Maintaining Using identity through musical performance; seblang and gandrung of Banyuwangi, East Java (Indonesia)
Wolbers, Paul Arthur
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/22657
Description
Title
Maintaining Using identity through musical performance; seblang and gandrung of Banyuwangi, East Java (Indonesia)
Author(s)
Wolbers, Paul Arthur
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Capwell, Charles
Department of Study
Music
Discipline
Musicology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Anthropology, Cultural
History, Asia, Australia and Oceania
Music
Language
eng
Abstract
This study deals with the development of seblang and gandrung, two of the oldest rural performance traditions of the Banyuwangi region in East Java. When, as a result of the conquest of Blambangan (the last Hindu state on Java) by the Dutch, the local court culture ceased to exist and rural traditions gained in prominence, they eventually formed the foundation for the new complex of genres that can nowadays be found in the area. Because of Banyuwangi's geographical location, both Javanese and Balinese culture have played important roles in the formation of these traditions, which are nowadays seen by many as a symbol of local (Using) ethnicity.
The first chapter is devoted to the history of Blambangan, exposing the relationships that existed between Blambangan and the rest of Java, Bali, and the Dutch, the three powers that had most effect on the development of the culture of the region.
The second chapter offers a short description of musical life in contemporary Banyuwangi, especially in the small villages that surround the city of Banyuwangi, and which are the main carriers of the Using traditions.
Seblang, an old shamanistic ritual still carried out in two villages, had a profound impact on gandrung, the female dancer/singer, for which Banyuwangi is known today. Chapter three gives an extensive description of the ritual as it is performed today in both villages. This is followed by a chapter investigating the history of seblang and its parallels with two other trance rituals: nini Thowong, a nowadays rarely played Javanese girls' game, and sanghyang dedari, a Balinese trance dance.
The fifth chapter describes the contemporary gandrung Banyuwangi tradition. This is followed by an investigation of the origins of gandrung and a discussion of the role of Balinese performing arts in Banyuwangi in the formation of indigenous performance traditions during the 19th century.
The final chapter examines the musical interaction between gandrung and seblang in the form of those songs that were taken over, and adapted, by gandrung from seblang. The centerpiece for this chapter is formed by an investigation of the seblang subuh, a long song cycle with which the gandrung concludes her performance; most of these songs originate with the seblang tradition.
The appendices contain a chronology of the local history; texts, text variants, and translations of traditional songs and the seblang subuh; and a discussion of tunings and vocal scales.
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