Genjer-Genjer is an Osing language folk song from East Java, Indonesia, written and composed by musician Muhammad Arief.
The song was first recorded during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in 1942 by Muhammad Arief, arranged for angklung; the Japanese military occupation government used the song as propaganda to encourage Indonesians to live austerely during wartime as crops were diverted to feed soldiers on the frontlines, leading to widespread famine and starvation.
In the late 1950s and early 60s, Genjer-genjer gained popularity throughout Indonesia, and the country's political left began to take interest in the song.
[2] In 1965, Genjer-Genjer became entangled in the New Order’s mythology of the September 30th Movement, an abortive supposed left-wing coup that took place on October 1, 1965, that Suharto used as a pretext to launch a counter-coup and bring his own authoritarian government to power.
In order to bolster its own legitimacy and further discredit the Indonesian Left, the New Order fabricated a story about how during the killings members of the PKI youth (People's Youth) and women (Gerwani) organizations danced and took part in orgies as they mutilated the generals while singing songs, including Genjer-Genjer.