The History of Odong-Odong, Originally Had a Ritual Function
- mobilmo.com
VIVA – In Indonesia, Odong-odong is an entertainment vehicle for children. Many children and their mother love this vehicle because it is cheap and child friendly. Usually, odong-odong always plays a very cheerful children's song.
Currently, there are many forms of odong-odong, ranging from bicycle odong-odong to cars that are rather large and can fit many passengers.
Odong-odong has an entertaining design for children. But, how about the history of odong-odong? Here's the explanation.
The History of Odong-odong
The name odong-odong comes from Sundanese art specifically from Subang, namely Sisingaan. It was stated by Suwardi Alamsyah in an article entitled Sisingaan: Traditional Art of Subang Regency which has been published on the Ministry of Education and Culture website and can be read.
In his writing, Suwardi Alamsyah explains that the naming of odong-odong for Sisingaan was pioneered by Nanu Munajar, an academic artist from the Subang area. He says that Sisingaan art originated from the Odong-odong art which originally had a ritual function and meaning.
Nanu Munajar said that long before the arrival of major religions, people in the Subang area already had a tradition related to agricultural activities, namely the 'odong-odong' tradition.
The tradition is a belief that worships and glorifies rice and the ancestors as well as supernatural powers. Sisingaan has been there and has existed since 1857.
In the early tradition, this odong-odong was carried out by parading something shaped like a certain animal and accompanied by the sound of 'surak' (rhythmic clapping).
Odong-odong was performed in ritual contexts, such as agricultural rituals and Ngaruwat Bumi ceremonies.
The Modern of Odong-odong
So, the name of Odong-odong was finally "carried away" to children's games. However, obviously, odong-odong for right now has nothing to do with the rituals of the past, only the name was used.
As quoted from the journal entitled 'The Form and Function of Odong-Odong in Jakarta' written by Awang Eka Novia Rizali from the Department of Product Design FSRD, Trisakti University explained that odong-odong began to emerge and mushroom in the 2000s in Indonesia, Jakarta, and other big cities become places for odong-odong.
The appearance of Odong-odong begins with the type of odong-odong which is run with a pedaling system like a bicycle.
The driver of Odong-odong is behind position, then toy cars or other forms are installed and moved by pedaling like a bicycle. Then, there are also odong-odong that are transformed into transportation to get around the city.
For information, odong-odong is prohibited from wandering freely, especially on the highway. In 2013, there was a regulation that odong-odong was prohibited from operating on the highway because it was considered unsafe.
This regulation is based on Law No. 22 of 2009 concerning Road Traffic and Transportation.
