Lesung is a tool for pounding rice. Lesung is made from wood with the size of tree. Then Lesung is hollowed out in the middle. The length is approximately 2 – 3 meters. In the past there were no rice grinding machines, to separate the rice grains and husks you needed a tool. This tool is called lesung. Lesung is used to hull the grain into rice with the help of a tool called alu as pounder.
Harmony and togetherness at that time were still very strong. If there is a villager who has khajat (An activity carried out by the community in the context of thanksgiving.), whether it is marrying off a child or having a child, it needs a lot of rice as a complement to the thanksgiving ceremony. In that moment, the villagers worked together to help pounding the rice. Because the shape of lesung is like a kentong (a hole in the middle of it), when alu as a pounding tool is dropped on the lesung, it will make a loud sound. While waiting for a friend to start pounding rice, the kotekan begins. Kotekan is also a sign that someone in the village is having a wedding. After hearing the kotekan, villagers will come to help pounding the rice.
After the rice pounding is finished, they usually make kotekan as entertainment. The combination of sounds from each side of lesung hole produces a very melodious rhythm accompanied by singing according to the rhythm.The following are the lyrics of the song Kotekan, which was popular at that time. “Lesung jumengglung sru imbal-imbalan. Lesung jumengglung manengkeng manungkung, ngumandang ngebaki sak jroning padesan. Tok tok tek tok tok gung tok tok tek tok tek tong gung.” The combination of musical rhythms accompanied by the sound of songs stimulates several people to dance. Nowadays, the art of kotekan lesung is rarely performed.
