Jembrana Tourism’s Iconic Jegog

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Jegog music is synonymous with Jembrana. This traditional bamboo musical art form was first created and evolved during colonial period and seems to reflect the turmoil felt by society at that time. This oversized gamelan instrument has a sticking appearance and generates a distinctive sound that echoes the spirit of resistance and the love of competition.
The jegog came into its full glory in the 1990’s and to this day, nearly every village in Jembarana (with the exeption of of Peuatan subdistrict) has at least one if not several jogog troupes. According to the Jembrana Education Agency 2012 data there are at least 100 jegog troupes in Jembrana, 76 of which perform regularly
“Jegog performances tend to be more commercial that other musical forms supported by villages sich as gong kebyar for example. Jegog troupes survive by getting paid for their perrformances, without such opportunities the troupes would go bankrupt and stop playing. said Section Head of the Cultural Preservation and Development Departemen, I Putu N. Sutardi.
The government of Jembrana is very supportive of this unique musical art of Jembrana and often provides opportunities for the troupes to perform at various events in Jembrana and also by providing funds for buying bamboo when needed. Nevertheless some troupes still struggle to survive for even though they may get requests to perform, the payments offered are often far less that what they should be. Because the instruments are so large, they are hard to transport and in the case of competitiions (mebarung), there is a good chance that the instruments will become damged or broken.
To this day, many communities show great enthusiasm towards the art jegog. This gamelan instrument made from bamboo has a distinctive character of sound and can be adapted to any kinds of music. Based on a number of sources, jegog emerged around 1912 at Sebual hamlet, Dangin Tukadaya village and was pioneered by Kiang Geliduh. Originally, this bamboo instrument was used to call people to assemble or to work together. Eventually it developed into a full-blown gamelan set used in performing arts to entertain.

From its humble beginnings as a sort of gong to call people together, the art of jegog music has consistently changing with the times. Beginning with the simple form tunes played on jegog when it was first developing in the 1920’s to the “standards” established in the 1940’s. jegog continued to change. In the 1960’s jegog was used in political campaigns and in the 1980’s jegog further developed, following the musical compositions of gong kebyar and then to accompany the pendet dance. In the 1990’s even more creative compostitions were created geared more at accompanying other dances and such innovations continue to this day with jegog music incorporating world music and jazz elements.. (BTN/kmb)www.bali-travelnews.com
balinese life & culture