Abstract

This research discusses the saweran tradition when the performance takes place at the TipTop restaurant and Koboi cafe in the city of Medan. With this tradition, interaction is created between music performers and visitors in the form of symbolism in the form of saweran. The researcher’s selection of restaurants and cafes aims to determine the social level of cafe and restaurant visitors. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with data collection techniques through observation. During the performance, interviews were conducted with music performers and visitors as well as restaurant or cafe owners and video documentation of the interaction taking place. The research results show that the saweran tradition that occurs is a symbol of appreciation for music performers who fulfill visitors’ wishes to perform songs of their choice at the TipTop restaurant. This saweran also often reflects the social status of visitors by the number of saweran given during the transaction. Meanwhile, something different was found at Koboi cafe where interaction and appreciation in the form of saweran was very rare. This is influenced by the characteristics and interests of visitors in enjoying the musical performances performed at the cafe