Tarawangsa

Tarawangsa is a sacred instrumental tradition of the Sundanese people of West Java, Indonesia, built on just two instruments: the tarawangsa, a two-stringed bowed lute, and the jentreng, a small seven-stringed plucked zither. Played in the Rancakalong district of Sumedang at the Ngalaksa harvest ceremony, its slow, repetitive melodies honour Dewi Sri, the rice goddess, accompany dances of offering and are believed to invite ancestral spirits, inducing trance in performers and listeners. One of the oldest documented musics of Java, it survives today in only a handful of villages.