Visit Kemiren Village: One of the Banyuwangi cultural Destination

Img source: Desa Kemiren Official Website’s Gallery

People say “time flies but culture remains”, and that’s what we see when we visit Kemiren Village. Kemiren Village is located in the district of Banyuwangi, Region of East Java, Indonesia. The name Kemiren is derived from the word kemirian which means lots of kemiri (hazelnut) trees. Unlike the other villages in Banyuwangi, the Osing tribes (original Banyuwangi people) in Kemiren Village continue to uphold Banyuwangi's traditional and cultural values. Bringing such authenticity in this day and age.

As we mentioned before, 'Osing' is how the genuine banyuwangi tribe are called. The word ‘Osing’ means ‘no’ in their language. It came from the ancestor's history where they said no, a refusal to move back to their native kingdom, Majapahit. Since then, the Osing ancestors settled in the eastern part of Java known as Banyuwangi and soon created the Blambangan Kingdom. (+)

When you visit Kemiren Village, you will be greeted with a landscape of green ricefield. How not so? The majority of Osing Tribes in this village has farmer as their livelihood. And in every stage of the agricultural land cultivation they perform a series of thanksgiving ceremonies. This is a tradition they eagerly hold as well as a form of their faith toward the ancestor's spirit.

Image source : https://www.instagram.com/desa_kemiren/

Before the rice seeds are being planted, the first ceremony being held is to ask for blessing, this ceremony is called 'Adeg-adeg'. After that, 'Labuh Tandur' ceremony is being held to hope the rice plant grow flourish. Next, when the rice grains started to arise 'Nyelameti Pari' ceremony is conducted. And for the finale stage of the agricultural land cultivation, the ‘Ngampung’ ceremony is being held. Farmers who can afford it can also conduct the 'Angklung Sawahan' art performance.

The ‘Angklung Sawahan’ performance includes traditional music instruments like angklung (a bamboo-made instrument) and gendang (Javanese musical instrument whose sound is produced by hitting it with one's hand). Since the performance is aim to encourage joyful harmony and excitement of the abundance in harvesting, the ‘Angklung Sawahan’ art is performed in rice fields that are being harvested, and a ‘paglak’ or small hut erected by four bamboo poles with 10-15 metres lengths, is constructed as a place for musicians and their equipments.

Osing tribes belief that the land fertility and the abundance of life they receive is come from their faithfulness toward the ancestor's spirits. At the other side, when something bad happens to the village like a plague, distress, or any kind of life dificulties. Osing tribes will see it as the anchestor's spirit anger at the inappropriate activities or behaviour of the residents. As a result, the entire Kemiren villagers held a ritual where they put their bed mattresses out to dry along the road. This ritual is known as ‘Mepe Kasur’ and being held annually in the month of Dhulhijjah. The beds they have are also unique, with black and scarlet colors, symbolizing that a mother's love for her family has no bounds. According to Kemiren's Chief of Tradition, this practice is carried out because they believe the source of all diseases comes from bed and ‘Mepe Kasur’ ritual is conducted to fight off many diseases.

Considering the ability to preserve the anchestor's rituals and tradition, Kemiren village is then established as tourism village on 1995 by Banyuwangi Regent that time, named Purnomo Sidik. Along with that declaration, a tourism platform at the north part of Kemiren Village is constructed, the platform stands in a form of traditional Osing houses replica, local arts showcase and cultural products exhibition.

As a tourism village, Kemiren provides a lot of attraction for their visitors like an educational trip, culinary, and cultural showcase. While you're here, you can also try visiting kampoeng osing, Pesantongan Kemangi food stalls, and the area of osing traditional house.

If you visit Kemiren Village, don't forget to look at the calendar of events, there are numerous festivals that are held annually, such as: adat ider bumi, ritual tumpeng sewu, ngopi sepuluh ewu, and so on.

Image source : https://www.instagram.com/desa_kemiren/

Last but not least, the Barong Ider Bumi is a popular celebration in Kemiren you should watch, it is held to fight off every bad influences that threaten the villagers' well-being like sickness, evil spirits, pests, and many more. Anything else you should not miss is the iconic banyuwangi gandrung dance and kemiren’s finest traditional coffee named Jaran Goyang.

Way to go there

If you go from Surabaya or Jakarta, you can have a flight to Banyuwangi ended at Banyuwangi International Airport (also known as Blimbingsari Airport). From there you can drive on the same route to the majestic Ijen Crater, for about 40 minutes.

You can see the details in here.

Here are some recommendations for hotels, villas or homestay near the location.

• Homestay Kemiren Banyuwangi

• Hotel Sahid

• Yuyun Homestay

• Akbar Homestay

• Kampung Kemiren

• Singosari Guest House

• Rupan Homestay

• Dian Guest House

• Jabon Villas

References:

• https://www.indonesia.travel/id/id/destinasi/village-tourism/kemiren-village

• https://kemiren.com/tentang-desa-kemiren/

• https://holidayayo.com/article/the-beauty-of-osing-kemiren-village-in-banyuwangi

• https://koran-jakarta.com/ritual-masyarakat-osing-yang-unik

• https://jawatimuran.disperpusip.jatimprov.go.id/2013/01/23/upacara-adat-pertanian-masyarakat-using/