A Peek at Gamelan Productions Designated as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage

Sukoharjo - Gamelan has been designated as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. The symbolic handing over of gamelan certificates as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage was held at Solo City Hall, Friday (16/9) night. 
Quoted from the KBBI Kemdikbud, gamelan is a set of Javanese musical instruments (Sundanese, Balinese, and so on) consisting of saron, bonang, fiddle, drums, gongs, and so on. One of the centers for making gamelan is in Wirun Village, Mojolaban District, Sukoharjo Regency. 

One of them is UD Supoyo. The owner of UD Supoyo, Feri Agus Dian Kusumawardani (31), said that in the process of making this gamelan he usually uses three raw materials, namely bronze, brass, and iron. This difference in raw materials affects the way of manufacture and price. Gamelan with bronze raw materials, must go through a process of smelting and forging. If using brass and iron, simply cut, plated, then welded. "The price for a set of Javanese gamelan made of bronze is the cheapest at Rp. 450 million. For a brass set, it is Rp. 150 million, for iron, it is at most Rp. 90 million," he said.

Make Gamelan Wirun Vilage, Mojolaban District, Sukoharjo Regency

The ups and downs of the business he runs have been through. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not produce at all. But now his business is starting to grow with the arrival of orders from New York, United States. 

Furthermore, before making the gamelan, Agus admitted that there was a special ritual that was carried out. This is done from generation to generation from his grandfather. "If the production uses a special ritual, usually the large size is between 95 centimeters and more than one meter. 

It's like the slametan ritual and uses a cone," said Agus when met at his gallery recently. Agus had time to eliminate the ritual when he was about to carry out the production process. 

But he said the production process always failed. "I could not believe it and dispelled the ritual. But in reality, the large diameter gong kept breaking," he said.

Regarding the stipulation of gamelan as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, Agus said he was happy. He hopes that the younger generation will play an active role in preserving the gamelan. 

"I am very happy, because now many young people love gamelan musical instruments, compared to before it was recognized by UNESCO," he said.  

Gamelan craftsman at UD Supoyo, Wirun Village, Mojolaban District, Sukoharjo Regency.

As previously reported, the symbolic handing over of gamelan certificates as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage was held at Solo City Hall, Friday (16/9) night.

"Gamelan has been proposed to UNESCO since 2018, and has been officially declared included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage through the 16th session of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee in Paris, France on December 15, 2021," said the Director of Cultural Development and Utilization of the Ministry of Education and Culture. , Restu Gunawan, at Solo City Hall.

Gamelan is set along with 46 other intangible cultural heritages, including Nora, the dance-drama of Southern Thailand; and Al-Naoor, a traditional art craft from Iraq.

He said the struggle in preserving gamelan did not stop with the issuance of a UNESCO certificate. Conservation efforts must continue to be carried out, especially by the younger generation in the future.