Banyuwangi: The Osing, The Gandrung and Rujak Soto

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I must have rushed through the port of Banyuwangi a hundred times over the past 45 years. The first time was in 1971 when I waded through surf to board a rusty LCU from World War II to cross the Bali Strait to Gilimanuk, at the time just a one-ferry port. The old amphibious landing craft lurched to a stop on the sandy beach beside the single pier. In the shadows, a bemo (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) driver waved and I climbed in for the lonely, all-night drive to Denpasar.

Sometimes I'd stay a few days to take note of how this underrated, curious city has grown and changed over the years. Depending on your perspective, Banyuwangi sits either at the beginning or the end of Java, it is the most easterly major town and the last stop on the railway network that meanders across the island. The administrative capital of Banyuwangi regency, it has a population of around 110,000.

Driving smartly through the ferry parking lot and out the gate onto the congested main street of the nearest Javanese city to Bali always carries with it a palpable sense of adventure. It is like landing in another countrythe sudden appearance of jilbab (head scarf), the total absence of dogs and pigs, strange sounds and smells, no beer and all the clocks one hour earlier that Bali. Noticeable immediately, the accent and tone of the Javanese spoken heretypical of people of East Javais more kasar (rough) and louder than the Central Java dialect.

Banyuwangi is built along a main road running parallel to, but not directly along the coastline. In contrast to Bali's scruffy port of Gilimanuk, Banyuwangi is neat and clean. The city's nascent tourism industry is centered on the crater lake and sulfur mine at Ijen and a string of beaches to the south culminating in the peerless surf of G-Land. The plateau to the west serves as the city's backdrop and from points along the coast the wild, serrated hills of West Bali rise above the narrow strait.

With its vibrant colors and striking architecture, the small city is surprisingly photogenic. In the center of town is Taman Sritanjung, a trim park rivaling those of Java's large cities. I remember on a visit 20 years ago that it took an hour to find a decent restaurant, but now a row of warung (food stalls) runs along one side of the park, separated by a wall of creeping vines streaming down from rows of planters. Children frolic in the grass and cycle along pathways. By the fountain, a vendor releases clouds of bubbles in the air. Banyuwangi's elegant mosque, Mesjid Baiturrachman, stands across the street. Crowned by three brilliant turquoise salak (snake fruit)-shaped domes that glint in the sunlight.

The principal market area is along the Jalan Susuit Tuban, the street that links the town's alun-alun (square) with Stadium Diponegoro 500 meters to the southeast. The white gateway of the alun-alun is a replica of the ancient Wringin Lawang and Brahu red brick gateways of Trowulan, the seat of the Hindu-Javanese Majapahit kingdom (ca. 12221451). The architecture is inspired by the colossal Dravidian gopuram monumental towers of South India. Inside the Kongco Tan Hu Cin Jin Chinese temple, built in 1784, stands a resplendent effigy of the deity Chen Fu ZhenRen.

Food specialties served at Banyuwangi's street tents and parkside warung are a big gastronomic draw. Rujak Soto is sliced beef and cow's innards mixed with peanut sauce (bumbu rujak) and seasoned broth. Like the usual soto, the color is clear yellow and the taste is salty and savory, which blends tantalizingly well with the sweetness of the peanut sauce. Other unique dishes include Ayam Pedas Rantinem, which may be sampled at Ayam Pedas Rantinem in the Genteng Bus Terminal. This delicious spicy chicken with creamy coconut milk, similar to chicken curry, is served from 4pm to 9pm. Kue bagiak, hotdog-shaped cakes made of tapioca starch, milk, sugar, eggs and spices, is a popular souvenir.

Banyuwangi regency gained a questionable reputation in 1998 when wild rumors spread of witches casting spells and causing harm. The ensuing paranoia resulted in the ghastly murder and mutilation of around 100 people, including five women, carried out by preman (criminal thugs) dressed as ninja. The killings abruptly ended when the army and police, prompted by tabloid journalism, intervened. Only three of the 250 men charged were acquitted. Those jailed received light sentences. Known as the 'warehouse of sorcery', the district is still notorious for its black magic practitioners.

More positive publicity was generated in September 2013 when hundreds of Muslim extremists from the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) were prevented from boarding a ferry bound for Bali in their attempt to disrupt the World Beauty pageant in Nusa Dua. The religious fanatics, who seek to establish shariah law across all of Indonesia, were met by an equal number of determined police officers and troops forming the National Police Mobile Brigade.

When the sod was broken for a new marina in late 2015, it placed a new and potentially lucrative industry on the horizon for the city. Banyuwangi is one of the ports aiming to attract a substantial number of the 5,000 yachts that Indonesia's tourism ministry hopes will visit Indonesia by the year 2019. To accommodate the infrastructure needed for the country's vastly expanded maritime infrastructure, the ministry plans to build 100 marinas in the next five years.

As Jakartans are called Anak Betawi and Surabaya citizens Arek Suroboyo, Banyuwangi residents are popularly addressed as Osing. This native group has a Hindu culture although they can be considered as a Javanese sub-ethnic group. Living mainly in the central part of the regency, the Osing settled in the region at the end of the Majapahit Empire as the Blambangan kingdom fought to maintain its independence for over 200 years. This prolonged power struggle led to population migration and the emergence of new settlements on the slopes of Mount Bromo, Bali and Banyuwangi. Those in Banyuwangi eventually became known as the Osing. Over time, the Osing assimilated into the general population through marriages with the area's other ethnic groups. When asked if they are Balinese or Javanese, they answer 'Osing' which means 'no'.

The traditions of the Osing are preserved, recognized and observed by the citizenry who readily and proudly declare themselves Isun Lare Osing! (I am an Osing). Their language has become a multi-ethnic tongue spoken also by Javanese, Buginese, Balinese and Madurese residents. Perhaps still smarting from its image as a 'black magic city' in the 1990s, the Osing today emphasize the values of compassion, humanism and pluralism. The Kuwung Festival (kuwung means 'rainbow'), in which men bear woman performers on palanquins, features traditional art performances with musical accompaniment that portray stories of the local people; children's horse dances, a circumcision ritual, the mythical Barong Ider Bumi dance and the chanting Hadrah Kuntulan performance. Other cultural events on the city's busy calendar are the Banyuwangi Ethno Carnival, Banyuwangi Beach Jazz and the Gandrung Sewu Art Festival.

Because of its geographical location, it is only natural that the area's regional music is also the product of several intermingling cultures. Though distinct, Banyuwangi's music parallels the musical styles of neighboring Bali. For example, the two main traditional orchestras, the gandrung and angklung, incorporate both Javanese and Balinese musical instruments.

Another difference is that contemporary musicians in Banyuwangi prefer sleepy slendro, while in Bali pelog predominates. According to the famous musicologist Jaap Kunst, pelog was once prevalent in Banyuwangi but when a large number of settlers arrived in the area from Central Java, they had a preference for the slower slendro. The highly ornamental gandrung has similarities with the Balinese joged.

Gandrung is a popular entertainment staged during ritual celebrations. Statues of gandrung female singer-dancer can be found in the city's downtown area and the dance itself is performed at the great annual Banyuwangi Festival. The song repertoire, which reaches deep into East Java's ritual past, is at turns lively and lighthearted. A professional gandrung dances solo for pay together with invited male guests, accompanied by a small ensemble of drums, violins, triangle, kettle gongs and sometimes a large hanging gong.

It is not always easy for a gandrung to entice guests onto the dance floor since the man's dance movements requires great artistry and poise that will be watched critically by spectators who may include their own wives or girlfriends. Other notable local dances of the regency include a Balinese-style Barong dance in Kemiren village, just 5 minutes by taxi from Banyuwangi's train station, and the Seblang ritual trance dance performed once a year in the villages of Bakungan and Olehsari in the district of Glagah. After the conquest of Blambangan by the Dutch, the local court culture ceased to exist and musical and shamanistic dance genres such as the Seblang gained ascendancy again. This expression of indigenous Osing ethnicity has distinct parallels with other traditional trance rituals such as the Balinese Sanghyang Dedari, in which girls are also possessed by a deity.

Bill Dalton