Art & Culture

Rengkong

Rengkong is one of the traditional arts that are bequeathed by the community's Sundanese ancestors. Emerged around 1964 in the area of Cianjur Regency and the person that the first time brought it up and popularised it was H. Sopjan. The form of this art has been taken from the conduct of the Sundanese community beforehand when burying rice to reaped it. The term rengkong is taken from the name of an implement to bear rice from the paddy-field.

This implement is made from bamboo type of "gombong" and to tie his rice used injuk rope. If it is brought while bearing rice could produce the voice resulting from the rope friction injuk with bamboo. It seems reportedly that voice sound from this implement interesting to be presented so as to become the idea to be made by a performance. Art equipment rengkong that is used for a performance consist of, bamboo gombong, the banner, the rope injuk and one association of the stem of rice weighing 10 kg. Its player wears clothing that consist of: bat clothes, trousers pangsi, headband and do not use any footwear.

This traditional art is usually carried out when the ceremony to harvest rice but gradually often is performed for others such as; welcoming the arrival of the guest or the national ceremony of the public holiday warning. The number of its players between 5 primary schools. 6 people and its performance always done in an open space for a long time time around one hour.

In times of globalization era and digitalization, the art of rengkong almost not developing at all and is hard to be found. Expect because the player has to be found and gathered first since they’re already rare and old generation. The young generations are usually don’t like this performance, that is why it is so hard to do its regeneration