IN DISPUTE: The gamelan

Gamelan is a traditional musical ensemble featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs, bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. The term usually refers to the set of instruments rather than to the players of those instruments.

The Jakarta Globe yesterday reported that Malaysia’s official website for cultural heritage, www.warisan.gov.my, had listed gamelan in its national heritage section, in third place after the boria and zapin
dances.

A music expert, Remy Sylado, said that the gamelan has its roots in the Javanese culture and dates back to the first Saka era (circa AD 230).

That would mean gamelan was already in Java long before Borobudur Temple was built in Central Java during the 8th century.

Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism spokesman Turman Siagian said there had been no discussion
regarding the list on the Malaysian website, which was last updated on May 13.

Turman said he was unaware of the list but he claimed that the zapin dance also belongs to Indonesia,
citing that he will discuss the matter further.

He added that Dutch researchers, Jaap Kunsp and Brandt-Buys, wrote about the gamelan in a book published
in 1930, The Music of Java, which states that the gamelan has Javanese cultural roots.

“If the Javanese gamelan developed and was exported, its cultural roots are still undeniably Javanese,” he said.

Meanwhile, gamelan expert Rahayu Supanggah has a different take on the issue.

He told the Globe that Malaysia was within its rights to claim the gamelan as part of its cultural heritage, because the Malaysian gamelan is different from the Javanese version.

Rahayu said that gamelan was not exclusive to Java, with many tribes on other islands, including Borneo, and in other countries having their own versions.

He explained that the Malaysian gamelan has fewer instruments than the Javanese, and thus fewer players.
Rahayu said that a Javanese gamelan needs 25 players, while a Malaysian gamelan needs only seven or eight players where the repertoire, scale and instrumentation are also different.

Rahayu said Indonesians and Malaysians came from the same roots and thus shared many similarities in their traditional arts.

At Press time, Malaysian Ministry of Information, Communication & Culture was not available for comment.