Lombok has a new Master of the Gendang Belek (traditional big drum) after an intense and lively contest in which the new champion drummed continuously for 4 hours and 38 minutes to displace last year’s winner who drummed for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
West Lombok’s Maryadi Basri, of the Putra Pratama Mandiri Gendang Belek arts group, of Dasan Tereng village in Narmada, drummed long and hard to overthrow 2010 champion Jasyadi, of the Dewi Anjani group of North Lombok.
Known as Adi, Maryadi convincingly took the title on 24 July at the Bumi Gora park in Mataram in the Lombok Begendang Begending 2011 event organised by the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) provincial Culture and Tourism agency.
Agency head Gita Aryadi said 34 drummers vied for the title of champion in the event which was staged along with Nyongkolan – a traditional element of marriage for Lombok’s indigenous Sasak people in which the bride and groom are paraded through the streets in a palanquin.
Strict rules apply to the drum contest in which a yellow flag warns a drummer that he has made three mistakes. Two further mistakes result in a red flag signalling disqualification.
“To ensure uniform rhythm of play, participants are guided by four Belek drummers who flank the participant and act as instructors,” explained Gita.” The rhythm established by the instructors must be matched by the entrant.”
Normally Gendang Belek drummers are accompanied by a traditional gamelan orchestra of many instruments including gongs, cymbals and flutes. “To open the contest, entrants play a special piece of music named Tembereng Gunung followed by Gending Oncer and then Manuk Belaga,” said Gita.
He explained that the location and condition of this year’s event had improved over 2010 when contestants started playing at noon in bare feet on a hot highway, which adversely affected their stamina.
“This year we took the event to a grassy park where the committee provided water to cool the legs of the drummers and these conditions helped us achieve a new and impressive record.”
Excitement ran high when only seven drummers remained 4 hours and 1 minute into the contest. Within 20 minutes, two players were disqualified for errors of rhythm. Then Lombok cultural activist L Daya entered the scene, stabbing his body with a kris (traditional sword) to the rhythm of the big drums. Although Daya failed to pierce his skin, his daring captivated the crowd.
Meanwhile, only five remaining Gendang Belek players were toughing it out on stage minus the assistance of their instructors. Each player increased the tempo of his drum beat and the pace of his dance steps in order to attract the attention of the judges to his expertise and hopefully to highlight the faults of his rivals.
Within less than 20 minutes, four participants in turn received the red flag signal of disqualification, leaving only 2011 Gendang Belek Master Adi Basri to accept his crown and claim the record time of 4 hours, 38 minutes and 37 seconds. Placed second was Sueb, of the Mekar Jaya arts group of the Tegal community in Selegalas, Mataram.
The five finalists received awards and cash prizes from the NTB Culture and Tourism department ranging from Rp5 million for the champion to Rp1 million for the drummer placed fifth.
Champion Adi, who also competed last year, expressed pride and thanks for the victory for which he did not prepare. “There is no special preparation,” he said with a smile. “I became a performer almost five years ago, so I’m quite used to the 25kg weight of the Gendang Belek.”
Source:enchanting-lomboksumbawa.com
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