PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said that the Special Dulag Festival aims to preserve the traditions of the West Java community in welcoming Eid al-Fitr.

This was stated by Dedi when opening the Special Dulag Festival with the theme "Maintaining Tradition Through Harmony for Special West Java" at the West Java Provincial Level at Bale Pakuan (Pakuan State Building) in Bandung City, Sunday (31/3/2025) evening WIB.

"(Beating the dulag) is a custom in the cultural Islamic tradition in Indonesia, it is known as (beating) the bedug," said Dedi.

To maintain the tradition, Kang Dedi Mulyadi initiated the Special Dulag Festival. He said the beating of the bedug signifies spiritual activities in entering the odd days of Ramadan.

"So when entering Lebaran, people call it meuli (buying) bedug clothes. And the bedug is a sign for spiritual activities entering an odd day. So if fasting enters an odd day, they start beating the bedug," he said.

The purpose of the activity is to preserve and develop the traditional arts and cultural heritage of "Ngadulag". Not to forget, KDM --Dedi's nickname said that this activity can introduce traditional arts and culture to the current generation, so that they continue to exist and are not lost in time.

Ngadulag is a tradition of beating the bedug (traditional drum) carried out by the Sundanese people at certain times, such as before and during the month of Ramadan until Eid al-Fitr. This tradition is part of the Sundanese cultural heritage which is rich in the values of togetherness, cultural preservation, religious propagation, and joy.

On that occasion, Dedi said that the community was very enthusiastic about seeing the Ngadulag performance. According to him, this activity can also reduce traffic congestion and of course become a space for joy together with residents while saying the takbir sentence.

"This takbiran night is a place of joy, I open a space with the residents for takbiran rather than going around on the streets causing traffic jams, and often causing conflict between those who pray. I saw earlier that the community was very enthusiastic," he said.

The participants of the Special Dulag Festival were 27 regencies and cities throughout West Java and 27 participants from Regional Government Agencies within the West Java Provincial Government.