indONEsia: REYOG, TRULLY INDONESIA

THE FAITHFUL PRIME MINISTER, REYOG PONOROGO HISTORIES

Many years ago, in East Java there was a big kingdom called Kediri which ruled by an old King who had handsome son and a beautiful daughter. One day the King called his son and said to him,
"My dear my son, I'm growing old, and I think it is time for you to be the King of Kediri. This Kingdom needs a younger King."
The Prince was unprepared to take this position, but he dared not say so to his father. He knew his father would be angry if he refused. Actually, the Prince needed more skill and experience before becoming King. He wanted to learn more before he ruled his father's kingdom, because he knew that the neighboring kingdoms had very powerful kings. One of them was King Kelono Sewandono, the King Of Ponorogo who was famous for his fighting skills and magic power.
At night, when everybody was asleep, the Prince left the palace and went to the Kingdom of Ponorogo to get a job in the Ponorogo palace. He had handsome face and a strong body, so it was easy for him to get a job as a palace guard. After some time, King Kelono Sewandono saw that he was too good to be just a guard, and trained him to be a soldier. During the time period, the Prince showed great ability in many fields which pleased the King. Later on the Prince became the King's Prime Minister, and he was then called Pujangga Anom (Indonesia = Young Poet)
Suddenly there came a time when the Kingdom of Ponorogo fell upon terrible times. The rivers became dry, and the people's rice fields were destroyed by drought. People got hungry, and every day there was death in the villages. At night, lions from the forest walked around the villages, eating every animal and human being they could find. The people were frightened. The King asked all the wise men in the kingdom to do something to bring things back to normal, but no one succeeded.
One night, the palace priest had a dream, and he saw prosperity return of the Kingdom of Ponorogo. He told the King about his dream.
"Your Highness, I also a saw a Princess sitting beside you. It was Princess Kilisuci, the famous Princess of Kediri."
The King listened carefully to the priest's words and understood what they meant: He had to marry Princess Kiisuci in order to save his people. Then he called his Prime Minister.
"Pujangga Anom, go to the Kingdom of Kediri and ask the Princess to be my wife!. You must not to fail, because it is vital for our Kingdom's welfare". Pujangga Anom bent his head. It was a very difficult job for him. How could he ever go back to his father after having refused his order and run away from his Kingdom.
However, he had to do this job. So he left Ponorogo with a heavy heart.
On the way to Kediri, there was a thick forest. Pujangga Anom stopped there and prayed. Suddenly, something fell from the sky right in front of him. It was a mask with a giant's face. Then he heard a voice,
"Pujangga Anom, this is what you need now. Wear it, then no one can recognize you. Besides, it also gives you great power, so great that no weapon can evert hurt you". Wearing the mask, he continued his journey to the Kingdom of Kediri.
The King of Kediri was surprised when Pujangga Anom told him the purpose of his visit.
"I don't want my beautiful daughter to be a giant's wife!", said the King with an angry voice. Pujangga Anom tried several times to explain to him that the King of Ponorogo was not a giant but a handsome human being, yet the King of Kediri did not believe him.
"If the Prime Minister is a giant, then the King must also a giant," said the King.
"Believe me, he is not a giant," said Pujangga Anom. Then he added, "Even I am not a giant. I'm human being."
The King of Kediri laughed. Finally Pujangga Anom had to tell the truth.
"Listen to me, please, Your Highness. I'm your son..." The King stopped laughing. His face looked pale. Then he got very angry.
"No, you cannot be my son. You are not my son. You are a giant!" The palace priest was startled when he heard the King's angry words.
"Your Highness, he was telling the truth!" He knew that the King's word could be powerful. They could work like a curse. The priest tried to stop the power of the King's words, but it was too late. At the very moment, Pujangga Anom really becam a giant. The mask became his real face, the face of a giant. How sad!
Princess Kilisuci saw shat happened to her brother, and she felt very sad. She came close to Pujangga Anom and said,
"My dear Brother, don't be sad. You'll change back into a human being when marry the King of Ponorogo. But to make it possible, the King of Ponorogo must fulfil my requests. One, he has to come here to accompanied by hundred and fifty live lions. Two, the King and his soldier have to walk from Ponorogo to Kediri through an underground channel"
Pujangga Anom promised to tell his King about the Princess's request, and went back to Ponorogo to report to the King. Having became real giant, no one in the palace recognized him. The King was surprised and angry when he heard Pujangga Anom's story about his new face. The good-hearted Prime Minister cooled down the King's anger and promised him to try the best to fulfil the Princess requests. He went to the thick forest to get a hundred and fifty lions. It took e really strong person to do the job. After a long battle with the lions, Pujangga Anom was able to get exactly a hundred and fifty live lions which he brought to the Ponorogo palace. One of the lions had magic power. Pujangga Anom ordered this lion to dig the underground channel from Ponorogo to Kediri. Then the King of Ponorogo with his soldier, accompanied by the hundred and fifty lions, went through the channel on their journey to Kediri. On the way to Kediri, Pujangga Anom slowly changed back into a human being.
Meanwhile, in the thick forest between Ponorogo and Kediri, Singa Barong, the white lion who was the King or the forest lions, was very angry. He had just come back to his palace and found out that hundred and fifty of his soldiers had been taken away by Pujangga Anom. He knew that Pujangga Anom and his King had to come out of the underground channel on the border of Kediri, so he waited there together with his soldier, the wild lions of the forest. Up in the trees were a lot of peacock, the lions's friends, waiting too. They were ready to give support to the lions during the fight their enemies.
The moment came when King Kelono Sewandono and his soldiers came out of the underground channel. Men and lions met, and they had a terrible flight. During the fight, the peacock flew up and down, flapping their wings to give support to the lions. Finally, there were only four of the Ponorogo soldiers left. All of the others were killed by the lions, who were much too strong for the Ponorogo soldiers. Then KingKelono Sewandono let his soldiers leave the battle. He gave Pujangga Anom a magic whip With the whip in his hand, Pujangga Anom easily defeated the lions. Every time Pujangga Anom swung the whip, it made a frightening sound just like lightning. All the lions were frightened, and soon left the battlefield . Only Singa Barong stayed. Then it became a fight between two strong powers. During the fight, the sky turned from dark to light, again and again. When it was dark, the lion changed into a handsome man, and changed back into a white lion when it was light. The whole time, the peacocks flew up and down, flapping their wings. At last Pujangga Anom succeeded in killing Singa Barong with the magic whip. The head of white lion was separated from its body. The peacock gathered round the head of the King of the Forest, looking at it with very sad faces.
The King of Ponorogo and his soldiers continued their journey to Kediri. The soldiers bounced merrily on horseback all the way. One of them carried the head of Singa Barong, and the peacock kept close to the white lion's head. All the peacock opened their tail feathers which made them look like large beautiful fans. As the King of Ponorogo arrived in Kediri, he was kindly welcomed and Princess Kilisuci was then given to him to be his wife.
Princess Kilisuci was the Queen of Ponorogo for some years. But as she could not give a child to King of Ponorogo, she asked to be sent back to Kediri. This made King Kelono Sewandono very sad. He did not want to eat or sleep, and he was quiet for days doing nothing. The faithful Prime Minister understood the King's sadness, and he asked the soldiers to dance for the King. The dance was to bring back the happy memories when the King and his soldier defeated Singa Barong, and successfully brought Queen Kilisuci to Ponorogo.
This dance, known as Reyog Ponorogo, is a very spectacular dance with lots of bright colours and merry music. The dancer represent King Kelono Sewandono wears a red mask with a big nose and a thick moustache and a crown. He also wears a kris. Pujangga Anom also represent by a dancer wearing a mask having big nose and a thick moustache, with frighten with eyes. Singa Barong is represent by a dancer wearing a mask of a lion carrying a large peacock feather fan on top of the mask. He also carries a beautiful little girl on his shoulders, represent Queen Kilisuci. The Ponorogo soldiers are represent by four good loking young men riding flat bamboo horses (In Indonesia called Jaran Kepang). (Sutarto, Ayu. 1992. QUEEN KILISUCI and STORIES of REYOG. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama)

THE TRAGIC END OF TWO BROTHERS, REYOG TULUNGAGUNG HISTORIES

Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Majalengka, there lived a famous and powerful Commander-in-Chief, Buto Lucoyo, who had two handsome sons: Jaka Lodra, the elder and Singa Lodra, the younger. The two sons loved each other and always obeyed their father. They had been taught to use good manners at all times.
One day Buto Lucoyo called his sons to come before him. He wanted to teach them important things which could be useful for their future. When they came to meet his father, Jaka Lodra unthinkingly wore a horn-like headcloth which made his head look like a buffalo's. It made Buto Lucoyo very angry as it was impolite to come before a respected person with such a head cloth. Angrily, Buto Lucoyo said to his son,
"I dislike your headcloth. You know that is impolite to wear such a thing when you come before your father. You seem to forget the good manners I have always taught you. Well, if you like it so much, you can have a real buffalo's head instead."
Then like a magic, Jaka Lodra's head suddenly changed into a real buffalo's head.
Buto Lucoyo's younger son saw what happened to his brother and he laughed at him.
"Ho, ho, ho, you look so funny, Brother!" He laughed uproariously, showing all his teeth. According to the local custom, it was very impolite to laugh showing all one's teeth in front of respected person. Again Buto Lucoyo got angry with his son's manners and said to Singa Lodra,
"Stop laughing! You know it is impolite to laugh that way in front of your father. You seem to forget how to use good menners when you laugh. You laugh more like lion." Immediately Singa Lodra's head changed into a lion's head.
The two sons looked at each other and cried,
"Forgive us, most respected Father, please, forgive us. We promise not to repeat same mistake again."
Buto Lucoyo looked at his sons sadly, and told them
"Stop crying, sons. Your crying will not help solve the problem. I forgive you, but remember, never make your father angry, because my angry words can be very dangerous. Now, listen!. Singa Lodra, from now on I shall call you Jatha Sura, and you, Jaka Lodra will be called Lembu Sura. Go to the South and then to the West, untill you arrive in a forest. Stop there and clear the forest!. Then, build a palace!. The Lembu sura should be the King, and the Jatha Sura the Commander-in-Chief. You should name your Kingdom Bandarangin.", Buto Lucoyo's sons paid homage to their father and start off on their journey to find the forest.
Finally they found the forest which their father told them. Having cleared the forest, they built a beautiful palace. Through the years, the Kingdom of Bandarangin grew bigger and bigger, and was respected by other kingdoms. The only kingdom which could be compared to this kingdom was the Kingdom of Kediri. Kediri at that time was ruled by beautiful, clever Queen called Kilisuci.
One morning, King Lembu Sura held a big meeting. All the King's men, including Jatha Sura, were present.
"Jatha Sura, my dearest Brother, and all my brave men," said the King.
"This Kingdom needs a Queen, and the woman I've been thinking of is Queen Kilisuci of the Kingdom Kediri. I shall order my brother, Jatha Sura, to propose to the Queen. If I marry her, I will be able to join Kediri and Bandarangin into one great, strong Kingdom."
Jatha Sura was smiling, then he laughed.
"Ho, ho, ho. What a good idea! Yes, my brother, I agree with you. When shall we leave?"
"Right now, " answered the King. Then Jatha Sura paid homage to the King and left the meeting to carry out his duty.
Arriving at the Kediri Palace, he received a friendly welcome. Then he saw the Queen of Kediri. She was so beautiful that Jatha Sura fell in love with her himself. He forgot that he came there to propose her for his brother.
The Queen asked him in a melodious voice,
"Please tell me who you are, and where you come from!"
"I'm Jatha Sura, the Commander-in-Chief of Bandarangin Kingdom. I have been ordered by my King, who is also my brother, to propose to you for him. But now that I have seen you, I think I have fallen in love with you and I want to marry you myself," answered Jatha Sura.
"Suppose I refused your proposal, what will you do?" asked the beautiful Queen with clever smile in her face.
"I will destroy your Kingdom, and force you to be my wife," answered Jatha Sura in a loud and frightening voice.
Queen Kilisuci knew that Jatha Sura meant want he said. She also knew that he had strong magic powers, and could easily get his wish. So the beautiful but clever Queen tried to find a trick to save herself from the lion-headed man. She told him,
”All right, Jatha Sura, I will marry you. But you have to show respect to your brother to telling him about this.” Jatha Sura was quite pleased with the Queen’s promise, and he left the Kediri Palace to tell his brotherabout the result of his mission.
As soon as he arrived in the Kingdom of Bandarangin, he went immediately to see his brother.
“Forgive me, my most respected brother. I failed in carrying out my duty. After I saw the Queen, I fell in love with her myself, and now I want to make her my wife.” Lembu Sura was shocked to hear his brother’s words. His face showed great anger.
“I cannot forgive you, Jatha Sura. You have not respected your brother, and you have not carried out your King’s order. You must be punished.” Then he tpld Jatha Sura to get out of the palace, and the two brothers had a fight. Both of them were good at fighting, but Jatha Sura was more powerful. His brother knew that, and he tried to keep away from Jatha Sura’s blows because they were very dangerous. Even so, one moment when Lembu Sura was careless, he received a heavy blow on his head. He died with his head broken into pieces.
Buto Lucoyo who happened to visit his sons, saw the death of his elder son. He angrily told his younger son,
“Jatha Sura, you had no love for your brother. Remember this: ’Those who kill, will be killed’. You will come to the same end as your brother’s. You will be killed because of a trick!” Having said those words, Buto Lucoyo disappeared.
Jatha Sura went immediately to the Kingdom of Kediri to marry Queen Kilisuci.
“Queen Kilisuci, I have killed my brother so that I can marry you,” said Jatha Sura. “Now let’s celebrate our marriage.”
The clever Queen smiled at the lion-headed man, and he said, ”What marriage? I’m not going to marry you, Jatha Sura. You are only half human, The rest of you is demonic. I’m not going to marry a demon.” This made Jatha Sura very angry.
“You lied to me! You broke your promise!” He angrily went out of the palace, and destroyed anybody and anything he found in his way. Hundreds of heads of Kediri people were broken into pieces by his powerful blow.
Seeing all this, Pujanggaleng, the advisor of Kediri Palace, went to the Queen and told her,
“My most respected Queen, Jatha Sura is much too strong for us to defeat. If we do not his anger, the whole Kediri will be destroyed.” The Queen was very sad to see so many of her people die because of Jatha Sura’s anger. Then Pujanggaleng advise her to defeat the lion-heade man by tricking him.
“Tell him that you will marry him, if he can fulfil five requests. One, he has to dig twin wells at he top of Mount Kelud. Two, he has to get a chicken as large as a hut with a head as large as an areca nut, and the eyes as wide as a drums. Three, he has to get soldiers to dance while playing gamelan music, accompanying the Queen to meet Jatha Sura at the top of the mountain. Four, he should get rolled wet lime wrapped with Sinom leaf, and fastened with bent rice pestle. Five, the gamelan should be played by gods with nine characters.”
Queen Kilisuci quickly found Jatha Sura and told him to stop destroying her Kingdom.
“Jatha Sura, listen to me! I will marry you to save my people. But you have to fulfil five request so we can have a proper celebration.” Jatha Sura listened to the request and promised to fulfil them on time. The twin wells were finished without difficulty. To Queen Kilisuci’s surprises, Jatha Sura also fulfilled the other request easily. He succeeded in finding the correct meanings of the words used in the request. The chicken requested by the Queen meant a big gong supported on four legs. Drums meant gamelan orchestra, and the areca nut meant the instruments used in playing the gamelan orchestra. Rolled wet lime described the hats of the Kediri soldiers who would dance and play the gamelan orchestra accompanying the Queen to the top of Mount Kelud. The word Sinom meant a certain kind of melody played by gamelan orchestra. The pestle meant a trumpet which had to be played by gamelan orchestra. The gods having nine characters meant nine dancers playing nine different musical instruments in gamelan orchestra.