Listening To A Happy Traditional Balinese Song “Mejangeran”

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Listening To A Happy Traditional Balinese Song “Mejangeran”.

Bali is widely known as an island with a million beauties, both in terms of nature and tradition. Speaking of tradition, traditional Balinese values are always raised in the works of the local artists. Not only in the form of dance, sculpture, or painting, but the value is also contained in a song. One of them is a song called "Mejangeran".

Mejangeran is a song arrangement that combines traditional Balinese musical instruments with traditional Balinese vocal art known as sekar rare or Janger. Usually, Mejarengan is popular among children's songs in Bali. 

Mejarengan is a song that describes the joyful atmosphere of teenagers, both male and female. This song is also an accompaniment to a traditional dance called Janger. 

Janger is a traditional Balinese dance created in the 1930s. This dance is performed by 10 young couples, who are referred to as a janger (female) and kecak (male) group. These ten young couples are dancing while singing the Janger song. The movement of this dance is quite simple but looks cheerful and vibrant. 

Unlike the Kecak Dance which is dominated by male choirs, Janger Dance is the development of the female choir. Some of the plays contained in this dance are Sunda Upasunda, Arjuna Wiwaha, and many more. For those who want to watch this dance, don't worry! Janger dance is easy to find because it can be found in almost all areas in Bali. Nevertheless, each region has its own variations, according to the tastes of the local people. So, if you watch this dance in one area, it is not necessarily the same as in other regions. 

Back to the song that accompanies the Janger dance, the lyrics of the Mejangeran are adapted from a Sanghyang song, which is a religious dance ritual. Usually, this dance serves as a ritual to reject bad luck or avoid a plague. Because the song and the dance sound and look cheerful, this song is usually sung to enliven the ceremony or just for entertainment. But now, this song has been re-arranged a lot and is performed with modern musical instruments. In fact, some musicians are arranging this song as a piece of pop music. Nevertheless, the traditional 'taste' of the song Pangeran is still preserved, namely from the way the singer performs the song. Plus, there must be also a traditional Balinese musical instrument that accompanies the song.