Traditions of Remo in Blater community of Madura

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Geographically and socio-culturally, the island of Madura surrounded by the sea and close to java island has its own uniqueness. The geographical location of the limestone plateau affects the character of the Madurese society. It is likewise with the social culture in Madura. After the Suramadu bridge was built, the mobility and access to information of the Madurese community was much easier. On the other hand, however, the Madurese society, especially Bangkalan, has a culture that is difficult to change so that, to date, the negative stereotypes of the Madurese community remain attached. This easy access to information has caused cultural dynamics in Madura to become more diverse where there is a change in the culture in the society. Despite this change, however, traditional culture is still available and exists, one of which is the culture of Remo tradition.

In West Madura society—in the cities of Bangkalan and Sampang—there is a social class that is not the same as the structure of society in general. They call themselves blater, who have a tradition that they call Remo. The lifestyles of these individuals are also different from the general people in the community.

Remo tradition in blater community is the heritage of the ancestors of the Madurese. The Remo tradition that is more widely known in West Madura (Sampang and Bangkalan), is a meeting place for blater champions from the whole area of the island of Madura and even from the island of Java. The Remo tradition that has emerged and taken root in Madura Island is apparently developed in an urban society, in Bangkalan and Sampang. This remo tradition still continues to this day.

This study employed a qualitative methodology with an ethnographic focus. The study was conducted through watching Remo tradition practices in the Madurese population, particularly in West Madura, namely in the Bangkalan and Sampang regions. These regions were chosen because the Blater community mostly exists in these regions. The data was collected by means of indepth interview, observation, and participant observation. The first author participated in many occasions of Remo traditions, so that she could observe the behavior of the informants. The key informants were the members of blater community, such as dancers (lengge) and the Remo performers. One of the informants is a member since 1972. Another one of the informant is a leader of the blater community in Bangkalan. He became the leader of this community since 1982. Currently he is in his 60s, but he still performs the sandur dance as a lengge in every Remo tradition in Bangkalan. He said that he wanted to preserve the local culture of Madura. Overall, the researchers interviewed 10 (ten) informants. Their initial names were DW, SM, AD, TRM, KM, SHD, SY, FR, SHd, and Rsd, from January to July of 2019. The data were analyzed using categorization, and data triangulation.

Results

The Remo tradition in the blater community has existed a long time ago as the heritage of the Madurese ancestors. The Remo tradition that is more commonly known in West Madura (Sampang and Bangkalan) is a meeting place for blater champions from the whole island of Madura and even from the island of Java. With this Remo, it is expected to be a medium to foster a sense of fellowship among the blater champions as someone who has the same background, the same ancestors, and also the same goals. Therefore, with Remo, the blater champions assume that they can strengthen the friendship and fellowship both within their own community and with other communities.

Remo as a means to Blaters’ self-esteem

In Remo tradition, every group member basically has their own motivation in deciding to join this event, although self-esteem is the main factor. In the life of the Madurese, self-esteem is a very important thing and has a very high value. A member of a blater community has a very high self esteem when he join a Remo tradition. This is in accordance with the Madurese philosophy saying that “ango’ pote tolang atembhang pote mata,” it means it is better to die rather than living in shame. In this case, someone who joins a Remo tradition is considered to be able to represent himself as an individual who has high self-esteem, or, simply put in other words, someone who joins Remo can increase his self-esteem quickly. It is also clear that there is a close relationship between self-esteem and Remo tradition.

Conclusion

Remo tradition is a means for blater members to show their prestige in the society by showing off their wealth—which gives a very high self-esteem for the Madurese. In addition, Remo tradition aims to find connections with prominent people among the blater members. Meanwhile, in terms of the social capital, the Remo tradition has a long-term effect, not a quick financial return. The social effect, however, means more for the blater members, and the society where they live.

Hence, we conclude that a society needs activities to assure the existence of each individual in the community. The forms may vary. In the West Madura society, it is in the form of the Remo tradition. This existence is required as a form of recognition from the society that a man has the power of symbolic capital, social capital, cultural capital and economic capital.

Authors: Dinara Maya Julijanti, Myrtati Dyah Artaria, Yayan Sakti Suryandaru, Sharyn G. Davies

Link: https://www.e-journal.unair.ac.id/MOZAIK/article/view/27231

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