Sarons of the Gamelan Sekati in Yogyakarta

The Gamelan Sekaten (or Sekati) is a ceremonial gamelan (musical ensemble) from central Java, Indonesia. The word sekaten itself is derived from syahadatain or shahada, the first requirement for converting into Islamic faith. Traditionally it is played once per year, on the occasion of Mawlid, Muhammad's birthday, for the week from the 6-12 of the month of Mulud (the third month of the Javanese calendar, corresponding to the Islamic Rabi' al-awwal). On this celebration it is brought from the palace at 11 pm to two pavilions before the Great Mosque. It is played every day during that week except the Thursday night/Friday morning. On the eve of the birthday proper, it is returned at 11 pm.^[1] Gamelan - Indonesian Embassy in Canberra A gamelan is a kind of musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings, and vocalists may also be included. ... This article is about the Java island. ... , // Shāhāda is a town in the northwest corner of Maharashtra state in India, now in Nandurbār District (formerly in Dhule District). ... Milad, Milad an-Nabi or Mawlid un-Nabi (Arabic: ) is the celebration of the birthday of Muhammad. ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... The Javanese calendar is a calendar used by the Javanese people. ... Rabi al-awwal ( ربيع الأول ) is the third month in the Islamic calendar. ... The Masjid al-Haram in Mecca as it exists today A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ...

The ensemble is said to have been created by Java's first Muslim prince,^[2] or one of the Wali Sanga, in order to convert reluctant Javanese to the Islamic faith. However, it almost certainly already existed, though the music was probably used to propagate the faith.^[3] The style of the Sekaten ensemble is very loud and majestic, because it seeks to attract people to the mosque.^[1] It was said that if a saron player was able to play so hard that he broke one of the bronze keys, he would get a reward from the sultan.^[3] In Indonesian, and particularly Javanese beliefs, Wali Sanga are the founding saints of Islam in Java, Indonesia. ... Saron barung (front, with wooden mallets) and saron panerus (in back, with horn mallet) The saron is a musical instrument of Indonesia, which is used in the gamelan. ...

The ensembles are kept in the royal palaces. Two sets dating to the 16th century are found in each of the kraton in Surakarta and Yogyakarta, and two in Cirebon, one at Keraton Kasepuhan and one at Keraton Kanoman. Previously they were found in Madura and Banten as well.^[1] The names of the sets at Yogyakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Naga Wilaga; those at Surakarta are Kyai Guntur Madu and Kyai Guntur Sari.^[4] Kraton is one of the two most common names of Javanese palaces (the other being Istana, identical to Malay). ... Surakarta (its formal name; locally it is referred to as Solo) is an Indonesian city of approximately 500,000 people located in Central Java. ... The Special Region of Yogyakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, or DIY), is a province of Indonesia on the island of Java. ... Cirebon (formerly Cheribon) is a city on north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. ... Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java, near the port of Surabaya. ... For the Banten meteorite of 1933, see Meteorite falls. ...

The pitches of the Sekaten ensemble is in pelog, but lower than standard ensembles today.^[3] In recent times the gamelan at STSI Surakarta commissioned a special Sekaten set that would be compatible with their other gamelan, to be used in new experimental compositions.^[5] Pelog is one of the two essential scales of gamelan music native to Bali and Java, in Indonesia. ...

Bonangs in the Gamelan Sekati, Yogyakarta

Historically, the Sekaten ensemble is notable in the development of the gamelan because it marked the change from the use of the bonang as the most important melody instrument, as it is in the earlier Munggang and Kodokngorek ensembles, to "leading" the ensemble by playing the pitches in anticipating patterns.^[6] In the ensemble, players sit on opposite sides of the bonang, which may have led to the modern configuration of pots, which is aimed at making octaves comfortable.^[7] Bonang of Bali The bonang is an instrument used in the gamelan. ... For other uses, see Octave (disambiguation). ...

Notes

Further reading

• Sumarsam. "The Musical Practice of the Gamelan Sekaten" Asian Music, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1981), pp. 54-73. Available online from JSTOR