One of the Jembrana’s annual event is the Jegog Festival which was held this year over 3 days, from December 3rd to 5th.
Jegog is a form of gamelan music indigenous to Bali, played on instruments made of bamboo. Born in West Bali in the 1920’s in a small village close to Dajuma, it has started to become popular in other regions of Bali and even abroad in Japan, Germany and the US.
The annual festival aims at preserving, developing and fostering Jegog as a cultural object of prime importance. It is a unique traditional music as a symbol of creativity and the original identity of Jembrana people and culture. This year, the festival agenda was particularly heavy with the participation of 84 Jegog groups from all around Jembrana (including school groups) and 2,520 artists. Hundreds of visitors, including our guests, enjoyed the exhibitions of the forms and types of Jegog and listened their unique sounds. Seminars attended by jegog artists, cultural figures, creators and observers of the Jegog also took place. On the last day, mass Jegog staging (Jegog Mebarung) accompanied by the performance of Joged Dance shown on the picture closed the festival.