Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, and, to a lesser extent, Javanese, Malay, Minangkabau, Sundanese and local folk music. Dangdut is the most popular musical genre in Indonesia and very popular in other

Maritime Southeast Asia Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the Southeast Asian countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. The terms Island Southeast Asia and Insular Southeast Asia are sometimes given the same meaning as ...

n countries because of its melodious instrumentation and vocals. Dangdut features a

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and gendang beat. Several popular dangdut singers include Rhoma Irama, Mansyur S., Elvy Sukaesih, Camelia Malik and now Iyeth Bustami, Ayu Ting Ting, Lesti Kejora and Via Vallen as Indonesian dangdut divas. Their music includes strong Indian music influences as the basis of harmony, theme, and beat. A dangdut musical group typically consists of a lead singer, backed by four to eight musicians. Instruments usually include a

, gendang,

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s, and synthesisers. Modern dangdut incorporates influences from Middle Eastern pop music, Western rock,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

, and

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

. The popularity of dangdut peaked in the 1970s and 1980s but emerged in the late 1960s. By 2012, it was still largely popular in Western Indonesia, but the genre was becoming less popular in the eastern parts, apart from Maluku. Meanwhile, more regional and faster-paced forms of dangdut (as opposed to slower, Bollywood-influenced dangdut) have risen in popularity.

Development

The term ''dangdut'' is an

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

for the sound of the ''

'' (also known as '' gendang'') drum, which is written ''dang'' and ''ndut''. Putu Wijaya initially mentioned in the 27 May 1972 edition of ''Tempo'' magazine that the doll song from India was a mixture of Malay songs, desert rhythms, and Indian "dang-ding-dut". It was reportedly coined by the music magazine ''Aktuil'', although Rhoma Irama stated that it was coined as a term of derision by the rich upper class to the music of the poor. Despite its derogatory intent, it was seized upon by those playing it, and the term appears in Rhoma's 1973 dangdut classic. ''Dangdut'', as a term, branched from a collective sound tradition of the ''Orkes Melayu'' ("Malay orchestra") brought by '' bangsawan'' performers of

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

and

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

from the 1930s; its genesis can be pointed to heavy incorporation of

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

from

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

films among ''orkes'' bands in Jakarta in the 1950s – the films had huge the popularity following

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

's embargo on Western music and film during this time. Modern Minangkabau music is also the forerunner of dangdut, along with Malay music. Orkes Melayu singer Ellya Khadam switched to dangdut in the 1970s, and by 1972, she was the number-one artist in Indonesia. Her success, along with that of Rhoma Irama, meant that by 1975, 75 per cent of all recorded music in Indonesia was of the dangdut genre, with pop bands such as Koes Plus adopting the style.

Culture and controversy

Dangdut has become "

contemporary folk music Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from trad ...

" in Indonesia. Its popularity surpasses those of other music genres: people love to sing its songs with karaoke, both for themselves and during family celebrations, employees in central government offices exercise to its music before starting work, and so on. Political party campaign stages also do not miss out on utilising the popularity of dangdut to attract the masses.Høeg Jensen, Simon (2012), ''Islam og Dangdut: en undersøgelse af indonesiske musikkulturers forhold til islam og kulturelle rettigheder'' (PDF) (in Danish), Københavns Universitet, p. 10. Most major cities, especially on

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, have one or more venues with a dangdut show several times a week. Concerts of major dangdut stars are also broadcast on television. Because of the genre's popularity, some movies and TV shows have dangdut-centered themes, such as Rhoma Irama's movies and Rudy Soedjarwo's '' Mendadak Dangdut''. As scholars note, dangdut is the most controversial genre regarding its relation to Indonesian Islamic morality, Høeg Jensen 2012, pp. 14–15, 26–31. and few popular music genres around the world are more focused on women's bodies than dangdut, whose lyrics often portray women as sexual objects. On the one side, within dangdut, a religious current (spiritual dangdut) emerged. While most dangdut songs tell about relationships with boy(girl)friends, spiritual works are directed to God. The main contribution to the emergence of spiritual dangdut was made by Rhoma Irama (albums ''Hak Azazi'', ''Judi'', ''Takbir Lebaran'', ''Haji'', ''Haram'', ''Baca'', and ''Shalawat Nabi''), who made dangdut as a tool for his preaching, which can be seen from the lyrics of the songs he created and from the statements he issued himself. Høeg Jensen 2012, pp. 17–25. On the other side, beginning in 2003, certain dangdut musicians became the focus of a national controversy in Indonesia regarding performances by koplo dangdut singer Inul Daratista, which religious conservatives described as erotic and sexually suggestive. Protests led by dangdut megastar and devout Muslim Rhoma Irama called for Daratista to be banned from television, and legislation was passed in 2008 by the People's Consultative Assembly that introduced a broad range of activities described as

pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...

. Høeg Jensen 2012, p. 32. The flamboyant performances at some dangdut shows also attracted collateral attention in May 2012 when a row broke out in Indonesia over a planned performance by international star

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

due to be held in early June 2012. In the face of opposition from conservative Muslim groups in Indonesia, the planned show was cancelled. This cancellation led numerous commentators to note that opposition to Lady Gaga's performances was surprising given the nature of some dangdut shows. Dangdut remains an integral part of Indonesian life and

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

despite conservative Muslim concerns over the supposed vulgarity of some performances (such as by Dewi Persik and Julia Perez). Due to national laws, dangdut performers seek a balance of perceived womanhood, sexuality, and morality.

Gallery

File:Prop._Tabla.jpg, The

, one of the most important and main percussion instruments in dangdut File:Rhoma Irama gives lecture.jpg, Rhoma Irama, known as ''"Raja Dangdut"'' (King of Dangdut) and the pioneer of "spiritual dangdut" File:Dangdut singer Yogyakarta.jpg, Koplo singer in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

File:Dangdut singer Yan Vellia.jpg, Dangdut singer Yan Vellia in Pacitan, East Java File:Dangdut Cowboys Hadir di Indonesia Meriahkan Peringatan 70 Tahun Hubungan AS-RI (32597920877).jpg, Dangdut Cowboys, dangdut band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania File:Indonesian dangdut award indosiar 2014-06-13 01-25.jpg, 2014 ''Indonesian Dangdut Awards'' by Indosiar

Development

Culture and controversy

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading