Ampenan Beach, memory from an old harbor

The Face of Ampenan District

         If you're kind of people who like  a trip to a classic old town, Ampenan might be suit you, we could see and tracking a little bit about Lombok histrory,old buildings and houses were still preserve in good way as an heritage from Dutch while they were colonizing in Indonesia untill it ends at 1945 when Indonesia get independence.
       In the 60's and 70's Ampenan had importent role as an harbor that connecting people from Lombok to Bali before the harbor was moved to Lembar in West Lombok Regency at the late of 70's.

The Gate to Ampenan Beach

   As a trade center, Ampenan became the place where people from various ethnic such as Arabic, Chinese, Malay, Javanese, and also local people meet to do their trading activity,and it still going on until now. The Mataram city goverment try to do the restoration to the town so it wouldn't be  forgotten as time goes by.

People enjoying the afternoon in cozy place

            Nowdays,the location of ex-harbor is became as a recreation place,place where the whole family could enjoy  ecspecially before the dawn to see the sunset. From the edge side of  the beach,we can see the ocean wiew,the hills and also the local fisherman while they're fishing on their boat.
           The beach became one alternative for people in Mataram to having relaxations ecspecially on the weekend before they comeback doing their activity on the weekdays.

The Youth Enjoying The Sunset

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Nyongkolan,celebration and united of two family in wedding

Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi

             In Sasak tribe traditional wedding ceremony,there is a phase that called 'nyongkolan', after the couple were pronounce as husband and wife, at the same day the couple went in a procession from the groom's  house to the bride's house,people who accompanying the couple were the groom's family,the neghbours and friends and also a group of local music such as gendang beleq and kecimol,these phase is also some kind an anouncement to the people along the way that these two people (the couple) were alreday becoming husband and wife.
              The couple were treated like king and queen for a day,they were walking along with gendang beleq or kecimol accompaniment until they reach to the bride's house using sasak traditional clothes,but today this tradition is already a little bit changing and had some modification,people no longer playing traditional sasak song using traditional music instrument,but the playing modern music like dangdut music or even pop music while the youth in the parade dancing along the way.

Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi

           This procession usually held during the weekend,so if we take a ride along the villages in Lombok in the weekend we would find the procession in few places,we would find crowd of people who watching it and it could caused traficc jam for few kilometres.
     For some people this procession is sacred,they believe if the procession didn't held after the wedding,something bad is gonna happen to the couple in their marriage life,so they have to do it even on the poured rain.

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Ogoh - ogoh Parade,purifing the soul by destroying evil spirit

      Once a year,one day before the "Nyepi" (Silent day,hindhu's New Year) the hindhu people in Lombok,mostly in Cakranegara,one district in Mataram city, held the ogoh - ogoh ( a kind of scary statue) parade, the parade usually held from the afternoon until dusk,hindhu people from every "Banjar" gathering to start the parade that usually take route in the main street of Cakranegara.The Ogoh - ogoh were made from bamboo trunk,cartoon paper,and coloured by paint,it symbolizing the evil spirit that always try to attempting human being in life to do bad thing.                                                                                                             

         That's why ogoh - ogoh always performed in a shape of scary and creepy creature.Every "Banjar" made their own ogoh - ogoh, the people accompanying ogoh - ogoh in a procession,usually by the youth,in the end of the carnival the ogoh - ogoh would be burn,it representing (and hopefully) the evil spirit would be destroy as well and it would be a good time to start the new year with new and pure soul. After the parade,people ecspecially Hindhu people went home preparing for the silent day on the next day.

 Eventhough the majority of people in Lombok were moeslim but it doesn't bother at all, the moeslim people respect it and try take it as a "unity in diversity",The moeslim and hindu people were still live in harmony.

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Gendang Beleq,the rhythm and harmony of Lombok

Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi

         In Sasak tribe community,there's a traditional art that combining traditional music instruments, this music is used to encourage the warrior from ancient kingdom in Lombok island when they going for war,but as the time goes by,the function of the music become change,these days the music is playing for special occasion like wedding ceremony (merariq),or when a baby get first haircut (aqiqah) or any other big celebration.

         The name "Gendang Beleq" mean big gendang, gendang is a traditional music instrument,a kind of drum, made from big tree trunk that had been holed in the middle, and covered by ox or cow skin in the left and right side, so when people hit the left  and right side it could make a rhythm.Playing in group of men from 13 to 17 people,there are few components from this tradisonal music such as :

• Two Gendang Beleq, called gendang mame ( male gendang) and gendang nine ( female gendang ) as a dynamic of music
• One Gendang Kodeq ( Small Gendang )
• Two reong, reong mame ( male reong ) and reong nine ( female reong ) as the melody of the music
• One perembak beleq as rhytmic
• Eight perembak kodeq or used to called copek as rhytmic
• One petuk as rhytmic
• One Big Gong as rhytmic
• One Penyelak Gong as rhytmic
• One Oncer Gong as rhytmic
• Two red or yellow flag called lelontek

  

  Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi

                                                         These group of men were walking like parade while they were playing the music,they were also dancing during the music playing.The filosofi of the music is representing unity,wisdom,patient,beauty, and heroism which sacred by the Sasak tribe community,so by playing the music,those good point would stay remain in the tribe.

  

  Photograph by Wahid Kurniadi

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The Art of "Peresean", fight between local knight of Lombok

Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi              

  

               If in modern sport there's boxing,in tradisional Lombok society there's "peresean",word "peresean" in Indonesia mean playing perisai or playing shield because the two peoples who fight are using shield which is made from rattan and covered by ox or buffalo skin,to attack each other,they using stick made from rattan too,in the past,this sport are used to train the knight and warrior (in sasak languange we called "pepadu') from Lombok to strengthen themself. But nowdays peresean are use by people to called for rain in dry season,the more blood fall from two pepadu who fight,the more rain will fall to make ricefield of farmers fertile,thats what people believe.It also held for spesial occasion or event like when a high functionary came,or wellcoming the tourist.

Photograph by : Wahid Kurniadi

        The component of peresean are two fighters (called "pepadu") and two referees (called "pekembar") the referee who stand in the middle of the arena called "pekembar tengaq" and the referee who stand on the edge of the arena called "pekembar tengaq",during the fight the audience will also listening to the tradisonal music played using tradisonal music instrument such as gong,suling,and kanjar to encorage the fighter,everytime one fighter could hit his enemy body ,it would be count as one point,the fight held for few round,the winner is the one get the highest point,the fight would also be stopped if there's one of  the fighter surrender or could not continue the fight,after the fight,the medical team directly taking care the wound of  the fighter by using special oil,even in the fight they hit each other,but after the fight,the two fighters embrace each other.

I

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