Traditional Balang Apem Ritual of Kebondalem Village
that afternoon, thousands of residents from various regions in Banyuwangi, clustered along the Pekalen Sampean river, Tanjungrejo Hamlet, Kebondalem Desa Village, Bangorejo District. They lined up neatly on the edge of the river. Along the river, dozens of ornamental boats and ship replicas can be seen floating on the riverbank.
A number of residents, also still seemed busy decorating the ship replica with various ornaments, including equipping it with a sound system. Dozens of ornamental boats and ship replicas are a tradition of the residents of Tanjungrejo Hamlet, Kebondalem Desa Village, Bangorejo District.
Every two years, they held the ritual which was also held for the Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia. By local residents, Decorative boats and ship replicas are commonly known as the Canal Rafting Festival. A number of visitors who come to watch the row of boats and photo boats with their families.
The traffic of vehicles passing on the road on the banks of the Pekalen Sampean river has also been diverted, especially four wheelers. To be able to enter, see and follow the tradition of the Balang Apem, Residents must pay an entrance ticket of IDR 10,000 per person.
If the flow of traffic is not sterilized along the highway, certainly jammed because a lot of people who come. The most awaited and the center of attention of visitors, is the ritual of Balang Apem. The Balang Apem tradition has been around for years 1967 ago.
The activity is a people's festival as a speech and form of gratitude to God from the local community, because it has received an abundance of favors in the form of an abundant flow of water. The flow of the river which is usually called Pekalen Sampean, able to provide a livelihood for the residents of Kebondalem Village, most of whom are farmers.
“We are grateful that our agricultural produce is abundant, and now the Kebondalem Village area is used as a center for producing dragon fruit and oranges in Banyuwangi,said Nanang Lesmana, 48, one of the community leaders of Kebondalem Village. The Balang Apem ritual was first initiated by local traditional elders, Mbah Tukiran, 76, which until now is still elderly by the people of Tanjungrejo Hamlet, Kebondalem Desa Village, Bangorejo District.
Apem is made from a mixture of flour and coconut milk, cooked by residents of the same neighborhood (RW). The number of apem reached 3.000 fruit. After cooking, The apem are put in a plastic bag and brought to the venue for the event.
Before the jar, Thousands of apem in the container are placed on stage along with the Nasi Tumpeng to be prayed for. The safety ceremony or feast is held on a stage by the river, and led by local village elders.
As much 25 village girl who has dressed up in a kebaya, lined up on the stage ready to bring the apem onto a rubber boat and throw them at the visitors. “We deliberately choose girls who are beautiful and still virgins. We dress them up in Banyuwangi-style jebeng kebaya to attract the boys,explained Nana.
After finishing the prayer, Thousands of apem were immediately carried by the girls onto the rubber boats. Alternately, the girls threw thousands of apem towards the spectators who were already lined up along the river. “Those who can catch and get apem are then eaten, will be blessed," said Tukiran, local village elders.
The blessings you get are manifold. Merchants can be given smooth sustenance and their merchandise is selling well, while for those who are young people it is believed that they will soon find a mate. “Most of them are virgins, because it is believed to be able to get a mate, " he added.
One visitor, Siswanto, 21, from Kedungringin Village, Muncar District, admitted that he had come because he was curious about the Balang Apem ritual. Especially, there is a phrase that succeeds in catching and getting apem will bring blessings and facilitate matchmaking.
"I just came here, it turns out it's also fun to fight over apem," he said.(radar)
