BALO-BALO

Balo-Balo is a traditional art of Tegal that has already existed for a long time. It is a collaborative performance between music, dance, and drama. The word "balo-balo" comes from "bolo-bolo" which means friends. Then, Balo-Balo Mantu Poci is an art performance that combines the music of Balo-Balo with the story of mantu poci.

It is said that the Balo-Balo that has existed since Dutch colonialism was originally used as a means of syiar or preaching the religion of Islam. Then, this art was used to trick the invaders. When the fighters gathered to strategize against the invaders, other residents crowded around while beating the tambourine and engrossed in singing. This made the colonizers unsuspecting and assumed that the residents were having fun hosting entertainment.

Now, Balo-Balo is held to establish communication between residents. The recitation of the poems uses the Tegal dialect, without elements of Indonesian or other regional languages. The song is sung with percussion accompaniment. The accompaniment of the poems of praise, criticism, and jokes typical of Tegal is tambourine music, drums, slendro music, bass, and guitar. On the stage, it is common for the audience to laugh or clap in the middle of the dynamic strains of gending moored music. The beats of Javanese drums and the strum of the bass also make the heart flutter. What fun!