Sekaten (redirected from Gamelan Sekaten)

Sekaten

12th day of the Muslim month of Rabial-Awwal

The Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Mawlid al-Nabi, is a public holiday in Indonesia and is celebrated with the festival of Sekaten on the island of Java. Religious ceremonies, including recitations from the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, coexist with traditional Javanese dances and music.
In the city of Yogyakarta, a procession of gamelan musical instruments begins at the palace, or keraton, and parades to the Great Mosque. A gamelon is a group of mostly percussion instruments, such as gongs, drums, and xylophones, that comprise an Indonesian orchestra. Gamelans are stored in the palace, but come out for this festive occasion to provide music for worshippers and spectators. Javanese dances and shadow puppet plays are also performed on Sekaten.

CONTACTS:
Indonesian Embassy
2020 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
202-775-5200; fax: 202-775-5365
www.embassyofindonesia.org

SOURCES:
FestWrld: Indonesia-1997, p. 8