Sundanese Customs and Culture
Ditulis pada: September 10, 2021
The Sundanese customs and culture are part of the cultural wealth of the archipelago. Ethnic groups and customs are proof that Indonesia is a rich country not only because of its incomparable resources and beautiful natural scenery, but also because of the culture of the ethnic groups that are spread throughout the archipelago.
The culture is a special attraction and has the potential to attract the attention of tourists both domestically and abroad. So that it can function as a tourist attraction that generates foreign exchange.
The life of the Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group that predominantly inhabits the western region of the island of Java. However, like other tribes that roam the world, the spread of the Sundanese extends to the Betawi region.
West Java province with the capital city in Bandung is the province with the largest Sundanese population in Indonesia. His famous traditional songs are Manuk Dadali, Bubuy Bulan, and Tokecang.
The Sundanese people who are known to be friendly and love to eat fresh vegetables have the art of wayang golek, namely wooden puppet plays which are popular to foreign countries.
Sundanese Culture
The Sundanese uniqueness ofcustoms and culture is reflected in its distinctive cultural characteristics, both in terms of language, traditional musical instruments, traditional clothing and traditional ceremonies that are different from other ethnic cultures.
The topography of the West Java area which consists of beaches and mountains creates a cultural harmony which is a blend of customs, characteristically influenced by natural conditions.
The Sundanese people have traditional dances. Typical Sundanese dances include Jaipong Dance and Mask Dance. These two traditional dances are accompanied by traditional gamelan music with rhythmic rhythms as a result of a combination of several traditional musical instruments such as the harp, drums, saron and go'ong.
In addition to the brilliant music, the hallmark of Jaipong Dance lies in the clothes of the dancers. The clothes of the Jaipong dancers are usually brightly colored. In addition, the movement of this dance is also dynamic. This dance is actually a modification of the Tap Dance and is usually performed at weddings or entertainment performances.
Mask Dance is also one of the famous dances from the land of Sunda. As the name suggests, this dance requires the dancer to wear a mask. Dancers are accompanied by gamelan music and refer to the classic story of the banner.
Long ago the Mask Dance was a dance to honor the spirits of ancestors. When Islam began to enter the land of Sunda, Sunan Kalijaga used the Mask Dance as a tool to spread Islam.
The famous Sundanese traditional musical instruments are the angklung and calung. If you play the angklung by shaking it, calung sounds by beating it by hitting the bamboo sticks on the segments of the tube arranged according to certain scales.
Unlike the angklung which uses white bamboo, the bamboo used in making calung is usually of the black bamboo type. Similar to angklung, calung is often performed as a separate musical art performance even though it is not used as an accompaniment to traditional Sundanese dances.
Sundanese Traditional Ceremonies
1. Wedding Ceremony
Like other tribes in Indonesia, the Sundanese traditional wedding ceremony consists of several series which are one unit, namely as follows.
Sawer
In this custom the bride and groom sit in the yard just below the place where rainwater falls from the roof of the house (talang).
In this event, the parents of the bride and groom perform saweran with the contents of the sawer consisting of setaman flowers, yellow rice, coins and sweets. The contents of this saweran are usually contested by small children who also witness the ceremony.
Meuleum Harupat
Is a ceremony that symbolizes the hope that the bride and groom will avoid temptation and make it easier to overcome problems during the wedding. This ceremony is carried out by burning dried betel nut flower stalks and the fire is blown together by the bride and groom.
Nincak Endog
This ceremony is similar to the traditional Javanese wedding ceremony. In this ceremony the groom steps on the egg until it breaks and then his feet are washed by the bride to dry as a symbol of the wife's devotion to her husband.
Nincak Songsong
Is the custom of stepping on small bamboo which is usually used to blow firewood while cooking in the kitchen.
Meupeuskeun Kendi
is the custom of breaking a clay jug by the bride and groom as a symbol of solving household problems together and rejecting reinforcements.
Buka Panto
Means opening the door as a symbol of the husband's request for permission to the wife to navigate the ark of the household together.
Huap Lingkung
This is a custom that is similar to the Javanese and Sumatran wedding customs, where the bride and groom feed each other as a symbol of mutual love, followed by the bribes made by the bride's parents as a symbol of parental love for the child.
This custom is closed with the action of fighting over grilled chicken (bakakak hayam) as a symbol that sustenance from God should be enjoyed together.
2. Pencak Silat Cikalong
This martial art typical of the Sundanese people functions as a sport as well as a form of art because the movements are quite attractive and flexible like dancing. The locals call it Maempo Cikalong.
3. Seren Taun Tradition
A tradition of pounding rice in a mortar together by women which is becoming rare for the Sundanese people. This custom is a form of gratitude to the Almighty when getting abundant results after the rice harvest and is usually held during the full moon or the middle of the Sundanese calendar month.
4. Nipung Ka Halu
Tradition Like the Seren Taun tradition, Nipung Ka Halu has also become a rare tradition. This tradition symbolizes the spirit of mutual cooperation between residents in making rice flour together. Currently only some residents of Pelabuhan Ratu and its surroundings still preserve this Sundanese cultural custom.
To make rice flour together at least one hundred people are involved. In this ceremony, the main tool used is halu. A halu is a type of wooden stick that is 1.5 to two meters long and does not involve any machinery.
The meeting of the mortar with a wooden stick is not done randomly but has been arranged so that it produces a certain tone. Women, men, old, young and even children participate in this unique tradition and it is usually continued by cooking the rice flour into delicious Sundanese cakes such as dodol, surabi, and wajik together.
The characteristics of Sundanese customs and culture can also be found in the habits and life of the community. The Sundanese family system is parental, that is, it draws the lineage from the father and mother together. The majority of the Sundanese people are Muslim.
But speaking of knowing God, the Sundanese people have believed in it since the time of their ancestors. This is indicated by the existence of the Lutung Kasarung character in the Sundanese legend who in his rhyme mentions Guriang Tunggal.
The Sundanese customs and culture are a form of the nation's wealth, but unfortunately these traditions are slowly being eroded and poorly documented, this is also influenced by the weaknesses of the people themselves, who are now very rarely trying to recognize their own customs and culture.
