuda Lumping.Reog is one of theperforming artsfrom the northwestern region ofEast JavaandPonorogois the region where Reog originated. The city gate of Ponorogo is decorated with warok andgemblak,twocharacterswho 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.

Reog

Reog dance performance inPonorogo,Eastern Java
Instrument(s)	Gamelan
Origin	East Java(Ponorogo),Indonesia

In 2013, ReogPonorogotradition is recognized asNational Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesiaby theIndonesia Ministry of Education and Culture.

Etymology

In the book of"Pedoman Dasar Kesenian Reog Ponorogo dalam Pentas Budaya Bangsa"published by thePonorogoRegional Government in 1993, it is stated that the wordsreogorreyogisJavanesein origin. It comes from theJavaneseriyegorriyetmeans 'noisy or crowded'.

History

Reog dancers performance inPonorogo,Dutch East Indies,ca. 1920.

The dance describeKlono Sewandonothe king of Ponorogo on his journey toKedirito seek the hand of the Princess Songgo Langit. On his journey he was attacked by a vicious monster calledSingo Barong,a mythical lion with peacock on its head. Historians trace the origin of Reog Ponorogo as the satire on the incompetence ofMajapahitrulers during the end of the empire. It describe the innate Ponorogo liberty and its opposition on centralist Majapahit rule. The lion represent the king of Majapahit while the peafowl represent the queen, it was suggested that the king was incompetent and always being controlled by his queen. The beautiful, youthful and almost effeminatehorsemendescribe the Majapahit cavalry that have lost theirmanliness.

Insociety,there is another version about the origin of the Reog. History of Reog Arts began the revolt of Ki Ageng, a man of Majapahit Kingdom in the 15th century, where at that time the Majapahit Kingdom under the rule of the King of Kertabhumi Bhre last Majapahit Kingdom. Ki Ageng Kutu wrath against the corrupt behavior of his King, he saw that the powers of the Majapahit Kingdom soon will end. He left the Kingdom and founded a college ofmartial artsin hopes of raising seeds which can be held as under. Aware that thearmywas not able to compete with the Majapahit army political messages of Ki Ageng Kutu were submitted through the performances of Reog. Performance of Reog utilized Ki Ageng Kutu to buildresistanceto the Royal Society. In art performances Reog was shown the head of alion-shaped mask called "Singo Barong", Kings of the forest that became a symbol of Kertabhumi, and it plugged up topeacockfeathers to resemble a giant fan that symbolises the strong influence of the governing Chinese pronunciation of peers over all. Jathilan, played by a group of dancers a gemblakhorses-shaped became a symbol of the power of the Kingdom of Majapahit into comparison contrast with the power of warok. Red clown mask that became the symbol for Ki Ageng Kutu, alone and support the weight of the mask Singo Barong that reaches over 50 kg using only histeeth.Ki Ageng Kutu's Reog popularity eventually led to Bhre Kertabhumi taking action and attacking Kutu's college, the rebellion by warok was quickly overcome, and the college is prohibited to continue teaching about warok. But the disciples Ki Ageng Kutu remain continue secretly. However, the performance of Reog itself is allowed to stage performances because has become popular among the people but the storyline having a groove in which the characters of new added folktale of Ponorogo, for example like Klono Sewandono, Dewi Songgolangit, and Sri Genthayu.

Reog dancers performance inJava,Dutch East Indies,between 1920 and 1930

Reog Ponorogo dancers traditionally performed in atrancestate. Reog Ponorogo displays the traditionalKejawenJavanese spiritual teaching. Next to physical requirement, the dancers—especially the Warok—required to follow strict rules, rituals and exercises, both physical and spiritual. One of the requirement is abstinence, warok is prohibited to indulged and involved in sexual relationship with women, yet having sex with boy age eight to fifteen is allowed. The boy lover is calledGemblakand usually kept byWarokin their household under the agreement and compensation to the boy's family. Warok can be married with a woman as their wive, but they may kept a gemblak too. This led toWarok-Gemblakanrelationship that similar topederastictradition of ancient Greece. Anybody who is in touch with the traditional way of life in Ponorogo, knows that there are these older men called warok who, instead of having sex with their wives, have sex with younger boys.What Warok and Gemblak did ishomosexualact, yet they never identify themself as homosexuals.

Many Warok and Gemblak were massacred by Islamic groups during the anti-communistIndonesian killings of 1965-1966,their heads placed on pikes for public display. Today theWarok-Gemblakanpractice is discouraged by local religious authorities and being shunned through public moral opposition. As the result today Reog Ponorogo performance rarely features Gemblak boys to perform as Jathil horsemen, their position were replaced by girls. Although today this practice might probably still survived and done in discreet manner.

Today, Reog Ponorogo is often held on festive special occasions; such as theIslamicholiday ofEid al-Fitr,anniversary ofPonorogo Regency,Independence day carnival on 17 August, to opening ceremony of sporting events. Today, reog troupe performances can be seen in various countries brought by Indonesian workers. Such as in the United States (Singo Lodoyo Washington DC),South Korea(Singo Mudho Korea), Taiwan (Singo Barong Taiwan), Australia (Singo Sarjono),naval expedition Indonesia(Reog Dewaruci), Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia (Sardulo Gugah Ponorogo, Sri Wahyuni, Gamalasari).

Performance

Reog is a traditional dance that became the main identity forPonorogo Regency.Reog National Festival is held every year along with the anniversary of Ponorogo regency and the Grebeg Suro celebration. Reog dance is also staged nightly on the full moon in Paseban, Ponorogo town square. Reog tells the story about the struggle of a prince who will propose to a beautiful princess.Reog Ponorogo tells the story of a mythical battle between the King ofPonorogoand the magical lion-like creature calledSingo Barong.

Singo Barong Mask (Dadak Merak)

Singo Barong performance at Festival Reog Nasional inPonorogo,East Java,Indonesia.

The Reog dance of Ponorogo involves alionfigure known as thesingo barong.Singo Barongis a large mask usually made from a tiger's or leopard's head skin, on the mask is a large fan adorned with realpeafowlfeathers. The Singo Barong mask is notoriously heavy and the dancer of the Singo Barong has to carry the mask of about 30 – 40 kg in weight and is supported by the strength of their teeth.

A single dancer, orwarok,carries the heavy lion mask by his teeth. He is credited with supernatural abilities and strength. Thewarokmay also carry an adolescent boy or girl on its head. When carrying an adolescent boy or girl on his head, the Reog dancer holds weight of up to 100 kilograms in total. Holding the heavy big mask by biting, thewarokrelies on the strength of his jaws, neck and shoulder muscles. The great mask spans over 2.5 meters with genuine tiger skin and real peacock feathers. It has gained international recognition as the world's largest mask.

Performers

The leading figures in Reog Ponorogo performance includes:

1. Klono Sewandono,A man in regal attire wearing a mask with a proud and pompous dance and plays the role as the King of Ponorogo
2. Bujang Ganongare rough youthful men wearing red masks, they perform acrobatic dances and sometimes also involve trances.
3. Jathil,the youthful and handsome men riding horses made of weaved bamboo, similar to theKuda Lumpingdance. Today, Jathil is usually performed by female dancers.
4. Warok,plays as the Singo Barong, the mythical creature. The one who is allowed to perform this dance is calledwarok.Awarokis the honorary title of the local hero or strongman of the village who possesses both exceptional spiritual and physical strength. The dance itself is a demonstration of physical strength.

Reog Ponorogo usually consists of three sets of dances; each dance is performed by several dancers:

1. The first dance is the opening dance, performed byBujang Ganong,male dancers who wear black costumes. The costume describes rough men with intimidating moustaches and other masculine symbols.
2. The second dance is theJaran Kepangdance performed byJathil;it is originally performed by agemblak,a handsome and youthful teenage boy wearing colourful costumes. Today female dancers usually play this role.
3. The third dance is the main attraction of the show; it is performed by all the Reog dancers. The warok as the main male dancer, wearing the large and heavy lion mask, dances in the centre of the stage while the other dancers dance around him. To demonstrate the warok's extraordinary strength, theJathilrides on top of the lion mask and is carried around.

• 
  Singo Barong
• 
  Klono Sewandono
• 
  Bujang Ganong
• 
  Jathil
• 
  Warok

Controversy

Malaysian Barongan is similar to Reog Ponorogo but with anIslamicelement injected into it.The controversy arose because the Singo Barong mask on the official website ofMinistry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysiacontained the words "Malaysia" on it and recognized as a legacy of MuslimJavanesecommunities inMalaysiaespecially in the district ofMuar,Johor.The origins and cultural ownership of the Reog dance have been the subject of a dispute and controversy between the neighboring countries ofIndonesiaand Malaysia, whose ethnic, cultural and religious histories overlap and share many similarities. Mostly because there is numerous descendants of Javanese immigrants in Malaysia, some who have been serving withSultan of Malacca,before moving together with the Sultan, especially inJohorstate to formJohor-Riau Sultanate.And some of the immigrants brought many Javanese-origin artforms such as Barongan,Wayang Kulit Jawa,andKuda Lumping.Thousands of Reog artist had a demonstration at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta.To avoid further controversy with Indonesia, all promotional revival on Barongan have been discontinued by the government of Malaysia, which contributing to further decline of Barongan in Malaysia.However, the Malaysian government continue to promote other ethnic cultures like the Portuguese-Eurasian festival of San Pedro.

See also

• Barong (mythology)
• Kuda lumping
• Sisingaan
• Javanese dance

References

Bibliography

• Timur, Sunarto (1978),Reog di Jawa Timur(in Indonesian), Jakarta: Proyek Sasana Budaya Depdikbud
• Balai Kajian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional Yogyakarta (1997), "Drama Tradisional Reog: Suatu Kajian Sistem Pengetahuan Dan Religi",Laporan Penelitian Jarahnitra(in Indonesian), Yogyakarta: Departemen Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, pp. 1–59,ISSN0854-3178

Further reading

• Rahimsyah, M. B.; Tasrif, Mahmudi; Hidayat, Kidh (1990),Asal-usul Reog Ponorogo(in Indonesian), Surabaya: Karya Anda,OCLC464303655
• Asmoro, Achmad (2013),Pasang Surut Dominasi Islam terhadap Kesenian Reog Ponorogo(in Indonesian), Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Intan Lampung

External links

• Media related toReogat Wikimedia Commons
• Video of Reog at Festival Nasional Reog Ponorogo