tarawangsa
Tarawangsa is a traditional Sundanese musical instrument from West Java, Indonesia, in the form of a stringed instrument that has two strings made of steel or iron wire. An ensemble of chordophones (stringed instruments whose sound source is a resonator room) of two musical instruments. One is called tarawangsa itself, played by swiping and the other is called jentreng played by picking.
tarawangsa

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- Name
- Tarawangsa
- Field
- musical instrument
- Region
- Indonesia · Sunda Kingdom
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Tarawangsa is a traditional Sundanese musical instrument from West Java, Indonesia, in the form of a stringed instrument that has two strings made of steel or iron wire. An ensemble of chordophones (stringed instruments whose sound source is a resonator room) of two musical instruments. One is called tarawangsa itself, played by swiping and the other is called jentreng played by picking.
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wikidata · Q10970280 · wikipedia · Tarawangsa
In this article
Overview
Overview
The art of Tarawangsa is performed in the Ngalaksa ceremony, which is a ceremony for abundant harvests. The ceremony in the traditional agrarian society of the Sundanese is always identified with the figure of Nyai Sri Pohaci or Nyi Pohaci Sanghyang Dangdayang Asri or Dewi Asri or Dewi Sri as the Sundanese goddess of rice. In 2011, the tarawangsa musical instrument of the Sundanese people from West Java was recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tarawangsa • Developed — West Java and Banten, Indonesia • Classification — Chordophones • Range — Pelog scales
Etymology
Etymology
The word 'tarawangsa' comes from the Sundanese language. Tarawangsa comes from three combinations of words, namely 'Ta - Ra - Wangsa'. 'Ta' is an acronym for the word 'Meta' which means 'movement', then 'Ra' means 'great fire' or 'the sun', and 'Wangsa' is a synonym for the word 'nation'. So 'Ta-Ra-Wangsa' means 'the story of the life of the sun nation'. In other words, Tarawangsa is an art of welcoming the harvest of rice plants that are very dependent on the sun as a symbol of gratitude to God Almighty.
History
History
The word tarawangsa is found in ancient Balinese manuscripts of the 10th century. In the manuscripts written the words "trewasa" and "trewangsah". According to Jaap Kunst in his book 'Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments (1968)', it was stated that at that time the art of tarawangsa had existed in Javanese, Balinese, and Sundanese communities. But at this time only remaining in the area of Sundanese of West Java and Banten. In the ancient Sundanese book, Sewaka Darma (16th century), the term tarawangsa is also found which states that tarawangsa is a musical instrument. During the British colonial period (1811 – 1816) in Indonesia, Thomas Stamford Raffles wrote the book The History of Java in which he discussed batik, angklung, and tarawangsa.
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Picture of Tarawangsa musical instrument in the book of The History of Java by Thomas Stamford Raffles (1817).
Youtube
Youtube
• The Tarawangsa performance in the Ngalaksa Ceremony by Karya Gelar Seni Budaya Jawa Barat 2020. • The Tarawangsa Rancakalong performance by The group of Tarawangsa from Sumedang, West Java.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Jaap Kunst, 1973, Band 1, S. 107 und Band 2, Abb. 6, 7
- 2.Jaap Kunst, Roelof Goris: Hindoe-Javaansche muziekinstrumenten. Batavia, 1927; 2. durchgesehene, englische Auflage: Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag 1968, S. 17
- 3.Jaap Kunst, 1973, S. 113
- 4.Sibyl Marcuse: Musical Instruments: A Comprehensive Dictionary. A complete, autoritative encyclopedia of instruments throughout the world. Country Life Limited, London 1966, Stichworte Taravangsa, S. 512, und Vihola, S. 563
- 5.Karl Martin: Reisen in den Molukken, in Ambon, den Uliassern, Seran (Ceram) und Buru. Eine Schilderung von Land und Leuten. E.J. Brill, Leiden 1894, S. 325 f., und Tafel 30, Abb. 9. Auch ein anderes, der Violine ähnliches Streichinstrument an der Nordwestküste Serams soll vihola geheißen haben.
- 6.Curt Sachs: Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente zugleich ein Polyglossar für das gesamte Instrumentengebiet. Julius Bard, Berlin 1913, S. 409b
- 7.Curt Sachs: Die Musikinstrumente Indiens und Indonesiens – zugleich eine Einführung in die Instrumentenkunde. (Handbücher der staatlichen Museen zu Berlin) 2. Auflage, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Leipzig 1923, Nachdruck: Georg Olms, Hildesheim 1983, S. 135, 137
- 8.Jaap Kunst, Roelof Goris: Hindu-Javanese Musical Instruments. Martinus Nijhoff, Den Haag 1968, S. 22
- 9.Theodore G. Th. Pigeaud: Synopsis of Javanese Literature 900–1900 A.D. Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht 1967, S. 207
- 10.Nanang Supriatna, 2015, S. 191
- 11.Daniel Milán Cabrera: Indonesia – Java (Sunda). Ormatan Tarawangsa. Ritual Music. Begleitheft zur CD von Ocora Radio France, 2015, S. 16
- 12.Thomas Stamford Raffles: The History of Java. Band 1. 2. Auflage. John Murray, London 1830, S. 528,
- 13.Margaret J. Kartomi: Music in Nineteenth Century Java: A Precursor to the Twentieth Century. In: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Band 21, Nr. 1, März 1990, S. 1–34, hier S. 13 („The now almost totally obsolete stringed instrument tarawangsa...“)
- 14.Jaap Kunst, 1973, S. 172
- 15.Ernst Heins: On Jaap Kunst’s Music in Java. In: Ethnomusicology, Band 20, Nr. 1, Januar 1976, S. 97–101, hier S. 101
- 16.Nanang Supriatna, 2015, S. 192
- 17.Jaap Kunst, 1973, S. 372
- 18.Blog Ketinggalan Zaman (Zeichnung einer rundbauchigen tarawangsa); Tatabuhan. Alat Musik Tradisional Indonesia (Foto einer flachen, kastenförmigen tarawangsa)
- 19.Jaap Kunst, 1973, S. 372
- 20.Tarawangsa – Alat Musik Tradisional Sunda. Blog Ketinggalan Zaman (indonesisch)
- 21.Das 1998 ins Leben gerufene Kulturfest Nyiar Lumar (aus sundanesisch nyiar, „suchen“, und lumar, „biolumineszente Pilze“) mit verschiedenen traditionellen Musikgruppen finden alle zwei Jahre in Kawali statt. Vgl. Annastasya Nur Intandiani, Juju Masunah, Tati Narawati: Bubuka Lawang Dance in Nyiar Lumar as a Media for Cultural Communication in Ciamis. In: Gondang: Jurnal Seni dan Budaya, Band 8, Nr. 1, 2024, S. 205–215
- 22.R. Anderson Sutton, Endo Suanda, Sean Williams: Java. In: Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams (Hrsg.): The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Band 4: Southeast Asia. Garland, New York / London 1998, S. 716
- 23.Margaret J. Kartomi, 2014, S. 717
- 24.Daniel Milán Cabrera: Indonesia – Java (Sunda). Ormatan Tarawangsa. Ritual Music. Begleitheft zur CD von Ocora Radio France, 2015, S. 15
- 25.Tarawangsa, „Alat Musik Kahyangan“ dari Tatar Parahyangan. Pembelajaran Online, 23. April 2013
- 26.Tarawangsa Sunda. Youtube-Video (Ritualmusik bei einer Opferzeremonie)
- 27.Viviane Sukanda-Tessier: Le triomphe de Sri en pays soundanais: étude ethno-philologique des techniques et rites agraires et des structures socio-culturelles. Ècole française d’Extrême-Orient, Paris 1977, S. 101, zit. nach: Dana Rappoport: Songs and Sorrow in Tanjung Bunga: Music and the Myth of the Origin of Rice (Lamaholot, Flores, Indonesia). In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Band 170, Nr. 2/3, 2014, S. 215–249, hier S. 246, Fußnote 43
- 28.Ela Yulaeliah: Tarawangsa dan jentreng dalam upacara ngalaksa di Rancakalong Sumedang Jawa Barat. In: Selonding. Jurnal Etnomusikologi, Band 3, Nr. 1, 2006, S. 97–109
- 29.Nanang Supriatna, 2015, S. 192
- 30.Daniel Milán Cabrera: Indonesia – Java (Sunda). Ormatan Tarawangsa. Ritual Music. Begleitheft zur CD von Ocora Radio France, 2015, S. 16–18
- 31.Tradisi ngalaksa di Desa Rancakalong kecamatan Rancakalong kabupaten Sumedang. Blogna Aziz (Malaiisch laksa steht ansonsten für Reisnudeln und Nudelsuppen.)
- 32.Jentreng (Tarawangsa) Rancakalong, Sumedang. Youtube-Video
- 33.Nanang Supriatna, 2015, S. 193–195
- 34.Ajip Rosidi: My Experiences in Recording “Pantun Sunda”. In: Indonesia, Nr. 16, Oktober 1973 (Hrsg.: Southeast Asia Program Publications at Cornell University), S. 105–111, hier S. 105
- 35.Andrew N. Weintraub: Tune, Text, and the Function of Lagu in Pantun Sunda, a Sundanese Oral Narrative Tradition. In: Asian Music, Band 26, Nr. 1 (Musical Narrative Traditions of Asia) Herbst 1994 – Winter 1995, S. 175–211, hier S. 175
- 36.Jaap Kunst, 1973, S. 383
- 37.R. Anderson Sutton, Endo Suanda, Sean Williams: Java. In: Terry E. Miller, Sean Williams (Hrsg.): The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, 1998, S. 717
- 38.Wim van Zanten: Aspects of Baduy Music in its Sociocultural Context, with Special Reference to Singing and Angklung. In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Band 151 (Performing Arts in Southeast Asia) 1995, S. 516–544, hier S. 525, 527, 529
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