Traditonal Ceremonies

The term ‘Adat’ has long been accepted by Indonesian and became familiar to ethnologist. Knowlege of the distinct traditional cultures of the various ethnic groups and the kinship system of the Indonesian society is very important to us, because this is the foundation of ‘ Adat ‘
Indonesians many centuries lived under the humanitarian influence of Hinduism And Islam, so their culture became a part of civilized heritage. It has a rich heritage of music dance, dramas , and puppetry of various kinds in different regions.
For the Balinese, performing in theater is not a profession. Theater is seen as an integral part of live. It is one with the rituals that hold society together. Aside from those who teach music, and dancing, the village creates theater for the enjoyment of the community. Those who perform on stage by night lead normal lives in the village by day as farmers, fisherman, goldsmith, wood-carvers or whatever their vocation. Birthday, weddings, temple festial prcessions to the sea and purification ceremonies are occasions for dramatic entertainment. Imdeed, performing is the Balinese way of life.
Sekaten derived from the Al-Quran Arabic word “Syahadatain” meaning speaking the two sentences to enter islam, when person wants to become a Moslem , he has to say his vow by mentioning the ‘Syahadatain’. He has to proclaim that Allah is the only God , and Muhammad is His Mesenger.

What is sekaten? It is a celebration of the birth f propet Muhammad. People in Yogyakarta and Solo celebrate sekaten by holding a one-week fair on the square in front of the Sultan’s Place. On the first day of the fair , two sent of the Sultan’s gamelan are tken out of the palace and placed in front yard of the big Kauman Mosque. They will be played continuosly every evening throughout the sekaten week. During The Maulud season people from all the farm around Yogyakarta and Solo swam to the rice square to enjoy the ‘ Pasar Malam’ listening to the sounds of gamelan orchestra is to attract as many people as possible from near and far. Originally, the gamelan was only a means to allure people to the mosque to listen to the sermon.