reog ponorogo..

The case of the 'stolen' Reog Ponorogo

Reog Ponorogo made headlines across Indonesia in November 2007 when it featured in a Malaysian tourism commercial as a part of the 2007 Malaysia Truly Asia campaign. In Malaysia the dance is referred to as Tari Barongan, but certain elements mark it as an unmistakeable descendant of Reog, most notably the use of the dhadak merak mask which most Malaysian groups import from Ponorogo craftsmen. The use of Reog in this commercial without acknowledgement of its origins was enough to cause an uproar in Ponorogo. But the Malaysians made things even worse by emblazoning the word ‘Malaysia’ on the mask in the place usually reserved for the words ‘Reog Ponorogo’.

In the eyes of the people of Ponorogo this was blasphemy. Despite attempts by the Malaysian ambassador to explain that his country had never claimed that Reog was originally from Malaysia, the Ponorogoans saw it differently. Former Reog artist, mystic and warok (traditionally pederasts with an exalted status as powerful men and leaders), Ahmad Tobroni, saw the incident as a way to subtly claim Reog as their own. Like many Ponorogoans, he reacted to the news of Malaysia’s treachery with a spontaneous 'jancuk!' (damn it!), stating that he felt that  'this art from our ancestors was being claimed, just like that, in the interest of tourism’.