is the name of the traditional performance whether it is a song, music, as well as

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

that originated from

Palembang Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...

South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...

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, ...

. Both of the song and the dance was created to describes the splendor, cultural refinement, glory and the grandeur of

Srivijaya empire Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddh ...

that once succeed on unifying the western parts of Indonesian archipelago and

Malay world The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian language, Indonesian/Malay language, Malay: or ) is a concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied in ...

generally.

Etymology

The word of derived from the word in which refers to the used in — the classical music and performance practice, it is later adapted in Malay and Indonesian languages which means "the song (of )". While the word of refers to the empire of

Srivijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...

that once ruled the

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 ...

, which the capital took place in present-day

. Thus, the can be roughly translated as "the performance of

", which in fact, this performance (music, song, and dance) mainly tells or invokes the splendor of Srivijaya empire.

History

Srwijaya Gending Dance began to be created since 1943 and was completed in 1944. This dance was created to fulfill the request of the government (Japanese occupation era) to the Information Bureau (Hatching) to create a dance and song to welcome guests who came to visit the Palembang Residency (now Province South Sumatra). The creator of the dance motion (dance stylist), namely Tina Haji Gong and Sukadan A. Rozak, various concepts are sought and collected by taking elements of the existing Palembang traditional dance. While Sriwijaya's music or songs were created in 1943, precisely from October to December, by A. Dahlan Muhabat, a composer who also played the violin in the Berlian Bintang aristocratic group in Palembang. The song Gending Sriwijaya, is a combination of Sriwijaya Jaya's song, which was created by A. Dahlan M with the concept of Japanese songs. And for the song Poetry Gending Sriwijaya, it was created by Nungcik AR. Sriwijaya Gending Dance is a guest welcoming dance from South Sumatra such as the Betel Dance.

Gending Sriwijaya song lyrics

The first stanza is the original lyrics of the song, while the second stanza was added later.

Gending Sriwijaya dance

The Gending Sriwijaya dance is an Indonesian traditional dance from Palembang performed to honor and welcome the visiting special guests. The dance is often performed during state ceremonies, luncheons, dinner party or receptions, in front of the state's VIP guests, such as the head of state, president, king, queen and royal guests, minister and ambassador. For example, the Gending Sriwijaya dance was performed during annual Festival Sriwijaya in Palembang. The dance is based on the simpler Tanggai dance, and believed as the reenactment and recreation of the original welcoming ceremony commonly found in traditional Malay courts in the region, which demonstrate the ''Sekapur Sirih'' (''bersirih'' or '' menginang'') ceremony that offering the honored guests the betel leaf,

areca nut The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm (''Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 15 ...

and

slaked lime Calcium hydroxide (traditionally called slaked lime) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca( OH)2. It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is produced when quicklime ( calcium oxide) is mixed with water. Annually, approxim ...

. The dance is believed to be originated from the court of Srivijaya, and presented to describe the host's welcoming hospitality, friendliness, happiness, and sincerity, as well as to demonstrate the beauty, gracefulness and cultured refinement of Srivijayan court. The dance is performed by nine young and beautiful women, wearing glittering

songket ''Songket'' or sungkit is a '' tenun'' fabric that belongs to the brocade family of textiles of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It is hand-woven in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads. The metallic threads ...

-clad traditional costumes called ''Aesan Gede'', completed with ''Selendang Mantri'', ''Paksangkong'' and ''Dodot'', and also wearing ''Tanggai'' gilded jewelry. It is believed that the dance costume combine various cultural influences, notably Malay, Javanese and Chinese elements. These women represent the princesses of Srivijaya, and are guarded by two ''Pengawal'' male dancers holding yellow

parasol An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy (building), canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionall ...

s and gilded

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

s. In the background, a singer would sing the Gending Sriwijaya song during the dance performance, accompanied with

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 ...

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 musical ensemble. Today however, the live singer is often replaced by playing taped recorded music. The simpler version is usually performed without male guardians. Among the nine female dancers, there is one main dancer that wears the most complete and elaborated jewelries and costume, and acts as the prime lady. In the dance choreography, the prime lady would be the center and the foremost dancer. She holds ''tepak'' container as the props of ''Sekapur Sirih'' ceremony, and presents betel leaf, areca nut, and slaked lime for the honored guest to enjoy. On her sides, two other female dancers bring ''pridon'', the

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

containers traditionally used as spit container after the guests chew the

betel nut The areca nut ( or ) or betel nut () is the fruit of the areca palm ('' Areca catechu''). The palm is originally native to the Philippines, but was carried widely through the tropics by the Austronesian migrations and trade since at least 1 ...

. Today, however, the honored guest is not required to actually chew and spit out the betel nut, just the simple gesture of receiving or touching the ''tepak'' or ''pekinangan'' props would be enough. The ''Sekapur Sirih'' ceremony originally was only performed by king's daughter, the princess of Srivijaya, accompanied by other princesses, noble young women, and ''dayang'' (ladies in waiting).

References

External links