Gendang beleq is one of the traditional music that has been passed down people past the community of Sasak Tribe inhabiting the island of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Lombok people are certainly familiar with the group’s music gendang beleq.
A group of drummers drum it usually consists of a dozen personnel. They often appear as the entertainer of the moment celebration. Gendang beleq is usually used as an accompaniment tradition nyongkolan during the wedding reception.
Not only that gendang beleq is also used for the celebration of other such as when the conduct of circumcision or some of the activities of the indigenous other. However, before the beleq drum functioned as a bridesmaid when nyongkolan, gendang beleq was originally used for the giver of the spirit of the moment will take or welcomed the troops of the war.
Observer of the Culture of Lombok and Then Anggawa Nuraksi explained, gendang beleq is expected to appear in the 14th century Bc, or about a hundred years post-eruption of mount Samalas or Rinjani.
“Gendang beleq this appeared in the times of kedatuan (the concept of government Sasak) as the giver of the spirit for you to take troops at a time when he went to war and when he came home, so with the beleq drum he welcomed” said Anggawa.
Anggawa explain why a musical instrument it is called gendang beleq. In the Sasak language it means large. Gendang beleq is called so because it has a characteristic has a large drum. As for the beleq drum itself has a length of 110 centimeters with an average weight of 2.5 kilograms.
“Why is it called gendang beleq, because the drums are large, a length of 100 meters 10 centimeters,” said Anggawa.
Usually beleq drum made from a type of wood that is large but light, such as the meranti tree, kapok tree, then hollowed-shaped tube and is paired cow leather. In traditional music, the beleq drum originally had 17 personnel which two people as a drummer beleq drum itself, five as a player ceng-ceng, i.e. a musical instrument made of steel in the form of a disc.
Then, two as a player reong, two people beater gong, four people bearer gong, one player petuk, and one more flute player. But as the development of culture, gendang beleq is now a good change from the function and quantity of the number of personnel.
Now gendang beleq there are consisting of 20 personnel, especially there is the addition of personnel gendang beleq the first two drummers, now a six to ten musicians.
In addition to a quantity change, now is the gendang beleq is also experiencing a shift function. Beleq drum that was once used to welcome the troops of the war, now used as a music welcoming the arrival of the guests, to cultural events.
Meanwhile, Lecturer of Art University Nahatul Ulama (UNU) NTB Nur Kholis Sumardi argue that the development of the music gendang beleq appears at the top of the 19th century. It is based on observations of the distribution of musical instruments which are made from steel or bronze.
Kholis explains, there are instruments in the group beleq drum made of bronze, such as ceng-ceng or cemprang. According to him, the tools it is one of the musical instruments cymbals, which evolved in the 19th century brought about by the influence of the west.
“The development of type-the type of music the cymbals occur the 19th century, such as cemprang (ceng-ceng) in situ time-1900s ad, the stronger my guess is that it is impossible the early development of gendang beleq under 1800,” said He.
Nevertheless, according to Him, the forerunner of the music gendang beleq already appeared around the 13th century it was proved by the shape of musical instruments and how to play music systematically introduced by the Indian culture.
“Like music a mathematical already ancient times, the beleq drum one with the music plays systematic, emberio beleq drum has existed since the 13th century,” said He.
Described Kholis, the forerunner of gendang beleq is already there in around the 13th century, such as drum kecodak or kedodak similar to gendang beleq, but the shape is small. Lecturer alumni of the Art Institute of Yogyakarta, it was explained that the instrument musik gendang beleq initially still fragmentary yet merge into a unity which is now mentioned gendang beleq.
Confirmed Kholis that traditional art gendang beleq appear to exist along with the development of other musical instruments such as the existence of cemprang that the development in the 19th century.
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