Banyuwangi Seblang Dance

Seblang dance is a dance art used for the Osing Tribe rituals originating from the Banyuwangi area, East Java. This dance is quite different from other types of traditional dances which have standard movements from generation to generation.

However, the traditional seblang dance moves in an abstract way, because the dancer when moving is in a state of vileness (possession). Therefore, this dance contains the value of establishing balance and harmony between human life and nature, and vice versa.

This dance is one of the media to unravel tensions or conflicts because people are aware that beyond their power there are other, far greater powers that must be respected.

If you still don’t understand the information about the Seblang dance in Banyuwangi, East Java, please see below.

History of Banyuwangi Seblang Dance

The history of Banyuwangi’s seblang dance itself is the interpretation of the annual routine dance ritual ceremony that is useful for bringing in the ancestral spirits of the village with female wadeg. The word sebele ilang here is interpreted as the loss of bad luck, taken as an acronym and used in the name of the seblang dance.

The disappearance of this misfortune refers to the beginning of the beginning of the seblang dance tradition as an effort made to reject reinforcements from the Oshing Tribe community, Banyuwangi.

This dance was originally performed by a girl named Semi who was sick. In this situation, her mother then vowed that if she was given healing, then Semi would become confused.

It turned out that Semi had completely recovered from her illness and performed the seblang dance for the first time. This spring is also the pioneer of the Banyuwangi gandrung dance which is very famous today.

In addition, the Seblang dance has also been a dance art at the Blambangan palace around the 16th century which was initiated by Lukinto. Therefore the name of this dance became seblang lukinto.

However, due to the political turmoil that occurred in Banyuwangi, from 1943 to 1956 this ritual was stopped.

But at one time there was a pagebluk which resulted in various difficulties in life, such as crop failure, the death of livestock, and even a disease outbreak. Since then, the seblang dance began to be held again, more or less in 1957.

Characteristics and Functions of the Dance

The main characteristic or characteristic of the Seblang dance is that there are terms and conditions regarding the selection of dancers. The dancers who perform this dance cannot be arbitrary, therefore the selection is made by elders or shamans and the candidates are only from the descendants of the previous dancers or called mager beroyo.

As for the process of changing the dancers themselves are usually carried out within a period of 3 years.

There are many stories circulating in the local community that prospective dancers will receive inspiration from their ancestors through the media of dreams as a sign of being chosen as the next dancer.

In addition, another requirement in the selection of dancers is the consideration of the age of the dancer. Seblang dancers are usually postmenopausal women or are over 50 years old for the Seblang dance from Bakungan village.

Meanwhile, the age requirement for the seblang dancers from the village of Bysari must be from among girls who are still 10 years old with the new provisions of puberty.

Therefore, the function of the Seblang dance is as a traditional clean ceremony in the village of Bysari or Baungan, Glagah District, Banyuwangi.

This dance is a form of gratitude and gratitude for the people of the Bysari and Baungan Villages for the blessings of prosperity. In addition, this dance is also performed for the ritual of rejecting balance in order to avoid danger or pagebluk.

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