VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian traditional musical instrument, Gamelan has been officially designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. This decision has just been adopted at UNESCO's 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Paris, France on 15 December 2021. Previously, Indonesian cultures that had been included in the list were Wayang, keris, batik, batik education and training, and Angklung. Other Indonesian cultures are the Saman dance, Noken, three traditional dance genres in Bali, the art of Phinisi shipbuilding, the tradition of Pencak Silat, and Pantun.

The news was announced by President Joko Widodo through social media accounts, Wednesday (15/12). He said that Gamelan has long been a part of the daily life of the Indonesian people of various regions in Indonesia. Gamelan also inspires and influences world music. Therefore, President Joko Widodo remarked that he was proud of the determination of Gamelan as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. He also stated that Indonesia would always preserve Gamelan. Launching an official statement from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, it is known that Indonesia has submitted its nomination since 2019.

Previously, the Indonesian government registered Gamelan to be included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020. Gamelan competed with a number of nominations from other countries. Gamelan is the Indonesian traditional musical instrument consisting of saron, bonang, gong, drum, gangsa, fiddle, slenthem, peking and flute. Playing Gamelan must also be done together in order to produce a beautiful musical rhythm. Gamelan has begun to develop in Java and Bali since the Hindu-Buddhist era. This musical instrument is used as an accompaniment to dances, puppets or songs.