Knowing the characteristics of the West Java region to get to know it better
Of course, there are features of the West Java region that you need to know to get to know this one province better. As we know, West Java is one of the provinces that attracts a lot of attention where the capital Bandung is a tourist destination for different types of people.
Of course, there are interesting things in this province that make many people focus on vacationing to the place. For those of you who want to know more about this place, you should know some of the features that are owned by each region in Indonesia has different characteristics.
By knowing these characteristics, you can get to know this area more deeply. Combined with knowing the characteristics, you can know that all regions in Indonesia are very unique. Here are some features of the West Java region that you need to know where to distinguish this province from others.
Of course, this characteristic is known not only to the external community, but also to the indigenous people of West Java. In addition, there are many neighborhoods in this province that have their own uniqueness. It is therefore a pity that as an Indonesian citizen you do not know the uniqueness of each region.
Moreover, the characteristics of West Java lie not only in the field of culture, but also in the culinary field. With information like this you can find out that Indonesia is very rich in culture and culinary.
But what is very unfortunate is that many young people do not know anything about Indonesia, not even about the area where they live alone. This condition, if not controlled, can cause the younger generation to lose their love for their country.
The daily use of regional languages
One of the characteristics of the West Java region is the use of the regional language in everyday life, because we know that Indonesia has many tribes, so there are also many regional languages. So it’s no wonder that, although it’s one island, the regional languages are many and different.
For West Java itself, it also has a special regional language, namely the Sundanese language. Of course, Sundanese has a different vocabulary than other languages, so it is easy to distinguish. Moreover, in addition to Indonesian, this language is also used in everyday life.
The use of this language is therefore not only limited by the Sundanese tribe, but has been used by all people in West Java. Because the use of this language is very important to support daily activities.
Therefore, since language is one of the characteristics of the West Java region, fellow tribes, when you are in a crowd and use the Sundanese language, will know for sure that you are from West Java by simply communicating with that language.
So it’s no wonder that when you know someone is from an area, you’re looking at the language that’s used on a daily basis. Although there are currently many people who use Indonesian, the use of regional languages is still carried out so that it persists and is not eroded by time.
Because if the vernacular is abandoned, it is a great pity for later generations that they do not know the mother tongue of their tribe. In fact, the use of language is what distinguishes one tribe from another.
Features of musical instruments
Another feature of the West Java region that you can see is in the musical instruments section. Of course, each region has its own musical instrument that can be the identity of the area, as well as West Java. For this area itself, certainly everyone knows one of his typical musical instruments, namely the angklung. Angklung itself is a traditional musical instrument made of bamboo.
In fact, so many schools, including primary schools in West Java, have to offer this traditional musical instrument. In addition, playing it is also different from modern musical instruments like now, because just shaking will make certain sounds. In fact, the popularity of the musical instrument is internationally known.
In addition to the angklung, there are also flute musical instruments that are included in the characteristics of West Java. Seen from the material, it is almost the same as angklung, which is made of bamboo. But what distinguishes it can be seen in the shape where the distilled is only made of 1 bamboo. Wherever this musical instrument has holes that later serve to set the tone.
Of course, the number of holes in this instrument also depends on where it is adapted to how many songs are accompanied. In general, however, there are only 4 distilled holes. This musical instrument is so distinctive that Sundanese songs must be accompanied by this flute. In fact, it is not uncommon that when someone is in the rice field and enjoying themselves, they will play the flute.
Features of the food section
There is no denying that the characteristics of West Java can also be found in the food, there are many specialties that are owned and have even existed outside the West Java area. This condition shows that there are many people who love the typical food of the province. Name it as batagor or siomay, one of the typical West Java snacks that are easy to find in the countryside.
The food consists of the fish meat and is wrapped with spring roll skin and tofu and given peanut spices. In addition to the street food, there are also typical snacks such as Menes blocks. The Menes block itself is a special food made from cassava and grated coconut that functions as a shave. This snack itself isenvious of two types, namely the cadaver bar and the menes block.
In addition, there is also oncom rice which is very popular and even included in one of the characteristics of West Java that originates from Tasikmalaya. Oncom rice itself is rice that has been mixed by oncom and that has been grilled or fried. During the mixing process, it is not only stirred, but also waited, so that between oncom and rice is mixed evenly.
In addition, there are also snacks such as green serabi which is a typical Karawang food. Of course, this serabi is different from others because the production process is almost similar, but there are additional suji leaves so that it makes the color greener. Of course, using these leaves is to avoid the use of food coloring so that it will be safe when consumed.
Characteristics of traditional dance
The characteristics of West Java are also reflected in the traditional dance section of which there are many. One of the traditional dances originating from the region on West Java, namely Cirebon, is the mask dance. Where this art has a meaning, namely the story of sunan gunung jati when you want to control the city of Cirebon. But at that time an attack was carried out by the prince of welang so that there was finally a war.
The use of masks in this dance has 13 colors with each type having different characteristics and use of colors. However, lately, many have used only red and white colors, and the use of masks has also been adapted to the theme of the event being held. In addition to the mask dance, there is also a peacock dance inspired by peacocks.
The peacock itself is the symbol of the crown, so the dancers will use the crown when they are in action. This dance is accompanied by gamelan music played by three people. Of course, this dance has been very popular even abroad. In addition to the above dance, there is also the jaipong dance which is already very popular.
However, this dance once used controversy because the movements are quite sensual, but have recently begun to be preserved again. Therefore, these are some of the characteristics that this one province has. Itdoesn’t surprise me that the characteristics of West Java can help to preserve It, so that future generations know about regional cultural customs or the characteristics of West Java are not lost to time.