''Gandrung'' (;

Osing Osing may refer to: * Osing people * Osing language The Osing language (Osing: ''Basa Using''; ), locally known as ''the language of Banyuwangi'', is the Modern Javanese dialect of the Osing people of East Java, Indonesia. The Osing diale ...

: ; ; ) is a

traditional dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances are us ...

from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. ''Gandrung'' has many variations and is popular in

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

Lombok Lombok, is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

, and Eastern Java among the Balinese, Sasak, and Javanese (especially the

Javanese). The most popular variation is ''gandrung'' from the

Banyuwangi Banyuwangi, previously known as Banjoewangi, is a large town and an administrative district (''kecamat5an'') which serves as the capital of Banyuwangi Regency at the far eastern end of the island of Java, Indonesia. It had a population of 106,000 ...

region in the eastern peninsula of

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 ...

; thus, the city is often referred to as ''Kota Gandrung,'' or "the city of ''gandrung''". Originally a ritual dance dedicated to the goddess of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

and fertility,

Dewi Sri Dewi Sri or Shridevi ( Javanese: ꦢꦺꦮꦶꦱꦿꦶ, Balinese: , Dewi Sri, Sundanese: , Nyai Pohaci Sanghyang Asri) is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the islands of Ja ...

, it is currently performed as a social dance of courtship and love in communal and social events, or as a tourist attraction. The Gandrung Sewu Festival is held at

annually.

Descriptions

''Gandrung'' derives its name from the Javanese word for "love". It is theorized that the dance originated as a ritual dance to express the people's affection for the rice goddess

, with trance and as a kind of fertility dance. However, it has now lost its ritual connotations, especially among the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Javanese and the Sasak. The dance has evolved into a social dance describing a girl looking for love companions. The dance has thus been de-ritualized and has mostly lost its connections with the rice goddess. ''Gandrung'' is usually performed in an all-night performance that begins sometime around 9 p.m. and ends just before dawn. It is also commonly performed as a tourist attraction, for example in

or in Grajagan Bay in

. It is also performed as a social dance at communal and social events such as

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

s or weddings. The ''gandrung'', or main dancer, is usually an unmarried girl or a

transvestite Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

(or simply a boy playing the role of a female dancer). The dancer is dressed in traditional costume, with a fan, shawl, and ornamental headgear. Often there will be more than one ''gandrung'' dancer in the performance. ''Gandrung'' usually starts with the dancer(s) at the side of the stage, surrounded by the

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

ensemble. When the music starts, the dancer begins dancing with hip thrusts and moves to the center stage. When the ''gandrung'' spots an audience member she wishes to dance with, she throws her shawl to him to bring him to the stage. The dancer and the audience member will then dance together. If there is more than one ''gandrung'' dancer in the performance, each dancer will choose a different partner to dance with. The audience member who has danced with the ''gandrung'' usually gives a small amount of money as a token of appreciation. ''Gandrung'' is now also performed as dance of

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

and love between girls and boys in central and eastern

. It is usually performed outdoors by the young men and women of the village with everyone standing around in a circle. Similar dances are known throughout the

n archipelago, such as ''

ronggeng Ronggeng () is a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong. Ronggeng originated in Java, Indonesia. Ronggeng has probably existed in Java since ancient time as the ...

'' or ''tayuban'' in

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

, ''

jaipongan Jaipongan (), also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people from Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on the traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and pencak silat movements. Background In 196 ...

'' in

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

and

Banten Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...

, and ''joged'' in

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 ...

Music

The dance is performed to the tunes of a traditional ensemble similar to the

, often composed of two

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

s, ''

gendang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug/Bajau/ Maranao: ''gandang'', Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary ins ...

s'', ''

bonang The bonang is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian musical instrument used in the Javanese people, Javanese gamelan. It is a collection of small gongs (sometimes called "kettles" or "pots") placed horizontally onto strings in a wooden frame (''r ...

'' and

gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

s with gamelan

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

s ('' gambang''). A singer is also present to sing the accompanying song for the ''gandrung'' performance. Villages in Banyuwangi, Bali and Lombok sometimes have their own ''gandrung'' music ensemble. Variations in ensemble composition exist between the different areas where ''gandrung'' is performed. The music has been described as "vibrant and earthy" and has been recorded by several anthropologists.

Gallery

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van een gandrung danseres TMnr 10026815.jpg, A ''gandrung'' dancer with traditional costume, a fan and a shawl COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een gandrung banyuwangi danseres met muzikanten TMnr 10026816.jpg, Musical ensemble that accompanies the ''gandrung'' COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van een gandrung banyuwangi danseres TMnr 10026888.jpg, Gandrung dancer with a scarf as a dance accessory

References

{{reflist Annual events in Indonesia Festivals in Indonesia Javanese culture Balinese culture Java Lombok Dances of Indonesia Concert dance Social dance

Descriptions

Music

Gallery

See also

References