Reog is a traditional dance in an open arena that serves as folk entertainment, contains magical elements, the main dancer is a lion-headed person with peacock feather decoration, plus several masked dancers and riding lumping. Reog is one of the cultural arts originating from the north-west of East Java and Ponorogo is considered to be the real hometown of Reog. The city gate of Ponorogo is decorated with warok and gemblak figures, two figures who also appear when Reog is shown. Reog is one of the regional cultures in Indonesia which is still very thick with mystical things and strong mysticism.
History of Reog Ponorogo
There are five versions of popular stories that developed in the community about the origin of Reog and Warok, but one of the most famous stories is the story of the rebellion of Ki Ageng Kutu, a royal servant during the time of Bhre Kertabhumi, the last King of Majapahit who ruled in the 15th century. Ki Ageng Kutu was angry with the strong influence of the wife of the Majapahit king who came from China, besides that he was angry with his king in a corrupt government, he also saw that the power of the Majapahit Kingdom would end. He then left the king and founded a college where he taught martial arts to young people, the science of immunity, and the science of perfection in the hope that these young people would be the seeds of the revival of the Majapahit kingdom again. Realizing that his army was too small to fight the royal army, Ki Ageng Kutu's political message was conveyed through the Reog art performance, which was a "satire" to King Kertabhumi and his kingdom. The Reog performance became Ki Ageng Kutu's way of building resistance from the local community using Reog's popularity.
In the Reog show, a mask shaped like a lion's head is displayed known as "Singa Barong", the king of the jungle, which became a symbol for Kertabhumi, and on top of which peacock feathers were planted to resemble a giant fan symbolizing the powerful influence of his Chinese comrades who ruled from above all movements. - he grunted. Jathilan, who is played by a group of gemblak dancers riding a piggyback, is a symbol of the strength of the Majapahit Kingdom's troops which is a contrast to the strength of the warok, who is behind the red clown mask which is the symbol for Ki Ageng Kutu, alone and supports the weight of the Lion Barong mask which reaches more than 50 kg using only his teeth. The popularity of Reog Ki Ageng Kutu finally caused Bhre Kertabhumi to take action and attack his college, the rebellion by the warok was quickly overcome, and the college was forbidden to continue teaching warok. However, Ki Ageng Flea's students continued to do it in secret. Even so, the Reog art itself is still allowed to be staged because it has become a popular show among the public, but the storyline has a new plot in which characters from the Ponorogo folklore are added, namely Klono Sewandono, Dewi Songgolangit, and Sri Genthayu.
The official version of the Reog Ponorogo storyline is now a story about King Ponorogo who intended to propose to the daughter of Kediri, Dewi Ragil Kuning, but on the way he was intercepted by King Singa Barong of Kediri. King Singa Barong's troops consisted of peacocks and lions, while from the Ponorogo Kingdom, King Klono and his deputy Bujang Ganong, were escorted by warok (men dressed in black in their dances), and these waroks possessed deadly black magic. The whole dance is a war dance between the Kingdom of Kediri and the Kingdom of Ponorogo, and pitting black magic between the two, the dancers are in a state of "possession" when performing the dance.
Until now, the people of Ponorogo have only followed what became their ancestral heritage as a very rich cultural heritage. In his experience, Reog Art is a human creation created by a belief system that has been passed down from generation to generation and maintained. The ceremony also uses conditions that are not easy for ordinary people to fulfill without a clear lineage. They adhere to parental lineage and customary law that still applies.
Reog Ponorogo Art Performance
Modern Reog is usually staged in several events such as weddings, circumcisions, and national holidays. The art of Reog Ponorogo consists of a series of 2 to 3 opening dances. The first dance is usually performed by 6–8 brave men dressed in all black, with their faces painted in red. The dancers depict the figure of a brave lion. Next is a dance performed by 6–8 girls on horseback. In traditional Reog, this dancer is usually played by gemblak, male dancers dressed as women. This dance is called the Jaran Kepang or Jathilan dance, which must be distinguished from other dance arts, namely the Kuda Lumping dance.
Another opening dance, if any, is usually a dance by a small child who brings a funny scene called Bujang Ganong or Ganongan.
After the opening dance is finished, the main scene is shown whose contents depend on the conditions in which Reog art is displayed. When it comes to marriage, what is shown is a love scene. A hero's story use to tell for khitanan's or sunatan's party.
Scenes in Reog art usually don't follow a well-organized scenario. There is always interaction between the performer and the puppeteer (usually the troupe leader) and sometimes with the audience. Sometimes a player who is playing can be replaced by another player if the player is tired. What is more important in Reog art performances is to give satisfaction to the audience.
The last scene is Singa Barong, where the actor wears a mask in the shape of a lion's head with a crown made of peacock feathers. The weight of this mask can reach 50-60 kg. This heavy mask is carried by the dancers with teeth. The ability to carry this mask is not only obtained with strenuous practice, but is also believed to be obtained through spiritual practices such as fasting and asceticism.
Characters in Reog art
"Warok" which comes from the word wewarah is a person who has a holy determination, provides selfless guidance and protection. Warok is wong kang sugih wewarah (people who are rich in wewarah). That is, a person becomes a warok because he is able to give instructions or teach others about a good life. Warok iku wong kang wus pur saka sakabehing behavior, lan wus menep ing rasa (Warok is a person who is already perfect in his practice of life, and has arrived at inner settling).
Warok is a character/characteristic and soul of the people of Ponorogo which has been ingrained since ancient times which was passed down by ancestors to future generations. Warok is a part of the Reog art display that is inseparable from other displays in the Reog Ponorogo art unit. Warok is a person who truly masters knowledge both physically and mentally.
"Jathil" is a hussar and is one of the figures in the art of Reog. Jathilan is a dance that describes the agility of hussars who are training on horses. This dance is performed by dancers in which one dancer is paired with each other. Agility and skill in fighting on a horse is shown by the expression or spirit of the dancer.
Jathil was originally danced by gemblak, a man who was smooth, handsome or similar to a beautiful woman. The dance moves are more feminine. Since the 1980s, when the Reog Ponorogo art team was about to be sent to Jakarta for the opening of PRJ (Jakarta Fair), the jathilan dancers were replaced by female dancers on the grounds that they were more feminine. The characteristics of the impression of Jathilan dance movements in Reog Ponorogo art are more likely to be smooth, agile, and agile. This is supported by the rhythmic pattern of dance movements that alternate between mlaku (innocent) rhythms and ngracik rhythms.
"Bujang Ganong" or Patih Pujangga Anom is one of the characters who is energetic, funny as well as having expertise in martial arts so that in every appearance he is always demonstrated by 2 people in general who are always eagerly awaited by the audience, especially children. Bujang Ganong depicts the figure of a young patih who although physically tends to be ugly, but he is nimble, strong-willed, clever, witty, and powerful. Bujang Ganong's mask is red in color with characteristic bulging eyes, a large nose, and protruding teeth. The mask is made of dadap wood, while the hair on the mask is made of ponytail.
"Klono Sewandono" or Raja Klono is a powerful king of mandraguna who has a mainstay heirloom in the form of a very powerful whip called the Samandiman Whip wherever he goes the handsome and young King always carries the heirloom. The heirloom is used to protect himself. The valor of the King is depicted in a lively and authoritative dance movement, in a story Prabu Klono Sewandono succeeded in creating beautiful art as a result of his creativity to comply with the request of Putri (his lover). Because the King was intoxicated with love, his dance movements sometimes depicted a person in love.
"Singo Barong" is a figure and dancer with the head of a tiger decorated with a peacock and the most dominant in the art of Reog Ponorogo. The parts of the mask include; tiger's head (caplokan), made of a wooden frame, bamboo, rattan covered with the skin of a king tiger/Javanese tiger. Dada peacock, a skeleton made of bamboo and rattan as a place to arrange peacock feathers to depict a peacock developing its feathers and biting a string of beads. Krakap made of black velvet embroidered with monte, is an accessory and a place to write the identity of the Reog group. This peacock is about 2.25 meters long, 2.30 meters wide, and weighs almost 50 kilograms.
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