Angklung, the traditional West Java musical instrument made from bamboo, has been included in Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
The instrument was among 46 items from 21 countries inscribed to the list at the Fifth Unesco Inter-Governmental Committee meeting on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nairobi, Kenya.
The angklung now joins the wayang (the Javanese shadow puppet theater), the kris (the Javanese ceremonial dagger) and batik among the Indonesian representatives in the list.
I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the government welcomed the recognition granted by Unesco.
“The reason the angklung was inscribed to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity is because it has deep philosophical values for humanity, such as cooperation, respect and social harmony,” he said.
“Because to produce music with angklung requires good cooperation among the angklung players, as no melody can be played by a single player.”
Masanori Nagaoka, the culture program specialist at Unesco’s Jakarta office, said it was hoped the recognition would lead to greater awareness of angklung and its traditions.
“Being recognized by Unesco on the list ensures better visibility for the intangible cultural heritage and raises awareness of its importance, while encouraging dialogue that respects cultural diversity,” he said.
Each angklung is made with two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame.
It plays only one specific note, which is produced by shaking the instrument rapidly from side to side.
During the height of the Sunda Kingdom, when much of Indonesia was still Hindu, it was used to signal prayer times. Later on it was used by the Sundanese to boost morale, and was banned by the Dutch colonial masters.
That effectively relegated it to a children’s toy.
In the 20th century, the angklung was adopted by several other countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
These were variations of the original, with the Thai angklung, for instance, using three bamboo tubes instead of two.
In addition to the four items Indonesia now boasts on the list of intangible cultural heritage, the country also has seven sites on Unesco’s list of world heritage sites.
Three of them — the Borobudur monument, the Prambanan temple complex and the Sangiran Early man site, all in Central Java — are on the list of world cultural heritage. The other four — the Komodo, Lorentz and Ujung Kulon national parks, as well as the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra — are listed as world natural heritage.
“We’re now working on getting the Acehnese Saman Dance to be recognized as intangible cultural heritage,” Putra said.
“We’re going to work hard to have as much of our culture as possible recognized by Unesco, the main point being to get the rest of the world involved in preserving our culture.”
He said the government also wanted recognition of Indonesian culture to prevent other countries from laying claim to it.
The government earlier this year promoted the angklung by inscribing it on the back of the new Rp 1,000 coin, which was introduced in April.
30 responses to "Angklung musical"
i know angklung is West Java musical instrument
Nice post, try adding some pictures of angklung.
btw, thanks for visit ..
that;s a lovely article..hehe
but you forgot to add some angklung picture, it would be nice
i just added angklung picture. thank
wah cewe paling lucu di bapindo akhirnya nge blog.. hebat hebat... saya naksir berat nih sama admin blog ini...
Why use bamboo to make Angklung?
Greetings from Funchal the capital of Madeira. This post was really interesting. I've never heard of a Angklung before, I guess you learn something new everyday. Thanks for sharing.
It has been a great experience listening to angklung orchestra while we are visiting bandung.so proud to be Indonesia
Angklung, the traditional West Java musical instrument made from bamboo, has been included in Unesco’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
nice info,,thanks for information,,
kesenian indonesia banyak macamnya,,salah satunya angklung,,,
What an interesting instrument. Nice to have your visit, it was from Indonesia. ah to know how it sounds you follow the link in the blogpost.
I'm intrigued. How is the sound of a Angklung? More than pictures, i believe people should be requesting a video. Does anyone knows if, per chance, there is any video available at youtube?
Really, I'm intrigued now.
Greetings from Funchal the capital of Madeira. This post was really interesting. we've never heard of a Angklung before, we guess you learn something new everyday. appreciated for sharing.keep your work on.
I've never known this. I'm starting to learn more and more about indonesian culture. Thanks!
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It has been a great experience listening to angklung orchestra while we are visiting bandung.so proud to be Indonesia
Love to see you wrtiting such quality stuff.
In this blog very nice because it has been described heritage music in this instrument also very nice who are helping to human beings so that may know that about in this instrument again it is very nice instead very interesting.
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must watch anglung musical show in saung mang udjo in bandung, West Java
This is a nice instrument most probably in this instrument are very nice because that can be enjoy and play in different songs may be listen and play so very nice blog.
This musical instrument is a very nice and interesting because that can be enjoy in this instrument so very nice.
Greetings this is a nice instrument most probably in this instrument are very nice because that can be enjoy and play in different songs may be listen and play.
Wonderful information about Indonesian thanks for the post
Gov. has taken a good step to promote angklung. It really requires our attention and love. Thanks for such informative post.
The original culture of west java Indonesia
one of the typical musical instrument Indonesia
Thanks for sharing the great article and I surely enjoyed the post very much,Keep sharing such article.
I was not knowing the fact that Angklung has become a symbol Indonesia’s unique culture.Your post has expressed its value there very nicerly .Keep updating.