[A. G. Maisey]

This thread began with a question on restoration/repair of a ladrang /ladrangan wrongko, so I thought it might be of interest if we considered the name of this type of wrongko.

The name "ladrang" or "ladrangan" (ie, "like a ladrang") was not just plucked out of thin air and stuck on the formal Javanese wrongko style, it has a relationship to something else, that something else is gamelan music. Gamelan is the traditional music form of Javanese, Balinese & Sundanese people.

In gamelan music the word "ladrang" refers to a number of beats (32) that are played between the strikes of the biggest gong (gong ageng) which sets the rhythmic structure of a composition. Ladrang can be used in any melody tempo except for one.

The ladrang in gamelan music is integral to the rhythm of a composition, the rhythm of a composition conveys the feeling of the composition.

The ladrangan wrongko is worn at formal & official occasions, & its universal use for dress at that occasion conveys the feeling attached to the occasion, thus the ladrangan wrongko serves the same purpose in a social context as does the ladrang in gamelan music, ergo, it is "like a ladrang" = "ladrangan".


I'm not a real big fan of gamelan music, some I rather like, some I do not like --- which is about what applies with my taste in western music too, as they say, "there are only two types of music, good music & bad music, & each of us decides which is which". What I have just related above is apparently gamelan 101.


Gayaman wrongko.

While we're at it, we might as well look at the other major type of Javanese wrongko too, the gayaman.

The word "gayaman" means "like a gayam".

The gayam tree is a shade tree in Jawa that has small edible fruit, best way to eat this fruit is to make chips of it and fry it.

Anyway, the gayaman wrongko supposedly looks like a gayam fruit, which I guess it does with only a little bit of imagination.