Warok And Gemblak Essay

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Warok and Gemblak,
A Proof of Homosexual Practice in
Indonesia?
Najmatul Wardah
The Entry of LGBT in the Eastern
Cultures
What is the thing crosses on your mind when you hear word Reog Ponorogo? A traditional dance comes from Ponorogo, East Java? Or the mask of tiger that used to represent the singa barong? The dance shows a particular story – the most famous story spread is the rebellion of Ki Ageng Kutu to Bhre Kertabumi because of the corrupt governments and government’s inability to act since the queen was authoritative, thus Ki Ageng Kutu established a school for those who wanted to learn ilmu kanoragan (invincible power). In Reog dance, there are some dancers called Jathilan (usually practiced by young boys called Gemblak), Warok Ponorogo, …show more content…

It’s applied the new rule that gemblak should be performed by girls, in order to remove the stigma of homosexuality in Reog Ponorogo. Even though warok and gemblak practice can’t be found freely anymore in Ponorogo, but warok and gemblak can be a proof that homosexual practice already done since a long time ago.
In brief, the practice of warok and gemblak might be accepted to the local society since it’s a culture applied there. But as the time goes by, the role of warok and gemblak removed from the real life and only portrayed in Reog show. Even the role of gemblak is replaced by girls, not handsome young boys anymore.
Warok-gemblakan practice is not recommended by local religious leaders since it against the public morality. Warok tradition also stops practiced by most of people in Ponorogo since it’s not recommended to have such supernatural power. Many people become aware that we live in modern era now, where supernatural powers may be seen as imaginary thoughts. I believe that the characters of warok and gemblak seen as decent characters which not much people know about the story behind. But, we can conclude that there’s a proof of homosexual practice in
Indonesia, long time before LGBT term is known worldwide. And the

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