Majapahit was a vast archipelagic empire based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia, including the present day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, the Philippines, and East Timor. His achievement is also credited to his prime minister, Gajah Mada.
Majapahit was one of the last major empires of the region and is considered to be one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the history of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, one that is sometimes seen as the precedent for Indonesia's modern boundaries. Its influence extended beyond the modern territory of Indonesia and has been a subject of many studies. German orientalist Berthold Laufer suggested that maja came from the Javanese name of Indonesian tree.
The gamelan predates the Hindu-Buddhist culture that dominated Indonesia in its earliest records and instead represents a native art form. The instruments developed into their current form during the Majapahit Empire. In contrast to the heavy Indian influence in other art forms, the only obvious Indian influence in gamelan music is in the Javanese style of singing.
Tari Remo is a welcoming dance special from East Java which described dynamical characteristic of East Java Society as a picture of Prince's courage. It supported by Gamelan music and in this Gending there are Bonang, Saron, Gambang, Gender, Slentem, Zither, Flute, Ketuk, Kempul, and Gong with Slendro rhythm. Tari Remo is performed by a single dancer or by a group of dancers. Because the dancers are either men or women, Remo Dance has two styles: masculine and feminine. Very often women dancers perform masculine-style Remo Dance and men dancers perform feminine-style Remo Dance.
Tari Remo was originally danced at the beginning of ludruk performance, but later it is loosely developed into a dance performed at parties, folk festivals, or at the commemorations of national holidays. Remo Dance is perfomed to welcome guests and, therefore, it is called a welcoming dance.
The characteristic movements of the Remo Dance are the beats of the feet. A set of small bells is tied around the right-foot ankle. The bells tinkle when the dancer walks or beats the floor with his or her right foot. Beside the beats of the feet, the head movements, the manipulative play of the selendang or sampur, the facial expressions, and the postures of the dancers which conform the rhythm of the music, make this dance unique.
The costumes of a Remo Dancer are of various types: Sawunggaling, Surabayan, Malangan, Jombangan. The Surabayan costume consist of a red scarf tied around the head, a black upper outfit that resembles the outfit of an eighteenth-century noblemen with the royal insignia, a pair of velvet trousers which are knee-high and knitted with golden thread and gems, a piece of batik worn around the waist, hip and thighs, and rumpled in the front, a belt called stagen worn around the waist and a keris (a Javanese dagger). A dancer has two selendang or sampur, one of which is worn around the waist and the other which is worn on the shoulders. His or her right hand holds one end of the selendang, and his or her left hand holds the other end. The bells tied around the right ankle tinkle loudly.
The costumes of the Surabaya type are more or less similar to those of the Sawunggaling type. The difference is that the upper outfit of the dancer is a white shirt with a tie. The costumes of Malangan type are similar to those of the Surabaya type except that the trousers are longer, touch the ankles of the dancer and are not knitted with colourful beads. The costumes of Jombangan type are similar to the Sawunggaling type except that instead of wearing a white shirt the dancer wears a vest. The typical costumes of the dancers are difficult to differentiate, especially because of the new creation of Remo Dancer's costumes.
With feminine-style dance, the dancer has a unique hair-do, and wears a black mekak to cover the breast, a rapak to cover the hip to the knee, and a piece of selendang or sampur put across the shoulders. There are various kinds of womens' Remo Dance costumes.
The musical instruments used in the Remo Dance performance consist of bonang babok, bonang penerus, saron, gambang, gender, slentem siter, seruling (flutes), kethuk-kenong, kempul and gong. The various music that accompanies the dance can be gamelan laras or irama slendro or pelog. Various tunes used are Surabaya Jula-Juli, and Tropongan. Other tunes to accompany the Remo Dance are Walangkekek, Gedok Rancak, Krucilan or newly created gending. A Remo Dance performance lasts for fifteen or more minutes. In ludruk performances, a Remo Dancer sings a song in the middle of his or her performance.
Source : http://www.petra.ac.id/eastjava/culture/remo.htm
Pendet is a traditional Balinese dance, in which offerings are made to purify the temple or theater as a prelude to ceremonies or other dances. Pendet is typically performed by young girls, carrying bowls of flower petals, handfuls of which are cast into the air at various times in the dance. Pendet can be thought of as a dance of greeting, to welcome the audience and invite spirits to enjoy a performance.
The original Pendet dance is performed by 4-5 young girls (before their puberty) in temple yards. Pendet dancers bring flowers in small Bokor (silver bowls for keeping flowers in a ceremony). They spread the flowers around the temple. This dance is a symbol of welcoming God in some ritual ceremonies in Bali. Pendet actually has simple dance movements. These movements are the basic dance movements of Balinese dance. Pendet has undergone later development with variations and now is not only performed in ritual ceremonies but also in some social events. Pendet since has been known as a welcoming dance.
Pendet are welcoming dences expressing of joy, happiness and gratitude made through graceful and elegant movements. Depending on the choreography, they mey be performed by a pair or a group of female dancers of any age. In the past those dences were temple dances to great or please the gods and deities residing in the temple for the duration of the temple's anniversary festival, the odalan. Today, they are staged purely as artistic entertainment.
The choreography of both includes three main parts :
1. a brief introduction - a papeson, with fast music,
2. a slow-moving body- the pangadeng,
3. a fast ending - the panyuwud.
The traditional pendet may be performed by ten to thirty dancers, in pairs or in groups of four or six, while each dancer carries offerings which are later placed on the altar in front or at the foot of a temple shrine. The secular versions can be performed by four or six dancers each carrying a bowl of colourful flowers which they scatter the flowers over the audience to symbolize a warm welcome.
Traditional house of Minangkabau is called "Rumah Gadang". It means big house or "rumah adat", customary house. It is called Rumah Gadang is not because of it's big size. But it refers to the big function of the house itself. Rumah Gadang in Minangkabau belongs to all members of relatives along the mother's line called "Kaum".
The function of this house is for all togather at happy and sorrow time, discussing and making decision for any problem in the "Kaum". 'Rumah Adat' also refers to its function as the place for all "adat" (custom and tradition) ceremonies look wedding party or inauguration of a head of clan.
The Original "adat" house is made of wood and bamboo for the back wall. The roof is made of palm vibe. It is about 12 to 20 metres long and 6-8 metres wide and the position of the floor is 2-2,5 metre above the ground.
