Culture & Etiquette

1. Basa Sunda

   Sundanese language

   Usage

   Language spoken by about 40 million people, mainly in West Java and Banten

   Grammar Note

   Basa means language. Sundanese has speech levels such as lemes (polite) and loma (casual)

2. Urang Sunda

   Sundanese people

   Usage

   Ethnic group living mainly in west Java, the second largest in Indonesia

   Grammar Note

   Urang means person; it can also mean we or I in casual speech, so mind the context

3. Aksara Sunda

   Sundanese script

   Usage

   Traditional script for writing Sundanese; West Java road signs show it next to Latin letters

   Grammar Note

   It appears beside Latin letters on signs, while menus and daily writing use the Latin alphabet

4. Angklung

   Angklung (bamboo instrument)

   Usage

   Bamboo tubes in a frame that sound when shaken; a traditional Sundanese instrument

   Grammar Note

   Many shows let audience members play one each in a group piece

5. Angklung buhun

   Angklung buhun (ancient angklung)

   Usage

   Traditional angklung from Lebak, Banten, linked with the Baduy people

   Grammar Note

   A traditional form kept alive by the community there; ask locals before joining in or filming

6. Calung

   Calung (struck bamboo instrument)

   Usage

   Instrument of struck bamboo bars, regarded as the prototype of the angklung

   Grammar Note

   Tuned to a five-note scale (da-mi-na-ti-la)

7. Karinding

   Karinding (mouth-held bamboo instrument)

   Usage

   Small bamboo instrument plucked with a fingertip and held at the mouth

   Grammar Note

   Made from palm midrib (kawung) or bamboo

8. Kacapi

   Kacapi (zither)

   Usage

   String instrument of Sundanese music, often the main instrument

   Grammar Note

   Used to accompany tembang Sunda and mamaos Cianjuran

9. Suling

   Suling (bamboo flute)

   Usage

   Sundanese bamboo flute made from bamboo

   Grammar Note

   Roughly a flute; combined with kacapi it forms kacapi suling

10. Kacapi suling

    Kacapi suling (kacapi and flute music)

    Usage

    Sundanese folk music played on two kacapi and a bamboo flute

    Grammar Note

    Often heard as background music in hotels and restaurants

11. Rebab

    Rebab (bowed lute)

    Usage

    Bowed string instrument that carries the melody in gamelan music

    Grammar Note

    Used in wayang, kiliningan and tembang Sunda performances

12. Kendang

    Kendang (drum)

    Usage

    Wood-and-skin drum in several sizes, giving the beat for dance and shows

    Grammar Note

    Comes as large kendang gedé, small kendang leutik and others

13. Celempung

    Celempung (bamboo zither)

    Usage

    Traditional Sundanese string instrument

14. Tarawangsa

    Tarawangsa (old bowed instrument)

    Usage

    Bowed instrument older than the rebab, used in ritual music

    Grammar Note

    A bowed string instrument used in ritual music

15. Gamelan degung

    Usage

    Traditional gamelan of West Java, especially the Sundanese area

    Grammar Note

    Different in scale and sound from Central Javanese gamelan

16. Jaipongan

    Jaipongan (Sundanese dance)

    Usage

    Dance created by Bandung artist Gugum Gumbira from folk arts

    Grammar Note

    Seen in tourist shows; ask whether filming is allowed at night shows

17. Benjang

    Benjang (wrestling art)

    Usage

    Folk art-sport combining martial art and performance, developed in Ujungberung, Bandung

18. Penca silat

    Penca silat (Sundanese martial art)

    Usage

    Sundanese name for the Southeast Asian martial art of silat

    Grammar Note

    Also called Maénpo

19. Wayang golék

    Wayang golék (wooden rod puppets)

    Usage

    Puppet theatre with carved wooden puppets, the most popular form in the Sundanese area

    Grammar Note

    Performances are often at night, narrated by the puppeteer (dalang)

20. Topeng Cirebon

    Cirebon mask dance

    Usage

    Mask performance from Cirebon combining visual art, music and dance

    Grammar Note

    Considered one of the most dynamic performance arts of West Java

21. Carita pantun

    Carita pantun (sung oral storytelling)

    Usage

    Old Sundanese oral literature performed by a storyteller who plays the kacapi

22. Wawacan

    Wawacan (long narrative poem)

    Usage

    Old long Sundanese narrative written in pupuh verse forms and chanted

23. Sangkuriang

    Sangkuriang (legend)

    Usage

    Sundanese legend explaining the origin of the Bandung lake and nearby mountains

    Grammar Note

    Linked with the story of Tangkuban Parahu and Mount Burangrang

24. Nyi Roro Kidul

    Nyi Roro Kidul (Queen of the Southern Sea)

    Usage

    Mythical queen believed to rule the southern sea

    Grammar Note

    On the southern coast locals may advise against wearing green when swimming; respect the local belief

25. Prabu Siliwangi

    Prabu Siliwangi (legendary king)

    Usage

    Famous Sundanese figure remembered as a king of Pakuan Pajajaran

    Grammar Note

    The name is widely used for streets and institutions around Bandung

26. Kujang

    Kujang (Sundanese blade)

    Usage

    Traditional West Java blade, used as a Sundanese symbol in monuments

    Grammar Note

    Look only in museums, and be careful about carrying or taking blades with you

27. Batik

    Usage

    Traditional craft of dyeing cloth with wax-drawn patterns; Cirebon is a producing area

    Grammar Note

    Known as a cultural product of Indonesia; in West Java Cirebon batik is famous

28. Saung

    Saung (small hut / shelter)

    Usage

    Small building in a rice field, garden or restaurant used for resting or watching crops

    Grammar Note

    Rural-style restaurants often call their dining huts saung

29. Leuit

    Leuit (rice barn)

    Usage

    Small traditional barn for storing harvested rice

    Grammar Note

    Closely tied to harvest festivals such as seren taun

30. Kampung Pulo

    Kampung Pulo (traditional village)

    Usage

    Small traditional village on an island in Cangkuang Lake, Garut

    Grammar Note

    Right beside Candi Cangkuang, so the two are often visited together

31. Abdi hoyong diajar maén angklung.

    I want to learn to play the angklung.

    Usage

    Telling a venue or workshop that you want to try playing angklung

    Grammar Note

    Abdi hoyong is a polite I want to; maén also means to play an instrument

32. Abdi hoyong ningali pintonan jaipongan.

    I would like to watch a jaipongan performance.

    Usage

    Saying you would like to see a dance show

    Grammar Note

    Pintonan means a performance; abdi hoyong ningali means I would like to watch

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