79 Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From The Japanese Occupation Era to The Reform Order in Indonesia) Aris Setiawan Institut Seni Indonesia Surakarta, Indonesia Submitted: 2020-11-12. Revised: 2021-02-17. Accepted: 2021-04-26 Abstract This research aims to determine the historical construction of criticism and propaganda formed in Kidungan Jula-juli performance in each era. Kidungan is a song in the Gending Jula-juli in East Java. The musical text presented in the song seems to be open (blak-blakan [openness]), asser- tive, and emotionally becomes the power of criticism. Historical issues concerning the function of Kidungan Jula-juli are interesting enough to be known, thus encouraging this study to get a basic and detailed understanding of the historical stages of the role of Kidungan Jula-juli from the Japanese era to the reformation era. This study using a historical approach and emphasizes the problem of music function. The analysis was carried out by looking at the ideas, concepts, and cultural references that accompanied the performance of Kidungan Jula-juli. The results of this study indicate the dynamics of the function of criticism and propaganda in Kidungan Jula-juli. During the Japanese occupation era, Kidungan Jula-juli was very sharp in its role as an instrument of the independence movement; from 1950 to 1965, Kidungan Jula-juli was used by political par- ties to strengthen political support and propaganda. In the New Order Era, kidungan lost the function of criticism. The state controlled it for the sake of propaganda and the legitimacy of power. Kidungan Jula-juli is more open and present on a stage with other performing arts in the era of the reform order. Keywords: Kidungan Jula-juli, Music Function, Music Criticism, Propaganda, East Java How to Cite: Setiawan, A. (2021). Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From The Japanese Occupation Era to The Reform Order in Indonesia). Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research And Education, 21(1), 79-90 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021), 79-90 Available online at http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/harmonia DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v21i1.27116 out uses vowels. The first impression when hearing the kidungan is a musical text that is “straightforward,” “open,” even impres- sed “rude.” Kidungan is sung out loud and distinctive; people outside of East Java of- ten refer to “rough,” yet the vocal melodies are complicated to display and record in transcription (Sutton, 1985). This fact raises the assumption that East Java people have rough stereotypes like the musical impres- sion attached to Kidungan Jula-juli. History records the kidungan is a means of criticism INTRODUCTION Kidungan is identical to the pantun (poem or parikan) with the accompaniment of slendro-tuned gamelan (Setiawan, 2021). Remo dancers usually perform kidungan as a distraction in the dance, which is gene- rally called nggandhang (singing) and often performed by comedians in Ludruk’s per- formances. The word of kidung epistemo- logically can be interpreted as a song, the- refore in practice and the way it is carried Corresponding author: E-mail: segelas.kopi.manis@gmail.com p-ISSN 2541-1683|e-ISSN 2541-2426 Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 79-9080 and propaganda in the Japanese colonial era. Until now, the function is still main- tained by responding to social issues that arise amid community life (Samidi, 2019). The musical response in Kidungan Jula-juli performance raises the question, how is the history of Kidungan Jula-juli from the Japanese occupation to the current era (re- formation)? Does the function remain the same as music criticism? What is the form of Kidungan Jula-juli in each era? Apart from the many studies of mu- sic in this field, I see that there are still not many studies that produce findings re- garding historical construction to find out the function and form of Kidungan Jula-juli from the Japanese era to the current peri- od. Ikwan Setiawan’s research discusses the transformation of Ludruk from the Soekarno era to reform using the cultural studies approach. The results of the ana- lysis carried out there are three findings. First, in the Soekarno era, there was a Lud- ruk group who joined the People’s Cultu- ral Institute (Lembaga Kebudayaan Raky- at or LEKRA). They brought provocative stories about poor people and criticized Is- lamic beliefs. Second, after the 1965 trage- dy, the military controlled all of Ludruk’s performances, including the stories that were told. In this era, the themes that were staged supported the development of the new order regime. Third, in the age of re- form, Ludruk’s groups brought ideas on contemporary social issues. Ikwan Setia- wan, in his paper, provided information about the function of Ludruk’s performan- ce as a propaganda media and did not give information on criticism in Kidungan Jula- juli, even though in Ludruk there is a ki- dungan presentation (Setiawan and others, 2014). Ikwan Setiawan’s research does not explicitly provide an analysis of the text of Kidungan Jula-juli in each era. Therefore, this research seeks to complement studies in that context. Tomy Michael wrote an article dis- cussing “Law Enforcement through ‘Lud- ruk’ and Cultural Progress.” The study’s contribution is to provide information on how music is used as a means of combating corruption. This means that the assimilati- on between music and the legal (law) pa- radigm has resulted in a program to tackle corruption (Michael, 2018). The discussion conducted by Tomy is still very limited to the legal paradigm. It has not provided a full explanation of the historical construc- tion issues of Kidungan Jula-juli journey as a music of criticism and propaganda more broadly. The article titled “Jula-juli Panda- lungan and Surabayan Cultural Expres- sions of Javanese-Madurese and Javanese Cities” is a study I conducted in 2012. The goal is to reveal the relationship that was built between Jula-juli Pandalungan and Surabaya as a musical fact with the di- mensions of the experience of the culprit as a cultural fact (Setiawan, Suyanto, and other, 2017. The study provides informa- tion on how Jula-juli contributes to the for- mation of social and cultural identity but does not offer an analysis in the area of the historical construction issues of Kidungan Jula-juli from time to time. Music criticism from the perspecti- ve of Ludruk’s performance in Hefner’s article adds information about how Ludruk’s performance appears as a so- cial forum and values control. However, studies conducted by Hefner have not yet profoundly touched on the construction of criticism and propaganda. Hefner exp- lored how Ludruk’s performances shaped social and political forums and negotiated questions of control, power, authority, and local identity. Hefner also offers methods for dealing with sources of conflict and tension in their society (Hefner, 1994). The study conducted by James L. Peacock pro- vided information that in the era of 1945, the Ludruk drama was a legendary drama performance that had elements of tradi- tional Javanese and Madurese culture and had a modern Nationalist-Communist- Indonesian theme, and was very popular in Surabaya. The stories featured include stories of the Indonesian revolution, with many nationalist and anti-Dutch senti- ments (Peacock, 1967b). Field research by Peacock made an essential contribution to this study, especially information relating Aris Setiawan, Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From 81 to Ludruk’s function in criticism. Howe- ver, Peacock’s analysis did not provide complete information about the textual- musical Jula-juli. The articles above, have not expli- citly provided information on historical construction in the development of Kidun- gan Jula-juli, so this study is essential to complete the previous research. Interest in this topic is based on the argumentation that each era has its cultural context and political dynamics. Kidungan Jula-juli will undoubtedly adapt to each of these eras so that the representation of the content of the performance becomes very meaningful to be known in each period. Kidungan Jula- juli’s contents lie in the parikan, and the pa- rikan is the main component of the kidun- gan and is present as the leading force in describing the ideas of criticism and pro- paganda so that parikan analysis in each era will be revealed here. The parikan con- tent was delivered using spoken language, and I feel this is quite interesting because it gives an influence on the flexibility of the message content, which impacts the ease of receiving meaning. Kidungan also quickly adopts a varie- ty of topics as a parikan theme, usually in- volving political, cultural, social, economic issues that can be poured into the strains of the kid in the form of praise, criticism, or satire (Samidi, 2019). Even in the perfor- mance, Kidungan Juli-juli often becomes a decoration of different and unique words. The problem is how the parade of Kidun- gan Jula-juli appears in each era. The his- torical construction of criticism and pro- paganda built in the performance of the Jula-juli chant can be known, and this issue is to be answered in this study. The novel- ty side of this research is to explain the tra- ces of Kidungan Jula-July’s development in the realities of political life in Indonesia chronologically. This has never been done because existing studies always link kidun- gan with the development of ludruk perfor- mances. Through this research can clearly understand the close relationship between social (political) facts and musical facts. Music (Kidungan Jula-juli) is thus not me- rely a sound but an “archive” that records various problems and human dynamics. METHOD This study uses a historical approach to find out more in detail the phenomena that occur in the Kidungan of Gending Jula-Juli course. The historical method is used to see the periodization, then to find out more details about the phenomenon of the text in the lyrics of the Jula-Juli mu- sic, discourse analysis approach is used. Discourse analysis views language or text as not merely a means of communication but the way humans see and translate the world (Johnstone, 2018), including the suf- fering or pain of life they experience. Art, especially music, then changes the langu- age or words to be sung. Therefore, seeing the language or words in the lyrics is not enough just to be translated verbally or as it is, but is bound by the aesthetic structu- re of music that frames it (Langer, 1953). Although it contains criticism and propa- ganda as in the Kidungan of Jula-juli, the language in music can also provide an ob- jective understanding of the conditions or political situation in his day. The data that has been obtained, especially the lyrics or the text of the Ki- dungan Jula-juli, are classified according to their period. This allows the researcher to find out in more detail the political uphea- val that occurred at the time the kidungan was sung. Besides, the text or lyrics of the kidungan are tested for truth by showing them to the selected source, namely Kar- tolo (maestro, singer of Kidungan Jula-juli). Thus, the kidungan data presented in this paper has gone through a rigorous testing procedure in classification, coding, analy- sis, and finally, explanation. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Parikan in Kidungan Jula-juli Parikan has been known in various traditional Javanese performances such as jathilan, angguk, langendriyan, shadow puppets, ludruk, kentrung and others. The Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 79-9082 term parikan is taken from the Javanese, pari, which means pantun (poem), so that parikan is a collection of various kinds of pantun. Parikan contains the elements of making rhymes, which consist of sampiran and isi (content). In Javanese, sampiran is ancang-ancang (will do something) or a question, while the isi is the essence of the parikan which can be called the main ele- ment or answer. Sampiran and isi together form a rhythmic structure, so that in the parikan, the vowel sounds at the end of the sentence must be the same between sampi- ran and isi. The sampiran and isi of the pa- rikan must be balanced, rhythmic, and full of high vitality. The sampiran ends with the pedhotan alit (short breath), and the contents end with the pedhotan ageng (long breath). When the sampiran is spoken, the expression is still in a coma and will stop at the point when entering isi. Sampiran contains messages that are challenging, tickling, will foster ingenious and enchan- ting isi. Sampiran and isi relationships are equal; nothing is more dominant or essen- tial. Both are complementary, forming an aesthetic (Endraswara, 2005). In Kidungan Jula-juli, parikan diction is straightforward to accept. The use of the vocabulary is called Gatra Purwaka, which represents the moral values of the commu- nity. All of his words hold the pragmatic power that is useful for those who convey it (Wijayanti, 2018). In the Kidungan Jula-ju- li the use of a parikan is a must, even parikan is one of the most important factors of the kidungan component. Parikan generally uses subtle langu- age, full of courtesy, adi luhung (krama, alus, inggil), while parikan in Kidungan Jula-juli uses everyday speech. The language func- tioned as a language of conversation or the everyday language of communication for the people of East Java, commonly referred to as Ngoko Javanese. Because it uses the vocabulary of daily communication, the nature of the parikan in Kidungan Jula-juli is very flexible, making the owner commu- nity understand the meaning and meaning of the message easily. This reality shows if the characteristic of kidungan is accommodating. There is no binding standard in creating kidungan tex- ts, and this is different, for example, with the poem-parikan-pantun in the Javanese style of Surakarta or Yogyakarta. Usually, the language in the form of Surakarta or Yogyakarta style has particular rules go- verning such as subtle, classical, elite, etc. For Javanese people, this is called “pakem” (standard). In the singing of Kidungan Jula- juli, any language and to any degree, can be used so that it often seems harsh (Hat- ley, 1971). Therefore, the tendency that ari- ses, Kidungan Jula-juli can be sung by any- one with high flexibility without having to fear violating the standard. In figure 1 is the notation (main tone) Gending Jula-juli. Figure 1. Notation (Balungan Gending) of Gend- ing Jula-juli The created parikan depends very much on the interpretation of the pen- gidung (singer). A pengidung is demanded to be creative and has a high sensitivity to various phenomena that occur in society. As revealed by Sidik Wibisono (a pen- gidung), as follows. That is art. A Ludruk performer who wants to hold a parikan performance should analyze the circumstance of so- ciety. Before I have a performance, I used to sit or walk around the audience. I ask the steering committee to tell me some fa- mous persons who attend the show. After that, I do a little check on them, one by one, to see their parlances, how they sit, or ot- her gestures. Then in my parikan, those es- sential people’s names will be mentioned. I find that this trick is always successful in dragging the attention because, mostly, audiences recognize those kinds of famo- us people. And when people start to laugh and give applause, I do enjoy and feel gra- teful for it. ( Setyorakhmadi, 2007). Because the kidungan is accommo- dating and flexible, historically, it cannot avoid the function of criticism and social Aris Setiawan, Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From 83 control. The music function of kidungan be- came a song of East Javanese style, a me- dium of resistance, and struggled during the revolution and served to give moral instructions (Day and others, 1996). Accor- ding to McCullagh (2004), historical iden- tification has several functions to identify trends in each periodization. Therefore, I will divide several stages of the history of the kidungan as a medium of criticism and propaganda, namely the Japanese occupa- tion era, the 1965 era (communist party), the new order era, and the last is the re- formation era. Each of these stages has a detailed description and will be explained as follows. Japanese Occupation Era (1942) Before the Japanese occupied Indo- nesia, the Dutch were present as invaders. During the Dutch colonial era, Jula-juli (es- pecially in Ludruk’s performances) was used as a medium for anti-Dutch opposi- tion and propaganda and gave rise to na- tionalist ideas (Hatley, 1971). This made Ludruk unable to live well in the Dutch era. But when Japan entered, traditional arts began to get a chance to exist again. The attention of the Japanese army to the arts cannot be separated from the propa- ganda efforts they carry out as well. In particular, Japan established an indepen- dent department called “Sendenbu,” which was responsible for propaganda and in- formation on civil administration. Various media are used to carry out this mission, such as pamphlets, posters, photos, books, traditional art shows, and films. The most promoted media are film, traditional per- forming arts, and music. They considered the media to be the most effective way of influencing rural uneducated and illiterate people, who were a large part of the Java- nese population. Japan knows that written media such as newspapers, books, maga- zines, and pamphlets, are very ineffective and only have a limited effect, mainly only on city dwellers, but are of no use to rural communities (Kurasawa, 1987). Japanese propaganda strategy policy also influences the life of traditional arts, so this is an opportunity for traditional arts to rise and come back to life, especi- ally Ludruk. The rise of Ludruk opened possibilities for resistance against Japa- nese domination. Through Kidungan Jula- juli, they carried out a rebellion. The main character is Cak Gandha Durasim, one of Ludruk Organisatie’s leaders, but in that decade, it was more famous as Ludruk Durasim (Peacock, 1967a and Zuhriyyah, 2018). Jombang was the first place Dura- sim lived, and then he moved to Surabaya. Ludruk Organisatie is a new style Ludruk group that performs in comedy shows. The emergence of Ludruk Organisatie was due to the development of many comedi- an groups in the Dutch East Indies (Zuh- riyyah, 2018). Ludruk Organisatie was the only Ludruk who performed the first per- formance in Surabaya. Peacock revealed the form of Ludruk Organisatie created by Tjak Gondo Durasim in the 1930s. Durasim was previously a comedian in the arts of Besut. Besut is an art that is older than Lud- ruk. The figure of Durasim, seen in Figure 2, is the main character who prepared the Ludruk troupe to perform in a city theater in Surabaya (Peacock, 1969). Figure 2. Cak Durasim Durasim can package Ludruk in a se- ries of Gending Jula-juli. He used kidungan to satirize the Japanese invaders at the time. For every performance performed, Dura- sim mostly played a role as a comedian in Kidungan Jula-juli performance. Durasim’s existence in the world of Ludruk and his Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 79-9084 ability as a pengidung in Surabaya attracted the attention of one of the figures of the In- donesian National movement at the time, namely Dr. Soetomo. The reason was the ability of Durasim, who was smart, to bring Kidungan Jula-juli, which contained criticism of the Japanese invaders. Even in Soeloeh Ra’jat Indonesia, July 19, 1931 dr. Soetomo gave a view if Durasim was worthy of joining a movement organizati- on called PBI (Persatoean Bangsa Indone- sia -Indonesian national unity-) because every song that was delivered contained a kind of nationalism (Zuhriyyah, 2018). One of Durasim’s Kidungan used as a me- dia of criticism of the Japanese occupation and is seen as a form of nationalism can be seen in Table 1. Table 1. The text of Kidungan Jula-juli as a criticism for Japan Kidungan Lyrics English translation Pagupon omahe Dara Melok Nippon tambah sengsara Pagupon is a dove cage. Nippon (Japanese) only bring disaster Tuku klepon dhuk stasiun Melok Nippon gak oleh pensiun Bought klepon (cake) at the station Nippon wouldn’t let you have any benefits on pension The kidungan sung by Durasim criti- cized Japan at the time, resulting in many Ludruk artists following Durasim’s way so that every time there was a Ludruk perfor- mance, the artists always used the Jula-juli Song as a media of criticism. Because it is famous as a media for criticism, many Lud- ruk groups, including Ludruk Organisatie, are overseen by the Japanese. As a result of the kidungan increasingly popular as a song of criticism, finally, Ludruk Organi- satie did not get a stage permit; Durasim was arrested and imprisoned by the Japa- nese. According to Supriyanto, Cak Dura- sim was captured by Japan while perfor- ming in the Village of Mojorejo Jombang, imprisoned, and died in August 1944. To commemorate Durasim, the East Java Pro- vincial Government used the name Dura- sim as the name of the East Java Cultural Park, known as the Cak Durasim Surabaya Theater (Supriyanto, 2004). The Communist Party Era (1950-1965) Propaganda using performance art is a topic that is often discussed in the his- tory of the performing arts and politics in the world. Likewise, in Indonesia, du- ring the Soekarno (president) regime, the state made great efforts to include radical political content in theater performances, especially Ketoprak and Ludruk (Gu- nawardana, 1971). The ideological penet- ration through the performing arts made political dynamics in 1965 so dynamic that it had considerable influence on the per- formance of the Kidungan Jula-juli. In the 1950s to 1960s, the dominance of political parties such as the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian National Party (PNI) was quite significant because it was the party with the most supporters, and this had a considerable influence on the development of Kidungan Jula-juli. In 1953, the Lekradi branch was formed by a local ludruk group called POST (the Asso- ciation of Tjermee Theater Organizations - Association of Tjermee Theater Organiza- tions) under the PKI in Cerme (northwest of Surabaya). Lekra’s development in the area is getting better, and Ludruk is gro- wing (Miller 2015). The use of art as the ca- pital of PKI’s ideological penetration aims to attract people to its meetings. There has been a lot of literature describing how PKI utilizes popular forms of Javanese cultu- re, such as shadow puppets, folk theater, ketoprak, and also Ludruk, in realizing its interests (Anna-Greta Nilsson Hoadley, 2005). This shows that traditional arts, in- cluding Ludruk, were able to become a mobilizer in conveying the vision and mis- sion of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). There were two very famous Lud- ruk at that time, namely Ludruk Marhaen under the PKI and Ludruk Tresno Enggal, who were under military guidance (Andri Setiawan, 2019). In 1945 Ludruk Marhaen was born and affiliated with the drama Aris Setiawan, Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From 85 Pesindo (Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia -Indo- nesian Socialist Youth-), and in 1950 chan- ged its name to Pemuda Rakyat (Peacock, 1969). Although it does not directly have official relations with the PKI or Pemu- da Rakyat, many of its actors are actively involved in Lekra. In 1961, Ludruk Tres- no Enggal was actively engaged with the military. Ludruk Tresno Enggal received indoctrination from military officers who emphasized themes against imperialism and colonialism and appeared more often in military camps (Andri Setiawan, 2019). Figure 3. Ludruk Marhaen performed at the State Palace, April 11, 1958 (National Library of Indonesia) (Andri Setiawan, 2019.). The fact that Ludruk was affiliated with a political party shows that Ludruk, through Kidungan Jula-juli was the most influential political propaganda tool at the time. This method is done because Lud- ruk provides a place for Kidungan Jula-juli to convey the message symbolically by mocking, testing, and manifesting criticism in ways that are not available through ot- her means (Hefner, 1994). The growing po- pularity of Ludruk has encouraged people to try to create new Ludruk groups. The aim is to seek profits in the form of money from the two most influential political par- ties (PKI and PNI) so that there are several pengidung and performers from Ludruk who are not from the general artist group. As a result, many new Ludruk-Ludruk ap- pear like Ludruk Anorga in Malang, Lud- ruk Urill A in Malang, Ludruk Tresno Eng- gal in Surabaya, Ludruk Kartika in Kediri (Hatley, 1971). A large number of Ludruk groups in East Java that became the driving force for political party propaganda made the Lud- ruk group split into two big groups. The Ludruk group supports the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), and the Ludruk group supports the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI). According to Kartolo (perso- nal communication), it is not uncommon for the two groups to meet at an adjacent stage when conflicts arise. The two groups attacked each other on the stage using the text of Kidungan Jula-juli; this can be seen in table 2. Table 2. Kidungan Jula-juli of the Two Dif- ferent Ludruk Groups Affiliates. (Kartolo, personal communication) Kidungan Jula-juli Under PKI Kidungan Lyrics Translated in Eng- lish Budal tandur, muleh njaluk mangan Godonge sawi, dibung- kus dadi siji Ayo dulur, podho bebarengan Nyoblos partai, partai PKI Went for farming, went home for lunch Mustard leaves, wrapped in a pack- ing Comrades, together Let us vote for PKI Kidungan Jula-juli Under PNI Jumat legi nyang pasar Genteng Tuku apel nang Wo- nokromo Merah putih kepala Banteng Genderane Dr. Soetomo Friday Legi (Java- nese calendar) went to Genteng market Bought apples in Wonokromo Red and white is the Bull’s head It’s the flag of Dr. Soetomo The political situation at that time was uncertain, and the pressure on the PKI grew. Eventually, the election positio- ned the PKI as a losing party. Communist ideas began to be put aside systematically; demonstrations against the PKI were eve- rywhere. The impact caused, there were many political unrests between the pros and cons of communist ideology (Wierin- ga and Katjasungkana, 2018). The climax is the occurrence of a separatist movement on 30 September (G 30 S PKI). The move had an impact on the existence of Kidun- gan Jula-juli, which previously shelter at the Ludruk show. The kidungan who initi- ally supported the Indonesian Communist Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 79-9086 Party (PKI) did not dare to appear more openly. This is indicated by a large num- ber of disappearances (abductions) of Lud- ruk artists who joined Lekra, whose whe- reabouts are still unclear. Kidungan singer in the Ludruk show, turned to support the Indonesian National Party (PNI) by voicing the party’s aspi- rations and ideology. On the other hand, some kidungan were blasphemous about communist ideas. Unfortunately, until now, I have not gotten data that states what the kidungan was like during the upheaval of the PKI’s rejection. Some resource per- sons can only summarize the impression and description of the atmosphere of the time inherited from their predecessors without being accompanied by examples of more constructive chants. I realize that the detailed picture that has not been ge- nerated from several sources may also be due to the “fear syndrome.” Fear of being called part of communism. Therefore it is very natural that in this context, I cannot provide a more comprehensive picture of kidungan given these reasons. New Order Era After the political upheaval of 1965, the Kidungan Jula-juli became a new form of communal kidungan. Kidungan is not only present and is limited to the Ludruk art form, but is used in every art event in East Java, such as Tandakan (Tayuban: Central Java), bersih desa (clean village), wedding party, and so on. The nature of the kidungan is flexible, with everyday lan- guage, resulting in a very efficient way to play by anyone, anywhere and at any event. Until finally, the kidungan spread to other areas in East Java, and each region has its characteristics and styles, such as the Singa Jula-juli style Jombangan, Sura- bayan, Malangan, and so forth. These styles have their techniques, character, and cha- racteristics (Setiawan et al., 2017). During the New Order period, Ki- dungan Jula-juli was also used as political propaganda to spread the ideology and legitimacy of the Soeharto (president) go- vernment. One of the Kidungan Jula-juli groups whose theme shows the support of the New Order government is Kartolo CS, whose poster is seen in figure 4. Figure 4. Poster of the Kartolo group. (Kar- tolo, 2006) Many of the themes of kidungan are sung by Kartolo group that supports natio- nal development as an effort by the govern- ment to realize the Five-Year Development goals (PELITA). In the New Order era, all the Kidungan Jula-juli groups lost the func- tion of criticism in the context of political life. The performance was limited to en- tertainment and jokes with themes about mocking friends, relatives, or close neigh- bors. The cessation of criticism of the New Order government through the Kidungan Jula-juli was entirely fearful of all the ar- tists of the accusations of PKI supporters. As for the New Order era, the theme of the kidungan can be seen in Table 3. Almost every Ludruk group in East Java uses the theme of development as a form of support for government programs as above. Besides, the kidungan also parti- cipated in supporting other government program regulations, such as support for agricultural applications, health (preventi- on of dengue fever socialization, immuni- zation), and so forth. In the new order era, kidungan was used for propaganda and the legitimacy of state programs. Reformation Era The economic crisis that struck In- donesia in 1998 disrupted the political sta- bility of the New Order. In 1998 the state and situation of the government began Aris Setiawan, Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From 87 Table 3. The Kidungan Theme of the New Order (Cassette: “Kidungan Jula-juli Lanjar Maibu” 1993) Kidungan Lyrics English translation Ngucap muji syukur karo rancangane pemerin- tah kita Pembangun lima tahun was ketok nyata Desa seng tertinggal sak iki wes gak ana Mulane kita ayo turut ngembangna. Kita muji syukur atas programe, pemerintah kita Bantuan impres desa tertinggal iku wes nyata Kanggo ndandani ekonomine rakyat Seng uripe sengsara. Ayo mendukung programe pemerintah mema- jukan pembangunan Nulung nasipe dulur-dulur seng ketinggalan Be grateful for our government programs Five Years Plan has been crystallized There are no more backward villages That is why we have to support it Be grateful for the programs of our government Backward village imprest fund has been realized In order to lift people’s economic development Who live in impoverished Let us support the government to promote the development To help our comrades who need aliment Table 4. Kidungan Jula-juli of Reformation Era z (cassette entitled “Pergelaran Ludruk Karya Budaya Mojokerto dengan lakon Joko Sambang” was taken in Mojokerto, East Java, 1998) Kidungan Lyrics English translation Aku nek eleng krisis ekonomi, Rasane wedi tur yo ngeri Seng ndukur jare rebutan kursi, Wong cilik polahe setengah mati Opo maneh nek mikir sandangan, Nek diangen-angen iso gak kolu mangan Seng bener gak klamben gak clonoan, Bendino sempakan koyok tarsan Bingung nek mikir regane sembako, Nang omah bendino dipaido bojo Nek direwangi iso gak wawoh, Seng bener kuwatno iman supaya gak ber- buat bodho Regane kopi ndadak tambah edap-edapi, Tapi kabeh maeng cara seng dadi Kopine sak gegem jagunge sak panci, Bareng diombe sengake setengah mati Kabeh masyarakat dijaluk melok berdoa, Lewat agama lan kepercayaan yang ada Ojok masa bodho lan mek bertepuk dada, Supaya ekomoni Indonesia pulih kaya semula If I remembered about the economic crisis I felt so scared and terrible Politicians fought for parliamentary seats While grassroots trembled for their title Moreover, if I thought about clothing My appetite could just be gone The right move was not using anything Wore only underpants like Tarzan I got confused every time I think about food prices While every day my wife got angry If I fought back it will be more worthless The right thing to do was affirming our faith so that we won’t do any stupidity The price of coffee is even higher But all are ready-made packages One handful of coffee mixed with a lot of corn When taken it is not delicious at all Society was asked to pray Through their own belief Don’t just be indifferent, anyway It was all for the relief to become unstable, causing resistance. Based on the economic crisis and the dis- satisfaction with Suharto’s re-election as president, demonstrations took place eve- rywhere, causing riots in various cities, such as Jakarta, Solo, Surabaya, and so on. Because of the increasingly uncertain poli- tical situation, artists have the opportunity to restore the function of the Kidungan Jula- juli as a medium of criticism. Lyric-themed Harmonia: Journal of Arts Research and Education 21 (1) (2021): 79-9088 Kidungan criticism began to appear like complaints about the impact of the eco- nomic crisis. Prices of food needs soared, people’s purchasing power declined, and food needs were difficult to fulfill, and the text of the kid can be seen in Table 4. Post-1998, kidungan artists have the freedom to display kidungan without fear of getting persecution from the govern- ment as before (the new order era before 1998). Complaints-themed kidungan arose because of the government’s inability to save the economy at that time. The singer of the song Kidungan Jula-juli who often throws criticism in this era is Cak Sukis, seen in figure 5. Figure 5. Cak Sukis, the singer of the song Kidungan Jula-juliafter Reformation Era After the reformation order, the ki- dungan artists became bolder and more open (blunt) in expressing the theme of criticism. This happened until now. Ki- dungan, as a media criticism, always arises when there are problems with government policies that do not favor the people. Like the Lapindo Mudflow tragedy in Porong Sidoarjo (mudflow disaster). This event can be packaged in Kidungan Jula-juli as a source of criticism, and the lyrics of Kidun- gan Jula-juli by taking the Lapindo Mud theme can be seen in Table 5. Until now, the reformation era, the function of the Jula-juli Kidungan as a me- dia of criticism, persists. The topic and theme of the kidungan always follow the dynamics of cultural development and Indonesia’s social politics dynamics. This is a reason behind the kidungan that still survive in East Java. CONCLUSION In the era of Japanese occupation, Durasim was a significant figure in the world of Ludruk, Dr. Soetomo regarded Durasim as an essential figure in the rep- resentative nationalism of traditional ar- tists, because of Durasim’s ability to pack a kidungan in criticizing Japanese inva- ders. The era of 1950 to 1965 was the dy- namics of the struggle for Ludruk artists between the Indonesian Communist Party Table 5. Kidungan Jula-juli as Criticism of the Lapindo Mud Event Kidungan Lyrics English translation Urutan kabencana seng onok Jawa Timur Wilayah Sidoarjo seng paling dhuwur Daerah Porong klebu tanah seng subur Sak ini hancur total kenek semburan lumpur Akibate saka lumpur Lapindo Uripe wong Porong wes kari separo Ora penjabate para generasine Mulene sak iki akeh seng semangate loyo Tapi pemerintah tetep menei janji Seng dadi korban jare oleh ganti rugi Cuma pemerintah tanda tangan lan janji-janji Sumpah palsu belaka ora dilunasi The order of disaster in East Java Sidoarjo is the highest area Porong is a fertile area Now, mudflow has destroyed all over the area What is the cause of Lapindo Mudflow? People of Porong only got a half-life Not just the officials but also its line Therefore, many people’s spirit is loose now But the government never stops in giving promise It says that victims will get indemnity Unfortunately, it was all just promise False promise for not expend the indemnity Aris Setiawan, Kidungan Jula-juli in East Java: Media of Criticism and Propaganda (From 89 (PKI) and the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI). Some of Ludruk’s artists who joined Lekra were no longer known, so there was a change of support process, resulting in a stronger Ludruk group supporting PNI. In the new order era, kidungan lost the func- tion of criticism and was controlled by the state for the sake of propaganda and the le- gitimacy of power. Post-1998 or the era of the reform era, kidungan artists have their freedom to return to kidungan. They are no longer worried about getting persecution from the government as before in the new order era before 1998. In this era, the Jula- juli Song was developing very well and could appear everywhere and even colla- borate with other traditional arts. Kidungan has developed into an aesthetic expression and a representation of the upheaval of the artist’s soul and its supporting communi- ty. REFERENCES Anna-Greta Nilsson Hoadley. Hoadley, A. G. N. (2005). Indonesian literature vs New Order orthodoxy: The aftermath of 1965-1966 (Vol. 101). NIAS Press. Day, T. (1996, January). Performances of East Javanese Wayang and the Possi- bility of’Internal Otherness’ in Con- temporary Java. In About Performance (No. 2, pp. 101-108). Endraswara, S. (2005). Tradisi Lisan Jawa: Warisan Abadi Budaya Leluhur. Nar- asi. Gunawardana, A. J. (1971). Theatre in Asia: An Introduction. The Drama Review: TDR, 15(2), 47–62. Hatley, B. (1971). Wayang and Ludruk: Polarities in Java. The Drama Review: TDR, 15(2), 88. Hefner, C. J. (1994). Ludruk Folk Theatre of East Java: Toward A Theory of Symbolic Action. 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The cassette entitled “Basman Mantu” Kartolo documentation (2006) The cassette entitled “Dokumentasi Prak- tik Kerja Lapangan Jurusan Etno- musikologi ISI Surakartadi Suraba- ya-Mojokerto” 2007.