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Pujananting Harmony Through
Mandaoling - Arlin
Doing art with friends – Arlin
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Pujananting Harmony Through Genrang Riwakkang
Sound
There is a lot of cultural wealth in Indonesia that until now we still find in the midst of society. One of them is a traditional music called genrang riwakkang. This traditional musical instrument becomes the prima donna music of the people of Pujananting, Barru Regency, South Sulawesi. Genrang (another dialect sometimes calls it ganrang) is derived from the Bugis language which means drum. As for riwakkang, it means on the lap. Hence, the genrang riwakkang is a drum that is played on the thigh or played on the lap. In short, the drum that is on the lap.
Training with the maestro – Arlin
It is said that the idea of playing a musical instrument was only for leisure behind weariness. Once upon a time, one of the problems at the residents’ plantation in Pujananting Village was pests destroying plants, pigs and monkeys. Therefore, they had to guard the garden day and night. When guarding the garden, they were attacked with drowsiness and boredom.
At that time, the ancestors beat pieces of wood as a way to entertain themselves in resisting drowsiness and became a marker for the destructive animal to stay away from the garden.
From that activity, the soul of their art then appeared. They found a charming rhythm of the wood they hit. In the end, there came the idea of looking for wood that has a beautiful clinking sound. From various experiments, it wass found a type of wood known to the Bugis community as daja-daja wood. This wood is then used as a musical instrument called genrang riwakkang. On its journey, to complete this music, genrang riwakkang is made into a pair (two sets), then combined with gambus, drum, tambourine, rinci (a type of tambourine), flute, and mandailing, thus producing harmonious music. In addition, genrang riwakkang is also modified so that it can be played without always having to puy it on the lap.
Although at first it was just a routine to get rid of boredom while guarding the garden, genrang riwakkang then transformed into a part of customs and traditions, until it became people’s entertainment. Genrang riwakkang is often played when people are going down to the padi fields, maddoja bine (preparing padi seeds), harvest parties, and various other cultural activities. At
that time, they sing various kinds of songs that they created situationally using Bugis or Makassar language.
In agricultural rituals, such as when people are about to start the cultivation of padi fields, genrang riwakkang serves as pakuru sumange (encouragement). The adults, who the next day have to start plowing the padi fields, at night sing together for fun. This is to provide entertainment and burn the spirit before starting to plough the padi fields. Similarly, after harvesting, they also play genrang riwakkang to restore energy and tired minds after working hard in the padi fields.
The tradition of playing genrang riwakkang as a complement in customary activities is not only an entertainment, but also a place of togetherness, harmonization, and a forum to strengthen the solidarity of the local community. When the genrang riwakkang music is played, without orders and directions, the community then spills out to gather, sing, or just be a spectator.
In addition, in the decade of the 1980s
until 2000s, genrang riwakkang was one of the main entertainments among the Bugis tribe. This group of genrang riwakkang players was often invited at events in Pangkep Regency, Soppeng, to Bone. The invitation to perform at that time was so booming. They traveled from village to village to entertain residents who were holding a wedding party, a thanksgiving party, occupying a new house, or other parties. It can be said that those years were a golden period of genrang riwakkang as people’s entertainment.
Learning the genrang – Arlin
Dive into the Meaning Behind the Music
Genrang riwakkang is not only an entertainment, but in it, there are also meanings. Through genrang riwakkang, people can learn about harmony and plurality. This music is a blend of various musical instruments, including musical instruments from other regions such as rinci (tambourine) and mandailing. Those instruments are played together. From the playing of those different instuments, there comes a very distinctive music.
One of the interesting things about these genrang riwakkang activists is that they only have a few patented songs. For the rest, they wrote the song while performing. They can continue to sing from night to morning by composing songs continuously without stopping. However, in their performance, they always instill the ancestral message “aja muelongi anu salae” (never sing a song that means no good). The meaning of the message is that never make a song on stage that can offend the feelings and self-esteem of others.
Then, as an entertainment that often
surrounds from village to village, it also prioritizes safety. Hence, the era when they often performed (1980-2000s) is an era when fights and conflicts always existed in a party. Therefore, before they left, they sang together a song containing messages of safety — they sang as well as prayed. Interestingly, their presence from village to village is always welcomed with joy by the local community. It can be said that the genrang riwakkang actually unites people to sing together for fun behind the sound of traditional music.
The Present and Future of Genrang Riwakkang
As a culture in the form of traditional
art, genrang riwakkang is a legacy that must be maintained. Activists and music
artists, who are now at the age of 50-60, are trying to pass on their artistic talents and abilities to their children. This is as a
cultural strategy so that this traditional musical instrument remains in the midst of society.
Genrang Riwakkang – Arlin
In addition, the Pujananting Village government also provides full support for the empowerment of traditional music. At least, there are currently three efforts made by the government, activists, and youth organizations to preserve traditional music genrang riwakkang.
First, encourage efforts to repair and rejuvenate traditional musical instruments. Through village funds and empowerment funds from the Ministry of Education, the musical instruments
for supporting genrang riwakkang and procurement for other infrastructure needs are provided.
Second, the government encourages genrang riwakkang as an empowered art. Almost all village activities, formal or nonformal, should present genrang riwakkang as a characteristic of the village. The Pujananting Village Government even targets this genrang riwakkang to become a traditional art that can attract tourists to visit Pujananting Village. Even at the “Barru Local Fest 2021” event, genrang riwakkang was invited specifically to appear as a performer at the peak night
event.
Third, encourage regeneration. Although it has not been able to be played yet by everyone, there has been a generation
Gambus – Arlin that is ready to continue the art estafet from activists who have begun to be very old. They start from the family. The performers of this art inherit the prowess to their grandchildren. This young generation is then encouraged and facilitated by the government to continue to work through the performance with the basic principles of cultural cooperation to build harmony in the community of Pujananting Village.
