JAKARTA - Ondel-ondel is part of the traditions of the Betawi people. The wooden doll has even become an icon of Jakarta. The existence of ondel-ondel is known as a reinforcement-repelling doll since time immemorial. The presence of ondel-ondel is considered sacred, only if Jakarta is attacked by an outbreak. This is what makes the image ondel-ondel creepy.
Ondel-ondel lately follows the tastes of the times. It's not just about the plague. Ondel-ondel is also served on big holidays. The doll that was creepy turned into a comedy. This change has become the key to ondel-ondel being known throughout the country.
Even though it is widely known as the embodiment of danyang desa (disaster repellent), nothing is certain about when barongan - another name for ondel-ondel - appeared in the lives of the Betawi people. A version calling ondel-ondel as a reinforcement repellent has been around since the 17th century.
The historian JJ Rizal believes that British pegadang, Edmund Scott, was the first to report the existence of ondel-ondel. Edmund Scott was in Banten from 1603-1605.
"However, the origins of the Jakarta ondel-ondel are hard to say as the result of an adaptation from Banten, so that the word kingdom has ever led and gave a lot of influence to Sunda Kalapa. Anthropological data were found that showed ondel-ondel grew from the Betawi agrarian culture which was still in progress in the baritan or village clean-up ceremonies in several suburbs of Jakarta, especially in Cireundeu and Ciputat, "said JJ Rizal in his writing in Tempo Magazine entitled Ondel-Ondel dan Korupsi (2011). ).
JJ Rizal describes the giant doll written by Edmund Scott "een reuse en een monster" as a manifestation of the village's protective power. This fact is because the ondel-ondel seen by Edmund Scott in 1605 was part of the procession that accompanied Prince Jayakarta, WIjaya Krama while celebrating the circumcision ceremony of the King of Banten, Abdul Mufakhir who was still ten years old.
The convoy consisted of three hundred palace guards, three hundred women carrying gifts - gold, money, and silk cloth-- and a pair of giant dolls.
The existence of ondel-ondel
After that, ondel-ondel became widely known as the existence of this doll entered the city when there was a big celebration. At that time, ondel-ondel was combined with the active arts of tanjidor and became part of major events, such as the tradition of celebrating the New Year, cap gow meh, and Eid holidays.
This was also the case during the cholera outbreak in Batavia (Jakarta). The arrival of the plague made the Betawi people and the Chinese in Batavia respond to the plague in an unusual way.
"There are also (the native people) who hold mass rituals to ward off disease. In a Malay-language newspaper published in 1888, there was news about village leaders holding a parade (ondel-ondel) through the area where Indonesians were praying. Meanwhile, among Chinese people there is a habit of calling a lion dance to go around Chinatown if there is a threat of a cholera outbreak because they believe that the demon spreading cholera is afraid of the lion dance, "wrote Susan Blackburn in the book Jakarta History 400 Years (2011).
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With every ondel-ondel presence, the audience was so lively. Even though they are still afraid of being chased by barongan. Moreover, every ondel-ondel presence is often interspersed with a musical art that fuses Betawi and Portuguese cultures, tanjidor.
The recipe for combining tanjidor art and parade of puppets has also become popular in Portugal. The same recipe finally appeared in Batavia.
For more details regarding tanjidor, we have reviewed it at length in the article "Echoes of Tanjidor from the Residence of the Portuguese Landlord".
“In Portugal to this day Tangedores participates in religious parades at festivals to honor the patrons of the people, for example the feast of Saint Gregory, patron of the city of Lisbon, on 24 June. The instruments used were Turkish drums, medium drums, flutes, and various kinds of trumpets. Usually the parade is followed by large dolls who always walk in pairs. Two people carried one man, the other a woman, the one sitting on the shoulders of the walking person. The dolls are very similar to the Betawi ondel-ondel that accompanied the tanjidor group, ”writes in the book Batavia: The Story of Jakarta Tempo Doeloe (1988).
The meaning of ondel-ondel for the Betawi people
To learn more about ondel-ondel, we contacted a Betawi cultural observer, Masykur Isnan. According to him, ondel-ondel for the Betawi people has sociological and philosophical values.
Long before ondel-ondel started singing, Masykur Isnan revealed that ondel-ondel was deliberately presented as a form of endeavor. First, efforts to fight the plague. Second, efforts against crop failure.
That's why ondel-ondel comes in pairs. Ondel-ondel women are predicted as a manifestation of Dewi Sri (goddess of fidelity). The Betawi people believe that the presence of women's ondel-ondel can bring fertility to the fields so that the harvest does not fail.
Meanwhile, the male ondel-ondel is the embodiment of bad things. Hence the male ondel-ondel is depicted with a terrifying red face.
“In the past, ondel ondel was depicted as a form of evil or ugliness which was depicted with a scary and unkempt appearance, red color and fanged teeth became dominant, were paraded around the village, then destroyed as a symbol of the immediate disappearance of badness. In that context, ondel-ondel is said to be sacred. Over time, ondel-ondel has transformed as a form of joy or pleasure, the face of ondel-ondel has been changed in such a way to become more humorous and entertaining, ”said Masykur Isnan when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, May 24.
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Masykur Isnan also added that the transformation was included in the positive sphere. Because of that, ondel-ondel is widely known as the culture and local wisdom of the original Betawi people, especially since the Governor of Jakarta Ali Sadikin (1966-1977) led Jakarta.
In Ali Sadikin's hands, apart from beautifying Jakarta, the ondel-ondel which had been suspended from being suspended was brought back to life. Ondel-ondel then became an icon of Jakarta.
He showed Ali Sadikin's joy in Betawi culture when Jakarta commemorated his 450th birthday in 1977. There Ali presented a lively procession, one of which was ondel-ondel.
Add splendor again. At the celebration, the famous singer of the capital city, Benyamin Sueb, appeared with his favorite kagu, Ngarak Ondel-Ondel.
"No less than nearly 70 participants took part in the procession. Among them were 60 people carrying the Red and White flag, more than 100 people carrying banners, various groups of drum bands, 60 pairs of ondel-ondel, Betawi bride in 10 wagons, motorbikes. In short, the excitement that I can't forget. Hopefully this will be a keepsake for the people of Jakarta too. In essence, this is a crowd for the people of Jakarta, ”said Ali Sadikin as quoted by Ramadhan KH in the book Bang Ali: Demi Jakarta 1966-1977 (1992).
* Read other information about the HISTORY of JAKARTA or read other interesting articles from Detha Arya Tifada.
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