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Gending Sriwijaya is the name of a song and a traditional dance from Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. This song is sung or played during the Gending Sriwijaya dance performance. Both of the song and the dance was created to describes the splendor, cultural refinement, glory and the grandeur of Srivijayan empire that once succeed on unifying the western parts of Indonesian archipelago.
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Gending Sriwijaya song lyrics
The first stanza is the original lyrics of the song, while the second stanza was added later.
Gending Sriwijaya dance
The Gending Sriwijaya dance is an Indonesian traditional dance from Palembang performed to honor and welcome the visiting special guests. The dance is often performed during state ceremonies, luncheons, dinner party or receptions, in front of the state's VIP guests, such as the head of state, president, king, queen and royal guests, minister and ambassador.
The dance is based on the simpler Tanggai dance, and believed as the reenactment and recreation of the original welcoming ceremony commonly found in traditional Malay courts in the region, which demonstrate the Sekapur Sirih (bersirih or menginang) ceremony that offering the honored guests the betel leaf, areca nut and slaked lime. The dance is believed to be originated from the court of Srivijaya, and presented to describe the host’s welcoming hospitality, friendliness, happiness, and sincerity, as well as to demonstrate the beauty, gracefulness and cultured refinement of Srivijayan court.
The dance is performed by nine young and beautiful women, wearing glittering songket-clad traditional costumes called Aesan Gede, completed with Selendang Mantri, Paksangkong and Dodot, and also wearing Tanggai gilded jewelry. These women represent the princesses of Srivijaya, and are guarded by two Pengawal male dancers holding yellow parasols and gilded spears. In the background, a singer would sing the Gending Sriwijaya song during the dance performance, accompanied with gamelan and gongs musical ensemble. Today however, the live singer is often replaced by playing taped recorded music. The simpler version is usually performed without male guardians.
Among the nine female dancers, there is one main dancer that wears the most complete and elaborated jewelries and costume, and acts as the prime lady. In the dance choreography, the prime lady would be the center and the foremost dancer. She holds tepak container as the props of Sekapur Sirih ceremony, and presents betel leaf, areca nut, and slaked lime for the honored guest to enjoy. On her sides, two other female dancers bring pridon, the brass containers traditionally used as spit container after the guests chew the betel nut. Today, however, the honored guest is not required to actually chew and spit out the betel nut, just the simple gesture of receiving or touching the tepak or pekinangan props would be enough. The Sekapur Sirih ceremony originally was only performed by king’s daughter, the princess of Srivijaya, accompanied by other princesses, noble young women, and dayang (ladies in waiting).