Folktale of Banyuwangi

THE FOLKTALE OF BANYUWANGI
EASTERN-MOST REGENCY EAST JAVA - INDONESIA

Once upon a time, there was a big kingdom located in East Java Province. This Kingdom was led by a fair and wise king. The king has a handsome son “Raden Banterang”. He is really like hunting. One day Raden Banterang said to his slave "This morning, I will hunt to the forest. Prepare a hunting tool for me". After all the hunting equipments were ready, Raden Banterang was accompanied by his servants went to the forest. When Raden Banterang was walking alone, he saw a deer crossing in front of him. He was then chasing the deer quickly and without being known he is in the middle of the forest. He separated from his servants.

Though he knew he got lost, he was still trying to find that deer. He was so curious to catch it, crossing the bush and trees in the middle of huge forest but still he couldn’t find the animal he wanted to catch. He felt tired and thirsty, luckily he found a river with its clear water. He drank the water slowly and washed his face till his thirst was gone. When he had finished drinking the water from the river, and wanted to move his feet, he was so surprised seeing a beautiful girl, “really she is so beautiful” he started talking in his mind.

“No way” “a beautiful girl? In the strange forest? “ “it couldn’t be, unbelievable”. Is she a gosh or an human being?” Slowly he ventured his self to get closer with the girl and askes “are you a girl or a forest gosh?” She smiled and said that she is an human being and her name is Surati from Klungkung Kingdom. She was there because she tried to escape herself from the enemy and his father had passed away when he tried to protect his kingdom. Raden Banterang felt sympathy with her life, he wanted to help and asked her to go with him back to his palace. Time flied and finally they got married.

One day, Princess Surati walked alone out of the palace and someone shouted to her “Surati! Surati!” a man with ragged and dirty cloth called her. She recognized him cause he is her brother “Rupaksa”. Rupaksa told her that Raden Banterang was the person who killed their father and he asked her to take a revenge. Surati told him that she has got married with Raden Banterang, she didn’t want to take a revenge to him. Since Surati didn’t want to help her brother to take a revenge to Raden Banterang, Rupaksa was so angry with her, but he gave her a red headband and he told her to keep it under her bed.

Raden Banterang didn’t know about her wife and her wife’s brother meeting since he was hunting in the forest. When he was in the middle of the forest, suddenly a man with ragged and dirty cloth came to him and said “My lord, Raden Banterang, your safety is being threatened and it was your wife the one who planned it. You can see the proof under her bed, there is a red headband. It belongs to the man who is ordered to kill you, my lord.” And then, after said that he disappeared directly.

Raden Banterang started to believe what the man said to him in the forest and he was back home and straight to his wife bed. He tried to find the red headband and he found it! He told to his wife “this is the proff, this red headband is a proof that you wanna betray me, you wanna kill me, how dare you! So this is your thankful to me?” Surati denied all the charge against her and she said “please believe me, I didn’t do that. I never wanna betray you my husband.” But Raden Banterang still didn’t believe her. He wanted to hurt her before she killed him.

Raden Banterang intended to drown his wife to a river. After arriving near the river, he told her about his meeting with a strange man in the forest. She told him that he is her brother who gave her the headband. Still Raden Banterang didn’t believe her . Then Surati said to him “my husband, please open your heart and mind, I will give my life and soul to protect your safety but give me a chance to tell you about the meeting between my brother and I.”

Surati said again “My brother is the one who wanna kill you. He ask my help but I refuse it.” Raden Banterang heard all the explanation but his heart wasn’t melt at all. He even thought that his wife was lie to him. Surati shouted to him “My husband, I’ll jump to this river, if the water is clear and has fragrant smell, it means I am not fault! But if the water is muddy and has putrid odor, it means I am fault!” Raden Banterang thought what his wife told him was just a lie, then he draw his kris and at the same time, Surati jump to the river.

Only several second after her jumped, the magic happened, fragrant smell spread around the river. Realized what was happening, Raden Banterang shouted “My wife is not fault! This river is aromatic! No!” How regret Raden Banterang was. He cried and so sad loosing his beloved wife and really regret how he could be so stupid, didn’t believe in her own wife. But it’s too late.

Since that time, the place where the river has fragrant smell called “Banyuwangi”. “Banyu” means “water” and “wangi” means “aromatic”. “Banyuwangi” then become the name of my hometown, a small city in East Java Island.

KUNTULAN FROM BANYUWANGI

HADRAH KUNTULAN

“HADRAH KUNTULAN” Kuntulan Tambourine, which is also called “Kundaran”, is one of the many art traditions that still survive till now on in Banyuwangi. The various journey changes that characterize Kuntulan showed its intelligence facing any changes. Kuntulan is influenced by Arabic work of art which has Islamic nuance.

Not only the dancing movement, the music and also the songs, but also the unique collaboration between Banyuwangi art tradition and desert art. Her presence also adds to the treasury and colors of traditional arts in the country. The collaboration with various social and cultural realities of Banyuwangi’s society bring this art into a distinctive dynamic and complex issues at once.

The designation of “Kuntul” means “egret”, as a symbol, according to Sutedjo HN, humanist from Banyuwangi, this is as a representation of the social lifestyle which more concern about togetherness among the human beings. It is inspired from egrets who are always calling their friends when they find some food.

Another peculiarity in the arts or kundaran tambourine “Kuntulan” is the rhythm that has a strong character, aggressive and jerky even when performing, the music player look as hand in hand to create a dynamic and full tone so natural that the spirit of rock music typical Banyuwangi even occasionally we have to close ears because it’s so loud and the Jidor players sometimes like a man possessed when playing. The song is not always Islamic songs, but also include folk songs and sometimes pop songs that are popular today.

The Achievement of Hadrah Kuntulan have scent Banyuwangi and East Java province. Recorded in the national art scene, Hadrah Kuntulan has been bacoming a winner in the National Festival at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta.

Art tambourine Kuntulan also been plugging his nails at the International level. Several times this art performances abroad. Hadrah Kuntulan also had been performing in Japan collaborate with Barongan.

Traditional Batik Gajah Oleng

BATIK "GAJAH OLENG"

Gajah Oleng has so many meanings, some say “Oleng” is as big as an elephant (Gajah), Oling is an animal that is similar to an rice field eel but it have ears. Others say that, “Gajah Oleng” is a special weapon of Banyuwangi. Since Batik Banyuwangi is including one of coastal batik, so the motifs and the colors is like a freedom.

This “Gajah Oleng” batik motif, motivated by the heroism of Blambangan society who don’t want to be "colonized" so that the word "Sing" which is the name of the Banyuwangi original ethnic. “Osing” means they don’t want to be the same as Batik from Mataram or Bali, then bring out different batik motifs and colors.

Batik Gajah Oleng symbolizes something forces, which grew from the Banyuwangi community identity. Its meaning related to the character of a religious community. With the mention of Elephant eling, which means being aware of (considering) the creator's wisdom is a good way to live a life of Banyuwangi.

In addition, the connection with the mysterious figure in the history Blambangan. Conquest Blambangan by Mataram, which at the time of Sultan Agung Hanyokro Kusumo (1613-1645 M). Where is the power of Mataram, many subject Blambangan brought to the center of Muslim rule in Plered Mataram, Kotagede. They are a lot of batik learning in the Islamic Mataram palace.

History of batik has been known by tradition palace in Java since the 15th century. In particular, in the reign of Sultan Agung. After a development period of political interests mutualism occurs, by setting the tradition of batik as a tradition of an identity. Mastery of the culture that surrounded her. Interestingly, the figure of a typical batik Banyuwangi unaffected Mataram or any element of Bali.

Less gregetnya batik in Banyuwangi does not mean do not have the aesthetic value of decorative architectural or decorative ornamental. Precisely cultivate Banyuwangi batik means digging back in terms of aesthetic value or Blambangan scattered on the existing remnants of Archaeology.

Traditional Ritual Dance "Gandrung"

"GANDRUNG" RITUAL DANCE FROM BANYUWANGI

The Gandrung is a ritual dance that initially came into being to express devotion to the goddess of fertility and rice, Dewi Sri, in Indonesia. A beautiful, classical dance, it has evolved over time to become a sort of courtship dance that portrays a girl looking for a man. In Javanese, the word Gandrung stands for desperately in love or being infatuated. Thought to have originated in Banyuwangi in East Java, the dance is also popular in Lombok and Bali, where it is performed at social events, weddings, or to engage tourists.

While there are a number of dancers on the stage, the focus of attention is on a single dancer who is either an unmarried girl or a boy dressed up as one. Sometimes, transvestites also star as the main dancer, and there could also be more than one main dancer on the stage. Typically, the Gandrung starts are around 9:00 p.m. with dancers performing all night. Ending before dawn, the dance is on par with other dances like the tayub, ketuk tilu, and the lengger, which come from different parts of Java.

The main dancer is exotically dressed in a traditional costume, ornamental headgear, shawl, and a beautiful fan. The dancer uses this fan or the shawl enticingly during the dance to indicate interest in a member of the audience. He or she may either tap the person with the point of the fan if close by or throw the shawl to the person. The invited person usually dances together with the dancer.

The invited audience member may gift the dancer a little money to show appreciation. Considered the welcome dance of Banyuwangi, the city itself acquired the term the City of Gandrung. Its native people are the Osing, and the dance is thought to express their personality. The dance form portrays influences from Madura, Java, and Bali. The music has a Balinese flavor, while the dance moves can seem Javanese or Madurese from time to time.

Over the years, the Gandrung lost its ritual connection with the goddess Dewi Sri and is now sometimes performed as a courtship dance outdoors in certain parts of Lombok. Originally, the instruments musicians used were violins, gongs, drums, and kenong. Over time, they added others such as bonang, gamelan, xylophones, and terbang.

Musicians may also use other instruments, like angklung, saron, and gendangs. At times, a singer may also lend his or her voice to a Gandrung dance. The exotic music is quite vibrant and varies depending on the area where the dance is performed.

Traditional Trance Dance "Seblang"

"Seblang" Dance of Life From Banyuwangi, Indonesia

The seblang is a trance dance performed once a year in two villages in the Banyuwangi area in East Java, Indonesia, which are home to the Oseng (also spelled Osing), a Javanese sub-group. These villages, located in the district (kecamatan) of Glagah, are Bakungan, where the ritual covers one day and is performed at night, and Olesari (also Ulihsari), where the activities go on for seven days during the day.

The ritual, in which either a pre-menarcheal girl or a post- menopausal woman - depending on the village - is put into a trance to be possessed by a spirit, is said by the inhabitants of the two villages to be the oldest and most potent ritual in the Banyuwangi area. In the course of the proceedings the villagers establish contact with both ancestral and tutelary spirits in order to promote the welfare of the community, keep the land fertile, and ensure the success of the next erop. The ritual is similar to trance and possession phenomena elsewhere in Indonesia, such as the sanghyang of Bali, the sintren of West Java , the sintring of Madura and the Nini Thowong performances that used to be found throughout Java. These performances all have a similar goal, namely promoting individual and community welfare, and use very similar personages and similar techniques for inducing trance, such as the inhalation of smoke, and music and dance.

Also, the tayuban dance, which formerly was very popular at Javanese village celebrations and in which trance was not a factor, was 'an integral part of village shrine ritual associated with annual bersih desa [the cleansing of the village] festivity', as well as with the associated veneration of the founder of the village The gandrung dance of Banyuwangi, closely related to the seblang, today serves a function similar to that of the tayuban in East Java. On a more individual level, those who go into a trance are thought to be able to foretell the future and to know the cures for diseases and the like. If the seblang dance were not to take place, the village would be sure to suffer; informants readily gave examples of trouble resulting from neglect of the seblang ritual.

In the two villages in which seblang is found today, the performances take place on the occasion of the annual bersih desa, during which the community is cleansed of the accumulated effects of discord, especially between people and the spirit world. Although nearly all the villagers profess allegiance to Islam, belief in the importance of maintaining proper relations with both tutelary and ancestral spirits remains strong. While the outcome of one's endeavours ultimately depends on God, the goodwill of these spirits is seen as essential to success, either directly or through their intercession with God. During bersih desa, therefore, God, and also the spirits and the ancestors, are thanked for the success of the past harvest and are asked to bless the coming agricultural cycle and the people generally.

In the past the time for these celebrations was around the beginning of the Javanese month Sura, which was the start of the new year. Now, however, they are adapted to the Islamic calendar, the celebration in Olehsari taking place a week after Idul Fitri, the end of the Islamic month of fasting (Ramadhan), and that in Bakungan around Idul Adha, the fifteenth of the month Haji, during which the pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca is undertaken. This and other Muslim adjustments notwithstanding, the main aim of the performances is to strengthen relations between the villages and the spirit world.

The ritual description of 'a public rite performed for the benefit of the whole village or community', characteristic of 'tightly structured and relatively elaborate food-producing - usually agricultural societies'. It may not always have been this way. Between at least the late 17th and the 19th centuries, war and political turbulence so disturbed the social fabric of what had been the kingdom of Balambangan (in which Banyuwangi is located) that in 1780 its population had been reduced to about 9000 people. It is doubtful, therefore, whether one can speak of a 'tightly structured and relatively elaborate food.

In the late 19th century, a period when reliable data started becoming available, there were professional spirit dancers in the old Balambangan area who could be called upon in case of illness or when one needed to redeem a vow (nadar), and who thus fulfilled a role akin to the shamanistic one mentioned above. Such a figure probably also offered his services during the annual celebrations, at least in Bakungan, where this is said to have been a tradition since the foundation of the village. According to the villagers the area was a bakung {Crinium asiaticum) forest at the time of the founders' arrival. In the centre of this forest, where they wanted to build their village hall (balai desa), stood either a large nagasari (Mesua ferea) or banyan tree inhabited by numerous spirits. Because the tree had to be felled, these spirits had to be persuaded to move to avoid difficulties with them.

The spirits agreed on condition that each year a seblang performance would be held, during which one of them would possess the dancer. The tradition of sponsoring a seblang in fulfilment of a promise or to effect a cure seems to have died out now. The only occasions for its performance are the annual ceremonies in Bakungan and Olesari.

WHAT IS KOREAN DRAMA ?

ABOUT KOREAN DRAMA 

Korean Drama, who don’t know about it ? Korean Fever is infecting the world. All things about Korea, especially in terms of entertainment or amusement, definitely got a big spotlight. Who does not know famous boys band group 2PM and Super Junior, or Choi Siwon a famous artist and the beautiful artist Song Hye Kyo who starred Endless Love or Hyun Bin who recently visited Indonesia in the framework of military duty. It has become a fame icon in Korea's entertainment world.

Korean dramas are very popular with its good story, fun, and always makes us curious. It could make the people who enjoyed drama infatuated with Korean Drama and can not wait to watch the sequel. Some people even become Korean addicted, they may watch Korean dramas they like for many times without ever getting bored. Like the phenomenal Korean drama: Secret Garden, Endless Love, Boys Before Flowers, etc.

But, do you know what is Korean Drama? How does it come from ? Let me tell you what I have read about Korean Drama. well, I am just sharing :)

Korean drama (Korean: 한국드라마) refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries. Most popular Korean dramas have also become popular in other parts of the world such as Latin America, the Middle East, and elsewhere.

There are two main genres of Korean dramas, generally speaking. The first genre is similar to soap operas but without the never ending plot and frank sexual content. These dramas typically involve conflicts such as single and marital relationships, money bargaining, relationships between in-laws (usually between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law), and often complicated love triangles while the female hero usually falls in love with the main character who may treat her badly since the beginning, instead of the one who always cares for her. These dramas last anywhere from 16 episodes to over 100 (most often not exceeding 200).

The other main genre is Korean historical dramas (also known as sa geuk), which are fictionalized dramatizations of Korean history. Korean historical dramas typically involve very complex story lines with elaborate costumes, sets and special effects. Martial arts, sword fighting and horsemanship are frequently a big component of Korean historical dramas as well. Korean dramas, whether the historical dramas or modern dramas, typically are characterized by excellent production quality, characters with depth, intelligent scriptwriting but largely relies on the use of archetypal characters.

Translator Widget in Blogger

How to make Translator Widget Blogger

There are so many benefits that we may get by adding translator widget in our blog. This widget will be very useful for the visitors who come from another. They may visit and see our blog and when they don’t understand our language, then they can use this widget to translate in to their language. How to add translator widget? I’ll share what I’ve done to you below :

1. Login in your blogger blog and choose Layout menu
2. Then click Add Gadget and choose HTML / Javascript
3. Then put this script in the sheet and save.

You see, now your blog will look like this :

Good Luck !!

Placing Youtube Video in our Blog

HOW TO PLACE YOUR FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEO 

IN YOUR BLOGGER

It would be very interesting if you can put your favorite youtube video to your blog. For me, because I like Koren and Japanese Songs it will be more fun placing my favorite Kpop and Jpop from Youtube video in to my blog. I don’t need to search those songs anymore. All I’ll do is just open my blog and enjoy the videos.

The steps are very simple as you see below :

1. You should Sign Up for an account in youtube

2. Search the video you like, for example : Super Junior (well, it’s because I like Kpop :p ). See my example below :

3. Click Share Button

4. Click Embed Button and find the embed code

5. Copy the embed code and put in windows notepad or somewhere else.

6. Sign in your blogger account and go to New Post button.

7. Select the option Edit HTML

8. Paste the embed code in HTML sheet as shown below :

9. Click Preview to get the perfect location before you publish your post.

10. You also can add some sentence above or below the video.

11. And you can change the width and height   the video by replacing the values to your desirable ones

Perfect! Now enjoy your favorite videos ...

Add Share Facebook For Our Blogger

HOW TO ADD FACEBOOK SHARE BUTTON 
IN BLOGSPOT POST

It’s very important to share our blog in social media sites like Facebook & Twitter since it could be great source of quality traffic for any blog. Facebook share button is very possible to be added in each of your posts. This button will allow users to quickly share a post on Facebook.

Those are the steps to Add Facebook Share Button :

1. Backup your layout / template

2. Go to Layout then Edit HTML tab.

3. Check Expand Widget Templates. The page will automatically refresh

4. Now find this code:

5. Place the following code right before the code found in step 4 :

The result must be like this :

6. Click preview button to see the result and then save your template

7. This share button will appear Below The Post Title.

8. If you would like so add facebook share button below post body, you can follow the same steps above but you have to put the different code in the step 5 and below is the code :

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUTUBE VIDEO

PUT YOUTUBE VIDEO TO YOUR BLOGGER

Youtube.com is a largest video streaming service ever. Millions of people use the video share service for various purposes, such as business or hobby. We can only watch videos online, so when they want to roll back to the next day then automatically we have to be online first. Well, the best way that we need to download a video on youtube so that they can watched it any time through offline. Here the way how to download youtube videos in a fairly easy many ways, practical, and of course free.

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUTUBE VIDEOS :

1. Youtube downloader

• You can use youtube downloader video, an easy use free software. Update new version is needed for this software

2. Plugin firefox

• You can download videos from youtube only by using plugin firefox add ons Video DownloadHelper. You should always update the new version

3. Web Based

• By using this website http://keepvid.com/. How it works is quite easy. Just copy and paste the url address of the video you want to into the text form address that has been provided by KeepVid, then click download. Then the download link is displayed as Mp4 or Flv.

• Beside Keepvid, you can also use www.clibnabber.com and the usage is the same as Keepvid.

• And you can also try to find and download IDM Manager Software. For me this is still the best though I have to convert the video from flv to Mp4 or another video format. So, you need to download the converter also when you are using IDM Manager.

How to Backup Our Blog Posting

Backup Your Blogger Blog Just in One Click

It is very important to store our post of our blog. We have created so many posts for so many times but would be futile if we are loosing our blogspot. Though our blog is safe with blogger, it would be better if we have a backup of our blog in our system or our own computer. There is an easy way to back up our blogspot and export it in our computer memory. This simple way has been provided in the blogger setting. Just do one click and you made it!

* Click on Setting

* Click on Export blog




* Click on Download blog

Now you can save your blogger backup in your computer in the XML format.