Lombok has one interesting culture, namely nyongkolan. Nyongkolan is a Sasak tradition where the bride and groom are paraded together like a king to the bride’s house. This procession is enlivened by various traditional musical instruments and arts typical of the Sasak tribe which are interesting and characteristic of this island.

History of Nyongkolan

The nyongkolan tradition has existed since the kingdom era on Lombok Island. This tradition was created as a message to inform the surrounding community that the two couples have officially married and aims to avoid slander.

In this tradition, the bride and groom are considered like a king and queen who are accompanied by guards and palace maids. They bring gifts in the form of garden produce, vegetables, or fruits that are distributed to the audience, relatives, and neighbors of the bride in a Sasak wedding in Lombok.

To enliven the nyongkolan event, it is usually accompanied by the beats of the typical Lombok Gendang Beleq, or a type of tambourine music with Lombok regional songs accompanied by dancers in typical dance clothes. If the bride and groom are nobles or aristocrats, the nyongkolan procession is certainly equipped with Gendang Beleq and a death squad dressed like soldiers from ancient times. Not only that, Rudat as an art from the Middle East featuring various Pencak Silat movements also enlivens this typical Sasak nyongkolan tradition.

Nyongkolan Procession

At first, a man takes the woman to his family’s house without the woman’s family knowing. The woman stays there for a few days, making it look like an elopement. Over time, this has been misunderstood and criticized. Usually, before carrying off the bride, the groom must tell her that they want to marry the bride.

After that, the wedding procession begins with the bride and groom being decorated according to Sasak customs in a place that is usually the house of a cousin or the groom’s family. Then, the groom’s party picks up the woman to go to the Mosque for a wedding reception according to Sharia. During the journey to the mosque, they are accompanied by a line of young Sasak people wearing traditional clothes, often accompanied by the beat of gendang beleq.

As time goes by, there is a cultural shift, gendang beleq is replaced by kecimol. This has also received a lot of criticism because it is considered to eliminate the authentic values ​​of the Sasak culture. Kecimol is a procession that is carried out by singing Sasak language songs and often as a result of this, the procession becomes chaotic.

The Uniqueness of Nyongkolan

In the nyongkolan ceremony, the bride and groom can interact directly with the community both from within and outside the village. This happens because the outside community knows that the nyongkolan ceremony will be held by word of mouth.

The surrounding community can also find out who is getting married without having to be invited by the bride and groom. In addition, the appearance of gendang beleq during the procession also adds to the uniqueness of the nyongkolan process.

The nyongkolan tradition has begun to be widely misinterpreted and changed, for example, there are more and more cases of men running away with women. Actually, basically, this tradition must first be approved by both families, the man cannot just take the woman away. In addition, the original tradition is to use gendang beleq by performing various unique Sasak dances. However, the development of the times has made people prefer to use kecimol because it is more entertaining for the community. This can add to the excitement during the procession.