Naz's Gamelan Essay

I decided I'd share my South East Asia studies final essay with you guys because I love gamelan and I don't want it to die.

Note: Words in inverted commas do not belong to me and were taken from scholarly sources which will be listed at the very bottom.

So here it is:

Music is a form of expression that over many generations has been a part of the human society. Whether the basic stomping of ones foot, the beating of an African drum, or the intricate strumming of a classical guitar, music exists in every culture of today. One can agree that practically every country in the world would like to claim that they were pioneers of a certain kind of music so they could feel that they possess some uniqueness in their culture. A country like Indonesia however, does not have to worry about possessing uniqueness or claiming to be original makers of a certain kind of music as it is already rich within their culture. For generations, gamelan has been embedded in the Indonesian tradition that it plays an important role in the Indonesian society. The sounds of gamelan can be heard from the islands of Java, Madura, Bali, Lombok and many other Sundanese islands and has even travelled far enough to countries like Malaysia and Suriname because of emigration. On top of that, some have claimed that “the first great composer to express his equivocal love for gamelan music (without any attempt at playing it himself) was Debussy” . This shows how gamelan has expanded throughout the world in different periods of time which shows how influential the culture of Indonesia has been. As one sees the expansion of gamelan throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century one cannot help but wonder, what kind of influence did gamelan have in Indonesia while being colonized by the Dutch? How had it been before? And what is it like now? Has the views of gamelan changed in the Indonesian society after being colonized? Hence, this paper focuses on the evolution of the importance of gamelan in Indonesia and whether perspectives have changed through three stages which are pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial times.

Before their independence, there was really no such thing as the Republic of Indonesia. In fact, the thirteen thousand islands were not united at all and often considered their own cultures to be distinct from one another. In some places, the use of gamelan at that time was only for those who were of high status and was used for special occasion. In Java, “large and elegant ensembles were emblems of royal power and authority”. Thus, the period before the colonization showed that gamelan in Java was not meant for leisure listening. With its instruments symbolizing “natural forces”, gamelan was “treated with a special aura that forged the link to figures of authority, to the kings and princes of the realm” This belief that the instruments would give a form of power to the kings and princes show that their beliefs which probably has to do with them believing in the idea of mother nature because the instruments are made out of natural elements from earth such as wood or copper. Thus, being serenaded by these instruments made of nature would give them the power that nature possessed. On the other hand, on the island of Bali, the Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur was used “in most domains of religious ritual, and state ceremony, and also in the contested spaces of inter-kingdom warfare.” Aside being used for official matters, one can see that the usage of gamelan in Bali seems lot more different than in Java as it is also played for religious ceremonies and when going into battles. Compared to Java, the use of gamelan in Bali seems a lot more significant as it is used even for religious processions. This is probably because Java is an Islamic population which would mean the use of gamelan is not part of the religion processions compared to Bali which majority are Hindu followers. This proves that before colonial times, the use of gamelan had to be incredibly important and also sacred to some cultures of Indonesia.

During the colonization of the Dutch, there was a definite change in the significance of gamelan for the people of Indonesia. The use of gamelan was still for official ceremonies however, the views of the meaning of gamelan had evolved to somewhat a less regal thought. Based on This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedeya Ananta Toer, one sees that the views of gamelan music for Javanese people were portrayed differently than what it used to be. It seemed that the gamelan had become a symbol of weakness to the Javanese society. “Listen to how all the tones wait upon the sound of the gong. That is how it is Javanese music, but that is not how it is in real life, because this pathetic people has still not found their gong, a leader, a thinker who can come forth with words of resolution.” The fact that the author chose to compare gamelan to the people of Java during the colonization of the Dutch shows how the loss for respect to gamelan has emerged throughout the years. The gong, which is used to symbolize a leader in the music, seems in Pramoedeya’s eyes to be non-existent. It also seems that by that time, to a writer like Pramoedeya, gamelan did not seem as regal as it used to be because it is used to symbolize the weakness that the Javanese people have. The gamelan in this book symbolized the routine life that the Javanese seemed to go through, “a people who are unwilling to seek, to search, who just circle around, repeating, as in prayers and mantras, suppressing, killing thought, carrying people into a dispirited universe, which leads them astray, where there is no character.” The choice of words used in the context expresses the feelings that the people of Java are loss and leaderless and do not know how to step up to the Dutch colonization. Thus we see that throughout the years of colonization, the meaning of gamelan has gradually changed to somewhat something of less respect.

After gaining its independence, the existence of ruling kings and bupatis in Indonesia seemed distant. In fact, it was pretty much gone as Soekarno’s dream was to have an Indonesia that possessed national unity amongst all as well as democracy for the people. What this did to gamelan was it essentially eliminated its importance in the world of official matters. In Java, “[a]t the university-level conservatory (Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia) one finds…a complete central Javanese gamelan.” However, we also see that “[t]he director, Bustanul Arifin, said he found little value in Javanese music and did not encourage his students to study it. The gamelan now sits covered with dust, touched only to be moved out of the way for performances of Sumatran traditions.” Hence, the once regal and highly appreciated gamelan of Java has now become unimportant to the Javanese society. This lack of appreciation and effort to preserve could eventually disintegrate the Javanese-style gamelan and in the end be long forgotten. However, gamelan in Bali is still highly appreciated and used which is probably because of the high population of Hindus in Bali. Compared to the use of gamelan in Java today, Balinese gamelan beleganjur is practiced “in all important mortuary rituals ngaben (cremation) and memukur (post-cremation purification), processional beleganjur music is indispensable; from grand temple festivles (odalan) to exorcistic rites (mecaru) and majestic ceremonies in honor of the gods and deified ancestors.” Thus, it is safe to say that despite the decrease of Javanese gamelan in Indonesia, the Balinese gamelan beleganjur still remains strong in the Balinese culture. But what is clear too is that looking at post-colonialism, the views of gamelan in Indonesia has become less and less important in this country of rich culture.

For centuries, the gamelan has lived in Indonesia but today, what we are seeing is its gradual deterioration. Perhaps in another hundred years it would become a once admired music. A music that is extinct. It is up to the people of places like Java and Bali to maintain this music in their culture. Before the colonization, gamelan was a symbol of receiving power from nature through its instruments which were made of natural elements for the royalty. It was considered that the playing of the music would somewhat bless those who were going to rule the kingdoms with the same power of natural. However, the colonialism era had highly affected the importance of gamelan in these societies. During colonial times, we see that gamelan had begun to be thought of as unimportant and also backwards. And now, influences of western music have caused many people of this generation to think less of gamelan. With other genres in Indonesia taking over the popular culture, gamelan is now seen as a music that is rare and appreciated only as a traditional music that was once considered regal. Overall, one should note that gamelan is still a part of the Indonesian culture yet; the way it is practiced has definitely changed through pre-colonial to colonial and post-colonial times. It shows that gamelan, once music for the regal or used as warfare has grown to become one of Indonesia’s cultural heritages.

Sources:

Title: Musical Pluralism in Java: Three Local Traditions
Author(s): R. Anderson Sutton
Source: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 29, No. 1. (Winter, 1985), pp.
56-85.

Title: Earth, Fire, Sakti, and the Javanese Gamelan
Author(s): Judith Becker
Source: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 32, No. 3. (Autumn, 1988), pp.
385-391.

Title: Walking Warriors: Battles of Culture and Ideology in the
Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur World
Author(s): Michael B. Bakan
Source: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 42, No. 3. (Autumn, 1998), pp.
441-484.

Title: Gamelan: Occident or Accident?
Author(s): Neil Sorrell
Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 133, No. 1788. (Feb., 1992), pp.
66-68.