Beleganjur

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Gamelan beleganjur is one of the most popular styles of gamelan music in Bali. Its closest Western analogue is probably the marching band.

Contents

1 History
2 Instrumentation
3 Cultural role
4 References

History

Like the Western military band, the original purpose of beleganjur was to accompany armies into battle and strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. In fact, gamelan beleganjur literally means gamelan of walking warriors. Also like its Western counterpart, today beleganjur has mostly lost its association with warfare, and instead is associated with festivals, contests, and cremation cermonies.

Although the origin of beleganjur is uncertain, it bears resemblance to the now rare gamelan gong bheri, which in turn is probably of Chinese origin.

Instrumentation

The most primitive beleganjur ensemble, known as bebatelan, consisted of only nine instruments.

One gong ageng, the great gong
One bendé, a smaller, secondary gong with a sunken boss instead of a raised one
Four pairs of cymbals (cengceng)
Two drums (kendang), tuned differently and considered a male/female pair
One kempli, a small hand-held gong that acts as a metronome.

The drums and cymbals generally play interlocking patterns over the ostinato of the gong cycle.

Though bebatelan itself is rarely heard nowadays, its instrumentation forms the nucleus of the more complex, modern ensemble, beleganjur bebonangan. The additional instruments in the modern ensemble include:

A second gong ageng, forming a male/female pair of gongs
A medium-sized gong called a kempur
Four more pairs of cengceng for a total of eight
Two tuned hand-held metal pots called ponggang
Four similar but higher-pitched pots called bonang

The bonang are identical to the individual pots of the reyong; in fact, many groups simply remove the pots from the frame of a reyong so they can double as bonang, and bonang are often referred to as reyong for this reason. The ponggang usually play a characteristic ostinato pattern while the bonang play more complex interlocking patterns known as kotekan.

Cultural role

Gamelan beleganjur is essential to the Hindu religious ceremonies of Bali. There are rites to appease evil spirits and honor good ones, temple festivals to celebrate the anniversary of a temple's dedication, and cremation ceremonies to cleanse the souls of the deceased and prepare them for reincarnation. Though some ceremonies are associated with other specific kinds of gamelan, notably cremation cermonies with gamelan angklung, beleganjur is nevertheless ubiquitous and often takes the place of other kinds of gamelan if they are not available.

References

Bakan, Michael B. Music of Death and New Creation: Experiences in the World of Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur. University of Chicago Press, 1999. ISBN 0-226-03488-7

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