Hirayan

Assalamualaikum wr.wb.
Honorable the judges and committee. Good morning, ladies, and gentlemen.
Praise to Allah the merciful God who has given us blessing, so we can join this speech competition. And thank
you very much for the committee giving me a chance to stand up here presenting “Kediri Showcase with the
Local Wisdoms”.
Hmm, let me ask you first. Are you from Kediri? What do you know about Kediri? Yeah, right. Kediri is
famous of yellow tofu or Tahu Takwa and Getuk Pisang. That’s the special culinary from Kediri beside Pecel
Tumpang. Right. What else? Kelud mountain? Yeah, we have our own legend about Kelud Mountain. Anyone
has another fame? Oh, yeah. Gudang Garam. You’re right. It is the biggest cigarette company in Indonesia.
How about the culture showcase? Have you ever heard about Grebeg Suro, Larung Sesaji, Jaranan Dance, and
so on? Yup. That’s what we call a local wisdom.
According to Mohammed Hamada Musleh from University of Anbar, Iraq, local wisdom is a combination of
knowledge and traditions that are specific to a location, and that are passed on from generation to generation. It
is in line with Mr. Mushtak T. S. from the same college saying that local wisdom really means well-adjusted to
local or cultural norms. If you understand what accepted local or cultural norms are then you will be more
successful in functioning within a local or cultural community. The question is, are we in that position
understanding our own local cultures such as Kediri local wisdoms? I don’t think that all of Kediri people
understand what is meant by our local wisdom, for some of us only recognize the cultural events when the
government holds annual events, for instance, Kediri Anniversary Festivals like Grebeg Suro, Larung Sesaji,
Jaranan Dance, and many more. So, here I’d like to talk about the background why Kediri local wisdoms are
still being preserved until now.
First, Grebeg Suro. It is a festival held annually on the new year of Saka in Javanese calendar which is exactly
on the first day of month Suro. This ceremony is usually held to commemorate what Prabu Sri Aji Jayabaya did
and honour his legacy. He was the ruler of Kediri Kingdom from 1135 – 1157 Masehi. The ritual ceremony is
done by bathing Javanese heirloom or pusaka named Keris in a pool located in Menang village Kediri regency
followed by 120 participants with their own job descriptions. In this month, Suro, mostly traditional Javanese
people usually bathe their own Keris to honour their ancestors’ legacy.
Second, Larung Sesaji. This festival is held to prevent disasters in areas around Kediri Regency. It is done by
putting Sesaji or a special treat consisting of various kinds of crops such as fruit, vegetables, and many more on
the surface of Brantas river, the longest river in East Java crossing Kediri regency. According to the legend of
Kelud Mountain, a long time ago, Lembu Suro had cursed Kediri, Blitar, and Tulungangung for a bad luck due
to Dewi Kilisuci’s marriage refusal. As you know that Dewi Kilisuci refused to marry Lembu Suro for his bad
characters by burying him inside the well he made on Kelud Mountain as her requirement for marriage.
Actually, it was such a trick to escape from Lembu Suro’s action. Consequently, Lembu Suro cursed Kediri
Kingdom by saying “Kediri bakal dadi kali, Blitar dadi latar, and Tuluagung bakal dadi kedung” meaning that
Kediri will be a river, Blitar will be a land, Tulungagung will be a lake” caused by Kelud Mountain eruption.
Hmm… Do you believe it? That’s what we call a local wisdom.
Well, the third is Jaranan Dance, the original dance from Kediri. It is a dance illustrating the bridesmaids riding
horses in the wedding ceremony of Princess Dewi Songgolangit from Panjalu Dahapura Kingdom and Prince
Prabu Kelana Suwandana from Wangker Ponorogo. Actually, Princess Dewi Songgolangit, the daughter of
King Airlangga, didn’t want to get married even though she had a very beautiful appearance and a lot of people
wanted to marry her. She only wanted to be a hermit or pertapa without getting married. However, King
Airlangga forced her to marry. Consequently, she had a requirement saying that whoever could create a unique
and interesting art in Java would be her husband. And Prabu Kelana Suwandana met her requirement among his
rivals.
Okay, everybody. One thing that I want to emphasize here is that as a good citizen we have to know what and
why we do something, especially related to our own culture. So that, we can preserve our own local wisdoms
for our culture, not claimed by other people beyond. Hmm, Do you agree? I’m Hirayan. Thank you.
Wassalamualaikum wr.wb.

Hirayan

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hirayan

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hirayan

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Assalamualaikum wr.wb.

You might also like