Groenendael. Jaranan: The horse dance and trance in East Java

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VERHANDELINGEN VAN HET KONINKLIJK INSTITUUT VOOR TAAL-, LAND- EN VOLKENKUNDE

252

VICTORIA

M. CLARA van GROENENDAEL

JARANAN The horse dance and trance in East Java Translated py Maria

J.L.van

Yperen

F-'erpustakaan UGM

llll111111111111!11 091555 .

KITLV Press Leid en

2008

Published by: KITLV Press Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies) P.O. Box 9515 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands website: www.kitlv.nl e-mail : kitlvpress@kitlv .nl

KITLV is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)

Cov er: Crej~ ontwerpen, leiderd orp Audio engineer: Fridus Steijlen , KJTLV, Leiden

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97 8 90 6718 306 2

© 2008 Koninklijk In stituut voo r Taal-, Land- en Volken!runde No part of this publi ca tic;n may be reproduced or transmitted in any fom1 or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any in forrnation storage and retri eva l system, without pem1ission from the cop yright owner . Printed in the Netherlands

Contents ix

Acknowledgements PART ONE

The dramatic genre of the horse dance (jaranan) The horse dance (jaranan) Prelude in Pulihrejo and introduction The aim of this book 8 Arrangement of the book 10 II

3

to Samboyo Putro

3

The horse dance under Lhe Orde Baru The horse dance b Java 13 The popularity of the horse dance in Kediri 15 The supporters of the hor se dance 17 The h ·ance in the horse dance 18 Contacts with the immaterial wo rld 18 Some theories about the trance in the horse dance 21 Comments 25 The trance master (gambuh) 25 The relation betw een th e gambuh and the dha/ang ruwat 30 The horse dance in the interface between a national and a regional identity 34

13

PART TWO

Aspects of the ge nr e of th e h orse danc e Ill

Sa.i1b0yo Put ro and o th er 3e :1rcs of ho rse d an ce g ro up s Intr oduction 41 Th e hi stor y o f Samb oyo Putro 43 The members of Sambo yo Putro 45 The actors' props, pa rt s and cos tum es 48 The jaranan sentherewe according to th e repo rt Deskripsi rekapitulasi 63 The jarana11jawa Haswo Uscdo and othe r genres of ho rse dan ce groups 67 n1e jaranon pegon 69 The jaranan breng 69 TI1ejarana11kepang 70

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Contents

vi The jaranan buta 70 Conclusion 73

IV

V

..

Performances by horse dance groups Introduction 77 Occasions for performances by horse dance groups 78 Kaul 78 Family celebrations: weddings and circumcisions 79 Village or neignbourhood community celebrations 80 Community celebrations by private or government institutions Processions 81 Itinerant horse danl2 groups (jaranan barangan) 84 The kuda kepang ir Jombor 84 Comments 87 The jathilan in Yogyakarta 88 Comments 89 Sedentary horse dance groups 90 The slametan, a typical ritual in Javanese society 91 The slametan for young people in Menang 94 Comments 94 The slametan for yo ung people in Mlorah 96 Comments 97 A horse dance demonstration by Samboyo Putro 97 Comments 98 Bu Dhukun's surprise in Menang 99 Comments 101 The blessing of the penis (njurungi planangan) in Surnberagung Comments 103 The performance for a konduran 105 Comments 105 Ad hoc groups in Yogyaj
77

81

103

JJ1

115

Contents

viii

IX

The character of the opening dances in Pulihrejo Introducti!iln 215 Explanation of the symbols 218 Jaranan nem: the dance of the six horsemen 220 Comments 22~ Jaranan pat: the dance of the four horsemen 224 Comments 226 Jaranan ro: the dance of the two horsemen 226 Comments 227 Kucingan: the dance of Toh Bagus , Pujangga-Anom, Singakumb ,·!1g, Kethek, and Macan 227 Comments 228 Barongan-celengan:the dance of the six horsemen, Toh Bagus, Singabarong, and Kala Srenggi 229 Comments 231

215

X

The element of play in the performance in Pulihrejo Introduction 233 The wayang play (jaranan ro) 234 Comments 236 Interlude: a bridhen dance led by youths from Samboyo Putro Comments 238 The action in act four (kucingan) 239 Comments 244 The final act (barongan-celcngan) 245 Comments 247 The character of the performance in Pulihrejo 249

233

XI

Conclusion

238

251

Append ix: Transciiption of the CD recording

257

Bibliograph y

273

Ind ex

285

Contents The offerings 125 The closing ceremony VI

VII

vii

131

The trance Introdu ction 133 The trance of the four horsemen, a helper and several spectators Comments 141 The triggering of the trance, and the trance master's role 142 The different phases of the trance 146 The entry of a spirit 147 The surrender to the trance 150 The 'recovery' of the trance dancers 162 The dangers of the trance 164 The significance of the trance 166 The significance of the horse dance legend Introduction 169 The horse dance legend according to Harjono 170 Comments 172 The earliest reports of the horse dance legend 172 Comments 174 A few Central Javanese horse dance legends 175 The story of Prince Panji and Pdncess Sekar Taji 175 Comments 175 The downfall of Ki Ageng Mangir 176 Comments 176 The legend as told by Samboyo Putro members 177 The story of Dewi Sanggalangit 2ccording to Pak Samboyo 179 Comments 180 The story of Dewi Sanggalangit according to Pak Dhalang 181 Comments 181 The symbolism of the barong 182, The significance of th e legend for the horse dance 184

133 135

169

,.

PART THREE

Th em e and va riati ons: the performance in Pulihr ejo VIII

Pak Dh ala ng's verbal cont ribut ion in Puli hrejo l:1troduction 187 Th e s tru ctur e cf th e pe rform a nce 1 7 Th e ro le p laved by Pak Dha lang 18 The presentation of th e legend 190 Comments 197 TI 1E: remai nin g, chanted contrib uti ons 198 Comm ent s 207 Pak Dhal ang's contri buti on as ma s ter of ceremoni es 208 Comm ent s 213

187

Acknowledgements

The manuscript about the horse dance groups Samboyo Putro and Haswo Usodo of Kediri was ready in 1991. As a result of a variety of circumstances it became lost, however. Because I meanwhile became involved in a number of other projects, I left the material untouched for many years. A later rereading of the fragments still remaining in my possession prompted me to make another attempt at writing up this material. By that time I had been back to Kediri twice . In 1992 I had been lucky enou~h to make a renewed acquaintance with the Samboyo Putro compan y, for the greater part still intact, though under a new leader . I was even able to attend one of the performances of the group in that year . By 1997 the company had ceased to be . Only its name still survived , having been adopted by a new group in another place. The performances of the first Samboyo Putro took place wholly within the Suharto period (1966-1998) , which had meanwhile also become a thing of the past. Hence for both the period concerned appeared to be a closed period. This provided me with an extra stimulus to go into the material on the horse dance and the trance once more , as it was no w possible to observe the functionin g of a sp ecific group in a particul ar hist orical period from a g reater distan ce. M any peo ple h ave contributed to th e complet ion of th e mono graph as it is n ow. Th e m enti on of onl y th e n am es of the auth or and the translator on the titl e p age is ju stified by the fact th at, eve n if thi s b oo k could not ha ve been w ritt en w ithou t the h elp of so m an y, th e au th or bea rs sole re sponsibili ty for ,my shortcomi:1gs that ma y mar it. If aii the people who helpe d me in one way or anothe1 were to be mentioned , the list would become too Jong . Hence I will only m en tion a numb er of perso ns. To the others 1 just wisl, to say: Thank yo u for all yo ur help and supp or t, both in the field and at home. Your read iness to discuss and advise, to offer constructive critic ism, to stimul ate me and to provide practical solutions has been inva!uable to me . The persons I wish to thank especially are : Marije Duijke r, for her wa rm frie n dship, h er unceasing readiness to lend a listening ea r, and her wo n der ful company on the unforgettable trip we made togethe r thro u gh East Jav a in 1992; Els Bcg aerts, for reading through the manuscript and p rov id ing con-

X

Ack nowledgements

structive criticism and suggestions again and again with unflagging interest and concern; I. Supri yanto , for his constant preparedness to correct the Javanese texts; Fridus Steijlen provided valuable assistance with putting portions of my recordings on the cd that accompanies this book. Pak Hadi, my regular becak driver, I thank for his readiness to take me wherever I wanted to go, for the lively interest he showed in the interviews and performances, and for afterwards sharing his impressions with me, often surprising me with novel ways of looking at things ; Pak Usodo of Haswo Usodo for his patience and kindness in answering my many questions; the Sukaton family , my neighbours in Kediri, and Pak Wijono, the Wedana of Pare , and his family for introducing me to many different aspects of East Javanese society; and the late Bertha Humardani of Solo and Ne! Postma and Soejatni of Jakarta for their never-ending warm hospitality. This English version of the book is the outcome of close, harmonious consultation and teamwork between the author and the translator. The act of translating, as I experienced once again, has a dynamism all its own and is apt to give the original text an added dimension . Hence the translator's name is justifiably mentioned on the title page. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from the BIS (Bureau Indonesische Studien , Indonesian Studies Bureau), the executive office of the PRIS (Programma Indonesische Studien , Indonesian Smdies Programme) , in Leiden. Much appreciated assis tance was obtained from UPI (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, Indonesian Institute for the Sciences) in Jakarta and from STSI (Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia , College of Indonesian Arts) in Solo. The English translation from the original Dutch was funded by NWO (Nederlandse Org anis atie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek , Ne therl ands Organization for Scienti fic Resear ch) in 's-Grav enha ge. This book is dedicated to the memory of Con stanzo Italo Prospero Camilo Caesarino Sandri.no (Papalo) Clara and Maria Joh anna M;irtina (Vic) van Groenendael, who p assed the n ecessary talents on to me ; Anna Johann a (i \.nn.ie) Moerkercken van der Meulen , w ho h elp ed me de veiop th ese taients ; and to th e memor y of Pak Samb oyo Sukiman of Moj oroto , Kediri , th e leader of the jnrnnn11San,b oyo Put rn, an d of Ibu Tir tas ud ar ma (Mbah Darm o) o f Brilu,,·a rti, Solo, w ho was al\\'ays ready :og ive m e pr actical help and ad v ice thro u ghou t my var iou s stays in Indo nes ia.

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Map J. Kabupaten and Daerah Istimewa of the island of Java

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Part One

The dramatic genre of the horse dance (jaranan)

CHAPTER

I

The horse dance (jaranan) Preludein Pulihrejoand introduction to SamboyoPutro On the morning of Saturday, 12 April 1986, the village of Pulihrejo (Plosoklaten), in the foothills of the East Javanese Mount Gunung Kelud, was preparing for a nocturnal celebration . The Kediri horse dance group Jaranan Samboyo Putro was to come and give a performance on the occasion of the circumcision of one of the bo ys of the community. The village was all abustle the whole day to have everytlung ready in time for the festivities . The yard in front of a cluster of houses, including that of the sponsor of the celebration , Pak Begja, was swept clean. On one side of the compound a number of mats were spread on the ground. Some y0tmg men were putting up strings of lights in t..1.etrees surrounding the ya rd and connecting these to a generator hired especially for the evening by the host. A few technicians were setting up microphones and loudspeakers, producing awesome squeaking noises , followed by the words tes, tes, tes, satu-dua-tiga ('test, test, test, one-two-three '), from time to time. A truck delivered some met al chair s and tab les, which th e young people arranged in rows in front of one of the hou ses. These were immediatel y occupied by a group of elderly m en, w ho then pr qceed ed to watch and comment on the activities in and around the yar d, smoking and chatting. From a mark ed off area behind the houses was to be heard the chatter of wome n and youn g girls, w ho were bus y cooking rice, gratir1g greet qua..11titiesof coconuts and chopping and grinding all kinds of herb s and spices. Now and then some guests arri ved, th e wo m en d isappea ring behind the house v,, ith th eir contributi ons in kin d, and their hu sbands join ing th e g rou p of old me;i in the fron t yard. In th e d istr ict capita l Kedir i, som e twent y-five kilom etres to th e wes t, the h orse d ance comp any Samb oyo Putro .iikew ise made pr epara tions for the fes tivities later th at d ay. By ab out th ree in th e afte rnoon m ost of th e memb ers of th e group , some accom p anied by th eir w ives, h ad ga th ered in front of the h ouse of Pak 1 Sambo yo, the leade r of the com pan y. They carried outside Pak, an abb re,· ia tion o f bapak , ' fath er ' (Jav an ese bapa), is the p olite Ind onesian term of add ress an d refe ren ce for m ale adu lts.

4

Jaranan

The horses being put in readiness for conve yance to Pulihrejo . Photograph by author.

all the theatrical requisites, such as bamboo hor ses, masks, a leather puppet representing a w ild boar , whips , baskets containing costumes, gamelan instruments, and a numb er of oth er p araph ernali a, and set them out at the side of the road . Whe n all was in readin ess, th ey stoo d laughin g and jokin g toge th er, wa itin g for th e car th at w as 'to convey them w ith all this to the venue of th e p erform anc e. After a long wa it an ope n-b acke d tru ck arri ved . The dri ve r was one of the members of Samboyo Putr o . As soo n as the trnck pull ed u p, everyo n e hel ped to ioad the equipmen t ont o it. Th en a few m emb ers of th e group got onto their mopeds , p referring th eir ow n mea n s of tr anspor t to ge t to Pulihrejo . Most of th e oth ers clambered into the open tra y of the truck among the tl,eatrical prop s, howeve r. I was g iven a sea t in the cabin. At last we se t off, just before five o'clock . After picking up the female singer as well, who sa t dowi1 beside m e, we drove in an easterly di rec tion tow2.rds Kelud. En route, th e performers were constantly making mus ic. Eve ry time the trnck passed a village or a grou p of people by the side of the road, th e d estination of the comp any was anno unced through a megaphone and the passers-by were in vited to come and watch the sho w. As we cam e closer to Pulihrejo , we were continually ove rtaking groups of pe opi e likewise heading for the place of th e festivities. Th e wo men and children were carr ying bask ets or trays of fruit and ot h er refreshments as their contrib u tion to the feast.

I The horse dance

5

The group Samboyo Putro ready for departure. Photograph by author .

By the time the truck arrived in Pulihrejo it was dark. We drove through the village and then turned into the compound of the factory where the performance was to take place, manoeuvring with some difficulty through a gate w ay. The mus icians immediatel y unload ed their instruments and proceeded to arrang e them , w ith the assistance of a number of youths , on m ats spread on the ground especi ally for =this purpose .2 As so on as everything was in th e right pl ace, th ey starte d pl ayin g. The d anc ers had mea,.'1w hil e tak en char ge of th e tw o b askets cont ainin g th e cos tume s. Wi th th ese the y disappea red into the m akeshift dress ing roo m, a curt ained- off are a betwee n two h ou ses stan d ing close tog ether. Pak Samboyo was m ea n w hile wa tchin g how a few wo m en from Pu lihr ejo we re p uttin g b askets and bow ls of food on two tables placed on either side of th e entr ance to the dre ss ing room. They put two bucke ts of wate r w ith kenanga flowers un de r one of th e tab les an d tied a hen to the tab le by one of its leg s. Ab ove th e tab le a large b ann er w ith th e nam e an d full addr ess of the com p an y on it was pu t u p . Fir1ally, one of the wo m en brou ght in a burn er w ith charcoa l and lumps of incense . Pak Sajen, who was respo n sible for th e food for the offer in gs (sajen) an d the p hys ical comfo rt of th e actors, put th e m asks See the dr aw ing of th e compound

in Pulihr ejo, Chapt er VI, p . 136.

In the dressingroom.

Phot ograph by auth or .

The sacrificial chicken tied to a leg of the table with offerings . Photograph by author .

Samboyo Putro's banner. Photograph

by author.

8

Jaranan

that had been brought along on display beside the food on the tables. In the meantime some Samboyo Putro helpers were checking the yard for stones, branches and any other bits and pieces against which the performers might hurt themselves. After a careful inspection they carried the horses, masks, whips and slompret (a kirid of shawm) to the cer.tre of the performance area, placing them on a few new mats -spread on the ground. While all this was going on, new guests and curious bystanders were continually entering the yard, so that there was a constant coming and going. At about seven thirty all the necessary preparations were completed and the members of Samboyo Putro assembled near the props in the centre of the performance area. Th~ horse dance performance was ready to begin .

The aim of this book

The above description of the preparations for a performance by the horse dance company Samboyo Putro brings us to the subject of the present monograph : the dramatic folk genre of the horse dance (jaranan,derived from jaran, 'horse'), which I studied in the mid-1980s. This popular group from Kediri was active between 1971 and 1997, that is to say, in the period of the so-called Orde Baru or New Order,3 the era of Suharto, the second president of the Indonesian Republic (1966-1998).4 The Suharto government from the beginning faced numerous problems, most of which are beyond the scope of this monograph. For the present purposes I shall discuss only two of these, namely the question of the role of traditional 'artists' 5 in the realization of the government-planned development of Indonesia into an economically stroi1g modern nation, and the issue of the reiation between the centre and. the regions in the creation of an Indonesian cultural identity . · One of the chief reactions of the Suharto regime to the problem of the economic malaise in Indon esia - a legacy from th e Sukarno period - was Ll-ielaunchin g of a succession of five-yea r pla 11s, Repelita (an acron ym for 3

The p eriod of Suharto 's presid e11cy, thu s nam ed to di stinguish it from the pre vious peri od of So~karn o, the first pr es id :mt of h1donesia (from 1945 to 1966), \\·hich from then or. was refe rr ed to .as the Orde Lama or Old Order (Mus kens 1970:259). 4 Soekarno res ign ed h 's PO\·ver s to Su harto by letter of 11 March 1966, w hi ch ha s si11ce become known as Supersemar ('St•rat Perimah Sebebs Ma ret', 'Staa tsbrief/Besluit [van] e!f maarf) . Suharto resigned under p ressur<, from the stude nt populat;o:, orr 21 May 1998, when Hab1b1 was sworn m as third president of Indones ia (Elson 2001:xv, xix). This at the sa me time marked the end of the ew Order. 5 The traditional ' arti st' was more a craftsman (tukang) than an artist (Ind ones ian: s~11iman)in the modern ":'estern sense of the word . Java nese has no specia l wo rd for 'a rtist ', but paraphrases it as wong u/a11kagunan (111g)ka11g edi-edi, 'someone str iving 3fte r a precious skill ' (Pigeaud 1982).

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Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun, 'Five-Year Development Plan') . To make the implementation of these plans a success. the government needed to be able to rely on an effective parliament supported by a party that would unconditionally endorse its targets and be capable of mobilizing the population. To achieve this latter aim, a special role was assigned to, among others, the exponents of traditional performing -artists. This was on the one hand because the latter give performances all over the country, down to the smallest hamlets, and so are in a much better position than the government to reach many people directly. On the other hand it was because they speak the language of local rural populations - agriculturists constituting the largest population group in still predominantly agrarian Indonesia - better than the bureaucrats .6 As we shall see, there is an obvious link between this government policy and the formation of Samboyo Putro. The second important problem was how to give shape to an Indonesian identity in a country with such a great diversity of regional (mostly ethnic) population groups and cultures. Was the emphasis to be on the development of a national culture, or was the Indonesian identity to be realized by stimulating the development of regional cultures in accordance with the demands of a modem society? In other words, which was the better option: the component 'unity' of the Indonesian motto 'Bhinneka Tunggal lka' , 'Unity in Diversity', or conversely, that of 'diversity'? 7 The choices made in this connection were of great consequence for the development of the regions, and in particular for the degree of freedom of the regions in shaping this development in their own individual way. Under the New Order the accent has always come to lie explicitly on unity. An important means towards the desired end was a clearer definition of the Panc asila stat~ philosoph y, first articulated by Soekamo in the prelude to Indonesian ir1dependence .8 The defj._nitionof the five (panca) basic principles 6

I have elabo ra ted this poin t in m y publicat i on on the ro le of the Javanese p up petee r (dhalang) (Clara van Gr oene n dae l 1985). A sim ilar argume nt for involving loca l tra d itior.al arti s ts in the government 's natio11al developmen t programme has been pu t forwa rd by Wf'sley Gulto m (1985). H e was writing ab ou t a d istrict in West Kalimantan , which shows th at th is was not a local prac tice. 7 Th e d efinit\ 9n of _th~ Jnd on_esian id entit y h as bee n a subj ect of d ebate ever sin ce th e rise of nationa lirn 1 at the beg inn ing o f the twe:1tie th centun ·. Yamin , for instance, held the view that cul tur al ly Ind on es ia haLi a lways co ns titu ted a unit y, a bangsn budnyn ('cu lt~r al nat io:i'), but politica lly ha-i onl y rece ntl y bee n tr ansfo rm ed in to one, a bnngsn 11egnrn('po lit ical nat ion') . Ham ka ga,·e mu ch mo re p romi nence to the reEgious an d ethn ic d ive rsity, on :he o the r hand, an d ar gu ed that , seeing that the whole was composed of many parts , Indonesian unity w as dependent o;i the region s (Deliar Noer 1979:257). 8 Th e five them es formulat ed in Soekam o's Panc .;sila sp eech of 1 J~me 1945 are: l. nationalism; 2. hum ani ty ; 3. repr esen tati on (Ind ones ian-style d em oc racy); 4. soc ial ju s tice; and 5. belief in on e god (in w h a tever way this was prof esse d: in accord ance with the tenets of Islam , Chri s tiani ty, or wh atever oth e r religi on). Th e la tter was soo n elevate d int o th e first of th e five pill a rs (Musk ens l 970 :149-62).

10

Jaranan

(sila, literally 'pilJar') was continually refined and came to be applied to every possible area of public life. One subject of ongoing debate was the definition of the religious article , formulated in what had meanwhile become the first pillar, Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa ('Belief in the One and Only God '). The interpretation of this article was crucial for the position of folk religions , and by extension for that of the traditional dramatic genres that are an expression of regional religious beliefs . In this monograph I shall try to show what, and how great, has been the effect of this debate on the dramatic genre of the horse dance, a regional folk genre that has been classed as one of the most characteristic 'traditional art forms' (kesenian tradisional) of East Java. I shall do so with reference to a few horse dance groups in Kediri, in particular the Samboyo Putro company, the preparations for whose performance in Pulihrejo have been described above. Before going into the performance by Samboyo Putro in Pulihrejo in greater depth, I shall discuss some aspects of performances by horse dance groups in general, and by Samboyo Putro in particular, in a number of separate chapters. Here we shall see that the horse dance is not an isolated phenomenon, but has borrowed much from other manifestations of the Javanese dramatic tradition, such as the mask dance (topeng), the shadow theatre (wayang kulit), the dance-drama with singing derived from the latter (wayang wong), play scenarios (lakon), and historical accounts (babad).

Arrangement of the book This monograph is divided into eleven chapters, arranged in three parts. Pa.t One , 'The dramatic genre of the ho rse dance (jaranan)' (Chapters I and II), presents a general introduction. Fart Two, 'Aspects of the genre of the horse dance' (Chapters III-VII), gives more detailed information on the genre of the hor se dance as manifest in the present and past. In Part Three, 'Theme and va riations: th e performance in Pulihrejo', the subjects discussed thus far are given a more factual bas is in a description of three important aspects of Sambo yo Putro's pe rform ance in Pulihrejo (Chapters VIII-X). This part is rounded off with a general conclusion (Ch;:ipter XI). In the present chapter we have made ou r acquaintance with the two focal point s of the mono graph : th e village of·P ulihrej o an d the horse dance group Samboyo Putro. In Chapter II a description will be given of the phenomenon of the horse d ance in Java, followed by a discussion of a number of issues that were prominent in the rapidly chang1ng society of Suharto's Indonesia in the period 1966-1998, and which 3.ffected the appreciation of th e horse dance as a traditional dramatic genre . This general int roduc tion wi ll be followed by an expos ition of the different

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aspects of the horse dance. In Chapter III, for instance , we will make a closer acquaintance with the Samboyo Putro company and compare it with other types of horse dance groups in East Java . The descriptions here are based partly on personal observation in both East and Central Java, and partly on official reports drawn up by regional and local governments in East Java by order of the central government in Jakarta. The aim of the latter was to gain an insight into the cultural heritage of the various regions, in particular as regards dramatic genres. I shall investigate to what extent these reports meet this objective. In Chapter Iv, I will go into the question as to the kinds of occasion for wl--ich horse dance groups give performances and what may be concluded from this about the significance of the horse dance for the community. The rituals accompanying or preceding performances by Samboyo Putro and other horse dance groups will be discussed in Chapter V. The object of these rituals is to ensure the success of the performance and to prevent mishaps . This is crucial because, as will be shown in Chapter VI, in the course of performances by companies like Samboyo Putro the dancers and other actors, and sometimes also members of the audience, go into a trance. We shall try and find out the significance of the trance for the dancers involved and how the performance of the trance dancers is perceived by the audience. Chapter VII will discuss the different horse dance legends in order to find an answer to the question of the horse dance in general and for importance of the legend for the genre of L1-ie the Samboyo Putro company in particular . After thus dealing with each particular aspect of the horse dance as a dram::itic genre and explaining the vie,vs about each aspect held by the members of Samboyo Putro , I shall return to the opening theme of this book and describe the perfom1ance by thi s group in Pulihrejo step by step as a followup to t,'-\eea rlier description of the preparations. The performance will be discussed from three different p erspectives . Samboyo Putro appeared to be an wmsual group in its sort, in th e sense that the trance master (gambuh), who was the leader of the dancers , was assisted by a narrator-singer (dhalang), who played a part simila r to that of the narrator -singer of the wayang theatre, in particular wayang wong. 9 Samboyo Putro in its performances thu s gave grea ter prominence than other horse dance gro ups to the verbal as.pect_lOChapte r VIII looks at the different kinds of spoken a;id chant ed text of the dha/ang (recordin gs of which are on tr.e cd), preced ed by an outline of the structure of the performance. Chapter IX con-

9

Wayang wong is a danc e-dr ama with sin ging that was grafted onto the shadow theatre and was d eveloped in Surakarta in the nineteenth century . It has humans inst ead of puppets playing the various roles and is accompanied by a gamelan o rchest ra led by a narrator (d/w/ang) . 10 evertheless, the verbal aspect also plays some sort of a role in ho rse da1xe groups ,vithout a dha/a11g.

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Jaranan

tains a description of the opening dances of the respective acts up to the point where the first dancers go into a trance . In Chapter X attention will be given to the components of the play that are closely connected with the trance, in which a varying number of members of the audience took an active part. We shall see how, partly as a result of this, the performance took on the character of a kind of communal game. By way of conclusion I shall try and formulate an answer in Chapter XI to my key question, namely how the horse dance group Samboyo Putro, as the exponent of a traditional dramatic gc.;.re, came to be the most popular group but one of the town of Kediri 11 in the very period in which the tradition came under pressure from the government as well as from society. In other words, what was responsible for Sarnboyo Put,o's success?

11

'Kediri' is the name of :he urb an municipality (kotamndya), here after simply called 'town', as well as of the district (kabupaten) of which it is the capital. Unless otherwise stated, I shall use the name for both.

CHAPTER

II

The horse dance under the Orde Baru The horse dance in Java Nothing is known about the origin of the horse dance in Java. The earliest description of a performance by horse dancers as far as I know is to be found in the Serat Centhini, a Javanese picaresque romance from the beginning of the nineteenth century (Pigeaud 1967:228-9). Here we read the following, in Canto 291, stanza 37, about a number of mythical beings (gandarwa) and 'horsemen' mounted on bamboo horses (kepang): The gandarwa flourish swords those mounted on kepang snort and kick backward like a horse neighing and rearing. 1 Horse dances, according to this fragment, are performances by dancers 'mounted' on small , flat bamboo (and sometimes leather) horses. Performances by dancers on horses like this are found all over Java ,. among the Sundanese of West Java as well as among the Javanese of Central and East Java (Pigeaud 1938:215-43). Th.G.Th. Pigeaud, who .was one of the first to devote a detailed study to this kind of folk entertai~ent,2 believed that it was originally a Javanese dramatic form that was adopted by the Sundanese via Cirebon (Pige aud 1938:216). Am ong the Madure se it was found onl y among those group s living in East Java, he believed .3 It is difficult to establish at this juncNgikal lameng gandarwo ~molak -m a lik / kang anumpak kep2ng i pindha kud a (m )be kos (n)jondhil / mbenging eh alunjak-lu njak (Kamajaya 1988, JV:161). 2 Various d esc ripti ons of hcrse dance performance s had been publish ed befo re Pige aud , wh o ha s so:-:1etime_s quoted extens ively fro m ti1ese. PigPaud was the f:rst auth or to attempt an explanatio n of the impo rt.ence of th;s kind of pe rformari .ce, however. 3 Pigeaud i 938:242-3. Th ere were performances ieatu ring dancing h orses , jcran nandhar., jar,111 joged o r jar,111kencr.k, on the is land of Madu ra, b u t these were real horses. 111ey probab ly had little or no connection "';th th e ho rse dances discussed in thi s bo ok (compare Pigeaud 1938:208-9). Pige aud supp osed that there was possibly so me sort of rela tion, howeve r, betwee n these dancing horse p erformanc es and the mane/an or jaranan ho rse pe rformanc es, found likewi se am ong the Madure se, in which the d ancers stand in a kind of bamb oo fram ewo rk in the shape of a horse

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Jaranan

ture whether the horse dance is originally Javanese, in fact. What is clear, however, is that it onl y occurs sporadically in Madura at present. 4 In Kediri the term for horse dance performances is jaranan (derived from jaran,low Javanese 5 for 'horse') or reyog. The latter term is somewhat vaguel y defined by Pigeaud as ' a kind of street performance involving the horse dance, using a kind of hobby-horse ', but also as 'hand-to-hand fight or procession '. 6 In East Java we find the following genres of horse dance: jaranan jawa,

jarananpegon,jaranan sentherewe,jaranankepang,reyogpanaraga,7jaranan breng, and jaranan buta. With the exception of the latter two, these also occur in Kediri (Buku inventarisasi 1981; Data organisasikesenian1985). These types are mutually distinguishable as regards actors ' costumes , number and kinds of theatrical props, characters and roles, and musical instruments . The horses after which the performance is named are made of screens of woven bamboo (kepang)cut into the shape of horses without legs . To stop the wickerwork from fraying, the edges are clamped between two thick bamboo strips . They are sometimes referred to as jaran kepang or kuda kepang (kuda being the high Javanese word for 'horse ' ), after this wickerwork. In some regions in Java we come across the term kuda lumping, as the horses there are made of lumping or leather (Kartomi 1973b:20). Clifford Geertz observed that the horses in Pare (a sub-di strict of Kediri) were made of paper (Geertz 1964:262). This also seems to be the case in Tengger (East Java), where the use of paper inste ad of bamboo appear s to have something to do with a belief in the magical potency of bamboo . This plant, which is subject to certain taboos in Tengger , is allegedl y held to be too dangerous as a material for the horses .8 (Pigea ud 1938:207 -8). H e m ay h ave bee n refer rin g h ere to w h at H elene Bou vier calls cheva l-iup on j avanai, or kuda lum ping, a kind of h::,rse d ance -drama that sh e d oes not desc rib e furth er (Bou vie r 1994:98, 139). Thi s horse dance genre , w hich wa s u nknow n at th e tim e of m y resea rch in Kec!iri . is be yond th e scope of the presen t stud y. ' 4 Bou vier 1994:98, 139. Elly Touwen -Bouw sm a's di ary en try (from aroun d 1979) de scribin g the p erformance of a ho rse da n ce group in a neighbourho od of the town of Sampa n g, wh ich sh e kind ly plac ed at m y di s p osa l, sug ges ts that tran ce danc ing on w ickerwork h orses (dj hatilan kepa n6 ) did sti ll occu r in Mad ur a a t th at time. 5 Javanese is a stratified lan guage, th at is to say, wo rd choic e, an d som etimes also syn tax, is d if-fe ren tiated acco rding to the statu s of the person add ressed or spo ken about. Low Javanese is u sed for per sons of the same s tatu s as the speake r, high Javanese for persons of higher social status. 6 Pigeaud 1982. The term rJyog does not always refe r to hor se dancin g. hc,we,·er. In \\"est Ja,·a , and elsewhe:-e as we !!, it is a term for a musi.:al dan ce-dr i:ma which fea~ures no horse dancers (Pigeaud 1938:7.51-2). Or igiPating trom Ponorogo, th e reyog is a populcr perfo rm ance of hv o or more horse da n cers, four to seven musicians, a mas k da n cer (Pri:ice Bujan gg anong) and a tiger monste r w ith a huge mask covered w it.'. peaco ck fcalhE:cs {Singaba rong), which is l.,as2d or, the Panji legf'nd (Go Tik Swan 1971; Sug iarso 2003; Ayu Suta rto 1992). 7 I reg ard the reyog pannraga, like the jnranan jawa and jaran,m breng, as a spec ific genre, which is also fou!ld outside the kabupnten of Pon orogo . I ha ve the refo re rende red the term in th e Javanese spe lling and without initia l capi tais. 8 Persona l comm u n icat ion by the Swiss anthropol og ist Barbara Luem , No vember 1986.

I

II Th e horse dance under the Orde Baru

15

Both the bamboo and !he leather horses are generally painted and decorated with beads and small bells . For the horses' manes and tails the fibres of the areca palm, which look like horsehair, are often used, though the manes may also be made of strips of red and white cotton. Sometimes the horse's legs are painted on the flat bod y. The term jaran ebleg or kuda ebleg likewise refers to bamboo wickerwork as a basic material for the horses (ebleg, variant of eblek, 'wickerwork screen'). 9 Other words for theatrical entertainments featuring horse dancing are jathilan (derived from jathil, 'young male dancer') in Central Java (Inggris 1923:98), kuda ebeg (ebeg,'decorated pommel') in Banyumas (Kartomi 1973b:20), prajuritan (derived from prajurit, ' soldier', hence indicating the rider of such a horse) in Semarang (Kartomi 1973b:20), and turangga10 in Trenggalek. We often find the word turangga, a poetic word for 'horse', as part of the name of a horse dance company. In Kediri I found names like Turangga Sekti ('Supernaturally Endowed Horse ' ), Turangga Mudha or Turangga Anom ('Young Horse'), Turangga Jati ('True Horse '), Turangga Jaya ('Winning Horse') , Turangga Warsita ('Skilled in Horse Dancing'), Turangga Seta ('White Horse', in the sense of 'pure'), or Krida Turangga ('Experience in Horse Dancing') (Data crganisasi kesenian 1985). In Tulungagung I came across the name Wahyu Turonggo Budo yo ('Culture Horse Conveying Divine Blessing') , moreover, and in Trenggalek, finally, Turonggo Yakso ('Monster Horse ').

The popularity of the horse dance in Kediri An official survey of the different dram ati c genres in East Java conducted in the years 1983 and 1984 show that in the 1980s horse dance performances were the mo st popular genre but one in Kediri . At the time of this survey, 1,345 horse dance performances were regis tered for the di stric t (kabupaten) and municipalily (kotamadya) of Kediri combined, ove r against 2,134 shadow pl ay (wuyang kulit) performances. Following well behind these two types of theatrical en tertainm ent we re kethoprak,11 in third pla ce with 633 performances, biduan (Indon esian, ' femal e singe r'), in fourth pl ace w( th 581, ludruk, 12 in fifth plac e ln ggris (1923 :98) lis ts ebregas a varia nt of ebleg,tr~ns lat ing thi s wo rd as 'ho rse's jcg'. Pigeaud (1982) ctoes not list thi s ,·ariant in his dictionary , which does, howeve r, ha, ·e an ent ry 11geji':g, 'p rance, to nm at a trot (of a h orse). 10 Pe~scnal e0mmunicv.tim1 by an omcial of the arts bu rea u (Ka ntor Kesenian ) of the district o f Trenggalek. 11 Kethoprak is a relative ly recent comm ercial folk the a tr e genre originat in g in Centr al Jav a (Yogyakarta) (Hat ley 1973:40). 12 Lik e kethopmk, /udrnk is a relati vely rece nt comm e rcial fo lk th eat re ge nre o rigin at in g in Sur abaya (Peacock 1968; H at ley 1973:-!0). 9

l

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Jaranan

with 499, and wayang wong,13 in sixth place with 384 performances (Dataorganisasi kesenian 1985). As far as the shadow pla y and horse dance are concerned, these figures relate only to performances by non-commercialized groups that , at least in Kediri , were given only in the context of family and community celebrations or on behalf of pri vate organizations or government agencies. In the case of the other four types there are also groups operating on a commercial basis. It is not clear from the data, however , whether these were also included in the survey, though I suspect that they were. Biduan, the singing of popular songs, usually to the accompaniment of an orchestra, differed from the other five types in its modem character and in that, at any rate in Kediri, it was exclusively an urban phenomenon (Data organisasikesenian 1985).14 The great popularity of the horse dance in Kediri district is apparent from the fact that 73 of the 345 village communities (desa) in dll, 15 or an average of almost one in five, had one or more horse dance groups of their own . Their distribution over the district was rather uneven, however. The largest concentrations of horse dance companies were in the sub-districts (kecamatan)of Kandat, Mojo and Kras, to the south of Kediri town. For these areas, twelve, eight and six village municipalities with one or more horse dance groups of their own were registered respectively (Data organisasikesenian 1985). As regards frequency of performances, the above report indicates that for the groups in Kediri district i:he situation was slightly less favourable than for those in Kediri town at the time of the survey. TI1e 117 registered companies in the district of Kediri together gave 926 performances in the period 19831984, which come s to an average of almost eight performances per group . This figure was inflated by the data of three groups from two villages to the southeast of the sub-distr ict capital , Pare . For these , 200, 100, and 50 per formances respective ly were registered for the rele vant period . 1hese figures cam ouflage the fact th at a large number of registered groups had given onl y one to thr ee performances in the period of the survey, while a few had given none at all, and so to all intents and purp oses were defunct . In Kediri tow n th e average number of p erformances was apprecia bl y hi gher, th e 18 gro up s 13

A dance-Jr2ma ,vith s jnging derived from the shadov v theatre , in ,,v hich the parts are p:ayed bv humans instead o f puppets. 14 As ide from Kedi ri, bid11<111 wa5 alsc found in the district s of Jombang (w ith ten perfo nn an ces in th e rel eva nt researc h period) and Banvuwangi (388 performances ). -:-hese district s inc!L:de r.0 urban mi.!nicipalities (l:ot,;111adya) with an administratio n of their ·Jw n, and it is not clear from th ese figures wheth,:, r th e performances concerned too k place exclusively in c.:rban areas o:- per haps also in villag-'5 . 15 TI1is numb er is only a rough approximati on, as the data from the Kediri district off ice on which I base myself d o not tally wholly with the data from th e re spective sub-distri cts (kecamatm,). As a resul t of divi sion s and fusions , th e to tal number oi villages tend s to vary considerably. It is n o t impr obabl e that the res ultant mut ations we re n o t alwa ys entered stra ightawa y in the district records.

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II The horse dance under the Orde Baru rn-

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registered there having given an average of well over 23 performances in this period. This figure again was positively influenced by the Samboyo Putro company, from the neighbourhood of Bandar-lor in the neighbourhood (kalurahan) of Mojoroto , which with 140 performances towered far above the other groups (Data organisasi kesenian 1985). This group, led by Pak Samboyo, also turned out to be the most popular horse dance company in the town of Kediri during my field research in East Java in the period 1985-1986. A possible reason for the larger number of performances by the horse dance groups of Kediri town is that the majority of their leaders, namely ten of the eighteen, occupied a slightly higher rung on the social ladder than their colleagues in the villages . They held functions in the army or, in the case of Pak Samboyo, in the police force, in teaching, or in government offices like the Cultural Affairs Bureau (Kantor Kebudayaan), or were members of the village or neighbourhood administration (pamong desa). The relatively higher status of their leaders served as a boost to the prestige of these groups. Through these leaders they moreover had easier access to a more affluent sector of society, which tended to increase their chances of giving performances. Samboyo Putro's success was without any doubt attributable in large part to the social status of its leader. The supporters of the horse dance

For the members of horse dance groups - dancers, musicians and helpers - participation in horse dance performances is always only a sideline. fa daily life they are mostly peasants or agricultural workers, artisans, traders or labourers . Their audiences generally comprise members of similar kinds of occupational groups. Hence the horse dance relies largely on the agrarian population and the urban proletariat . for its support. The leaders of horse dance companies, as we have seen, generally occupy a slightly higher rung on the social ladder than the other memb ers. As a rule the y are the owners of the stage requisites, costumes, musical instruments and other paraph ernalia. Although they usuall y enjoy a slig htl y better income than the m embers of the ir troup e, for a var iety of reasons the y often live only just above the poverty line, just like them. Their groups share in the u ps an d downs of their financial situ atio n. Participation in hor se dance performances seldo m offe :-s the acto rs sub stan tial financial advantages. It is not in fact the money, bt.:t the personal challen ge of p erfo rmin g and the feeling of belonging somew here th at is their prime concern. In ad d itio n they d erive a certain degree of fame from takii,g pact in perforr..ances, which lifts them above th e gene r al anon ymity of their existence. In the circle of their relati ves, friends and neighbour s the y usually enjoy a certain reputati on as interpreter of the p ar t th ey play in the p erform -

18

Jaranan

ance, and are often addressed accordingl y. The above figur~s show that in Kediri horse dancing was a popular form of entertainment in the 1980s. Samboyo Putro in fact owed much of its success to the interest taken in this genre by the community of Kediri, besides the enthusiasm of its actors and the connections of its leader. Family as well as community celebrations in Java as a rule take place in the public arena and are therefore accessible to everyone. The host or hostess will preferably opt for an entertainment genre that is popular in his or her town or village, in the hope of thus attracting a large audience (Umar Kayam 2001:256). The choice of a particular form of entertainment accordingly is often a measure of the popularity of that genre in the sponsor's surroundings. Therefore the audiences turning out spontaneously to watch horse dance performances should also be classed among the supporters of the horse dance, in addition to the actors and the sponsors . The size of the audience is invariably one criterion of the success of a celebration, and hence of the prestige of the sponsor of the performance, and , needless to say, of an individual actor or grcup.

The tran ce in the horse dance Cont acts w ith the imm aterial w orld

In the introduction I ha ve alread y indicated that horse dancing is frequentl y accompanied by a trance. That is to say, contact is sought with beings from the immaterial world (dunia alus) and is established through a consciously or unc onsciou sly induced state of trance. 16 Of the man y types of trance or 'a ltered state of con sciousness ' di sCl!s sed in the anthropol ogi cal literature (Rou get 1985; Bourguignon 1965), onl y a few are rele vant to our su bject. Th e tran ce th at im m edi a tely strik es one in the p erformanc es of Samb oyo Pu tr o and sim ilar h orse d an ce gro up s is th e tr an ce of p ossessi on - a state in which the dancer loses hi s id en tity an d believes himself to ha ve become possessed by a spir it from th e other worl d . The tr aa ce of p ossess ion is not merel y an individ ual expe rien ce, bu t is also a soc ial event (Rou get 1985:322; Bourguignon 1965:100), as the sp irit com munic ates itself to the bys tanders as

16 Accord ing to Erib Bourguigno n (1965:41) the term ' tran ce' , whic h is derivec from ·psy chiatry', i~ little u~ed today in t.'w clinical iite,ature, and it is bette r to spea~ of ·~pirit possession'. This autho r m ..kes the rese rvation, h oweve r, that neither the concept of ' tranc e' nor tl1at of 'spi rit possession' covers every facet of altered s ta tes of conscious n ess, which she calls 'di ssoc iation al states', and in ,vhich communica tion with the spiri t world ma y occu r (Bourguign on 196.5:42) . Such an 'altered state of consciousness' is indeed cha racterist ic of the conditions that I subsume under the ge ner al heading ' trance' , as w ill become appa rent further down.

II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

n s

19

well through the specific behaviour of the 'possessed' person. 17 The trance dancer's behaviour is characterized by, among other things, sudden fits of convulsions, disorientation, diminished sensory sensitivity, loss of memory and of social decorum , total surrender or, conversely , bouts of ranting and raving, and periods of abandonment alternating with assertiveness and arrogance (Belo 1960; Rouget 1985; Darmadji and Pfeiffer 1969). There are various phases to be distinguished in the trance, which will be discussed in detail in Chapter VI. Another striking feature of the trance of possession is that the behaviour of the trance dancer clearly is culh1rally determined, notwithstanding the fact that it also displays great similarities worldwide. In Jane Bela's words: 'All the varieties of trance behavior are culturally stylized: they bear the imprint of cultural patterning' (Belo 1960:1). What gives the trance of possession such great fascination for the spectators is the unpredictability of the behaviour of the possessed person and the uncertainty about the extent to which the possession is genuine (dadi, 'successfully completed') or only simulated (ethok-ethok). The performances as a result provoke both feelings of awe, and even fear, on account of the putative visitors from the other world, and hilarity mixed with feelings of disgust at the often extravagant behaviour of the trance dancers. An important aspect for the possessed person is the loss of shame (ora weruh isin), as a result of v,hich he or she foe!s free to behave with complete abandon. After all, it is not he/she, but the spirit that has entered him/her who is now responsible for his/her deviant behaviour. As we shall see below, the sense of release from inhibitive social norms and values was mentioned by members of Samboyo Putro as the principal reason for joining the company. However, not all contacts with the invisible world proceed as dramatically as in the trance of pos sessio n. Meditation (semedi) and dreams (m impi) were also frequentl y mentioned as channels via w hich people received messages from the invisib le world. 18 This kind of communication eludes every form of social control, h owever, and is only inf erable from what the persons concerned themselves say abou t it. Pak Sambo yo was very uncommunicative about his contacts with th e 17

Rouget (1985 :28) is of the opi ni0n that on ly the trc1nce in \, 1 hicl1 the 'de it~·' responsib le for

the dancer's per tur bation, in other "·ords the sp irit th at has entered him , ma y be id entified can be regarde d as a trance of possessiun. As we shall see in Chapter VI, id en tifica tion 0 f the spi rits that have ent ered the dancers is not of prime i;nportanc e in th e hor::;e da;ice. The occurrence of the trance of pos sess ion does, however, s trengthen the belief in the pre se nce of sp irits that manifest themselves in the hurr,a;i wo rld thr c ugn the medium of the dc1ncers. 18 fh2t the drea1c1 is reg::uded as an important condition for communication wi th represer.ta tives of the other world is apparent from, among other things , the ro le of the dream in anothe r dramatic genre in Kediri , wayang gan dmn g (Cia ra van Groenendael 2000:50), in so -called 'controlled dreaming ', one of the prin cipal techniques u sed by the Nage of Flores (Forth 1991:5), and in, for example, the Jomb ee danc e 0f Montserrat (Dobbin 1986:49, 63, 65, 178).

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Jaranan

immaterial world, f~r reasons to be explained later. He said that he had received the inspiration to start a horse dance group while meditating once. As a result of his work as a policeman he had gained an understanding of the human psyche, which stood him in good stead as trance master. He attributed his success not to his relations with intangible beings like spirits, but to his physical and spiritual superiority. Pak Usodo, the trance master of the Kediri horse dance group Haswo Usodo, about whom I will say more below, told me, on the other hand, how he was once visited in a dream by a spirit (bangsa alus) who promised him his help as long as he, Pak Usodo, would continue to honour him. 19 From that moment on he had studied esoteric science (elmu gaib). As soon as 11e was able to call up this spirit at will, he had started operating as a trance •.·,:i.ster, down to the present moment .20 Although he admitted he regularly went into a trance in order to meet his spiritual guide, he remained LT\control of his own behaviour, unlike his horse dancers. The trance of the trance master and that of the horse dancers are in fact diametrically opposed. Although the initiative for an encounter between a human being and one or more spirits in both cases seems to be taken by the spirit world, in the case of the trance master the spirit is said only to 'pay a visit', and in the case of the dancers to 'take possession' of the person, whose own personality then temporarily withdraws. The trance master at all times remains in control of the situation and in this respect shows some resemblance to a shaman. The term 'shaman' is however better avoided, since, as Kathy Foley (1985:44) puts it, 'the term shaman for the spirit controller [ ... ] conjures up ima ges of trance flights to spirit worlds that are inappropriate in the context of West Java' . I myself have never heard either the trance master or the members of the horse dance companies, also in other parts of Java , sp eak of a supp osed journe y by the spirit of the trance master to the spirit wo rld , in fact. Rou ge t (1985:19) conclud es, on the basis of a large-sc ale project of rese arch int o the ph en om en on of the tranc e in man y parts of th e w orld , th at there is no evidence to be found an yw here, except in Siberian sh aman istic prnctices , th at the tran ce is viewe d as a jo:.irn ey by a hum an being to the v\'Orld of the sp irit s. Jn al l the cases he in vestigated th e trance was int erpr eted as the visit of a spirit or a god to th e world of man . Although my info rmant s were vague abou t th e name s of th e visi tin g spi rits, the se appe ared in almost eve ::y case to be th e spir its of d eified ancestors ('d iviniti es', in Rouget's terminology), th at is to say, of some d ecease d rel ative (nenek moyang), of the founder of a p articular settlement (cikal bakal), or of the 19

A similar occurrence led to the creation of the waya 11g gandru ng, a thank sg ivin g ritual, in Pagung , Kediri (Clara van Croenendae l 2000:50). 20 Perso nal communica tion du rin g a cha n ce meeting in Kediri , la y 1986.

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II The horsedance under the Orde Baru

21

original inhabitant of a place (baureksa). In conclusion , people mentioned cases to me of persons , usually women, with all kinds of vague ph ysi cal and/or mental disorders who had a feeling the y we re bein g harassed (diganggu) by beings from the immaterial world without actually being 'possessed ' by them . These so-called imps (dhedhemit) or demons (setan), often the inhabitants of conspicuous landmarks like crossroads , bamboo clumps , springs, big boulders , and so on, should be distinguished from the above-mentioned deified ancestors, as they reportedly never manifested themselves as humans. 21 They allegedly belong to a lower echelon of the spirit world. This hierarchical structure of the immaterial world has certain implications for the social appreciation of the horse dance, as will become apparent below .

Some theories about the trance in the horse dance Various theories have been put forward about the phenomenon of the trance in horse dance performances. W. Staugaard , referring to horse dance groups performing in Kediri, remarked in a lecture in Solo in 1919 that he had come across horse dance shows both with and without a trance. The former he called the Tulungagung and the latter the Ponorogo type, after their respective regions of origin (Staugaard 1921:421). But, as a study by Pigeaud (1938) reveals, there we re horse dances both with and wi thout a trance to be found in other parts of Java as well, many of them without any demonstrable causal connection with the districts of Tulun gagung or Ponoro go. Hence the name Tulungagung or Ponorogo to denote either of th ese two types is r,ot very appropriate. Pigeaud believed there was a connection bet wee n the occurrence of mo ck fights and of the trance (of ?Ossessio n) . According to him n o trance figured, at leas t n ot prominentl y, in performances dominated by mock fights. This was true particularly of so-called 'major performances', featuring vario us ma sk dancers besides h orse dancers. 22 Th is connection d oes not seem very pl ausible, h oweve r, Pigeaud himsel f in dica ting that p erform,mc es in wh ich socalled ' po ssessio n' played a prominent part, as for exa mple in Karangan ya r (Centra l Java), sometimes also featured mock fights (Pigeau d 1938:229) . My 21

The y ma y be com parable with "·hat Gregory forth (1991 :5). ·,vriting about 'mystica l prac among tne Nage of Flores, calls 'free spi rits', which he then defines as 'd kind titione rs ' (toa 111ali) of being distinguishe
22

Jaranan

data from Kediri likewise refute such an inverse relation between the occurrence of mock fights and the trance, while the same is true, I was assured, for the groups Wahyu Turonggo Budoyo from Tulungagung 23 and Rukun Santoso from Tapanrejo, in Banyuwangi. 24 Yet another theory posits that no trance occurred in performances in which a story is enacted. My Solo informants cited the reyog panaragaas an example of this. On the whole, this theory does not appear to be correct either . In Samboyo Putro's performances, in which the trance of possession plays a prominent part, the same story was acted out, though with some variations, as in the reyog panaraga,for example . That the combination of a story and the trance is no recent development is moreover apparent from the abo-vementioned article by Staugaard, in which he states that there was probably a play, possibly with a story, underlying horse dance performances including a trance (Staugaard 1921:424). According to a casual remark by Ward Keeler, the inclusion of a trance in horse dance performances sometimes seems to have a financial motive. In his discussion of village politics in Karanganom (Central Java), he observes with reference to the horse dance group (here called jathilan) of the village head that in the past this company was sometimes hired to perform at ritual celebrations, for instance at weddings for the purpose of accompanying the bridal couple from the bride's house to the bridegroom's. It was agreed beforehand whether or not the dancers would go into a trance, the inclusion of a trance commanding a higher fee (Keeler 1987:100). This dependence of the occurrence of a trance on financial remuneration should be regarded as an exception, in my view. Margaret Kartomi mentions a deeper underlying reason for the occurrence or non-occurrence of a trance in horse dancers. Alluding to the horse dance in general, she writes: 'At some time it became associated with va rious ancient magico-religious elements, including eroticism and fertility beliefs in th e Pon or ogo region , and belief in the possession of entranced dancers by animal and anc es tral spirits in other areas'. 25 As regards the relati onship betwee n horse dances, ~ro ticism and fertilit y, Kartom i is ba sin g h erse lf on the e2.rlier mention ed Snnt Cen!irini, in partic u lar on its d escr iption of a reyog

23

Personal comrrlunication by the musicologist Paul \Nolbers, \Vho did resea rch among this group in 1985. I am much indebted to him for his V:!luab!e help in praviding all the i:1fom1at ion on this g~oup. 24 Personal commt1nication April 1986. 25 !
gro ace

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s

'

II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

23

group in Canto 291. Here a number of warok and jathilan are mentioned as accompan ying a circumcision procession , in addition to horse dancers . These jathilan, also referred to as gemblak, w ere particularly handsome young boys dressed up as women (/are jaler kang prakati I kang wanda wanodya).26 The y were purchased at an earl y age by warok (' master of martial arts', Pigeaud 1982), known for their pugnacity, and were maintained by them. With these young male dancers , according to Kartomi (1976:107), the warok often had homosexual relations . J.B.M . de Lyon, basing himself on an unspecified source which I have not been able to trace, attributed the homosexuality of the warok to their membership of the crack troops of the demang (middle-ranking official) of Kutu, in the ancient East Javanese realm of Wengker (Ponorogo) . This demang reportedly rebelled against his sovereign, the ruler of Majapahit, Brawijaya V.27To avoid wasting their energies, the warok were supposed to have no sexual relations with women , and instead had a sexual relationship with their gemblak -young boys studying magic and dancing with the demang. After the decisive battle in Kutu , wl,jch was fatal for the demang, the warok disappeared from the political stage, according to De Lyon (1941:740-4), to tum up again with their gemblak in the Ponorogo reyog performances later . This is not the place to go into the relationship between the warok, the gemblak, and the reyog panarcga at length. 28 I would like, however, to mention one aspect of t11isrelationship , as it may pos sibly explain why Kartomi does not say an y thing about a trance in conn ection w ith the reyog panaraga. De Lyon , w rit i.. ng about w hat he calls the 'g emblak-fetisch ' ('gemblak fetish '), uses thi s term to refer on the one hand to the warok's belief 'that the relationship with th eir gemblak was th e so urce of their stren gth and vigour ', and on the other to th eir supp orte rs' con viction ' that the gemblak lend their warok magi c po w ers and insp iration for their ilm u [m ag ic scien ce]' (De Lyon i 941 :750). On thi s point there is qu ite a sign ificant d ifferen ce bet wee n th e relation betwee n the warok and his gembiak on the one hand and that betwee n th e trance mas ter (gambuh) and h is h orse dancers (jaranan) on the oth er. Karto mi expl ains thi s 'source of vital en ergy' or fertility from the circu m stan ce tha t the gemb/ak, as a tr ansves tite, unit es the male and the female pr;ncip le wit hi n himself and as such symbolizes the unit y of the cosmos , the human wor ld and th e supra-human or spirit ,vorld (Kartomi 1976:108). The concep t of the gen1/Jla k as a sy mb ol of fertility allegedly also underlies the custom ;..,ointed out by De 6 ' 27

Sera/ Centhini, Canto 291, iine 1--l(Kamajaya 1988, IV:160). 'Majapahit' , founded by Prince Wijaya (lat er knov.'~ as King (prabhu) Kertarajasa) near Trowul an (East Java), cove red a period of over two centuries of Javanese h;sto ry, from the end of th e 13th to the beginning of the 16th centu ry - a period kn ow n as Java's 'go lden age'. 28 For this the reader is referr ed to the abo ve-mentioned ar ticle by Kartomi o f 1976, and to a more recent publication by Sugiarso 2003, for in stance.

24

Jaranan

th la1 a

11

tr VI

il: IT

di T e 0 5

1

I

The reyogpanaraga at th e h ome of Go Tik Swan (KRT H ardj anega ra) in Solo. Photog rap h by autho r.

Lyo n of ' len d ing' th e gemb lak to a br idal cou ple to sh are th eir b ed durin g th e wedding nigh t (De Lyon 1941:745), symbolizing the w ish that th e yo un g couple may be fertile and prod u ce numerous offsp ring. He n ce th e specia l talen t o r sp iritu al p ower of the warok and th e gnmb uh is diff ere nt. 1l1e reyog, with its emphasis on ero ticism , fe rtil ity a nd pageantr y, s:-1 rnbo lizes supra-human o r sp iri tu al p owers (Kartom i 1976 :118). In the reyog pn11aragn th ese are already in th e relation ship be twee n the ,e1nrokand his ge111b lnk. In the jnm11n11,on th e o th er hand , th ese supr a-human powers , or in thi5 particular case the spir its, ha ve to be soug h t out by means of th e tranc e. Whereas th e gemb lak himself is regarde d as th e source of vital po wer, the jarnnnn onl y serves as a temporary vesse l for th e sp irit s evoke d by th e gnmbuh . In ord er to be able to keep these und er control , elaborate precauti ons ha,,e to be taken. Alt ho ugh Kart omi says n ot hin g ahout ritu al acts p erformed to summ on

II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

!

the spirits in the reyog panaraga, I am con v inced lacking . Here I am basing·m y self on a personal a reyog panaraga performance at the home of Go There I witnessed how the reyog dancer w as put the spectators .

25

that these were not entirely experience in the course of Tik Sw an 29 in Solo in 1971. into a trance out of sight of

vVhile the play is in full progress, the reyog danc er, who up to then has remained invisible behind a low wall besid e the dance floor, goes to sit down opposite the medicine man (dhukun). There is an incense h11mer on the ground between them . While the dhukun mumbles some prayers , the dancer sniffs up a few lun gfuls of incense fumes. The dhukun picks up a piece of incense, chews it for a while , and spits it onto the dancer 's head . Then he picks up a w hi_te cotton rag, sprinkles some aromatic oil (lisah wangz) on it, and roughl y pushes it into the dancer's face. The latter suddenly becomes rigid, sits on his knees, and wildl y snatches a, 1:he mask that a few helpers hold out to him. The dhukun and dancer disappear under the cloth hanging down from the mask for the purpose of fastening the mask. This done, the barong rushes to the dance floor and starts acting his part in the drama . He adroitly bends the mask now forward, now backward, now to the left or right. He even manages to rise to his feet with it from a supLr1eposition - a feat of extraordinary skill and strength, as the heavy barong mask is topped with an almost two-m etre high , very flexible bamboo crown . This requires a strength which the dan cer scarcely seems to command when he is his usual self.30

Comments Th e dhukun explained to me at the end of the show th at the barong is prepared to app ear od y after people ha ve ' fed' h im (nyaosi dhahar) incense and scented oil. If the y forgot to do this, the barong would be unable to dance, as the mask wou ld in that ca se be ' too h e avy' (kabuten). Th e members of Sambo y o Putro freque nt ly gave me a sim il ar rea son fo r th e 'fee d ing ' of th e horse s, ma sks and whips at th e begin..-un g o f its p erfo rman res. Th e d ifferenc e betw ee n the reyog panaraga an d th e jaranan is in fac t no m ore th an a diff erenc e i..'1emph asis. The elem ent of the trance is not en tire ly ab sent in rei;og panaraga p er forman ces, eith er, altho u gh h ere it seems to be res tr icted solely to th e barong, as An dr ew Beatty (1999:60; see als o Pi gea ud 1938:438) has al so p 0i.., ted out .

The tm1 ;ce master (:,;mnbuh)

Th e h o rs e dance in Ke di ri owes its p opul ari ty p rincipall y to th e sp ec tacu la r or co mical stunts pe rfo rmed by the d an cers w hile in tranc e, ac ts from 'Nru ch th ey w ould recoil in n ormal life. An aspec t th at is less con spicu ous , but 29

30

Alias Go tekswan, Ha rdj on o Go tek swan , and K.R.Tmg . H ard janeg~ra . Dia ry en try, fie ld no tes May -Se pt emb er 1971.

ac th th h1 TI ir

d tl r1

g F s

r 1,

The crown of the reyog panaraga seen from be hind. Photog raph by au thor.

II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

27

according to my informants is often more important than these histrionics, is the possibility of establishing contact with the spirit world (alam alus) through these dancers to ask the spirits' advice for problems that are impossible for humans to solve. An example of this will be discussed further down. As indicated above, the horse dancers serve as temporary receptacles. They are the vessel (wadhah) through which the spirits may become manifest in the human world. 31 In the case of the horse dancers from Kediri they do not do so verbally but by means of gestures . The signals emitted by the spirits via the dancers are interpreted by trance masters, who have developed a special relationship with the spiriLworld. In Kediri these trance masters are called gambuh, meaning roughly 'to be well acquainted with someone' (Gericke and Roorda 1901). This refers in particular to familiarity with the world of the spirits, which the gambuh is able to manipulate at will. As trance master he is responsible for the proper progress of the trance. In many cases he is also the leader of the company . Because of the local character of horse dances - a characteristic of all 'folk art' - there are many different names for the trance master in Java. Here I will not list all of them, making an exception only for the terms dhukun and dhalang to refer to the trance master in Central (Inggris 1923:105) and dalang in West (Hidding 1935:97) Java respectively. A dhukun (meaning 'exorcist' as well as 'male or female healer', Gericke and Roorda 1901) is someone specialized in contacts with the spirit world. In terms of control over the spirit world and authority in the human world, dhukun can be divided into two categories , namely that of medium (prewangan) and healer/exorcist (dhukun or, in Keeler's terminology, wong tuwa). 32 A prewangan, reportedly often a woman, is someone who for the benefit of her clients maintains a special relation ship with one or more spirits ., which she may at all times invite to take possession of her bod y in order to manifest th emsel ves in th e human world. As a rule the client is then able to communicate personally w ith this spirit. The medium will say at the end of such a sessio n that she cannot remember anything that h as passed durin g it (Keeler 1987:120). A lth ou g h th ere is a certain resembl ance betwee n hor se danc ers and prewnngnn, both refe rred to as ' medium ', as th ey are bo th p ossesse d by an alien spi rit, there is an im po rtant diff erence. Th e h orse d ancers remain p as1

1nJava, people see k co ntact , vith the sp irit \vo rld exd u=,ive ly for the sake of im provi:1g their own sih.lat:on in the he re and now. In Bud d hi st Tha ii?.nd , c0nvt rsdy, lh~ so -ca!leJ 'h orses of the spirit' (ma /chi) apparently seek out h t..:m ans with th e ai::11 of improv ing th c;r pos itior: in a fu tur e incarnation by enhancing thei r own ka rm a thr ou gh the chose n person (H einze 1988:50) . 32 Ltera:Iy 'old man', but in th is pa rticul ar sense so meo ne who h as spec ialized in eso teric science (e/111ugnib or nge/111u).Con tra ry to dh11kun, thi s wo rd h as an unam bi guously pos itive connotation (Keeler 1987:114). ~

28

Jaranan

sive with regard to their contacts with the spirit world. They lose consciousness as soon as the spirit, which they are unable to call up themselves, has taken possession of their body. 33 In this connection people use the terms kesurupan and kepanjingan, the impersonal passive forms of surup and panjing, 'to enter', respectively, which roughly mean 'possessed (by a spirit)' (Pigeaud 1982). These terms suggest the involuntary nature of the state for the person concerned and indicate that he or she has no control over this. If the spirit does not leave the person's body of its own accord, the trance master's help has to be enlisted to induce it to return to its place of origin. This is different for the prewangan. This medium appears to be able to exercise more authority over the spirit world and not only to call up a spirit but also to send it away. 34 Nevertheless, the prewangan enjoys a lower social status than the dhukun-healer/exorcist because, unlike the latter, she has no access to mystic lore (ngelmu). More than that, the prewangan is supposed to have placed herself, and even her clients, under an obligation to the spirits coming to her assistance in order to be able to perform her function as such. She is believed, in fact, to serve only as an empty vessel for the spirits (Keeler 1987:121). Even less prestige is enjoyed by the trance dancer, as he has no influence in the spirit world at all and is entirely dependent on the trance master. The most neutral meaning of the word dhalang (Javanese) or dalang (Indonesian) is 'leader, director', for instance of a puppet play (wayang), or, in a more general sense, '(someone) behind the scenes' (Teeuw 1996) who pulls the strings. As a synonym for 'trance master', that is to say, someone who possesses esoteric knowledge, the word dhalang is associated with a special kind of puppeteer, namely the dhalang ruwat. This dhalang is the leader of the exorcist ritual (ruwatan) in which the stor 1 of Murwakala, dealing with the origin of hum an suffering in the form of Kala , the god of time , is enacted (Clar a van Groenendael 1985:52-3, 1998). Of the numerous puppeteers in Java onl y a few ar e capabl e of performing this ritu al without danger , according to tr aditional belief. 35 The dhalang ruwat has man y years of practical train33

My :nfom1ants were unable to give an answer to th e question about where th e p erson 's ow n spirit remains whiie he or she is in trance. The y had not cor.sidered this que stior. and showe d littl e intere s t in metaphysical issues , possibly as a consequence of the low level of their educat ion, th eir rs>lative youth, and the markedly materialist;c spir it of the times. Th e literature on trance sometimes suggests th e e:-.istence cf :11ore than one sou l a:,d the ?Ossibility of O!le sou l temporarily making way for the ,·isilir.g spirit (Rouge! i 985:-H). 34 Keeler observes, how eve r, that in :he case of the prewn11gnn,too, the term kepa11jinga:1is used ta denote the er.'.ry of be r body by the spiri t she her self has inv 0 ked (Keele r 1987:120). 35 Foley (1984:56), writing abo u t the dhalnl!g ruwnt, whom she cal!s d11/a11g k,mdnbuana, says 'The re are thousands of dalang in Su nd a. Th ere are p erh aps thir ty who a re dn/a11gka11dnb11ana, that is, dnln11grnalnn.' Although the taboo on acting as a dhnlang ruwat is violated more and mo re often U1ese days, the number of dhalnng bo ld enough to ventu re on th is tra ditionally magically dangerous enterprise is sti ll relatively sma ll.

in! in 19,

w, Wl

19

di in m cc

k{ in

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g tl r e

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II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

:ious,, has terms nj ing,

eaud , ?rson ;pirit help ?rent Jrity ay.34 1ealmu) . iven rder . ?rve :e is t all ang ,

or, rho me )€-

· of ith ed va 1g n-

n,

29

ing behind him as a pu:eil (cantrik) of a dhalang ruwat, who has initiated him in esoteric science and set him up as his successor (Clara van Groenendael 1985:55-7). As Foley rightly suggests in an article on healing and wayang in West Java, a dhalang ruwat (Sundanese: dalang ruat) enjoys more social standing than a dhukun (Sundanese : dukun), 36 though he is functionally comparable with a dhukun, since he may also practise as a healer, like the dhukun (Foley 1984:53). Like the dhalang ruwat, the gambuh has acquired his esoteric knowledge by different means, including a period of trials. The methods may vary, depending on time, place, and personality of the candidate gambuh. The most common practices include abstinence from (certain kinds of) food, sleep or sexual contact for a period of time; isolation from the community at set times; and keeping vigil at a sacred spot. These trials are aimed at obtaining a divine inspiration (wangsit), often in the form of a talisman or a personal guide in the spirit world. In addition, the candidate gambuh may sometimes apprentice himself for a while to a teacher famous for his esoteric knowledge, who need not necessarily himself be a gambuh. As far as I know, gambuh possess no tradition prescribing that the profession is to be transmitted from father to son or adopted son .37 In principle every man may become a gambuh provided he has received a sign from above . Although there were also female horne dancers, they could not become gambuh , according to my informants. The reason for this, they stated, was that women lack the necessary inner strength (kakuwatan batin) to grasp the requisite esoteric knowledge. 38 A practical reason why a woman is allegedly unable to acquire ng clmu is that, in view of her many social obligations (domestic duties and child-rearing), she is not in a position to undergo the rigo rous trial s that ar e a precondition for the acquisitior. of such knowledge . This explanation , which was given to me by a few male informants, was end orsed by som e fem ale informants. Other women rejected it as being irr elevant , howe ver, p ointi ng to the num erou s female dhukun, som e of wh om (like eir Pak Sam boyo's m othe r, for exampl e) enjoye d a reputati on far beyo n d t...~ own town or village fo r thei r ex tra ordina ry gift . Like th eir male colleagues, they report edl y had to submit th emse lves to cer tain tria ls to boo st this ta len t, be it that th ey usua lly on ly exe rcise d it in one spec ific area, for instance as

:c rd ·s l,

e

V

36

As L'ppose d to a dh!1k1111,a dhala11g ruwa t, or, as Foley (1984:65-6) calls him , dalang kr.ndabuunr., is ve rsed in th e kaw i mantra (mag ic formul ae in archaic litera ry Javanese) th ,1t enable hif!l to bring the dc>mon god Kal a u nde r contr ol. 37 Although th is was once th e cu sto m among pupp etee rs (dhalang) in the Central Javanese prin cipalities, it is no"· no lo nger strictly enforc ed (Cla ra va n Gro enendael 1985:27-30). 38 Sec also Keeler 1987 :114. For a detailed d iscus s ion of the relation betwee n inn er strength (potency) and ge nd er see Keeler 1987:119-24.

30

Jaranan

midwife (dhukun bayi).39 The deeper, and to my mind real reason is that for a woman, unlike her husband, it is felt to be unfitting to neglect her social duties. Although males in search of esoteric knowledge may sometimes shirk their social obligations for longer periods, and may often have to endure a great deal of criticism for this in private life, they do enjoy social respect for their spiritual life-style. That there were no female gambuh, at any rate in the past, is in fact primarily a reflection of the difference in social position between men and women in Javanese society. Hence the activities of the gambuh and the dhalang are connected with the belief in a world inhabited by spirits that may be influenced in favour of man by specialists in esoteric science. This belief is commonly known as 'Javanese religion' (Agama Jawa). Under the New Order there were calls for qualifying Agama Jawa as a faith (ktpt:rcayaan)rather than a religion (agama).40 Although the followers of Agama Jawa generally regard themselves as Muslims, according to Harsja W. Bachtiar Agama Jawa is in no way identical with Islam (Harsja Bachtiar 1973:98). Strict Muslims (santrz) in fact label them as infidels. In an effort to legitimate Agama Jawa, various authors have defined it in such a way as to 'purify' it of undesirable elements. As we shall see, this has had certain implications for the social appreciation of jaranan.

inf Ba or:

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The relation between the gambuh and the dhalang ruwat

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Harsja Bachtiar, in his critique of Clifford Geertz' The religion of Java, writes that Agama Jawa is manifest first and foremost in worship of the ancestors (para leluhur) - a category including the immediate ancestors who are still :known by name and the ancestors from a more distant past, as well as the creator of the uni ve rse . They are regarded as the source of vital strength without which man cannot live. Not only ha ve they left the Javanese a culture and civilizati on that, in the eyes of the Javanese th emselves , has brou gh t them to a higher level of social and spir itu al development than the surrounding peopl es (of the lnd c nesian archipeb go), 41 but they also continu e to exercise ar. 9

According to f..:ee ler (1987:11--J ) the mid""ife ld/111k1111 lwy i) fo rms an excep tion to the generally ncgati,· e apprec iation of female medium s . 40 As'ad E! H didy 1982:99. In his chaFter on gove,· .ment po!icv, thi s author stat es that th e probl em oi religious ideologi~5 (alira11 kcpcm1ym111)allegedly fo rm ing an obs tacle to a bealthy de ve lopmen t of religious life was aga ir. brought up for di scuss ion in the i978 sess ion of the Tational Congress. It was d ecided at that time that bPliet in God by itself does not constirute a (officiall y recog niz ed) religion: ' Kepercayaanlerhndap T11hanYar;gMaha Esa tidak merupnknn aga111a' {As'ad El Hafid y 1982:98-9) 41 This idea of the supremacy of Ja va nese culture was formulated as follows by, among others, Soeriokoesoemo (1918 :6), a Java nese nationalist and prom inen t :nember of Boedi Oetomo ('Edel Streve n', fou nd ed in 1908), ir. the deb ate with the Indo.--.esian nation al ists in the jou;nal J

II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

tfor )Cial hirk re a : for ~ in tion the :rnn ese ing tgh rdam ~ls. tch

.ad

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31

influence on the lives of their descendants all the time in the present (Harsja Bachtiar 1973 :98). Koentjaraningrat gives a more detailed summary of the hierarchical organization of the a/am semesta (universe), distinguishing: Tuhan Yang Maha Esa (God); the Praphet Muhammad and the other prophets ; the saints, with in the first place the Wali Sanga (literally 'Nine Saints') who according to Javanese tradition propagated Islam in Java; the gods borrowed from the Hindu pantheon, among whom Dewi Sri, the goddess of rice, and Bathara Kala, the god of death, occupy a special place; 42 the 12th-century ruler of Kediri, Jayabaya, who is especially revered for his prophecies about the subjugation (of Java) and subsequent independence; the immediate ancestors and the local guardian spirit (dhanyang), who is often honoured as the founder (cikal bakal) of a particular settlement; and finally, the host of spirits, goblins and giants inhabiting secret spots such as springs, bamboo clumps and wells (Koentjaraningrat 1984:322-42). Belief in the latter category in particular is viewed as superstition in present-day Indonesian society. Bachtiar also uses the word 'superstition' in this case, implying that these spirits are 'non-legitimate '. He still classes the dhanyang as members of the legitimate category of spirits, conversely, in the sense that belief in them may be regarded as constituting part of Agama Jawa (Harsja Bachtiar 1973:99). The dhalang, who while performing the ruwat ritual has to join battle with Bathara Kala , in this view maintains relations with a legitimate spirit. Koentjaraningrat (1984:376) in fact classes the ruwat ritual as a typically Agama Jawa ritual. Partl y for this reason the dhalang enjoys the status of a respected artist. 43 The task of the gambuh that immediately strikes the eye (he ai so has a secret task , about which more will be said a little further down), on the other hand , is not concerned with these legitimate spiritual beings . As exo rcist of the spirits of h orses , tigers, monke ys and all kinds of monsters figuring in the p erforman ce - which is gen erall y regarded as a sign of supersti tion - the gambuh ha s less standing in society than the dhalan g. 44

)-

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e }'

e

Wederopbouw ('Redevelopment') abou t the future of th e Dut ch East Ind ies: 'No one with an eye fo r a nr.tu,·al , gradu31 d 0 ve lopme nt , and bes ides so me kncw ledge of the "human " psv ch e, ca n demand th at the Javanese Nation sacrifice itself for the sake of an Indies Nation[ ...]. The sac rifice is too g reat.' .i2 As wel! as I yai Lara Kidul, ti1e goddess of the Sou th ern Ocea n, who is especially wor sh ipp ed by followe rs of Keja,,en (ano:h~ r word for Agama Ja wa) (Kar tapr adja 1985:59j . •3 The r11wat ritu al ha s rea! ly tak en off an~on g the lnd c nesia n elite and in the p rocess ha s ass ;.:med incre dible proporti0r,s, int er a,ia in the ruwa; massa! c~remo nies, of w hiLh : attended one in Hote l Sahid Ku ~uma in Solo in 1992. For thi s a la ,ge numb er 0f well-to -d o families had joined force s. Du e to w idespread publici ty and the pr ese nce of television crews , the whole thing wc1s promoted as a tour ist attract ion. •• The criticism o f the h o rse dance is not directed a t the belie f in the p oss ibili ty of m ain taining relat ions with such esote ric bein gs as ances tors, as w itn ess th e immens e pop ul arity of places of

32

Jaranan

Nevertheless , the difference between the dhalang ru wat and the gambuh is not as absolute as it would seem . The dhalang ruwat , on the one hand , also communicates in his exorcist rituals with so-called non-legitimate spirits like the imps and demons app ointed by Bathara Kala to punish an y humans blocking his wa y in his search for prey (Clara van Groenendael 1998:21, 23). The gambuh , on the other hand, as I implied just now sometimes also has dealings w ith the spirit (s) of (a) deceased ancestor(s), as when he ha s to act as mediator for persons with personal or social problems presumabl y as a result of carelessness in the fulfilment of their obligations towards the deceased. The gambuh then has to establish contact with the spirits of these deceased in order to find the appropriate remedy. This less conspicuous aspect of his role without any doubt belongs in the Ag ama Jawa sphere . Criticism of the superstitious character of the horse dance does not concern this so-called therapeutic aspect of the gambuh's role, however. Critics of the horse dance have not given attention to this second, more mystical aspect, as far as I know. Although socially the dhalang enjoys a higher status as director of the wayang play than the gambuh as leader of horse dance performances, their social standing is often dependent on the way in which in the eyes of their ' critics they exercise their skills. The popularity of indi vidual dhalang and gambuh is measured first and foremost by the number of their performances. Popularity has its do w nside , howe ver. In East Java (as especiall y Central , Javanese dhalang pointed out) notabl y popular dhalang tended to be accused of maintaining relations with (illegitimate) evil spirits with the object of harmin g other p eo pl e, particularl y their colleague s. The y w ere alleged to be dhalan g tenung (' sorcerer s' ).45 In the eyes of several of my infonnants, both dhalang a..,d m em bers of h orse dance group s, the statu s of the se dhalang wa s very low. H owev er th at m ay be, th e h orse dan ce ge nerally spe ak in g enjoys less pr esti ge th an th e way an g. Besides the above-menti oned reason , this h as som ethin g to do with th e circum stance th at, u n like th e waya n g, it h as n ever bee n ad opted into the cou rt cul tur e as an in de pend ent art form (see also P igeaud 1938:215) . The few times that anima l figu res playe d a role in court theatrical p erformances like wayang wong (Pigeaud 1938 :182), theirs was on ly a very min or part. As di stin gui shed from the refined (nlus) court ly arts, the horse dance is qualified as a genuine folk art, and as uncouth and vulgar (knsnr). Geertz, who ha s copied this d isti nction be tween refined and crude dramatic genres , speaks of an n/11sand a knsnr art complex, for in sta nce ,

pilgrim age for spiritual support, but rather at the l::elief that these may manifest themselves in a 1:1aterial form, such as in masks and animal figures. 40 These comments by Ce ntral Jav anese rlhnlnng, in particular rlhal,mg from the former p rincipalities of Surakarta and Yogyakarta, clearly reflect a feeling of superio rity vis -a-vis their East Ja·, anese colleagues, whom they considered to be (still) uncultured.

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II The horse dance under the Orde Baru

uh is also like ockThe ings :1tor :1re1m-

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33

classing the wayang with the former and the horse dance with the latter . As an example of this s~cond genre he mentions an itinerant horse dance troupe (Geertz 1964:296). An established company like Samboyo Putro will indeed describe such a group as kasar. The qualification kasar in this particular case does not refer to the genre as a whole, however, but to a lowstatus representative within it. Kasar and a/us clearly are not such absolute concepts as Geertz ' classification of the different Javanese 'art' forms seems to suggest, which is why I object to this classification (Geertz 1964:261-2). I prefer a classification of the different traditional dramatic genres into classical genres and folk enterta~ents (alongside modem genres, which will be left out of consideration here, however). Judging from the headings of the relevant chapters in his book ('The role of classical art' and ''The role of popular art'), Geertz (1964:261, 289) in actual fact also uses this classification . The reservation should be made here, however, that the classical genres, so called because of the preoccupation of the Javanese (court) elite with them, 46 must be regarded as being no more than a sophistication of the more rustic dramatic genres. The puppet thea'tre (wayang kulit), for instance, has always enjoyed greater popularity outside than inside the court, and has played an important part in society as a folk art forrn. 47 Geertz has not given sufficient attention to this fact, in my view. Precisely because of its enormous popularity among all levels of Javanese and Sundanese society , the wayang theatre was an important medium for the New Order government in its campaigns (Clara van Groenendael 1985:133-51). As we shall see below (in Chapter III), the horse dan ce was like w ise involved in government carr.paigns hl East Java, also in Kediri . Many Javanese regard the wayang as the noblest (adiluhur) product of Javanese culture. 48 In effect, it served as a source of inspiration for man y seniman ('artists') in the development of a genre of their own. For Pak Sambo yo, too, th e wayang, and in particular wayang wong, was an important inspirat ion in his efforts to give horse dancing a respec table aura. He ascribed Samboyo Putro's success primaril y to the fact that he had tried to imitat e th is model as closel y as pos sible. The roi e pla yed by President Suharto's New Order in se tting up the waya ng th ea tre as an exa mpl e w ill be di scuss ed in the n ext section .

46

Tha t is to say, unt il abour ti1e Second World War. Pe rsonal corr,munication R.Tmg. Probohardjono, Solo 1971. 48 As'ad EI Hafidy (1982:67) even puts forward the view, with somew ha t exagge rated en th us iasm, that wayang is a popular theatrical form at every level of society, from th e prol eta ria t to th e an d pendeta res p ective ly. inte lligentsid, including Mu s lim and Christian religious leaders, 11/a111,1 47

34

Jaranan

The horse dance in the interface between a national and a regional identity When at the birth of the Republik Indonesia (Indonesian Republic) in 1945 the various regions of the former Netherlands East Indies were united under a national banner, the young republic could pride itself upon a rich and varied cultural tradition as the cumulation of the different regional ethnic traditions. The new state was in need of a national c..:.lture as the expression of a specifically Indonesian identity, however. This was to be attained by combining the highlights of the different regional (ethnic) cultural legacies into 'a hybrid mix of the best of existing cultures in the rn.tion' (Hooker and Dick 1993:4) . The numerical preponderance of the Ja, .mese, together with their dominance of the political landscape of Indonesia, has led to Javanese influence on Indonesian culture proportionally far exceeding that of other ethnic groups (Hooker and Dick 1993:9; Mochtar Lubis 1985:31). This Javanese influence is especially conspicuous in the middle-level bureaucracy, which as a consequence of economic developments in Indonesia has expanded enormously . Unlike in the West, a certain degree of economic freedom of action enjoyed by this middle class under the New Order has not gone hand in hand with political independence. On the contrary , political power has come to be concentrated more and more in the person of the president and has spilled over to the lower levels of society hierarchicall y, via bureaucratic channels, in progressively decreasing proportion. This has led to the paradoxical situation in which a capitalist economy has become connected wi th a feudal, centralistic attitude (Umar Kayam 2001:274). The model for this feudal orientation was the priyayi49 culture of the Centr al Javanese courts, and th e wayang theatre was the apogee of this culture (Urriar Kayam 2001:275). The official culture of the New Order con seque ntl y is an artificial construct displaying traits that are obviously similar to those of 'high Java nese culture' , such as typically Javanese rituals , dress and performing art genres, and influences from the Javanes e idiom on official occa sions (Hooker and Dick J 993 :9). In oth er w ord s, th e n ation al Ind on esian identity has increas ing Iv assumed the ch,:nacter istics of refined Javanese cour t cultur e, be it that thi s has bee n subjE:ct to reinterpre tation by bureaucrats , the new priynyi, from their presen t-day posi tion .50

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The wo rd priyayi orig inally meant 'Javanese offic ial' and 'man of rank' (Pigcaud 1982) and later came to be u!'ed mo re generally also to den·ote a civil se rvant. 50 In Foulc.her 's (1990:303) words: 'The result is not the dom im;ticm of Java in all its cu ltur al diversity or even of Javanese court culture its original form. Rathe r, it is Java as dd in ed through the eyes of its mode m- day priyayi, ar. eclectic combi n ation of as pe cts of a kebatinan [sp iritual , syncret ist rel igi ous ideology] world view and the Dutc h co lonial mi x of publi c m ora lity and pri,·ate self -in terest, all elaborated against a backdrop of the arts, cu,to m s and etiqu ette of the courts of Cent ra l Java .'

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35

This orientation to '~igh Javanese culture ' and the compulsor y nature of the New Order guidelines have had major consequences for the cultural development of the regions, and for the traditional dramatic genres . Edi Sed yaw ati , in her stud y on the 'performing arts ' (seni pertunjukan), points out two aspects that are affecting the position of so-called 'traditional folk performances ' (pertunjukan rakyat) . Having their roots in the cultural reality of a particular region , these displa y the specific characteristics of that region . From an Indonesian national perspective, these performing art genres or dramatic folk genres form part of the regional cultures (kebudayaan daerah). To be able to function at the national level as well, these regional folk genres have to be adapted and transmuted, as the ideas and feelings of the original (regional/ethnic) culture are not immediately comprehensible in this wider cultural reality . This means that traditional (regional/ethnic) folk performances need to function on two different levels, namely on the original (regional/ethnic) as well as on the new (national) level. In this connection Sedyawati speaks of the 'bilingualism' of traditional folk t.l-teatres.51 In addition to this increase in scope of regional folk drama, Sedyawati goes on to say, there is an internal development taking place which is connected with the development of Indonesian society as a whole. This is reflected by the revaluation of the traditional elements of folk genres under the impact of changing 3ttitudes. This is giving rise to tension between the desire for adventure (hasrat bertualang) in the satisfaction of new needs, in the form of experimentation with traditional (and modem) elements, on the one hand ,52 and the longing for the familiarity (kekrasanan) of the old on the other (Sedyawa ti 1981:40). In the context of this de velopment, Sedya wati feels it is no longer ' practical' to speak of pertunjukan rakyat and suggests repl acing this term w ith the expression teater tradisi ('traditional theatr e') (Sedyawati 1981:40). In other words, she points to the development of a civil art form, that is to sa y, a kind of art that

e 51

Sedyawati 1981:39. Th at this so -ca lled bilingua lism of the tradit ion al art s is n ot a recent deve lopm ent is ev ident from m y study of the position of the trad iti ona l Central Javanese d/zalang in feudal Surakarta (Cla ra van G roene ndae l 1985:91-2). 52 An ex3mpie of such experimentati on is the waya ng bur/ha, a creati on o f the d ance r Suprapt o in co llabo ration w ith the Ce:1tra l Jav ;inese Cu ltu ra l Cen tre (Pu sa t KesPnia n Jawa Tenga h, abbre,·iated as PKJT), in " ·hi ch e lem ent s of the Ja "a nese ,rnvn11g kulit , th e Thai 111111g l11011g , a nd mod e rn Wes tern danc e have been co mbi ned. A m ore recen t exampl e is the Dcctd y Dance Co m pa ny. which ga, ·e a pe rfo rm anc e in the .-\ms te rdam Mus ic Th eatr e in Febr ,tar, · 2002. Th is perfo rm :mc e was based on ele m ent s 'from the rich
36

Jaran an

no longer is the expressi on of a particular community and is determined by the traditional values of that community , but instead is that of the indi vidual and hi s or her percepti on of both traditi on and mod ernity . Art form s of this kind are in agreement w ith the development of Ind onesia in the direction of a civil society .53 Another consequence of social change for the internal de velopment of traditional dramatic folk genres concerns the belief in the manipulability of supra-human forces, bangsa alus, which nowada ys is regarded as a kind of superstition . Earlier I drew attention to Harsja Bachtiar's view on the superstitious belief in so-called ;illegitimate' spirits . This has led to the trance in the horse dance , for example, being percei ved as an embarrassment, which is having a negative effect on the image of the horse dance . In the context of the 'reassessment' (revaluasi) of the horse dance in the 1980s, a new horse dance company, the Jaranan Kepang, was formed by Hatjono, an official with the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the village of Mojoroto (Kantor Kebudayaan Mojoroto). This all-girl group of dancers and musicians directed all its attention to the aesthetic aspects of the dance, music and costumes, but featured no trance . Except for the name, this Jaranan Kepang group had little in common with the kuda kepang described by Staugaard (1921:421-6), which ga ve performances in Kediri around the 1920s. Th e formation of the Jaranan Kepan g compan y had everything to do , on the other hand , with the strateg y of making regional dramatic (folk) genres fit for 'national' consumption , delineated by the Departm ent of Education and Cultur e (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebuda yaan) as part of the nation al cultural poli cy.54 In the same context , the local cultural affairs bureau s, includin g that in the tow n of Kedir i, to ok th e ini tiative in organi zin g comp etiti on s of h orse dance group s m ad e up of yo un g pe op le and oft en form ed ad h oc for schoo lchi ldren durin g th e scho ol h olid ays in Eas t Java. On th e n ation al level , ann u al compe titi ons for the title ' artist /perfo rming art s group of the ye ar ' wer e he ld bo th for ind ividu al pe rformin g ar tists an d for grour s in the frnme wo rk of so-called 'festi va ls' . In these stepp ed com pe titi on s, st artin g at the local level and culmin atin g in Jakarta, the cont estants h ad to art icu l2.te th e 'essence' o f the par ticular genre in a programme lastin g maximalh· ten lllinut es . The companies in volve d, 53

The idea of the devel op:ne nt of Ind ones ia towa rd s a civ il soc iety ha s been articu lated by, a!11ong other~, Bachii;::r A l~m. Tak ing the plurifor!l'ity 0f Indonesi an soCJety a~ hi s point of d e partu re, he p oin ts to rw o core concept s : 'pract ice-orie nt 2d' (prr.ksis) and 'd iscu ss ion' (waca;za). Basing him se lf on Pierre Bourdieu 's ' th eory of practice ' of 1977, he int er pr e ts praksis in th e sense of th e so -c., lleci subjective consciousness of th e i.ndi·vidu a ls together m akin g u p a society . To arnve at con sens us about th e c0t:rse of soc iety, discus sion , i!l particular with th e administration, is indiS!)en sab le (Bachtiar Alam 1999:6-8). As m ay have become clea r from the above, the re was little 'discussion ' under the political cond itions of the New Ord er. 54 Per so na l communication by Harj ono , Au gus t 1985.

inclu dis tr: ogra : offici th e 1 th ou This ' re g, 1 the (at I cha latb Sed ten a 't tio1

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37

including Samboyo Putrq and Haswo Usodo which were to represent the district of Kediri in these national competitions , composed a special choreography for this purpose under the supervision of a Cultural Affairs Bureau official. In this the horse dancers ' and mask dancers' dance was stylized on the model of the wayang wong. It included no trance of possession, even though many people regarded the trance as the essence of the horse dance . This 'revaluation' of the dance has in fact had an impact on Samboyo Putro's 'regular' performances. This development, whereby the form is copied and (after the example of the wayang) sublimated but the content is adapted to contemporary needs (at least, to those of the bureaucracy), is, in effect, resulting in a change in the character of dramatic folk genres and even, to cite Sedyawati, in a loss of the latter's folk character (Sedyawati 1981:40) . This was the principal reason why Sedyawati refuses to speak of 'folk performances' any longer, but prefers the term 'traditional theatre', in a rather broad sense, as this art form no longer is a 'tradition-bound' one (terkait pada tradisi), but is a form 'possessing a tradition' (mempunyai tradisi) (Sedyawati 1981:40). If I understand her correctly, she means by this that the word tradisi in the expression teater tradisi ('traditional theatre') should be taken in the secularized, dynamic sense of a complex of conventions that has developed organically in the history of the development of this theatre, not necessarily with the aid of supernatural intervenhon . This interpretation of tradition is diametrically opposed to the usual religious one, namely as a complex of conventions or rules of conduct instituted by the deified ancestors in a distant past , which should be handed dovm from generation to generation in as pure a form as possible, on pain of incurring the ancestors divine wrath (Beattie 1966:226). The suggestion given b y the la tter interpretation is that tr adit ion is static and unch angi n g. In practice, of course, it is anything but static, for, pro v ided it is supported by the community, tra dition is subj ec t to a consta nt process of inn ovation. Hor se dances of today are the end prod uct of a long process of deliberate addition and omissio n of elements, depending on time and place, by generations of actors. Sometimes suc h modifications were (and are) inspir ed by circumstances, th ough th e desire for an individual id entit y b y di stin gu ish ing one·s own gro u p from oth ers has always play e d a ro le as vve!L Eve rv ge ner a tion g ives expr ess ion to its own int e rpr e tation of th e cultural herit age . Only wh ere society as a w ho le ch anges its or ie nt a tion and ceases to uph o ld the tra ditional va lu es to which a particular draIT.atic ge nre owes its ex istence, this may spell th e end of th a t genre. Th e fact that m ore than h alf th e kinds of p erforma:1ce listed in th e above survey (38 of the 68) have beco m e rar e, in other words, are almost extinct (hanrpir punah) (Data crga11isasi keseninn 1985:159 -63), speak s vo lumes in thi s connection. They seem to be n o longer nurtur ed by soc iety. Th e crea tion of th e Jaranan Kepan g, according to H arjo n o, repres ented an attempt

Jaranan

38

to guard the horse dance against a similar demise b y liberating it from the element of the trance, ' which was no longer compatible w ith the spirit of the age . This way he hoped to preserve this va luable genre, inherited from the ancestors , for following generations. 55 So far this attempt had met with very little response from the community of Kediri, while that little response was moreover confined to the relati ves and friends of the yo ung actcrs. The developments outlined by Sedyawati and supported by government officials like Harjono so far have taken place mainl y in larger urban centres , in art academies , and in activities sponsored by the national , regional and local administrations . Although Samboyo Putro and Haswo Usodo seized the opportunity of performing in this network with both hands, they continued to be chiefly dependent for their survival on audiences still oriented to a large extent to traditional values. These then are audiences made up mostly of members of the lower classes, or wong cilik ('little people'), who have not yet made the changeover to a bourgeois lifestyle or have done so only very partially. For them the view that the horse dance, and particularly the trance occurring in it, 'is a door to the spirit world, where causes and cures for social and personal problems may be sought', put forward by Kartomi (1973b:27), was still very true . This door to the spirit world makes the horse dance in a sense elusive, both for the actors and for the audience. Here the role of the ~ance master is crucial. The wa y Pak Sambo y~-iinterpreted t.his role appeared to be very successful. He managed to hold the attention of his audiences by on the one hand playing on their fear and awe for the unknown - the anticipated appearance of the spirits from the past - and on the other hand working into his performances topics that were of current interest, giving the dancers a prominent p art in this.

55

Per sonal communication,

Kediri, August 1985.

the the the rery w as

1ent res, md ~ed in oa

tly 10t iry tee ia l 7), 1a

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,d 1e

Part Two

Aspects of the genre of the horse dance

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CHAPTER III

Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups Introduction

The horse dance company Samboyo Putro of Kediri is the focal point of this book. I shall therefore now introduce this group further by giving an account of the history of its origin and a description of its members and the number and kinds of its stage requisites. The factors prompting the foundation of Samboyo Putro and the social position of its leader , Pak Samboyo, have turned out to be crucial for its success. This became apparent after the latter's sudden death in 1990, depriving the group of an important sponsor. When I attended a performance in 1992, Samboyo Putro's character had changed. Pak Samboyo's heirs appeared to have no interest in the group's continued existence and had meanwhile sold a number of its props . When I visited Kediri in 1997, the company had ceased to be . Pak Dhalan g, whom I shall ir1troduce presently, was the only member of th e old group to ha ve 're located' to Samboyo Putro Il, a new group founded in Ngetrep Lor (in the sub-district of Pr am bon, the district of Nganjuk) by Pak Supandi, a fruit trader. Tne actors , according to Pak Dhalang , now we re mos tly teena ge schoolchi ld ren, while he him self still chiefl y fulfilled th e function of secretary. Th is new group had adopted th e name of its predec es sor , in the h op e of being ab le to take ad van tage of its old farne. 1 One of th e projects launched in the fram ewo rk of the Suh ar to govern ment 's se ries o f five-yea r development pl ans Repelita 2 i:wolved th e in ve ntoryin g and doc um ent a: ion of Ind onesia 's g rea t \,vealt h of regi onal d ramatic genre s in th e 1980s. One of the aim s o f thi s pr ojec t was to ga in an in s ight

Pers onal comrnunication by Pak Dhalan g, 6 Jun e 1997. Acronym of Rencana Pembanguna n Lima Tahun, ' Five-Year De ve lopment Plan', which , once th e plan had been well ar,d truly put int o opera tion, and hence wa s no longer a 'p lan ', was sho rt ened to Pelita , for Pem ba n gunan Lim a Tahun , ' Five -Yea r De ve lopme nt ' . Th e fou rth plan ""as launched in 198-! (Elso n 2001: 170).

Jaranan

42

into the potential of still active performance types . The need for a survey of this kind was pN:>vi ded by the consideration, formulated in a report on the media, that the medium of traditional folk entertainments possessed a certain surplus value (kelebihan) over modem means of communication . For a greater effectiveness of the message of Pelita, participation of this medium was therefore considered to be of essential importance (Laporan pergelaran media 1985:10-6). For the purposes of this survey , which was conducted province by province, questionnaires were drawn up , which had to be filled in by offici als of the district and sub-district cultural affairs bu~::aus. The results of this broad survey for the province of East Java are recorded in a number of unpublished reports intended only for internal use. These reports deal with all kinds of aspects of the various dramatic genres, such as the number -:.ber of actors and kinds of organizations, the types of performance, the m_;_; involved and their social backgrounds, the frequency of performances, and so on, as well as giving descriptions and classifications of the different genres. These official reports, which are a product of the Proyek Pengembangan Kesenian Jawa Timur ('Project for the Development of East Javanese Art'), implemented in the years 1981-1985, constituted an important source of information in my research into the dis-tribution, popularity and character , of horse dances in Kediri and the districts of Tulungagung, Trenggalek and Ban yuwangi . In these reports Pak Sambo yo's group Samboyo Putro is classified as a jaranan sentherewe (Data organisasi kesenian 1985) to distinguish it from a number of other genres of horse dance groups such as the jaranan jawa, the jamnan pegon, the jaranan breng, and the jaranan buto.3 The criteria used in determining thes e 'ty pes' were not applied consistentl y in the areas studied - Kediri, Tulungagung and Trenggalek - howe ve 1~so that this typology h as failed to achieve th e object of the survey, namely to establish a clear-cut classificat ion of h orse dance gro ups. As it is pos sible to demon strat e the grea t variety of such groups by reference to the d esc ription s of the se so-called types, on the other hand , I am taking the se reports int o consideration n everth eless . We shall see bel ow that for horse dance groups another classificati on is more appropriat e.

3

The Javanese te rm is jaranan buta but the repo rts are \vritten in Indo nes ian, and ,vhe re citing them , I follow the ir s pellin g. 1

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III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horsedancegroups

~y m

43

The history of SamboyoPutro

a

It is no coincidence that Samboyo Putro 4 was established in 1971, the year of

Jr

the first general elections in Indonesia under the New Order. 5 The initiative for its formation was taken in January of that year by the police officer Pak Samboyo ,6 who was a member of the government party Golkar,7 which was primarily intent on preserving its own position. He told me how he had conceived the wish to help his party actively at the start of the election campaign in January l~ll, when members of the different political parties were called on to do their best to make the elections a success . Initially he did not know how to go about this . While meditating in the place of pilgrimage Pamenang Jayabaya 8 one day he received a wangsit ('divine inspiration') to form a horse dance group wn.h other members of his neighbourhood to add lustre to the Golkar campaign. The aim was to enlist as many people for the election campaign as possible and to put them in the right mood by means of performances.9 Because shows of this kind were regarded as a voluntary contribution to the elections, the actors received no fee. These performances did help make the group's name known, however. Fourteen years later Samboyo Putro appeared to have become by far the most popular horse dance group of Kediri town . Pak Samboyo also received the inspiration for the name Samboyo Putro

r,

n y s r

4

The infonr,ation for th.is section is drawn largely from interviews with Pak Samboyo . Th ese were the second general elections in the history of the Indon es ian Republic , th e first taking pl ace under President Sukarno in 1955, in the p eriod of the so- called Old Order (Dahm 1971:169-73). 6 In 1985 Pak Sambo yo was regional commanding o fficer of the mobile p olice squad (Komd a . Mo brig, Koman dan Daerah Mobile Brigade) of Mojoroto (Kediri). 7 The name Golk ar is an .::cronym of Go longan Karya , 'Fu nct iona l Groups ', an organizati on of so-called politically neutral groups or, in Pemberton 's ('i989:2) wo rd s, gro up s 'n ot de fined as a p olitiG1l party per se' . During Presid ent Suharto's regime it was the govemrne nt party, of which inte r alia public servants we re supposed to be members. 8 Other names fo r this p lace of pilgrimage are Memenang/Mamenang Jayabaya and Menang Jayabaya, after the viilage of Menang in the sub-d istrict (kecamatan) of Pagu (Ked iri), wnere the remai ns have been found of w hat may once have been a royal bathing-pl ace supposedly belon ging the pal ace of the legendar y 12th-c entur y ruler of Kzd;ri, }ayabaya. A start was made in the mid-l 970s with th e partial 'resto raticn' o i this cor.1plex and the constructi :m of a svmbolic gra, ·e (officially inauguratE:d 17 Apr il 1976) in com m emorat ion of this famous ruler, to whom the p:-0phccy of the coming of a Ra ,:.i Adil (Just RulP.r) is attributed (Suwa rsono 2000:14; Petilasan Sri Aji Joyob oyo 1989:lC) . This prophecy has played an important r0le in Javanes e history (sec, for exzmp le, Carey 1981:xxxii). Pak Sambo yo was assured of the protection of a powerful ~ncest0~, therefore, wh ich stood him in good stead as trdnce .'1dSter. 9 It is clear from Kartomi's statement that 'In the period leading up to the general elections in d most extensively, indeed almost exclusively, b;1 Goll-:a r' (Kartomi 1976:118) 1971, reyog was :.isEe that the use of hor se dance troupes was one of Golkar 's tactics. Bou vier likewise points to Golkar's influence on Madurese performances , which incorporated political slogans and publicity for Golkar (Bouvier 1994:97-8). 5

(the mec a bE

Sarr dan an i pos ha d

pm Sch

ign lik1 of Ac

me tin

as Se/

an wl

bl Tl T]

le

h (5 T d d

!•

The crown as part of the monument

of Pamenang Jayabaya . Photograph

by autho r.

III SamboyoPutro and othergenresof horse dance groups

45

(the Indonesian spelling of the Javanese name Sambaya Putra) during his meditation. It is an acronym of samad bebayaputra, literally meaning 'exercising a beneficial effect (samad) on the peril (bebaya) to the sons (putra)', which Pak Sambo yo explained as putra kalisaa ing bebaya, 'may my sons be invulnerable to danger '. This name , representing a plea for the performers' wellbeing, contains an unmistakable allusion to the dangers of the trance. In recognition of his position as leader of the group , Pak Samboyo, whose real name was Sukiman, had the name of the group bestowed on him by his family and friends .10 Samboyo Putro was classed as a jaranan sentherewe. This name is a compound of the words senthe, denoting an edible tuber (Alocacia macrorhiza Schott) the juice of which causes itchiness, 11 and rewe, a variant of rawe, designating a wild climbing plant (Mucuna prurita Hk) with hairy pods, which likewise cause itchiness.12 The .common feature of the two component parts of the name is that they each designate a plant causing irritation to the skin. According to Pak Dhalang the name sentherewe alluded to the often jerky movements of the horse dancers when in trance, as though they were continually suffering from itchiness, a physical reaction known from elsewhere as well (Darmadji and Pfeiffer 1969:3287). The origin of the characterization sentherewe has not become clear to me . Except in the above-mentioned reports and in interviews with government officials, I have not come across it anyw here . On its banner, the group did not describe itself as a jaranan sentherewe but as a kesenian jawa asli, an 'authentic Javanese art form'.

The members of Samboyo Putro The gro up Sambo yo Putro comprised from 21 to 30 pla ye rs , aside fro m its leader, Pak Samboyo . The latter was assisted as trance master by Pak Gambuh , his assis tan t gambuh, and Pak Sajen, who was respon sible for the offerings (sajen) and for the physical comfort of the d ancers once they we re in tran ce. The thr ee of them we re respo nsible for the wellbeing of all th ose pr ese nt: the dancers, th e musicians, the h elper s, ,md th e spectators . Pak Gambuh also d oubl ed as a mask d ancer. For the mus ica l accompaniment Pak Sambo yo

As " ·ill become obvious from "·hat follows , a fe" · ot her in embers of the gro u p "·ere a lso referred t
46

Jaranan

Arno the F helpi and T

farni Sam to h livei

His eral: insi ·

waE wai ass, ha\ poi The almost complete Samboyo Putro company in Mojoroto. Photograph by author .

was assisted by the above-mentioned Pak Dhalang as singer, narrator and , conductor of the musicians - thus a role comparable to that of a dhalang of the wayang theatre. By chanting passages from the legend on which the performances were based, he gave a rough indication of the course of these performances. He was supported by a female singer (swarawali), Bu 13 Swarawati, and seven musicians. One of t,1,e musicians, the slompret player Pak Slompret, 14 usuall y we nt into a trance during performances and in that state invariably acted the part of the clown from the Panji mask dance, Penthul. The group of danc ers, finally . was composed of six hor se d ance rs , seven m ask dancer s (in cluding Pak Gambuh and Pak Slompret/Penthul), and the dancer with the v,1i]d boar puppet (celengan). Sporadi cally a r,umber of child ren of members of the compa ny ,-vou ld also take part in a pe rformance, su ch as a group of six ve ry yOL,ng hor se dancers on tin y h orses and a gro up of thr ee young bri dhen dancer s g ivin g a d emo nstration of Ame rican break-dancing, for in sta nce.15

wa of we Pa1 as lm th, nc as ev

er w

ar Cl

01

a, h

13

Bu is an abbrev iation of the ,vord ibu, 'mother. Mrs'. The othe r slompret p layer, Pak Beja, was to be he" rd pla y ing th e slompret much less ofte n . As a rul e he played a va riety of in struments, which is why I am calling him by his ow n n ame. 15 Break-dancing, called bridhen, o r sometimes tari pribenai., in Kediri , was exceptionelly popular at the time of my resea rch thne. H

II

g

i: g

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

rm- ' md t ,14

bly ,up ers the ers six 1en , 15

As

•lly

47

Among the actual number of persons actively involved in the performances the players ' wives should' also be mentioned , as well as a varying number of helpers. They rendered all kinds of services behind the scenes , both at home and during performances. 16 The members of Samboyo Putro considered themsel ves to form one big family. Many of them were, in fact, related to each other by marriage . Pak Samboyo was their spiritual leader - a position he owed first and foremost to his role as trance master. He felt responsible for the ups and downs in the lives of the members of his group outside performances as well, however. His social position , which, with the exception of Bu Swarawati's, was considerably higher than that of th_e other members of the company, played a not insignificant part in this. Thus he helped out wherever possible if one of them was in (financial) difficulties, tor instance . The relatively high social standing of Bu Swarawati, who in daily life was a teacher, posed no threat to Pak Samboyo's position. It was generally assumed, as we saw in the preceding chapter, that as a woman she would have no access to the necessary esoteric knowledge, and hence would not possess sufficient authority to act as leader . The low social status of the majority of the members of Samboyo Putro was to a large extent commensurate with their low level of education. Most of them had enjoyed only a few years of primary education, while some were virtually illiterate . Only Pak Samboyo, Bu Swarawati, Pak Dhalang, and Pak Slompret, had enjoyed some sort of secondary education, the two latter as puppeteer at one cf the numerous Central Javanese dhalnng schools. The low level of education of most of the others was partly responsible for how they made a living . With the exception of Pak Samboyo and Bu Swarawati, none of the members had a regular income. They were generally registered as swasta, '(sma ll) businessmen and traders', which term in actual fact was a euphemism for 'une mplo ye d'. The y had to make ends m eet as casual labourer, truck driv er, pedicab (becak) dri ver, or stallholder. Some Sambo yo Putro wome n ran a small shop from home as a sid elin e. Excepting Pak Sa1:1boyo and Bu Swarawah , the members Gf th e grnup belo n ged to the class o[ wong cil ik. Th ey rega rd ed th eir part icipation in hor se dances as 2 habby, w h ich they only pr act ised w hen they we re contr 2.cte::l tor a perform ance, h oweve r. Abou t the origin of such group s of occas ional performer s I ha ve com e across onl y a few sporadi c bit s of in form a tion in the literatur e. Pig eaud , in his d escripti on of mask dances in East Java , tells u s that the se performers and 16 In Menang, on the occasio n of Na h ona l Ind epen d ence O;iy on 17 P.u gus t 1985, the wo men got busy washing the swea t-s ta ined clot hes of th e d ance rs w hil e the performanc e was s till in progress, so as to ha ve th ese rea d y in time for th e nex t d ay' s show . Na tiona l Ind ep end en ce Day gene rally us hered in a success ion o f pe rform ar.ces for Sam boyo Put ro .

48

Jaranan

the audience s to w hich the y pla y are often members of some society founded especiall y for this purpose. The y give performances for each other without a : fee, in the kno w led ge th at the y can similarl y count on their fellow-members' ' cooperation w hen the y give a party themsel ves (Pigeaud 1938:155) . This kind of society sh ould be distinguished from the amateur societies set up , chiefl y in urban centres , for the sake of practising a particular art form, more especiall y (Javanese) dancing, around the 1920s. In imitation of the West, this kind of society w as meant to rehearse at set times under the supervision of a specialist. The y might give public performances, for instance benefit perform- · ances , on special occasions, 17 but the principal aim of these societies was to pla y together (Pigeaud 1938:37). Sambo yo Putro differed from these kinds of societies in two respects . It was unlike mutual benefit societies in that it had not been established with the expre ss aim of adding lustre to each other's parties to keep down the costs, although this might happen when occasion arose. It was dissimilar to amateur societies in that its members perform only if commissioned. Although I regularl y found the members of the group in each other 's company - they were most of them neighbours - I ha ve never seen them rehearse. As in the : w ayang theatre , it is true that every horse dance performance should be ' regard ed up to a point as the dress rehearsal for the next performance. The mor e commission s a grm..:. p is able to secur e, the better attuned to each other its member s become . The quali ty of a performance is, in . fact, often directl y . pro p ortionate to th e popularity of the group.

The actors' props, parts and costumes Sam boyo Put ro's stag e requi site s we re ow n ed by Pak Sam b oyo. Th ey compr ised two sets of six h orses , one large and on e sm all, seve n ma sk s, a b ig lea th er pup p et in th e form of a w ild boa r (celeng), severa l sm all and tw o big w hip s (pecut), mu sical instrument s, and costu mes w ith matching orn am ent s. I h ave alrea d y for th e greater p art de scribe d th e bamb oo h orse s (jaranan). The larg er horses m easure d abo ut 140 centim etres from hea d to tail. Th e sm aller horses we re about h alf thi s size . Th e ride rs sat astrid e th ese and held th em by th e neck al ternat ely w ith on e or bo th ha nd s. Th e h orses m oreove r h ?.d cor d s attached to th em th a t could be tied ov er th e dan cers' shou ld ers, so th at th ey could freel y move b oth ha nd s simult an eo u sly. Th e hors es,

17 Like the wuyang wong perform ance given by Java nese a m ateurs li ving in Deli (Sumatra) u nder the aus pices of the De lische Kun st krin g (Del i A rt Society), for exa mpl e (Lnkon 'PergiwoPergiwati' 1916; Clara ·.ran Groenen d &el 1987 :96-7).

whi< Dep a pa

1 face beir and

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

:led 1t a ers' 'his up , ore his

49

which were painted black , displayed the name of the group on their rumps. Depending on the occasiort'for which the performance was given, sometimes 18 a particular emblem was affixed to the horses' necks as well. The masks were of two different kinds . The first comprised the so-called facernasks, which were tied before the actor 's face and represented human beings. The second were placed over the actor's head and represented animals and ogres . According to the type of character depicted by each of the seven

,£a m-

to

. It ith :ts, ta-

gh ey he be r

:1e

er ly

1-

H orse i:. th e 'Po iice Day' p erfo rm anc e with a tr affic sign on its neck . Photograp h b y a uth o r.

5.

). e

d r

ma sks, the y m ay be further d iv id ed into th e ciltego ries of kni ght s' ma sks (two , representing Toh Bagus and Pu jangga -Anom), clow n m asks (one, rep resent in g Penthul), anima l ma sks (twc, r ep r es entin .g the tiger (111aca11) Macan an d th e m onkey (kethek) Keth ek), an rl m y tho log ical ani m al or og re m asks

For p erformances on National Independe n ce Day thi s was a circle p ain ted red and white , the colou rs of the Ind ones ian flag , and fo r Police Da y tr a ffi c 5igns, a d iffe rent orie on each horse .

18

Jaranan

50

I

Toh Bagus mask. Line drawing by Hans Borkent. Pujangga-Anom mask. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

(barorzg)(two, representing Singakumbang and Singc:barong) . The wooden mask representing Toh Eagus, a prince from Ponorogo, was painted black and had round, bulging eyes and a bulbous snub nose. It had a black cloth w ith a w oolly m op of hair and long red tassels on eith er side , attach ed to it. With thi s cloth th e m as k w as tied around th e d ancer 's he ad . Toh Bagus' pat ih (gran d vizie r or first mini ster), Pujan gg a-Ancm , w as rep r esent ed by a wooden mask , paint ed red, wit h bul gin g eyes and a long, ra th er p oint y nose. This m ask, wit h a woo lly v,,hite w ig a nd long red tasse ls, was likew ise tied around th e dancer 's head with a cloth. The clown mask repr ese nting Penthul was a ha lf-mask painted wJ-1iteth at cove red onl y th e upper par t of the d ance r 's face . It h ad w h iske rs p ain ted on either side of a rath e :- stumpy nose,iq which sometimes moreo,.e r h ad rea l h airs glued on top cf th em . Th e upper 3aw had two large teeth ;ffixed to it.

As hal : to E d a1 COC

OU

ar as pr llE

of

2C 19

The name Penthul is derived from menthu/, ' rese mbiing a thick knob' (F igeaud 1982) .

lS

III SamboyoPutro and othergenres of horsedancegroups

51

Penthul mask. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

Sing akumbang mask. Line dra wing by Hans Borkent.

As the mask had no lower jaw , the dancer 's mouth remained visible . This h alf-mask was tied to the face by a cord or a piece of elastic. All th ree of the abo ve masks had small slits cut into th em und er the eyes to enable th e dancers to see. In order to be able to see their surroundings , the d ancers h ad to tilt their h ead s!ighti y b ack, therefor e. Thi s gave them a rather cocky air, as befitted th eir pa rt. In con tr as t wi th the above -d escribed m asks, w hi ch we re delicately carved ou t of a ligh t kind of wood, the two barong masks we re coarse iy wo rked out of a heavier typ e of wood. Th ey were placed ove r th e danc er's head in suc h a way as to enabl e him to see through the open mouth. The jc1ws were movable and produced a loud , Jr y, cracking sound v,·hen snapp ed shut. Singak um ba ng 20 was th e leader of th e wi ld forest animals (satosalnk) and was Toh Bagus' oppo nen t. His ma sk had a pronounced snout with two pairs of tusks, a wh oie row of pointed _, eth, and a leather top painted in different colours and having th e

ic

A compound

1982).

of singa (Sanskrit , ' lion ') and k11111!mng (Javanese, 'carpen ter bee') (Pigeaud

Jaranan

52

Singabarong mask . Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

form of a crown (makutha) of the type worn in wayang pla ys. It represented a cat-like animal and for this reason was also called Kucingan (derived from kucing, ' cat') . Singabarong, 21 the ogre king, not only was Toh Bagus' principal antagonist, but also the leading character in the performance as a whole. His mask had a very prominent snout with a long row of teeth, so that he slightly resembled a dragon or a , snake. His painted leather crown had a bull's horns marked on it, as well as a few Javanese characters, which accord- • ing to Pak Dhalang spelled the word . brahala,'idol' or 'false god',22 inscribed in the centre . Both barong masks, each worn by a different -dancer, had a cloth suspended from them, which largely • hid the dancers from view. I3oth barong represented h ybrid creatures. The masks repre senting Macan and Kethek, the so-called sato galak and Singakumbang's companions , were made of papier mache. They exactly fitted the dan cer's head and were moreover tied tightly around his head . Macan's mask was painted yellow with d ark stripes and resembl ed the head of a tiger. Th e cloth suspended from the mask, which p ar tiall y covered the dancer , was so metimes painted so as to look like a tige r sk in . Kethek, th e mon ke y ma sk, was black and had a pro nounced snout and big :10Ies in pl ace of eyes . The se masks , exce pt that of , Penthul, sometimes had bells attached to them, v,hich ga ve the dancers ' perl

Macan mask. Line Jrawin g by Hans Borkent.

)

f, (

e C

e

1 a i r 2

t

s f C

f

t

t t }

21

Singabarong is a compound made up of sin ga, 'lio n ', and barong, from Old Javanese bar wang, 's un bear' (Ursus malayanus) (Zoetmulder J.982). 2 ' Pi geaud 1982. These Javanese characters were rath er unclear, however.

III Samboyo Pu tro and other genres of horse dance groups

s' la

Celeng Kala Srenggi puppet. Line drawing by Hans Borkent. Kethek mask. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

formance a cheerful note . The wild boar, Kala Srenggi or Celeng, inSamboyo Putro's performances and in some legends Singabarong's compa...-uonwas represented by a leather puppet in the form of a legless wild boar . It was chiefly black and had the animal's snout and tusks painted on it in bright contrasting colours . It had rattan handles affixed to it at the head and tail end s, by which the danc er held th e puppet with both hand s. There were two kinds of w hip s, sma ll and large ones . Th e former was for th e hor se dancers, who in the vari ous opening dances de scr ibed gra cefu l figur es with th em. As th e d ance grev,, ,,vilder, th ey continu ally crack ed th em in the ai r. I h ave n eve r see n th em strik e themse lves o r each o th er w ith th em . N or hav e I ever seen the two gam buh u se the bi g sac red w hip , n amed Kyai Samand iman, to hit th e actors , as seemed to be the prnctice in some

The Kyai Sama ndi1n an \,·hip. Line drawing by H an s Borkent.

53

54

Jaranan C

H orse m an in trance, b eing restra in ed b y Kya i Samandiman.

other gro up s.23 Th ey o nly mc>ans of loud cracks. Th ey pl e by strok ing the dancer's I have n eve r see n th e 23

sen·ed to help the dancers were also used as a ' th erape head with it to restore him w hip u sed as a 'weapo n '

Photo gr ap h by author.

go int o a trance by uti c' agent, for exa m to consciou ness. in performanc es by

For examp le, a jaran kepang group in Banyumas (Central Ja va) . To cite Kartomi (1973b :21): 'The leade r may then pick up a long whip ,rnd str ike the entrance d d ancer on th e legs, back o r arms. But the dancer, in a state of hypnotic anaesthesia, neither winces nor shows any othe r reac tion; he feels nothing and the whip do es not seem to hurt his skin.'

III Samboyo Pu tro and other genres of horse dance groups

55

other groups that I attended in Kediri and surroundings either:' My Kediri informants told me that the use of whips or sticks to strike each other in play is found only in the tiban ritual (derived from tiba, 'to drop, descend ' ) of Ngadiluwih (Kediri), 24 which has nothing to do with horse dancing. The two big whips called Kyai Samandiman by Pak Dhalang in his chants had magic powers attributed to them by the members of Samboyo The kendhang panaraga, the Putro. The sound they made was kendhang gendhing and the ketipung. Line drawing by Hans Borkent. like that of the 'v oices of a thousand thunderstorms' (Kartomi 1976:112). According to a legend from Ponorogo the whip Jimat (' amulet') Samandiman was a present from an esoteric science guru to his pupil Klana Sewandana, ruler of Bantarangin , whom we shall encounter aga in later . Although the big whips are some of the regular requisites of East Javanese horse dance groups, the name Samandiman does The h-vokenong and the kethuk. not appear to be common . Aside from Line drawing by Hans Borkent. Samboyo Putro and the Ponoro go reyog (Kartomi 1976:112; Go Tik Swan 1971), I ha ve only come across it in the jaranan jawa of Tulungagung. Everywhere else both the big and the small whips were referred to simply as pecut or cambuk. Samboyo Putro's performances were accompanied by a gamelan orc h es-

I

·,

(

I-

I I

y ): ,r

~

~~

The \\"Ord Ji/nu-,means , Jmong othl'r things, ' to d,-op from the sky (liked mir acle)' (Pigeaud 1982). Th e ritual was o riginall y a rain ~itudl, cor ,1prising ,, series o f hand-tc-hand fights in \\'hich the male parti cipant s bad to hit each o ther in tt:rns \\"ith sticks o r rattan c.ines until th ey drew blood - a ki!1d of 'imitative rna gic', ba;ed on the theory of 'l ike produc ~s like' (Keesing 1965:334). for the hi story of tibnn sec ?emininnn rnkyat 1984:53-63. Today it cons ists of a se ries of m:rn-i oman fights using wh ips or sticks, subject to very strict rules , in which skill is all -imp o rt an t and bloodshed is supposed to be avoided as much as possible (pe rsor.dl communication by an official of the cultural affairs bureau for th e district of Kediri , summe r 1985). It bears a cer ta in resem blance to a game called 'gitician' (Bra ndt s Buys and Brandts Buy3-van Zijp 1926:211-2), known also amo ng ethnic Madurese as oj111g1 (Pem,ni11n11rnkynt ]984:13~--!0).

56

Jaranan

The slompret.Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

of la1 sle

pi The gong ageng, gong suwuk and the kempul. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

co The demung. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

W,

ti< ar

ac

Ja h,

The saran. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

tra consisting of the following instruments .25 A set of double-headed

drums

(kendhan g ), rangin g in size from la rg e to small , as follows: the kendlrnng panaraga, the ken dhang, 26 and som etimes th e ketipu ng . A fram ework w ith three kettl edrums of diff ere nt sizes and pit ch: tw o kenong and on e kethuk . A series of hangin g go ngs of di ffe rent sizes, fr om lar ge to sm all: gong, suwuk , and kem pul . Two w in d instrum ents c f th e sh aw m ty pe (slompret). A v<1rying n um ber

25

Littl e research has bc'en d one to date o n the c,)mpos ition of East J,1,·3nese g,1mElans. Ther e a re n-,ajor local variations in the names for the instrume nt s, sometinws within one and tl.e same g coup , and the m os t (:Ommon names orig ina te fro m Cent ral Java The instrum ents were very s imp! P, moreover, an d sometimes, in compa r;son with the gamelan of Solo, of a hybrid form. 26 TI1e sma ller kendhang. in So!o also ca lled kenrlhar1ggendhing, has been d esc rib ed by Kun s t (19-19:202) as 'th e principal one of the drum forms which are p a rt of the large Cen tra l Java ne se ga melan' , In th e leather -puppet play (wnynng k11/it) of Solo it is th e larg es t and m os t import ant kendhang; in the jarnnan of Kediri a nd surroundings , th e keJJrihangpaJJarngais one of th e th ree . m ust cha racte ristic in str um ents , th e others being th e slompret and the n11gk/11;1g

"' F g Ii ii i.J i c

III SamboyoPutro and other genres of horsedance groups

57

w-

l

ns rn-

ee es ·, 171 -

·er

The angklung. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

The keprak. Line drawing by Hans Borkent.

of metallophones, of which the smallest is a kind of saran (centhe'),27 a slightly larger one is sometimes called demung, and the largest is also referred to as slenthem. A varying number of bamboo instruments , of different sizes and pitch, played by shaking (angklung). And finally, a kind of clapper (keprak) consisting of one or more brass discs. In the 1992 performance the angklung was substituted by a pair of maracas. . Kartomi (1976:103) describes the kendhang panaraga (Ponorogo)' as 'exceptionally long, heavy and wide compared with most Southeast Asian drums' , and as 'typifying' horse dance performances . The most suggestive instrument accompan ying the horse dance is the slompret (or selompr et), however , which Jaap Kunst (1949 :238) describes as ' a wooden shawm' or a 'kind of oboe' having a double blowing reed made of lontar leaf .28 The slompret provides w hat Kartomi (1976 :99-100) calls the pelog-slendro amb iguity of reyog music . For where m0st horse dance music is in the seven-note pelog scale (as distinguished from the five-not e slendro scale), sh e sa ys, the slompret pla yer puts th e listener 's ton al sense to th e tes t by an ambiguous combinati on of slendro-like inter v als and deviating pelog intonations, w hich gives th e music an element of incessa nt ton al uncert ain ty and su rp ris e . Later w e shall see h ow thi s ambi gu ity of the slompret is reflected by th e tr anc e . As in the r&yog prmaraga, the kendhang panaraga an d th e tw o slompret pl ayed a leadi n g p art in Samboyo Putro 's performance s . In the reyog panaraga, h ow eve r, the ten sion creat ed b y th em wa s release d n o t in a tranc e, as in th e case of Samboyo P ut ro and otl1er horse d ance groups , bu t in some spec tacula r fea ts

:re ,,e

•ry 1,t

:se int

:ee

27

Of the centhi, which was found onl y in PulihrFjo , I h ave 110 illustra tion, as i wa.s u nable to take any photos at the time and Samboyo Putro's inEtruments we re quite different from those of, for instance, the Central Javanese (50!0, Yogya) gamelan. 28 I h ave heard this instrument refe rr ed to a few tim es as sru,wi (a va riant of san111ai,san111i), which is actually a m o re appropriate name for it (see Gericke and Roorda 1901, 1:761: 'saruni, also si:n111en,name of a kind of oboe or clarinet').

per

Pu

Pk tio: Pu

en fu]

da Pu th , sit an

wi

en th tr ;

Ja SC

er o!

le

p d

p a

ti n a s

t

Pak Beja in Sumberagung . Photog raph by Marije Duijker.

III SamboyoPutro and other genresof horse dancegroups

.. ~

59

performed by the barong and his companion, a very young horse dancer. 29 The role of the angktung was not uniformly the same in all of Samboyo Putro's performances . Sometimes, as for instance in Sumberagung (in Plosoklaten , Kediri) in 1992, it was absent altogether. In one brief demonstration performance 30 the angklung accompanied Pak Dhalang's chants. And in Pulihrejo it was played repeatedly to introduce a change in the horse dancers' dance patterns, among other things . The other instrument that sometimes fulfilled this role was the kecer. Contrary to what was the case in other horse dance groups from Kediri, the kecer did not appear to be part of Samboyo Putro's standard. equipment. From interviews with members of different horse dance groups it appeared that the size of the gamelan (as well as the kinds and numbers of other requisites) was to a large extent dependent on the financial situation of the group, and so, indirectly, on its popularity. Samboyo Putro, which had started off with a small number of instruments, had been enabled by its success to enlarge its garnelan to some extent. Pak Samboyo told me that his ambition was to possess a 'complete' gamelan some day . What he had in mind here was the composition of so-called classical Soloncse wayang wong gamelan orchestras, supplemented with the kendhang panaraga,the slompret, and the angklung - instruments that according to him were inextricably bound up with (East) Javanese horse dances. There are a variety of reasons for which a group may have to part with some of its props or one or more of its instruments, and even to dispose of its entire gamelan . The principal such reasons are financial pressures as a result of a drop in the number of commissions, and the departure or death of the leader and often the owner of the requisites . The latter happened to Samboyo Putro and eventually led to the group's disbandment. The musicians of Samboyo Putro showed themselves to possess a high degree of flexibility. Although they each had a certain preference for one particular ir1strument, they regularly stood in for each other durin g performances. Pak Samboyo and Pak Gambuh or the h elpers sometimes also joined the gam elan for a while. The slompret was played by invariably the same two musicians, Pak Slompret and Pak Beja, however, never simultane ous ly but always alternatel y. This was neces sa ry, accord ing to both, because pl ay ing the slompret is ext reme ly exhaust;n g. Samboyo Putro 's cost um es wer e a mixture of traditional , folksy costumes , the dres s of Central Javanese wayang wong dancers , an d fantasy outfits . Pak 29 In the performan ce at the home of Go Tik Swar, in Solo , this smali horse dancer jumped onto the reyog's hcaci. 30 An abridged performance of only one hour or: the occasion of a visit from some distin guished guests from Jakarta.

60

Jaranan

of m,

trous or fri t-shii very ofter

Sam wor 1 cott< I hor : rou

di££ the tha

tro1 wh thE col

(gc W< Wl

as ba a<

B tl

a B

c Pak Gambuh be h ind th e kendhang panaraga. In the background the two slompret players, Pak Beja (lef t) and Pak Slompret (rig ht ). Ph o tograph by author.

Samboyo strove to achieve a certain uniformitv in the dress of the musici an s and th h orse dancers. Bu t it was difficult especially for thE latter to keep this up roug h out the performance, as the dancers had to get changed regularl y so as not to cc1tch cold, since th ey u suall y p e,·spired profusel y as a result of al! th e cape rs th ey cut. stu The co mes of th e musici ans, Pak Sajen, Pak Dh alang and the tw o trance ma sters were th e simplest, and mor eove r pro vid ed the basis for th e costumes

C

C

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

61

of most of the other pla yers . They consisted of a pair of wide black cotton trousers, sometimes decorated at the hem and seams with coloured edging or fringes. On top of these was worn a loose black jacket over a cotton top or t-shirt with horizontal red and white stripes. 31 This was complemented with a very wi de leather belt to which magic powers were attributed 32 and into which often a talisman or pieces of incense were tucked . The two trance masters, Pak Sambo yo and Pak Gambuh , as well as Pak Sajen and Pak Dhalang additionally wore a so-called victory cord (lawe menang) of white or red-and-white braided cotton thread around their neck as a sign of their supernatural powers. Except for the victory cord, this was also the typical outfit of the itinerant horse dance troupes (jaranan barangan) wandering around in the area surrounding Kediri. In the case of these itinerant groups there was hardly any difference in dress between the musicians and the dancers. The costume of the horse dancers of Samboyo Putro, on the other hand, was more similar to that worn in the wayang wong. It consisted of a fairly tight pair of knee-length trousers with a long batik hip cloth tied crosswise over them, the tips of which almost touched the ground in front, a shirt or t-shirt, sometimes with the name of the group or, like soccer players, a number on the back, and a colourful cotton headband (iket) . The horse dancers further wore two dance sashes (sampur) tied to their belt (sabuk) and a leather band with small bells (gongseng) around their ankle . In some performances the horse dancers also wore decorated leather bands on their upper arms (kelat bau) and around their wrists (gelang), as well as leather ear ornaments (sumping), all of the same type as those wo rn by mask dancers and wayang wong dancers . Th e costume of the knights Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom and of the two barongwas p artl y the same as that of the mus icians, except that the two kni gh ts additionally wore t wo dance sashes and someti mes a kind of cotton apron. Because they were wearing masks, th ey had no headbands. 1he actor pla ying the par t of the clown Penthul was one of the musicians , as was mention ed above . When he went into a trance he just had the penthul mask tied to his face. Because the two barong dancers, like Macan , were alm ost complete ly hidden by a cloth hantJ1g down from their masks, they did not as a rule wear special costum es . Ma can som etim es w ore a kind of am1y cam oufl age suit. Keth ek, on the other hand, gene rally wore a close -fitti ng black su it w ith a b lack-,md white chequered cotto n h ip clot h tied over it crossw ise, two dance sashes aro un d his waist, and often anothe r sash aro u nd h is neck. The most coio u rfu l ms up so

all Ke 1es

31 Except for th e colo u red h·immings and the red -an d-w h ite st riped top . this was the custom ary dress 0f the peasants and laboure rs in the sur roundings of Kedi ri. 32 In the legend abo ut the origin of th e reyog pcnr.raga(a mo re elabo ra te version than that given by Staugaa rd in 1921), th is 'magic belt' is exp lained as being a means of neutralizing the 'mag ic power' of Singabarong (Ka rtom i 1976:113) .

62

Jaranan

Pak Slompret as Penthul. Photograph by authcr .

costume was that of Kala Srenggi, the dancer with the puppet of the wild boar _ (celeng).Under his black cotton knee-length pants he had on brightly coloured cotton socks, while he also wore a varicoloured chequered hip cloth .33 The six yonng horse dancers sometimes got up like young wayang wong dancers. The three bridfien dancers, on the other hand, were dressed wholly in black, with two coloured dance sashes around their waist and a coloured band around the ir h ead. Bu Swarawati wore now traditional Javane se dress - for example on fairl y solemn occas ions , like th e d er!lon stration performan ce in Mojoroto and th e p erfo rm anc e in Pulihr ejo - now, on m ore in form al occasions, Wes tern dre ss. The horse dance rs, the two knights, Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom , and dlh1g Kala Srenggi, finall y, lent their faces greater exp ressi\'e ness by m ea ns of make-up , that of the latt er being th e mos t striking. 33

In the 1992 perfvrmance 1n Surr-tberagung t:,t:! forn1Pr ceiengdancer vv2s replaceJ by a young girl who had fir st perfo rmed with the gamelan as singer. She was dressed like a 1,gremo(dance of welcome) dancer , that is to say, a transvestite , and made up like a man, with a big moustache, and around her n ec k wore nn embroidered ve lvet breast cloth like that worn by some horse dancers in other groups.

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

63

Macan's entrance. Photograph by author .

The jnranan sentherewe according to the report Deskripsi rekapitulasi !th 1d •le to m

n, >y

,g

As indicat ed above , Samboyo Putro is classed as a jaranan sentherewe (Data organisasi kesenian 1985). An idea of what is meant by this term is given in the summ ary (Deskripsi rekapitulasi 1985) of this report. 34 As we shall see, there is a w ide di ve rge nc e betw ee n thi s d es cription and th e re al situati on in Samb oy o Put ro. For example, the section un de r th e hea d ing pe/aku ('cas t' ) gives th e follow ing list (Tab le 1): two h o rse d ance rs (kudn-kudann), on e Th e th ek-m elek (anothe r n am e for Pujangga -An om ), on e Pent hu l d an cer, one /Jarong dance r (baro11g{111) , one tige r d an cer (111ncnnn11), one w ild boa r danc er (celengnn), one tranc e m as ter (gambuh), and on e fem ale s in ge r (swarnwati). This summary run s tc a lar ge extent pa rallel to the list u nd er pelengkapan a/at (' pr ops' ), w hich

)f d ·s

34

As the data in this sectio n have bee n t;iken from th is repo rt, exce pt wher e ot herwi se ind icated, and only the firs t of the two pa ges cov e red by it is re leva nt for ou r purp ose5 he re, l shall give no page re fe rences for it in w h~t follo w s.

Table 1. The composition and equipment of the jaranan sentherewe of Kediri accor to the repo rt Deskrjpsi rekapitulasi 1984/1985 and in Sambo yo Putro

Deskripsi rekapitulasi•

Sambo yo Putro

Cast (pelaku)

2 kuda-kudaan 1 Thethek-melek 1 Penthul l barongan l macanan l celengan 1 gambuh l swarawati

6 horse dancers 2 knights 1 Penthul 2 barong dancers l macan dancer C Ce /eng dancer 2 trance masters (gambuh) 1 female singer (swarawati) 1 ni'.rrator 1 master of offerings 5 to i musicians helpers

Props (pelengkapana/at)

kuda cambuk thethek-melek penthul barong macan celengon

6 horses whips 2 knights' masks l penthul mask 2 barong masks l macan mask 1 wild boar puppet (celengan) l kethek mask

Gam elan (i1ingan)

2 kendhang

2 kendhang (kendhang panaraga, kendhang [l ketipung ]) 3 kettledrums (2 kenong, l kethuk) 3 go n gs (gong, suwuk , kempul) 3 or mor e angklung 2 s!ompret 2 or 3 metallophones (centhe, saran, demung, sle11them) l kece~ 2 m aracas

[2 kettledrums:] kethuk, kenong 3 gang 3 angklung 2 trampet [metallophones:] 2 saran [1 ketipung]

Costumes and iknt kcpa/a orname nt s br.i11 (pelmgkapan b11sr,na) kai11pa11ja11g sa111p 11r gangseng

he adclot h (ikt'I kc;mta) jacker and knee -length trouse rs b;:itik shi rt dance sas hes (saillpur) ank lets (gangseng) uppe r-am,_ba nd s (kelat bau) w ris t ba nds (gelang) ea r ornamen t (su111p ing)

TI1ereport follows the Indonesian transcription of the Javanese w0rds

1

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

65

Bu Swarawati in Sumbe ragun g. Ph otograph by Marije Duijker .

has: horses (kudn), w hip s (cnmbuk, a synonym of pernt), thethek~melek m as k, pe11thulmask bnrong mask, tiger fftask (!llacn11),and w ild bo ar puppet (cele11gn11_), w ith no num bers being specified. In comparison with Samboyo Putro, th e box headed pelaku therefore lists four fewer horse da ncer s, one fewer knight (net mentioning Toh Bagus), and w hil e omitting the one fewe r barong dancer (leav ing out Singakumbang), monke y d ance r (Kethek) and one of the two trance masters, as well as the narrat o r and th e master of the offer ings , and not mentioning the musici ans at all.

66

Jaranan

arnc abSf of o

actE

rela tot inti

me Pu d11

(m to no gr w. bl SC

Pi a1

v,

le d V (.

\"

t

Pak Gambuh as Singaku mbang. Photogra ph by author.

The participation of only one instead of two gnrnbuh need not nec essa rily be problematic for the performance. In the case of Samboyo Pu tro, too, Pak Sajen and tlw helpers reg ularl y stepped in to take care of the trance clancers. Here, moreover, Pak Garnbuh himself always went int o a trance for a while in his part as Singakumbang or, as he put it, fell 'unde r the spell c,f the bnrong' (kesawaban barongan). Th e absence of Kethek presumably had little real effect on th e perfo!"mance either , apart from the liveliness this figure usually imparts . As regard'.> the numoer of horses and the seccmd barong, this was a differ ent matter. In Samboyo Putro's performances thei r appearance determined ,

III SamboyoPutroand other genres of horse dancegroups

67

among other things , the fixed order (pathokan)35 of the different acts. Hence the absence of two pairs of horse dancers (they invariably performed in pairs) and of one of the two barongpresumabl y had certain implications for the number of acts in the performance . The absence of Toh Bagus would especially affect the relation of the performance to the legend . As Pak Dhalang brought the legend to the audience's attention in various ways during performances, it became an integral element of these, in contrast to horse dance shows without a narrator . The gamelan instruments listed in the _box headed iringan (' accompaniment') in the report on the whole correspond with those used by Samboyo Putro, namely two kendhang, one kethuk and one kenong (both of them kettledrums), three gong, three angklung, two tron;zpet(variant of slompret), two saran (metallophones), and one ketipung. The latter , being a small drum, belongs to the kendhang group. However, as this group is not further specified, it is not clear whether the addition of the ketipung to it does or does not bring the group of kendhang to truee. In view of my experience with Samboyo Putro, which sporadically included this small drum in its gamelan, it seems probable that it does. Owing to this uncertainty, I have placed the ketipung between square brackets in Table 1. Finally, the jaranan sentherewe group Samboyo Putro, contrary to the list, coµnted two instead of one kenong among its standard instruments, according to the musicians and my own observations . Or . the subject of the performers ' costumes and ornaments the report is very brief. The bo x headed pelengkapan busana (' costumes ' ) only lists the follow ing : headcloth (ikat kepala), jacket (baju), a long hip-doth (kain panjang), dance sashes (sampur), and anklets (gongseng). This list corresponds largely w ith what I found to be the case in Sambo yo Putro. Onl y the ear ornaments (sumping) and upper-arm and w ri st bands (kelat bau and gelang) are not mentioned in th e report. Summ in g up , it m ay be said th at the d ata in the rep ort Deskripsi rekapitulasi differ from wh at I observed to b e th e case in Sambo yo Putro 's p erfo rmanc es as regards a n umber of not ins ignifican t items. The sa m e was tru e for an othe r Kediri group , Ha swo Usodo, wh ich was desc ribed in the repor t as a jaranan jawa grou p (Octa organisasi kesenia111985). ily rik

The j11ra111111 jawn Haswo Usodo and other genres of horse da11cegroups

rs. ll1

·g' ct

The jaranan jawn wa s geuerally defined as th e ' protot ype' (babon) of the phe nomen ori of th e horse danc e (Sinopsis 1985). Judging from the nurnb er of groups reg istered as jaranar:.jawa in Kediri district , it appea rs to be by far the

s.

r:l,

35

ll1e struchire of th e per formances will be discussed in Chapte r Vlll.

68

Jaranan

commonest type. No fewer than ninety-two of the total of a hundred and twenty recorded horS'e dance groups are classed as jaranan jawa, as opposed to only three jaranan sentherewe, twenty-one jaranan pegon, and four reyog panaragagroups (Rekap 1985). What the ratio between the different types was in Kediri town was impossible to determine , as the only report containing a description of the various kinds of horse dance there, Deskripsi rekapitulasi, gives no exact details. According to this report the reyog panaragais not found in the town, and hence this will not be taken into further consideration . The leader of the jaranan jawa group Haswo Usodo ('Heali.;.,g Horse') · was Pak Hadisutoyo, a member of the local administration (pamong desa) of the Kediri neighbourhood of Balowerti. Differently from Pak Samboyo , the leader of Samboyo Putro, he did not act as gambuh. The trance master and · director of the performances was Pak Usodo, alias Pak Kusmani. The group was formed in the 1970s.36 As far as I was able to establish during my attendance at a few of its performances, the group comprised about fourteen to twenty players, most of them between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five. Among them my regular informant, Pak Hadi, recognized several of his fellow-becak drivers. 37 It included four horse dancers, each on a differently coloured horse : black, white, red and yellow; 38 one knight, Klana Sewandana (alias Toh Bagus); two barong dancers; one celeng dancer; one trance master; at least five musiciar,s; and a number of helpers. The gamelan was made up of two drums , the kendhang panaraga and the kendlzanggendhing; one kethuk; two kenong; one kempul; and one slompret. The four horse dancers were very simply dressed. They wore only a pair of black trousers with coloured trimmings, and additionally a few wayang wong ornaments , sucb as leather upper-:irm bands (kelat bau), leather ear ornaments (sumping), and a leather anklet wit h bells (gongseng). Each dancer held a whip in his hand, which he cracked continually. The knight Klana Se.-.randana, also referred to as Thethek-melek 39 (Deskripsi rekapitulasi 1985), was dressed in a black, wide, calf-length pair of trousers with coloured trimmings and fringes at the seams and hem. On his bare torso he wore a kind of ve lvet collar or chest ornament (hiasa11dada) embroide red w ith beads. Differently from his opposite number in Samboyo Putro , Klan a Sewa ndana wore no mask but

1

had _ pain 1 Teml C six femi tige1 the J inSt( mW tinu exar Hai gro eac ten

inf,

Th

an na CG

of

pE he th p;

P'

b, T

36

Pak Hadisuto\·o and Pa k Usodo had \,·idely divergPnt opin ions about the exact yea r. In Kediri and surroundings I wa s often acco mpani ed by Pak Hadi , my regular l··'cak dri\·er , who, whe,iever the journey took us beyond the tcw n bound a rie s, exchanged hi s becakfo.- his

0

1

'

mnped. 38

It is striking that these hors es eac h ha
0 C

III SamboyoPutro and other genres of horse dancegroups

1d ~d

69

1a

had his face painted like. a mask Other groups, too, sometimes used face paint instead of real masks , as in the case of Penthul ~d his reguiar opponent Tembem in the group Wahyu Turonggo Budoyo of Tulungagung. 40 Of all the characters figuring in Samboyo Putro's performances , there were six - the narrator (Pak Dhalang), the master of the offerings (Pak Sajen), the female singer (Bu Swarawati), the second trance master (Pak Gambuh), the tiger dancer (Macan) , and the monkey dancer (Kethek) - that I did not see in the performances of Haswo Usodo . This group moreover featured only four instead of six horse dancers. It furthermore had a smaller number of regular musicians as a result of the smaller gamelan ensemble. Because of fae continual changes in .cast, it did not become clear to me how many there were exactly. As far as outward appearances were concerned, the jaranan jawa group Haswo Usodo was clearly le~s . differentiated than the jaranan sentherewe group Samboyo Putro . The extent to which their performances differed from each other as to content as well will be investigated fu1ther down. The content of the performances is not apparent from the reports, as these only give information on the casts and the material aspects of the different genres.

a e

The jaranan pegon

og

as a

,i, td

!') .

)t

fe ,d

I

!h d n I

f e

The jaranan pegon is described as a hybrid form, the word pegon meaning, among other things, 'alien, not wholly Javanese in style ' (Pigeaud 1982). The name implies that thi s type comprise s a mixture of traditional Javanese and contemporary and/or non-Ja vanese elements. I did not have an opportunity of attending any jaranan pegon performance - as far as I know, not a single p erfo rmance took place in the town of Kediri during my stay there. I was told , however, that the jaranan pegon gamelan included a bedhug, in addition to th e usual instruments. This big, double-headed mosque drum does not form part of the standard traditional Java n ese gamelan orchestra. The genre may possibly owe its nam e, pegon, to tb.e presence of this non-Javanese instrument, borrowed from the Muslim religious service. The jn rn11n11 /Jreng

Th e jnm11n11brcng, .a type that appears to be found on ly in Trenggalck (On/11 organ isasi kesenian 1985), also features an instrument that m y informants described as an inst rum en t that d0 ~s not form part of a traditior.al g,amela n

0 Per so nai communication by Paul Wo!be rs, who attended a performa nc e by this group in Kuta anya r in the summe r of 1985 .

•

70

Jaranan

orchestra , namely a jidhor (or jidhur). This likewise is a large kind of drum (Pigeaud 1982), a beahug (?) - an instrument that is difficult to square with its name, breng, meaning 'cymbal beat' (Pigeaud 1982), which is an onomatopoeic evocative of a metal instrument, for example a Chinese gong.41 Although my informants were unable to give an explanation for this anomaly, they did put forward the view that the type of gamelan concerned was one in which Javanese and non-Javanese instruments are combined. This would imply, however, that the jaranan breng in actual fact belongs to the jaranan pegon genre.

The jaranan kepang The term jaranan kepang, not to be confused with the name of the Kediri Jaranan Kepang group, is rather misleading. The report of the survey of the district of Kediri treats jaranan kepang as a synonym of jaranan s~ntherewe and lists it in the same category (Rekap 1985). In that case the name may refer to the material, kepang (bamboo wickerwork) , of which the senthereuJehorse are made. The jaranan jawa and jaranan pegon horses are also made of kepang, however. Hence the name is inapp .ropriate as a criterion for distinguishing . this genre from others . In Banyuwangi, on the other hand, where a distinction is made between horse dance companies using bamboo horses, referred to as jaranan kepang, and groups using leather horses , called jarauan buto (Java,,ese jaranan buta), this distinction was relevant.

The jaranan buta al

The jaranan buta owe s its name to the horse dancers' mount , which , although it h as the bod y of a hor se, has the head of an ogre (Javanese buta, Indonesian buto) resembling a for est ogre (raksasa alas) of the wayang theatre. My informant from Trenggal ek believed that the jaranan buta was found onl y in the subdi strict of Dongko . A ccording to h im, the h orse d ance compan y concerned , Turonggo Yakso, was a rare one, w hich gives p erforman ces exclusi vely for the ann u al ceiebra tion of the Pes ta Tern ak, the 'F east of th e Livest ock' . Cu riou sly en oug h, the repo rt o f the survey o f Eas t Javan ese d ramat ic genres, 1,·hich is ar ranged by distr ict, does no t list the 'jara nan but o' u n d er Trengga lek but un de r Banyuv,a ng i, a dis trict in the easte rnm os t tip of Java (Oatn/Sensus keseninli 1984). ln the cou rse of 1:1ystay the re in Aug u st 1985 and April 1986 I cam e across thre e jaranan buta groups , two of v; hich were still 41

I have come across a Chinese gong in a Javanese garnelan o rches tra on ce, in effe ct. Th is was n ot a gamelan accompanying a horse dance performance but a w,1yang kulit purwa perform ance given on the occasion of the opening o f the annual Chinese temp le fes tival in Kediri in 1985, however (Clara van Groenendael 1993:27).

S1

[

r: C

"[

l

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

71

rum hits oeic my did

1

:uch ow-

diri

the

mq r

to

·se

ng; ing ion , as ~se

nbd, or ic ~r

ra d ;1

The jaranan buta of Rukun Santoso, Tapanrejo, Muncar, Banyuwangi . Photograph by author.

active, namely t.1-iatof Pak Sorip in Gladag, in the sub-district of Rogojampi , and the group Rukun Santoso ('Close-knit and United') of Tapanrejo, in the sub-district of Muncar. In contrast with the Turonggo Yakso company of Dcng ko , the perfonnances of these groups were not linked to any specific ritual, but took place on all kinds of occasions, just like those of the other companies discussed so far. According to th e head of the Dir ectorat e of Tourism (Bapparda) in Banyuwangi, 42 Pak Sardjon o, jaranan buta gro up s enjoye d greater popularity than jaranun kepar,g ones. He be lieved that the idea for the jaranan buta was conceived by an immigrant from Tre ng ga lek , but cou ld not say whe n . Nc r did the leaders o f th e compan ies I \·isited know anythi n g m o re about the how a nd whe n of the o rigi n of th e jnrr,na11buta in Banyuwangi. They told me that jnrnnn11butn per forma n ces had taken p lace there as fa r back as th e tim e o f their p arents, and possibl y even earlier. Data from the 1930s show that h c rse dances did not occur at th e time of th e 'o ld inJ1abitants' of Ean y uv,angi, th e

IS

:e

5,

42

An acronym for Badan Pembimbing the Direction of Tourism' .

Keparawisat2an

Daerah, litera lly ' Regio nal Board for

wong hors, whe1 T of tl Tap! forn whi-

My lief, evic is tc ThE mo (in<

sco (lil<

fell ev i

Co

TI cc

v\

tl a C

Thithit -thuwit of the barongan of Kemiren, Clagah, Banyuwangi. Ph otograp h by autho r.

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups

73

wong osing43 (Pigeaud 1938:243). This might indicate that the phenomenon of horse dancing was in ·tact imported in Banyuwangi . I was not able to find out when this supposedly happened, however .44 There was a marked similarity between the structure and the sequence of the different acts in the performances of the Rukun Santoso company of Tapanrejo and those of Samboyo Putro of Kediri. The mask dancers in the former included, instead of a monkey, a Thithit-thuwit, a kind of garuda,45 which , like the monkey in Samboyo Putro, mainly provided a comic effect . My suggestion that the group was really a jaranan sentherewemet with disbe lief, however. The classification I found in the western part of East Java was evidently unknown here. My informants only knew of the jaranan kepang, that is to say, horse dancers on' ordinary' horses, the jaranan buta and the barongan. The latter was described as a type of performance featuring, _besides one or more barong mask dancers~ various other kinds of mask and puppet dan_cer (including Thithit-thtiwit), but no horse -dancers . It does not come wit..1unthe scope of this book, therefore. Although the characterization jaranan sentherewe (like the other genres) was not unfamiliar to Pak Sardjono of Bapparda, he felt that Llus kind of distinction was not usual in Banyuwangi . Hence it is evidently a far from common classification .

Conclusion The criteria applied in the official reports of Kediri appear on closer examination to provide no clarity regarding the great diversity of gemes. In the confrontation with practical reality, the classification used in these reports appea rs to be inadequate in dealing with the dynamics of the different group s. The compilers of the report Deskripsi rekapitulasi moreo ver took only the material aspects of horse dan ce perfom1ances into consideration . The y who lly igno red aspect s of their content , such as the nature of the music ar1d the ch arac ter of th e performance s. This is all th e m ore cur ious since the character of the pe rform ances w as felt to be m ore imp ort ant for th e horse dar.c e compa nies conce rn ed and the ir sponso rs than th ese sup erficial featu res, \\·hich are subjec t to m ark ed var iation, w hat is more.

The word osi11gin th e Banyuwangi di alect m ea ns ' n o' and is th e Jav an es e nam e for th is dialect . +; Th e article on m usic in Bany u wa n gi by Brand ts Bu ys and 5r an dt s Buy s-van Zijp (1926:211) refers to the jnrannn butn in passing. The group conce rn ed was not from Banyuwangi, howeve r, but was a company from Madiun performi ng in Solo , which only means that the ge nr e was not unknown in East Java at the time. •5 A cha racter from the wayang theatre rep resenting a mythical bird of prey. ·!3

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P' o, t,

The barong of the baro,!gnn group cf Kemiren , Glagah Banyuwar. g i. Phot ogr aph by auth or.

III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dancegroups

75

For the players themselves the question of the degree of popularity - of being laris, or in demand' - of the various groups was of prime importance . A popular company was quick to have the epithet maju ('progressive') or rnoderen(' modern') bestowed on it. This then was less dependent on outward appearances than on the way the group worked allusions to current trends into its performances. The label 'modem', moreover , was not applied to any one particular genre exclusively . As was indicated above, besides the jaranansenthereweSamboyo Putro of Kediri town, three jarananjawa groups of Kediri district also enjoyed great popularity and gave frequent performances. Companies that, for whatever reason, were unpopular were often rather derogatorily labelled kuna (Indonesian kuno, 'old-fashioned, dated'). Government officials responsible for promoting traditional culture in particular tended to ascribe the lack of popularity of such groups to the circumstance that they were too tradition-bound and therefore were not open to the reality of the here and now. As we shall see below, however, the designation 'oldfashioned' did not invariably have a negative connotation. The groups Haswo Usodo of Kediri and Turonggo Yakso of Trenggalek in particular were treated with a certain respect, also by members of so-called modem companies, on account of their special role in society. Local and national authorities seem to take scarcely any interest in the more substantial aspects of horse dances, which as a rule they summarily dismiss as being archaic (kuna). The dry enumerations of the outward characteristics of the different groups and the over-estimation of these superficial qualities in the said reports are an outcome of this tendency . The so-called reassessment, as of the jaranan kepang by Harjono, appear so far to have met wi th little response from the community beyond the very narrow circle of the performers and their relatives. Lri the next hapter I shall investigate what place horse dance performances occup y in the family and the community celebrations , as well as what importance is attached to these performances.

Inti

011 rul

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CHAPTER

IV

Performances by horse dance groups Introduction

One of the distinguishing features of horse dance performances is that as a rule they take place in public. Depending on the kind of sponsor - a family, a village or neighbourhood community, a private or government institution, or an organization - the performance will be held in a compound in front of a house, a village hall, an office, a school building or a factory, or in a market square, and sometimes anywhere at all by the side of a public road . This means that horse dance performances in principle are freely accessible to everyone. In other words, horse dance performances have not become commercialized .1 There are roughly two categories of horse dance groups to be distinguished : itinerant groups (jaranan barangan) and 'sedentary' groups, that is to say, groups with a regular base . This second category includes, besides Samboyo Putro, Haswo Usodo of Kediri, Wahyu Turonggo Budoyo of Tuhmgagung, and Rukun Santoso of Banyuwangi, for example. These companies give performances on a contract basis, that is to say, they enter into an agreement about th e conditions and fee prior to a performance. Itinerant groups, on the other hand , travel from place to place at random and perform spontaneously wherever large crowds gather , for i..'lstance in marketplaces. When such a group, while on the road , pas ses through a village or a place where some festivit y is scheduled or in progress , it ma y be invited to give a brief pedorm an ce. In such a case there w ill be some bargaining about the rem u neration (we w ill find a few exam pl es o f thi s in the sect ion 'Itinerant horse dance groups ' ). But these gro ups even so remai n chiefly depe nd ent for their takings on what chance lookers -on are prepared to pay th em . In add ition th ere are groups that are hard to fit into the above categories because are formed ad hoc, suc h as the Tu ronggo Yakso. Th e occasions for which both itinerant and sede nt ary groups give p erIt is not im p rob abl e th at so m e ho rse dance grcups in urban areas specialize i.n performances for touri sts, like som e waya ng and !openg pe rformanc es in Yogyakarta, for example . Kediri and surrow1ding di strict s a re no t touri s t areas, how eve, , and this ph enomen on was not known there.

]aranan

78

formances are partially the same, namel y family or community celebrations . Itinerant groups ma)' additionally be hired by market- stallholders to liven up the atmosphere . This is especially true for the annual markets held over several da ys, to wh ich pe ople come flocking from far and wide .2 The role of horse dance companies in the festivities as a whole is generally fairly marginal. Apart from the beneficial effect their performances are commonl y held to have , they seldom contribute anything to the ceremonies with w hich such celebrations are attended. It is ne vertheless the case that occasionally one or more memuds of the group ma y be called on in the course of the show to perform some act that is directl y related to the immediate occasion for the celebration - a sign that the performance then is more than mere entertainment for the persons concerned and refers to a deeper level of meaning. In addition there are ho ."''" dance groups, including Turonggo Yakso, that play a more specific role . With the following descriptions of performances by a number of mutually very different companies I attempt to provide an insight into the role of the horse dance in the festive context as a whole, as well as into its significance for the community .

Occasions for performances by horse dance grm!pS Kaul

To m y question as to the reason for a particular festivity, the members of Samboyo Putr o and othe r groups frequently repli ed that thi s was a kaul, a vow to perform some special act (to offer a sacrifice or hold a p arty, for instance) upon fulfilmen t of some urgent w ish. Wh ere p eopl e believe that the affai rs of the living are infl:ienc ed by the ancestors , they will often ask th ese for help in important matt ers. So they ma y ask them to ful fil a wish for children , th e recovery of a sick person, a goo d harvest th e passing of an exa m, a promotion at work, or a pri ze in th e lottery. In such cases a vow w ill be made to thank the ancestors in a fitting mann er if the w ish is grant ed. It was claimed that often the person concerned had the form of such an expression of grati tud e imp ar ted to hirn or her by the ancestor in question in a dream. 3 If a knul ;s the reas on for commissioning a horse dance performance, the deci5 ion accordingly as a rule is taken by a limited or extended fam ily. For Samboyo Putro families constituted the largest c3tegory of sponsors.

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Personal communication Personal communication

by Soetrisno, th e son of the pupp eteer in Jombor, Klaten , in 1977. by P;ak Dhalang. Se~ also Clara van Groenendael 2000:50-1.

a

IV Perfonnancesby horse dancegroups

ons.

ven >ver :1!1y >mrith ) n-

the on er~.

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79

Family celebrations: weddinis and circumcisions The interval between the granting of a w ish and the celebration as an expression of gratitude ma y sometimes be quite long (Clara van Groenendael 1985: 115). Unle ss there are urgent reasons for redeeming a vow as soon as possible, for instance if there has been a succession of misfortunes (Clara van Groenendael 1998:xii), people will generall y await an occasion that requires some sort of solemn celebration for this. In the family this will be the marriage of a daughter or the circumcision of a son. Families which observe the num erous rituals prescribed by tradition (adat) - such as for the seventh month of pregnancy or the birth or name-giving of a child - only minimall y, often for financial reasons , will w ant to make an exception for a wedding or a circumcision. If need be, the y will run up debts to celebrate such events in grand style . Marriages and circumci_sions are , __in. fact, occasions par excellence for redeeming old vows . People moreover want to avoid every chance of harassment (ngganggu) of the young couple or the circumcised son by the ancestors in their/his new phase of life as a consequence of unfulfilled vows to them . Weddings and circumcision feasts were most frequently mentioned by Sambo yo Putro as occasions for its performances . It is apparent from the literature that such events are frequentl y attended with a procession in which the principal persona ges - the bride and bride groom or the bo y (s) about to be circumcised - surrounded by dignitaries, relatives and a group of performers , including horse dancers , are ceremoniall y led around the nei ghbourhood (Keeler 1987:100; Ing gris 1923:101-2). I nev er attended such a procession in Kediri ,4 and according to local informants they are seld om to b e seen ther e toda y. Th ere wa s, howev er, m ention in the period of my research of a pro cessio n stage d by th e Tur ongg o Yakso compan y of Trengga lek on the occas ion of th e Feast of the Live stock, which bore some resemblance to th e we ddin g an d circum cision processio ns de scrib ed in the literatu re. As p rocessio n s like this sh ed light on one interesting aspect of the performan ce of horse danc ers, and m oreove r pl ay a ro le in some versions of the hor se dance legend , I shall dea l m ore fully w ith the m fu rther d ow n.

Dur ing my s tay in West Java in 1978 and 1983 l witnessed seve ral suc h process ions in the su rro un dings of Band un g. According to local informants they were still a reg ul dr sig h t in rural areas the re.

80

Jaranan

Comm

Village or neighbourhood.commun ity celebrations

In ad1 A sec ond important category of sponsors is th at of village or neighbourhood communities. Th e chi ef eve nts for w hich th ey tend to commi ssion a h orse dance group are the annual symbolic purification of the village or neighbourhood (bersih desa) and the annual national celebration in commemoration of the proclamation of Indonesian independence on 17 Augu st 1945 (Javanese : Pitulas Augustusan , Indonesian: Hari Kemerdekaan). The bersih desa traditionally is a harvest festi val, which generall y took place in the period between the harvesting of the rice crop and the beginning of a new rice cycle, between mid-May and mid-June, according to the Javanese solar calendar (pranata mangsa) (Brandes 1899:between pages 26 and 27). In order to keep down the costs of the annual community celebration as much as possible, as well as to lend it a modem character, the traditional harvest festi val nowadays is often combined with the National Independence Day celebrations. 5 This was the case with Sambo yo Putro's performance in Menang (in the sub-district of Pagu) , for instance . This performance , which took place on 17 August 1985, was to a large extent sponsored by Pak Samboyo's mother, Bu Dhukun , a w ell-to-do w ido w who , as we sa w above, w as also a dhukun . She told me that, as the mother of a wong seni, or 'a rtist' , she fe!t it to be her du ty to hon our the tradition and thus set an exa mple . It w as on her initiati ve, in fact , that Samboyo Putro was invited to come and add to the fun of the bersih desa cum Pitula s Augustusan celebration. The use of the yard in front of her house and th e recepti on of th e p erform ers and spect a tors con stituted h er person al contribution to the festi vHies. The decorati on of the compound w as the wo rk of h er nei ghbour s. Th e cos ts of the relig iou s m ea l (slametan) for th e collective village rs tha t goes wi th a bersih desa ritual we re bo rn e by th e village com m unity as a whole, finail y, as we re th ose of th e offi cial p art of th e proceedin gs with speeches in honour of Nati on al Ind ependence Day. The p erformance by Samboy o Putro thus prov ided Bu Dhukun with an opportun ity of sharin g some of her pro sperity w ith her n eighbour s in an info rma l wa y. I sh all come b ack to thi s furth er dow n . ln thi s pe rfo rm anc e in M en an g perso nal and com munit y int erests thus fuserl together.

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ln some :nu.1icipalitie, officia l pr e~sure \\"as exeried to co mbine th e bersili de~a with the Nat ion::l lni ependenc.; Day ce!el::raticn s with the express aim of foreground:ng the latter ir. the minds of the people. The motivation here was that, ~s a result of multiple annuai harve sts, it is difficult to find an approp ri2te moment otherwise (Cla ra van Groenendael 1985 :123). A second ary reason is that more and more peopie nowadays are emp loyed outs id e the agrarian "ector. Beatty (1999:60), writin g about Bany uw ang i, states that the bersih desa is rapidly disappearing ther e, too.

1 e

IV Performances by horse dance groups

81

Community celebrationsby private or government institutions

In addition to families and village or neighbourhood

communities, we find private and government agencies or organizations sometimes also commis. sioning horse dance performances as a so-called third category of sponsors . This happens only relatively rarely, however , and many groups never receive an invitation from this category . In this respect Samboyo Putro compared favourably with other groups in Kediri and surrounding districts, thanks to the fact that its leader himself was employed in a government organization as a policeman. Between June and November 1985 I attended three performances commissioned by the police force, namely one for national 'Police Day' (Hari Kepolisian, 1 July), one for a brief demonstration on the occasion of a visit by a few high police officials from Jakarta (6 August), and one for the anniversary (Hari Ulang Tahun; HUT) of the Mojoroto Mobile Police Squad (HUT Mobrig Mojoroto, 14 November). The performances during election campaigns - to which Samboyo Putro owed its fame, and in a sense its origin - and the competitions-cum-festivals in which Samboyo Putro participated several times also belong to this category, in which the performances of the Jaranan Kepang of Kediri may be classed as well.

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Processions In the ;ibove, I have briefly mentioned the appearance af horse dancers in processions. An article on the horse dance in Jogonalan (Yogyakarta) and Bagelen (Kebumen) gives the following description of horse dancing (jathilan) in processions (lnggris 1923:101-2).

,.'

Often, when a bridegroom is escor ted in state to th e hou se of his bride or a boy abo;.it to be circumcised is tak en around in procession - u sually mounted on h orse back - one will witne ss a dj:itilan (...]. Th e djatilan with the accompanying band will hea d th e procession, w hil e th e bridal or circumcis ion train w ill follow behind . The barongan,and especially th e pen toe/ and the gandarwo, will cut all kinds of cap ers to attract the a ttenti on of the crowd. The barongan wi ll chase peop le, th e pe1:toelcrack go-to11tong - a character call ed Titit-t oeit ;n Bagelen - harass the joke s, and th e ba11 st to on looke rs and be g at th e sid e of the roads, w hil e th e ga11darwow ill do his !:>e frighten any boy s and g irl s who m a ke fun of him d,.irin g th e ?ro:::ess ion. Th e procession will th en cheerfully h ead for th e h o u se of th e br:de or for th e place ,vhere the boy is to be circumcised.

This is not the place for a lengthy disct1ssicn of processions. I wo uld , h ow ever, like to go briefly into a number of points in this descr ipti on . The general nature of the descripti on indic ates that in the 1920s processions of this kind were a freq u ent phen omer :on in the so uthern part of Central

82

Jaranan

Java .6 Pigeaud's (1938:215-57) compilation of descriptions of horse dances suggests that this was the case in other parts of Java as well. Such processions were not uncommon in Kediri, either (Poensen 1872:79-80) . Inggris (1923:98) compares this jathilan, involving different groups of players, to a 'kind of theatrical performance ' . Besides a few mounted horsemen, it featured a number of other characters, as we saw, such as the clown Penthul, a forest sprite (gandarwa), a monster (barongan),and the giant bird Thithit-tuit. The gandarwa is described as a huge puppet with a wooden face and a jute-covered bamboo torso - a disguise won: by one man. 7 The barongan, contrary to that of Samboyo Putro, had two men inside it. The giant bird Thithit-tuit was represented by a figure with feathers stuck all over it and a long beak, looking · like a kind of stork (bango-thonthong). Ienthul wore a half-mask with a thick knob of a nose (penthul). According to SL~'!'le,Inggris (1923:99) tells us, Penthul represents Petruk . This much-loved servant character from the wayang theatre is marked by an exceptionally long, pointed noise, however. Hence this identification cannot have anything to do with this figure's appearance , but must relate to the similarity in roles played by these two characters in their respective contexts . Both represent the ever-cheerful, incorrigibly optimistic, often cheeky, but invariably loyal servant of the hero or heroine of the story . There is a striking similarity between the procession described above ar.d _ the wedding procession figuring in one of the many versions of the horse dance legend that is popular in Kediri. This describes ho w the hero, Prince Panji Asmara Bangun, leads his defeated adversaries - the barongan, the gandarwa and the bango-thonthong - along in triumph in the procession marking his marriage to the princess of Daha (Kediri) (Harjono 1981:27-8). These opponents are explicitl y depicted as dangerous forest animals, that is to say, as sato galak, in the legend as we ll as in Samb oyo Putro '.s performance . Another point to which I wis h lo dra w attention here is the information that the jath ilan h eaded the proce ssion . Although not all the descriptions I was able to consult clearly specify the place of th e h orse dance group in th ese proce ss ion s (Poensen 1872:79-80), it n eve rth eless see ms to ha ve been quite common for it to be somewhere in front. In Wonogiri the h orse d ancers moreover staged a fight eve ry tim e th ey reached a crossroa d s (Pigea ud 1938:235). Th ese tw o detai ls - the pos ition of the ho rse d ancers at the he;id of proce ssio ns and the fight s stag ed by the:11at crossroads, \-.·hich \-,:e shall come

6

See, br instance, Suyitno Martaatmaja 1926, V:28, 49-58. An illustration of it can be fou nd in Ma ye r (1897:376), but the caption there has 'Ba rongan's ', whi ch is eith er a s lip o f Llie pen or a local design ation . Pigem:d (1938:169) has poin ted out that th e n ames of thes e kinds of disguise are no t i..,frequen tly mixed up, saying 'we cannot be sure that the nam e borne by a particular disguise in one reg ion will not be g i\·en to anot he r one in another region'. 7

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IV Performancesby horsedance groups mces ,ions >lay·n, it hul, tuit. :ov-

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83

across again further down - point to a possible explanation for the participation of horse dancers ift wedding and circumcision processions. Crossroads or road intersections , 'especially in the vicinity of houses', according to H .A. van Hien (1933, I:302) , have a certain ominous connotation in Java as places 'where demons, ghosts and spirits have made their abode'. Often on holy days, such as Tuesdays (selasa) and Fridays (juma'at) coinciding with the day Kliwon of the five-day Javanese market week, 8 small offerings are placed in these spots with the aim of propitiating the spirits dwelling there . One of the exploits of the hero or heroine of wayang plays may shed some light on the meaning of this way of acting at road intersections. In these plays a crossroads (prapatan) is frequently depicted as the abode of demons and other sworn enemies of the hero. To underline the ominous aspect of these places, they are often set in some wilderness, such as a forest (alas).In the scene called prapatan ('the crossroads scene') or alas-alasan ('forest scene'), after these places, the struggle between the protagonist and his or her demonic adversaries, who are then invariably defeated, takes place. This scene, prang kembang ('flower fight'),9 constitutes the decisive turning point in the plot . After his or her victory, the hero's or heroine's way is clear to achieving the desired goal, such as the acquisition of some extraordinary weapon, a powerful ally, or a divine blessing (wahyu), and almost always a new partner or the life companion believed lost. In a more mystical sense, this scene is explained as a young person's struggle to get his negative tendencies, symbolized by the demonic opponents (the sato galak) who try to get him to swerve 6:-om the righteous path in life (see Mangkoenagoro 1933:88), under control. The place of this scene, in the middle one of the three acts, suggests that this battle takes place at the point where the young person leaves his or her childh oo d behind and enters a new phase in life, for instance as a married wo man (in the case of girls) or as a full member of the Muslim community (for boys). 10 The cro ssroads or forest scene actuall y represents a rite de passage,

8

TI1e five Javanese market days are Legi , Paing, Pon , Wag e, and Kliwon . The combi nation s Selasa-Klh,·on, o r in mo:-e :orma l language Angga ra-Kas ih, and )uma'at-Kliwon a re rega rd ed as being e,pec ia llv ho ly. Q i'v1an giyer 18'?7::;88; 5chri eke 1921:382; Agcescijam 1921:-!71; Mohtoelim ah 1921:495). At th e tim e of my field res ea rch in Cent ral J2va ir, the 1970s, too, it was not unu suai for tee1~agebo ys to be ~till uncircumci sed. W ith risin g Muslim fundam entalism the socia l pr ess ur e to hav e boys circumcised, as a symbo l of the Mus lim commun ity, at a young to very young age has gro w n stro nge r. Of cours e th ese boys then cannot possibly be rega rded as full member s with a li the atte nd ant respo nsibiliti es.

84

Jaranan

in which the battle against the gandarwa, the barongan and the bango thonthong is to be viewed as the.decisive trial. The forest animals carried along in the we dding procession constitute convincing proof that the bridal couple (or the circumcision candidate) has completed the trial successfully. The position of the horse dancers at the head of wedding and circumcision processions, and in particular their 'fights' at spots reputed to be magically dangerous (angker), such as road intersections , symbolize the clearing of the way to a new phase in life . Yet another interpretation of these processions is possible, but more will be said about this later.

Itinerant horse dance groups (jaranan barangan) As far as I know, there has been no recent research into itinerant performers .in Java. Both the members of horse dance companies and the officials of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Kediri and surrounding districts were of the opin ion that wandering groups used to be more common in the old days than they are today. Pigeaud (1938:139) wrote about performances by this type of actors in the past tense as early as the 1930s. Even so, wandering performers have not yet disappeared from the Javanese scene altogether. In the surroundings of Kediri I occasionally camP. up with small groups of wandering musicians and sometimes also horse dancers. Once I was on a bus with a member of such a wandering horse dance troupe. He told me that he was on his way to the market in Mrican (Kediri) , where he and his group had been engaged to perform for an hour at a wedding that evening . Following this,Jie wanted to try hi s luck at the market for as long as the takin gs were good·. He expected an especially big crowd there now th at the kethoprak had j1,1 st pitched its tents there . When driving past the mark et again weeks later, I saw the group h av ing a m ea l in a stall ne xt to the kethoprak. A pp arently iuck had been on their side the pa st weeks . I n eve r saw a p erformance by thi s group, however. But I had once had a chance to attend a performar:i.ce by anothe r itin eran t gro up a few yea rs previously. This was in January 1977 in Jomb or, a village slightl y to the southwest of the district capital , Klaten, where I h appe ned to be visiting an old puppeteer.

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The k11dakepnng i11]0111 l1or In th e course of my interview with the puppeteer and his son I heard the monotonous sounds of the kethuk, which came n':'.arer and nearer, announc ing the approach of a horse dance group. 'When oon afte rward s the group appeared around the corne r of the village path, it was hailed by one of my host's neighbours. While he bargained with the leader of the company, whom

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e

85

he addre ssed as Pak Suw uk , 11 on his front veranda , the ne ws th at there wa s to be a performance spreaa like wildfir e. In no time the spacious yard in front of the house w as packed w ith women and children , with a few old men standing in the background . As it wa s the middle of the da y, most adults were still in the fields . A few new mats were spread on the ground in front of the veranda, and on these two bunch es of choice bananas and a roof tile with a few pi eces of burning charcoal were placed , along with some glasses and an aluminiurr. teapot. While the group was being treated to refreshments inside, a number of viJ.lagers swept the front yard and sprinkled it w ith water to stop the dust blowing up. When the nine players appeared again, seven of them sat down on the mats. The three musicians unpacked their instruments - a kendhang gendh ing, a kethuk, and a framework with two kempul and a kenong - and began pla ying . They were joined by two dancers, their masks still wrapped in cloths, as well as the two helpers. Pak Suwuk and a second horseman took up their positions en either side of the yard, opposite the musicians , holding their horses tightly between their legs. They were surrounded by the crowd, standing in a wide circle around them. The show was ready to start . The gam elan st art s pla yin g again , first slo wly but soon fa ster and faster . The n ,vo h orse d ancers d ance in a w id e circle , one behind the other , to the beat of th e music, imit atin g th e diff erent pa ces of a horse, first pr ancin g, bendin g th e h orse's h ea d from left to right, then cant erin g, and then galloping , and altern ating this with bi g leaps , as of a rearing horse. The two h elpers are still sitting calmly w atching and sm oking a ro ll-yo ur- ow n ciga rette. Sudd enl y the gamelan chan ge s over to a m on oton ou s mel ody on the kenong, w hi ch is con stantl y rep eated in an increasingl y w ilder, more frenzie d rh yth m. TI1e forem ost of the h'\Tod ancer s is in tran ce. Th e second ho rsem an, Pak Su wuk , now s top s pJ-ayipg and pu ts his ho rse to on e side . Together wi th th e two he lpers he takes up h is posi tion in fron t of the audie n ce, ev identl y to p reve nt th e dancer , w h o n ow ga llops ro un d w ildl y wit h h is hor se, now leaps h igh in the air, from hur ling himself at th e sp ectators. Every tim e he comes too close, the y send him off. Thi s continu es for a wh ile. Pak Su w uk wa lks to th e middl e of the ya rd ,._,ith the ro of tile w ith char coal and :here star ts fanni ng th e fire. Wh en it bur sts int o flame, h e thr ow s in a few pi eces of incense tha t he tak es from a bund le susp end ed from his belt. Th ick clouds of incense curl u p, a nd the trilnce da n cer app"ro.:iches oi1 hi s h o rse and sn il'ts up th e fumes in deep gulps. Pak SU\n1!-..sends him off. Sut he comes !Jack aga in and ;c;gain, as th ou gh irresis tibly dr a \,·n by the sce nt, a nd takes in big .no TJth ful s of smoke, to start \,·ild ly ga llop ing a ro;_m,:I on ce again . Sudden ly he leaps high in the air, horse an d all, and , tu m blin g bac kwa rd, is cau ght by the h elpe rs. TI1ey p u ll th e horse out of his hand s and lea d him to the ri m ts. Th t:re hf>lies as in a kind of sp as m

D

y 1

11 S11w11k,' to (ca use to) stop , to b low (on someone's hc~d as a magic protection against d isease)' (Pigea ud 1982).

86

Jaranan

C

1 a C (

The 'recovery' of the trance dancer in Jornbor. Photograph

by author.

and is forcibly restrained by one of the two helpers, who sits down on his stomach. Meanwhile the gamelan has changed to a quieter melody , with the musicians, the two helpers and Pak Suwuk all singing along . The latter seizes the trance dancer's horse and passes it a few times over the head of the half-unc pnscious man , who ccntinually snatches at the horse. He manages to seize hold of it the third ~ime, when he is pulled to his feet , horse and all. He immediately tries to mount his horse, but it is soon snatched away from him again. The trance dancer flies at Pak Suwuk, who grabs th e madman by th e head with b oth h ands, spits chewed pieces of incense on his crown, blows into his ea,s, and massages his head. \'Vhile the other pla ye rs continue singing without pause, th e trance dancer finally allows him self to be led to th e mat s again. Leanin g heav ily on one cf th e h elpers, he sits stari ng in fron t of him w ith a \·aca nt gaze and does not react a t all to the other h elpe r, who mea n w hil e m assages his limb s. Only now do th e two m;isk da ncers Cc).n e int o z,ction. The v tie t!-!eir half-mas!(s ro th eir face by a s tring and appear to re pr ese nt the t\\'O ~lo\,·ns, Penthu l and Tembem. To th e great amu se ment of the young bystanders, th ey ch ase each other but then rep eated ly snatch one of the children from the aud ience instead of catc hin g each othe r. 10w and th en they pau se in their chase to deliver a di alogue, in which th e young people join in with great gusto. Th e audience pu shes further and further forward, until finall y there is hardl y any room left for the perf ormers. Suddenl y the show ends. The musicians gather up their thing s, th e tran ce

I V Performances by horse dance groups

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danc er and Pak Suwuk pi ck up their hor ses, the tw o clowns take off their masks and , while th ey are still bu sy w rapping them in cloth s, the group leaves the yard. The m onoton ous sound of th e kethuk can still be heard for a while, graduall y growing faint er and fainter . A few childr en snatch the leftove r bananas awa y and disap pea r wi th them among the h ou ses. Th e comp ound , onl y a short while ago still filled w ith laught er and cheerin g, suddenl y lies empty and deserted .12

Comments The son of my host, the puppeteer, who accompanied me to the show , told me at the end that the players came from a village in the mountains to the north of the main road from Klaten to Prambanan. They were seasonal performers oper ating chiefly ir} the area around Klaten. He had seen them several times at the annual fair in Klaten . Neither he nor his father could remember whether they had ever performed in Jombor before. According to the puppeteer, his neighbour, though not exactl y rich, w as fairly well-to-do . He had a reputation as a great lover of traditional Javanese performances and had invited itinerant actors for a brief show in his compound before . Father and son believed that, as sometimes before, he had taken the decision accordingly impromptu the moment he heard the group passing, possibly in fulfilment of a kaul. For the m ostly yo ung spectator s the antics and jokes of the two clowns , who invol ved them in their act, undeniabl y formed the climax of the performance. Though at first they had stood watching full of curiosity ho w the two hor sem en ch ase d ea ch oth er, th ey h ad soon lost intere st. Th ey had sto od mairJ y joking with each other , and onl y now and then were startled when the tra n ce d anc er cam e too close to th em . As soon as the nvo m ask danc ers en tere d, howeve r, th ey we re all eyes for th e p erform ance ag ain and pu sh ed fur th er and fu rth er forw ar d so as to be sur e n ot to mi ss any of the action. The way in whic h the two horse dancers first d an ced arou n d th e yard in a circle beh in d on e another was espec ially str iking , as th is is a fam iliar open ing figure in horse dancing, be it tha t usually ail the membe rs of the group take part in it (Kartomi 1973b:20 -1). I sh all return to th is later. Different ly from the leader of Sambo yo Putro , the leader of th1s compa ny at first took part in the dancing him se lf. Thi s ,,vas main ly, as lat-er bec~n~e app .ar ent to str en gth en the dramatic imp act and to stir the second hor se da ncer int o actio n. Th e latter pF.'rsisted in hi s ro te as mount ed horse m an, eve n once he was in tran ce. He showed no int ere st in th e bananas and the tea that had been especia lly put read y for th e players, but evidentl y could not get enough of the 'spirit food' (the incense). According to my companion this was proof th at he i,ad

12

Diar y entr y, Janu ary 1977.

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indeed been entered by a spirit. The identity of the spirit remained uncertain, however. In a performance by another group that I attended that same year during the Yogyakarta Sekaten, 13 the spirit, which according to the bystanders had taken possession of the dancer, appeared to have an earthlier, though even so far from ordinary, appetite.

Con In (

The jathilan in Yogyakarta

ers litt

The festivities here took place in the northern square or Alun-Alun Lor in front of the Sultan's palace. The group, which according to bystanders came from a village in the vicinity of Yogya, gave its performance in the midst of a cacophony of noise produced by other attractions: a carousel with loudly honking horns, a kroncong14 band, a man extolling the virtues of his medicines through a microphone with crackling amplifiers, and the countless blaring radios and cassette recorders of the surrounding food stalls and vendors. The group comprised eight persons, namely the leader, two horse dancers, two unmasked clowns, one male and one female, and three musicians with a kendhang, a slompret and a kempul. By the time I noticed the group, the show was already in full swing.

in tra

thE an be in

w, he

ea

1

The two horse dancers are in trance. One of them drops his horse and falls upon a bucket of fodder. He stuffs the unhusked grain into his mouth by handfuls. He chews his food, hut drops most of it, mixed with saliva, from his mouth again, all the while maki.'1g jerky movements which are not at all reminiscent of a horse . The second horseman has meanwhile fallen on top of a pile of broken glass and charcoal and lies there taking bites of thfa. The latter is now give n a coconut by th e leader. He removes its fibrous outer shell wi th his teeth and chews the inner she ll to pieces, letting the juice trickle down his chin. The leader take s a live chicken from a basket and puts its head in his mouth. He crushes the skull to pieces with a gruesome cracking sound and swallows down the whole thin g . All these actions are accomp ani ed by the sh rill tones of th e slompret and the stirring rh y thm of the other two instrum ents. On the periphery of th e per formance area , the man and th e w ornan enga ge in a di alogue w ith out ta kin g any notice of th e o th er pl aye rs, w hile they go round w ith a bo wl to collec t money. E\·ery r.ow and then a spectator drops a fe·.,· coi;1s in -the bow l. One of them stuffs a b.1!1knote into it. There is a lot of pushing and sho\·ing and

13

An aN1c1al mMket o r fair with shows and entertainments on ihe oc,as ion of Mu lud , a holiday commemorating the day of the birth and d~ath of t!1e Proph e t Muhammact in the Ja•/anese month of Rabingulakir, which has of old bee n held in the court cities of Su raka rta, Yugyakarta and Cirebon . 14 According to Suma rsam (1995:254), 'a genre of Indonesian popular mus ic whose origin can be traced back to Portuguese music of sixteenth -century Java'.

th di cc

er ti: n SE

n 1 b i: a

1

IV Performancesby horsedancegroups

89

I have lost sight of the trance dancer s. When the music suddenly stops and the crowd disperses , I see-them sitting smoking on a stool. This is evidently the end of the show.15

rtain ,

Comments

1oli-

In contrast to the show in Jombor, the two groups of actors - the horse dancers and the clowns - here combined to give a joint performance _ There was little coordination between their acts, however, and it was as if there were in fact two performances going on at the same time. The actions of the two trance dancers and the leader, -who did not appear to be in trance, formed the undeniable climax of the performance, eliciting cries of amazement and admiration as well as horror from the spectators, young and old. The behaviour of the two horsemen in trance was not suggestive of horses at all, in spite of the fact that one of them was given horse food to eat. Their act was undoubtedly spectacular nevertheless, so that they were successful in holding the attention of the extremely mixed audience. Partly because of the ear-splitting din, produced by both the musicians belonging to the group and the surrounding attractions , it was impossible to understand a word of the dialogue of the two comedians from even a short distance . That it was funny could onl y be inferred from the expres sions on their faces and their often very erotic gestures. Because the y went around with the money bowl at the same time, the onlookers were not much inclined to stay and listen to them, but as a rule quickly disappeared among the crowd at their approach. The sums given seemed to be very small, with the exception of the one banknote , according to the person standing ne xt to me a 5,000-Rupiah n ote (at that time worth about 11.30 Euros). Noting m y surprise at this , he said that thi s gift had probabl y been intended as the fulfilment of a vow. It is n ot unu su al, in fac t, for people to join (mbeln)16 a performance organized by someone else for a small fee. For poor families this is often a godsend, and for the better-off famil y ho s ting the sho w it will bring extra luck (rejeki). The event for which this is most often done is the circumcision of a son, wh ich a poo r famil y will th en hold toge th er w ith th at o f a son from a more w ell-todo fam ily (Ingg ris 1921:89) or of a clo se relative or ne igh bo~1r (Mo h toe lim ah 1921:495). Som etimes it is also done in the cas e of th e fu lfilm en t of a vow (Hefner 1985:171). I did not m anage to talk to th e w om an or with th e lea d er of th e compan y, and so d o no t kn ow if th ey h <1 d agree d pri or to th e performance to ha ve a vow

1ese

3rta can

15 16

Dia ry en try, Mul u d 1977. Bela,' to sha re (so meo n e's tro ubles, and so on)' (Pigea ud 19 2; see also Ingg ris 192 1:89) .

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fulfilled. The consumption of the head of a live chicken may be an indication that there was indeed a kaul involved. One of the musicians I was able to chat with for a while after the performance said he knew nothing of an y such" agreement , howe ver. He told me the group gave performances here at Mulud every year, as the place at that time was' a bustle with crowds of people' (rame1 and the takings were good. The latter comment may imply, considering the tin y sums given by the majority of the onlookers, that redeeming a vow this way during Mulud (for which slightly larger contributions are usually given) is not unusual, and in fact is even quite common . Performances by itinerant groups are often qualified as unrefined (kuran a/us), or even as outright crude (kasar). In support of this qualification, peopl will point to such gory details as the biting off and swallowing of the hea · of a live chicken, for example. But sedentary groups do not always a1-1peart shun this kind of practice either . Sometimes it is even a regular feature of the· performances. This was the case with the Haswo Usodo company of Kedi · for ins tance . The occasion for the performance by this group that I attende was the bersih desa of Balowerti, a neighbourhood of the town of Kediri. 17 A the end of the performance the trance master announced that, besides bein intended as a diversion , it had at the same time constituted the acknowledg ment of the reco very from illness of a woman in that neighbourhood . 'proof' of this, according to Pak Usodo, had been the indusion of a kupat luwar. ritual, in which he had pulled apart a small package (kupat) wrapped in palm· leaf (pandhan) together with the woman , spilling the contents of yellow rice, flower petals and a few coins or, the ground. This kupat luwar ritual, which, is often also performed in exorcist rituals like the ruwat murwakala (Clara van. Groenendael 1985:115, 1998:xvii), is generally regarded as a public acknowledge m en t of the gra nting of a wish and the fulfilm ent of a vow. As we shall see in the next section, Pak U sodo placed great emphasis on his role as helper in the solution of personal problem s.

Th _,

Sedentan; horse dance groups

Per form ances by se d entar y horse d ance g roups like Sambo yo Putr o ar e first and foremo st a form of ent ert ainm er:t (senengan), int end ed to c1dd lu stre to c~leb rations. Beca use the tran ce o f possess ion is an integr a l p art of these performa n ces - su ggesting that there m ay also be rep rese nt at ives of the invisible world present - people expect them moreover to have a ben eficia l effect . This is generall y no more than a vague idea , however. Pc1kSamboyo stressed that

17

Bal01·.,erti was Haswo Uso d o's ho me base . Thi s pe rform a nce was held on 16 M;:irch 1986.

IV Performances by horse dance groups

tion :hat

uch 1lud 1me) th thi en n

pl a t

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his performances were intended primarily to release the spectators from the dail y grind by letting them forget their cares and quarrels for a while. 'People are all members of the same big family and after all have to live together in peace ' (wong padha wae kaya keluwarga mesthine rukun), was his oft-repeated motto. His prime concern was to please everyone present as best he could and to promote the spirit of fellowship among them . The way in which Sambo yo Putro met the audience's wish for diversion will be discussed in greater detail in Chapter X. Here I would like to draw attention to a number of activities that give us an idea of the way in which Samboyo Putro toed the line of the New Order ideology on the one hand and met the specific wishes of its sponsor on the other. The first example I will cite is the 'slametan for young people', which was a regular feature of Samboyo Putro's repertoire, as also of that of Haswo Usodo. Whereas the latter invariably held this slametan in the course of one of the brief intervals and intended it only for its own performers , Samboyo Putro integrated it into the performance and aimed it at the young members of the audience. To bring out the significance of this 'young people's slametan' more clearly, I shall begin by giving a description of slametan in general.

The slametan, a typical ritual in Javanese society A slametan18 is a communal meal , introduced by a formal speech and confirmed by a pra yer, which marks all kinds of events , both in the family and in the community . The slametan is, in Geer tz' (1964:11) words, a 'simple, formal , undramatic, almost furtive, little ritual' that lies at the core of the Javanese religious system and symboli zes the mystic and social unity of th e participants . The qualifica tion of the slametan as a religious event has drawn criticism from various directi ons. Koentjaraningrat, taking Harsja Bachtiar as bas is, for examp le, argues that , even thou gh a sl,m1etan is always accompa nied by prayers (often uttered in a mi xture of Arabic and Java nese and in vok ing Muslim as we ll as Javan ese sai :its), it does not by definition po ssess a religious charac ter for th ose pre sent. 19 He tak es th e view th at, of the grea t V
92

Jaranan

more appropriate, 20 while another will be aimed solely at promoting solidar ity and an atmosphere of peace among people . In the latter case, according t Koentjaraningrat, it is better to speak of a tradtional ceremony prescribed ]j adat ('tradition'), notwithstanding the prayers. Whether or not religious em tions are evoked is also dependent on the intention with which a slametan · held (Koentjaraningrat 1984:347). As Geertz (1964:11) himself points out, tH slametan is not a religiously satisfying experience for everyone, particular! since the twentieth century, as a consequence of changing life-styles in urb and semi-urban communities . Hence Bachtiar's criticism of Geertz, as cite by Koentjaraningrat (1984:347), is not entirely justified . The problem indicated by Koentjaraningrat (1984:349) is that slameta may also be held in connection with matters relating to esoteric science (elm gaib) involving (black) magic. Such matters, though bearing a sacred (keramat) character, should not be classed as religious since, as I pointed out earlier, th spirits concerned are so-called non-legitimate spirits. In other words, the te 'black magic' (ilmu sihir) is justified here. The essence of the slametan, as both Geertz and Koentjaraningrat as well as Pak Samboyo agree, is that it functions, at any rate for the duration of the ceremony, as a mechanism of social integration. 21 This is what stimulated Pak Sarnbo yo to hold a 'slametan for young people' . In the case of a famil y celebration the social integration is intended first and foremost for the circle of immediate neighbours and relatives living nearby.22Depending on the nature of the occasion and the resources of the host or hostess , the circle may be extended by including further-off neighbours and relati ves and (local) dignitaries to give the event so marked added weight. A village slametan, as, for example, for a bersih desa, is i.11principle a community affair to w hi (h each household contributes. A slameta11is traditionally attended by male heads of families. 23 They partake of a meal prepared jointly by their wives at the hom e of their host or ho stess or, if th e celebration is a community slametan as, for instance, at

20

Geertz (1964:l 1) gives the word ke11dlwre11as a variant of slnmetnn, without indicating , however, whether it refers to anv spec ial occasion. 21 Beatty (1999·27) regards the s/11111c/1111 so me"·hat negati\'el y as a ' temp o ra ry truce ' . In his words, it 'illuminates a critical function of svmbo lism in an ideologically diverse sett in g: namel y i~s capc.citv to focus di,·erse int eres ts and thus to compel a collective respect - to forge a unity ' . 2 Robe rt Jay (1969:211, 213) has acided two tables ind icating the locatio n s of the different ' h ouseholds ·.is-a-vis tl:e house 0f the two host fami lies to bs d esLTiption of th eir syst~m c f invi tations. 23

In urban centres it is nowadays customary for both women and me>nto attend, be it that the womet~ and men still often sit a;::,art in se parate areas. H~re it is also becoming more and more u sual to engage a catering busine ss to prepare th e meal and to expect the guests to give only a fmanetal contribution .

a t

IV Performances by horsedancegroups

'i

93

a bersih desa, in their own home. The ritual involves the guests' assembling, usually towards sundowrt, in the host's or hostess' front veranda and sitting cross-legged (sila) around the food set out on mats spread on the floor . Near where the host - or, if the host is a woman, her male proxy - is sitting there is a kindled incense burner . As soon as all the guests have arrived, the host gives a formal speech of welcome thanking those present for coming, briefly indicating the reason for the gathering, offering his apologies for any shortcomings , and finally requesting the specially invited mosque official (rnodin) or one of the guests versed in Arabic prayers to say a prayer. The guests respond with inggih ('yes') or amin ('amen'), with their hands raised to their chest, palms upward. Then the host urges the guests to take of the food, after which it is served on the banana leaves lying in readiness. As soon as everyone has his share, they start eating. But after only a few mouthfuls, the oldest or most distinguished guest takes his leave2 4 and departs, immediately followed by the other guests, taking the remainder of the food, wrapped in the leaves, with them to eat at home with their families. Although on arrival the guests chat together and discuss the events of the day quite informally, the mood becomes very formal as soon as the host gets up to speak. This, according to Geertz (1964:12), suggests that, in spite of its brevity and lack of drama, the slametan indicates that something important is going on .25 The formal character of slametar. Lngeneral contrasts sharply with the character of the slametan organized in the course of Samboyo Putro's performance _s. Not only did these invariably take place in an atmosphere of great excitement and gaiety, as we shall see, but in additio!1 very young children were selected to take part in them each time . Even so, this 'slametan for young people' definitely had a very serious undertone for Pak Samboyo, as will become apparent presently. As an illustration I reproduce belo w a fragment from m y field notes taken during the performance in Menang. It comes from the final act (barongan-celengan), where the six horse dancers, partiall y in trance , are pla ying a ' cat-and-mouse' game wi th the monster Singabarong , the wild boar Kala Srenggi, and the two knights, Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom.

24

~-1'· ex pe rien ce diff ers from Jil,· 's (1969 :2-W) ,1bscn-ati on that the gue sts tr eat each other as , which wo uld mean that it would fall to no particular person to take equals rluring a s!l11J1ela11 lea ve firs t. 25 The so-cal!ed 'po lite, embarrassec!, 1nuted mar.ner' (Geertz 1964:11 -2) of the slamefan should be taken with a grain of Sdlt, in rr.y exper ience . During a very elaborate slnmefan on the occasion of the birthddy of Gusti Putri, the spcuse 0f Mangkunagara Vlll, in 1971 one of the twelve( !) per sons leading the praye rs was ob liged to pause in his prayer repeated ly to admo nish tho se pres ent to show greater res pect. otwithstar.ding the pre sence of th e numerous religious offic ials and the length of the prayers , the eve:it had a far from solemn character. On the table ,v itl-, food a sucking pig moreover tc,ok pride of place , which made the Islamic character of this slamelan rather que stionabl e, to put it mildly.

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.

The slametan for young people in Menang Meanwhile it is a quarter to four in the afternoon. 26 A few mats are spread on the ground in the periphery of the performance area. Pak Sajen and a few helpers place the leftovers of the food from the table of offerings and a small pile of banana leaves torn into large squares on top of these. Pak Samboyo sends several of th dancers into the audience with orders to fetch six little boys of eight to ten. One of the dancers keeps running away but is pulled back rather roughly, under loud protests, each time by Pak Samboyo . Another one only wants to bring back an old man or woman and gets angry when Pak Samboyo points to a nearby child instead. After a lot of horseplay, six boys are finally assembled. Now an elderly woman is also taken from the audience and led to the mats. One of the helpers passes around a bucket of water in which the children and the woman, assisted by two dancers , are supposed to wash their hands, while they are constantly splashed by their 'helpers'. A third dancer checks the result and scolds them. The bucke returns and the whole process starts all over again. Kala Srenggi, the wild boar, has approached and looks as if he is about to intervene. Then he catches sight of the incense burner and disappears into the audience with it. Meanwhile Pak Samboyo has thrust the pile of banana leaves into the woman's hands and signals to her to fold them into small dishes . Then the food is handed out. Every time one of the dancers comes and checks on her, she is scolded for giving either too much or too little, in any case never doing it right. The boys are also told off all the time for fidgeting and turning around to their friends, who · continuously cheer them on from the sidelines. The dishes are filled and shared around and the children are made to sit crosslegged on the ground. When they are about to start eating they are given another telling-off . First a prayer has to be said. Pak Sajen is asked to come forward agaiIL ~ He gives a speech, whi <; _h, because he has no microphone, is virtually inaudible, · like the prayer, which seems to be exceptionally short, however. Suddenly there _ is a great comm otion. Singabarong comes running along at full tilt , tears past the · children , narr ow ly mi ssing them, and disappe ars am ong the crowd , chas ed by a few helpers . The little boys cower in fear, but then start eating at last. After only a few m outhfuls the y are cha sed away by Pak Sambo yo and amid loud lat:ghter from the spect ators qui ckly disapp ear am ong the crow d w ith their dishe s.27

Comments As became appa re nt fro m the speech and from retro spective comments, the re w r.1san ed uc at iona l m o tive underl yi ng th is sla111 eta11,which ,,vas integ r a ted into th e p e r fo:·m a nc e like a kind of ga n,e.W o twith s tanding th e fact th a t P ak

26

1 he performance, \vh ich was held who!ly in the daytime , started at ab ou t 9.30 a.m. and ended towards 5 p.m .. 27 Diary en try, 17 Augu st 1985. 26 The element of play in Samboy o Putro 's p erformances 1\'ill be di sc ussed in mor e de tail in Ch apte r X.

IV Performancesby horse dance groups

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The 'slametan for young people' in Menang. Photograph by author .

Sajen's speech was hard to hear, it was not difficult to get the general drift of it, couched as it was in the usual rhetoric of (semi-) official events of this kind .29 It was the duty of every citizen to nurtu:-e the Javanese cultural heritage (memelihara warisan kebudayaan Jawa), rather than fritter it away in exchange for supe rficial (Western) entertainment. Slametan, as Pak Sajen and Pak Sambo yo aftenvar ds commented, are part of the va luable legacy (tinggalan adiluhur) of the ancestors (nenek moyang), which can only be turned to account through mutual cooperation. By familiarizing young children with this crucial ritual , base d as it is on vo lunta ry coope ratio n (gotong royong), in a playful way, th ey we re hoping to promot e unity and stem the tide of fore ign influ enc es. Th ey moreover wanted to increase respect for the Javane se identity (kepribadia;z Jau n) and so contr ibut e to the d eve lopme nt (pembangunnn) of Indonesia. In int egrating the '~lm11dn11 for you :1g people ' into hi s perf orm ances, Pcik Samboyo was ac tin g in confo rmit y w ith a more general trend to acti ve ly in volve you ng peop le in aspects of tradition that \\'e re dee m ed valuabl e. In 1985, for instanc e, I attended a similar slametan introd ucing the bersih desa celebration of Mlorah ( ganjuk), to which one child was delegated by each hous ehold. 1

29

Acco rding to John PemOerton (1994:9) the 'rhetor ic of cul ture' is one of the most striking

characteristics of the t e"· Order.

Jaranan

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The 'slametan for yo ung people' in MJorah . Photograph

by author .

The slametan for young people in Mlorah At the appointed time the children, each carrying an ename l bowl of food , arriv e · at the village h all. After dropping a few coins into a specia lly designated box , they . sit down on the floor in long rows wi th their bowl in fron t o f th em. Th e religious teach er (penghu/11)delivers a long , grandiloquent speech (as in Samboyo Putro's performance) ab out th e significance of th e traditional va lues encapsulated in the bersih desa and slametm;. He then re·:ites a long pra yer and concludes with the pro fessio n of faith, in which <1 1! th ose pre sent join in at the top of their voice. At a sig ;1al from the village head, the children t,1ke il fe,,· mout!1f uls and then return home , hour 12.tcr J see lin es of ad ult s each ;,·ith their o"·n bowl. Abo ut a qu;irter of <111 car~ying exactly :he same kind o f bowls filing down to a banyan tree lwari11gi11)at th e edge of a small stre;im, the <1bodeof th e.tll tela ry sp irit (bn11rc!,~11) Df th e vi!lage. Later th a t day a wayang performance w ill be held for th e guardian spirit and o ther guests, for which the stage (tnrl!b) is in process of being se t.30

30

Diary entrv 1985.

W Performancesby horsedancegroups

97

Comments The emphasis in 'y oung people's slametan' like this did not lie, as of old, on the religious aspect - the strengthening of the bond with the ancestors as a moral court of justice in the solution of problems - but on its social role as a binding factor and as a barrier against advancing individualism as a result of the ever-increasing influence of a 'West' that was viewed as a threat. Pemberton (1994:249), writing about the slametan for young people organized for the 1983 bersih desa in Bendo (Klaten) , likewise observes that 'cooperation' was an important theme here . Tradition, he says, was stripped of its contradictory elements and represented as an example of how ideals may be realized through mutual cooperation . This emphasis on cooperation (gotong royong) and on the consensus that is a necessary condition for this reflects not only concern about the increasing individualization of society, however. Government pressure to conform to the ideology of a centrally guided development propagated by it, which allows no room for dissenting voices, plays quite a significant part here as well . The Islamic confession of faith, of which the prayer in Samboyo Putro's performance and that in Mlorah was comprised and which is recited on all kinds of occasions , is actually no more than an obligatory formula and is wholly in line with the 'enveloping power' (to use Bea tty 's words) of Islam as an official religion and with the repressive policies of New Order Indonesia (Beatty 1999:61). This 'slametan for young people', thus detached from its traditional religious meaning, offers a clear example of what Koentjaraningrat means by adat ceremony.

A horse dance demonstration by Samboyo Putro The second example of the way in which Samboyc Putro met the government's demands to give th e horse dance a m ore modem ima ge is the brief performance by a few members of the company on the occasion of a visit of a few high police officials from Jakarta. The perfo rm ance took place in Mojoroto, in the front ya rd of the hom e of the sup erintendent of police of Ked iri. Th e guests w1=re seated in the front ve rand a, the gamelan 1,·as arranged on th e la1,vnin front of that , and the dancers stood hiding behind some potted palms at th e side of th e house before th eir entrance . Th e spect:i tors had assembled outside the fence enclosing the compound . Samboyo Putro's performance opened with an orche stra! prelude accompanying the arrival of the guests around seven p .m . When the musicians had played for about an hour and all tlie invit ed guests had arrived, the gamelan fell silent. The superintendent gave a long speech also int roducing the group Samboyo Putro and stressing the importance of continu in g attention for the Ja vanese cultural heritag e. H e

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thereupon asked Pak Dhalang to say a few words. As the gamelan started softly playing, the latter in his turn welcomed the guests and ga ve a summary of the plot of the legend to be enacted by the performers .31 At the same time the first dancer entered the performance area. Toh Bagus comes on, the whip Kyai Samandiman in his hand. He dances around the yard a few times and thereupon summons the four horsemen onstage successively with loud cracks. Pak Dhalang accompanies their dance with all kinds of songs . At a given point he is interrupted by the master of ceremonies, who welcomes the guests once again and invites them to help themselves to the food that is meanwhile carried in on plates by a few young men (sinoman). The four horsemen have gone to stand to the side of the area with their horses beside them. Toh Bagus summons Singakumbang, who is immediately followe by Macan . The horsemen form a circle around the two and dance provocatively towards Singakumbang and one behind the other in a circle in turns. Macan weaves in and out among the horsemen, continually lashing out with his paw, and is kept at arm's length by Toh Bagus with his whip. Suddenly - celengKala Srenggi enters . The dance of the horsemen, Toh Bagus, Singakumbang and Kala Srenggi is very graceful. Macan dances on hands and knees and continually lashes out at the others. He provides the comic note . After dancing for a little under an hour, the performers withdraw. No one has gone into a trance. 32

ThE £on par Bu

Thi wa pe1 he1 as ca1

on ne: pa he sh an

m1

Comments

Pak Dhalang told me that for official occasions like this a selection is always made from Samboyo Putro's repertoire and the best dancers are picked. What was striking was the absence of Kethek and Singabarong. The actor · pla ying the part of Kethek appeared to be elsewhere engaged that evening. Singabarong 's non -appe aranc e was intentiona l. As the personification of the traditi on al religion , h e allegedl y had no part to play in a secular demonstration. It was also striking that the cro w d mostly remained on the other side o f th e fence. Onl y a few children ventured int o the perform ance area and cr aw led in and ou t am on g th e gam elan instrum ents . Pak Sarnb oy o, who had bee n wa tchin g the show from the veranda (h e was one of th e official gu es ts), vo iced his sa tisfacti on at the en thu siastic reactio n of the gu es ts fro m Jakar ta . 'The art of ho rse d c1ncing is one of the out sta ndin g art form s of In cionesia' (seni jnrn11n11snln/i sct1111ggnl sc11indi/11/11111g J11do11csi11), he comIT1e n ted . Fo r him it was p roo f th at tk· horse d ance has a piace in mod ern Ind ones ia as we ll.

31 32

0

This legend will be discussed in Chapter VI!. Diary ent ry, Aug u 8t 1985.

a

,,

IV Performances by horse dance groups

ted ary me,

99

The ne xt example of the w ay in which Sambo yo Putro might adapt a performance to som e sp ecia! wis h is the performance in Menang. It was intended particularl y for the crowd that had poured in from all directions . Bu Dhukun 's surpri se in M enang

The hostess , Bu Dhukun , w ho took the initiati ve in preparing the surprise , was a relatively well-to-do woman who wanted to share some of her prosperity with her neighbours in a playful way by this means without putting herself in the foreground . But she was motivated by another consideration as well . Some time before the performance she had fallen ill. As no obvious cause could be discovered, she suspected she had become the victim of someone in her immediate vicinity .33 Therefore she had made a vow to give her neighbours a treat at the first opporhmity. Her surprise ~as in fact intended partially as a way of neutralizing any feelings of displeasure on the part of her less fortunate fellow-villagers. On the ad vice of her son, Pak Samboyo, she had had a tall bamboo pole .vi th coconut oil rubbed all over it erected and topped with a cartwheel, from which she had had a large number of garments suspended . The meaning of this became apparent in the fourth act . Mo st of the p erformers ar e ju st hangin g around aimle ssly at the table of offerings . Pak Sambo yo approaches Keth ek with J,js w hip and tries to chase him up the pole wi th loud cracks. Kethek clearl y does not feel like shinning up the slippery pole and continu ally ducks aw ay to the tree immediately next to it, to the hilarity of espe ciall y the yo ung er sp ec tators . After man y unsuccessful att empt s, he has fL'"lally man aged to pe rch him se lf on top of the wheel and now starts cutting all kinds of cape rs . At Pak Samb oy o's repe ated ur gings he pluck s a few pi eces of clothin g from the spokes of th e whe el and start s to put th em on . Me an w hil e a large grou p of wome n h as app roac hed. They ges tur e to him to th row th e garmen ts d ow n, whic h h e does after mu ch h esita tion . Loudl y cheering, the spectato rs p 0tmc e on the ga rmen ts, but th e h elpe rs sn atch most of the ir sp oils awa y from them. Whe n Keth ek is back on the ground aga in, the reclaimed articles of clothing are th rust back into his arms , evidentiy with the idea of distributi ng th em amo n g the aud ience. It n ow becomes a free -for-all, w ith espec ;ally the women trying to filch one or m ore items from him and receiving a smart s lap al each attempt. The handing out of the ga rm en!s pro vokes great hilarit y w hen he tries to force a baby bonnet on a toothless old man and shows him how to put it on . Th e \Vhule episode is accom panied by the ga melan a nd Bu Swara ·.,·ati, w ho goes on indefatigably singin g one popu la r song af ter another. (r.1eanwhile the other periorme rs ha ve been re:;tored

33

Woodward (1985:1014), wr itin g about recove ry frum illness ar,d moral itv, points out among other things that there is a chance of being struck by black magic from relati ves o r neighbours around e,·ery corner, especially fo r people who stand out from their surroundings in terms of wealth or status .

Ke th e k n ea r th e cart w h ee l w ith ga rm ent s in Me n ang. Ph otog raph by auth o r.

IV Performancesby horse dance groups

101

to consciousness and have disappeared into the dressing room.) The last article of clothing, an enormous bra , appears to be intended for me and, like it or not, I have to try it on, to the great amusement of the onlookers . While the musicians are still laughing about my new acquisition, Pak Dhalang announces the last act and Pak Samboyo gives Kethek the rough treatrnent. 34

Comments

Bu Dhukun watched the whole act from her front veranda . When I went back inside to get a new roll of film a little later, she called me over to her. While we were chatting, she casually remarked that she felt relieved (Zeganing galih) because her wish had been fulfilled and the whole neighbourhood had turned out. That so many people had come to her party and had stayed on was testimony to her that she had been successful in her aim (and need have no more fear of unpleasantness from her neighbours). The fact of a special surprise for the throng of spectators is not unusual per se. The form was unique, however. Further down we will witness another way in which a crowd of spontaneously gathering spectators was entertained. Samboyo Putro's part in the perfonnance in Menang, which had a dual cause, namely the bersih desa and National Independence Day, was marginal. The bersih desa ritual had taken place the evening before, for instance . And the official part of the celebration-the speeches in honour of National Independence Day - took place while the members of Samboyo Putro were preparing fer their performance inside Bu Dhukun's house . The same was true of most of the group's other performances that I attended. On one or two occasions Pak Dhalang was invited to act as master of ceremonies and welcome the guests and inform them of the reason for the ceiebration on behalf of the host as for instance at Pulihrejo discussed further down. Only once did I attend a show by Sarnboyo Putro in which the group was asked to play a part that bore a direct relation lo the reason for its performance . Thi s was at a party in celebration of the circumcision of the eleven- yea rold son of the sponso r, Pak Soet risno, in Sumb eragung, in the sub-district of Wates (Kedir i), on 14 June 1992. This performance , gi,·en after Pak Samboyo's death, was directed by Pak Gambuh, the form er singakumbang danc er. He had received a wnl1yu in the place of pilgrimage Pamena ng Jayabaya afte r Pak Samboyo 's decease to continu ~ the latt er 's work. His former role of Singakumbang ,vas now played by a person I did not know. The ritu al for which the cooperation of a few memb ers of Samboyo Putro was sought was

3-l

Diary entry , 17 August 1985.

Th e 'bl ess in g o f th e peni s' ritual in Sumb eragun g . Pho tog ra ph by au thor.

IV Performancesby horsedance groups

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the 'blessing of the peni s' (njurungi planangan) of the newly circumcised boy. Although every performance is in a sense unique, that in Sumberagung nevertheless was roughly similar to those I had attended during Pak Samboyo 's lifetime in the mid-1980s - up to the fourth act (kucingan), with the appearance of Singakumbang. Towards the end of this act, when the majority of the dancers were in trance, a brief ritual was performed in the front veranda of the host's house which, owing to the bustle in the performance area, where the trance dancers were engaged in all kinds of antics, was harrl.ly noticed, if at all, by the audience at large.

The blessing of the penis (njurungi planangan) in Sumberagung While the show is in full progress in the central area , the newly cirL....mcised son of the sponsor, a boy of about eleven, emerges . He is now dressed in a sinjang,35 a white shirt, and a black felt fez (kuluk). He has to sit down between his mother and grandmother. One of the trance dancers, carrying a small bottle of scented oil in his hand, clambers onto the front veranda, pokes out his tongue, and gives the boy a sign to sprinkle it with the oil. Then he kneels down and puts his head under the boy's sinjang, whereat the latter grows rigid and wide-e'yed with shock . His parents and grandmother reassuringly stroke him over the head and tap him on the shoulders . About half a minute later the trance dancer emerges and signals the family to coine outside with him . At his directions , the father has to dig a hole of about twelve centimetres in diameter and twelve centimetres deep in the ground beside the steps to the ve randa . While he is busy doing this, the trance dancer walks off. He returns soon afterwards, accompanied by Pak Sajen, who is carrying a dish with a ra w egg, a few kenangaf!ow(!rS, a..,d a piece of the circumcised bo y's foreskin. All this is thro w n into the hole under the watchful eye of the boy and to the accompa n iment of a few mumbl ed pra ye rs by Pak Sajen. The hole is then quickly filled in by the trance dancer and the father . The latter has a kupat thru st into his hands. He and his son pull the packet apart, each of them holdin g a length of leaf hanging down from it. This appears to be the end of the ceremony, and the boy :uns inside the house.36

Comments What exac tly h appe ned und er the sinjnng cou ld n ot be see n, of cou rse . Th e trance dancer toid me he h ad blesse d the peni s with the sacred oil Acco rdin g to Pak Gambuh , he had taken th e p e;iis in hi s m outh to do so, w hich might explain th e child's startl ed react ion. H e pointed out tha t the bl e,s ing of the penis is an authentically Java ne se tradition, intended to ensur e a speedy recove ry. That thi s was ind ee d a:1 old custom becomes apparent from a

35 36

An ankle -leng th batik underg::irment. Diar y entr y, 15 Jul y 1992 .

104

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few descriptions of circumcisions from the beginning of the 20th century; Mohtoelimah (19?1:497), an Indonesian doctor from Nganjuk, reports, fo instance , tha.t the circumciser, 'mumbling[ ...] a prayer[ ...], chews some indig enous drugs and spits them out (with force) on the surface of the woun immediately after the operation. This was the practice in Madiun (East Java~ too (Agoesdjam 1921:479). Inggris (1921:90) informs us that in Bagelen it w customary to bury the cut-off foreskin in the hut (kobongan)37 erected especial ly for the circumcision in the front yard. Pak Dhalang confirmed that spittin on the wound or treating it in some c-~her way was very common before th arrival of Western medicine, but now is unusual. He expressed the view tha these days it is better to trust to modem drugs, and added that now that, sin Pak Samboyo's death, the group was lee".by Pak Gambuh, traditional magi practices were gaining ground hand over ~st. This comes as no surprise. Foi: i had become evident from earlier interviews with Pak Gambuh that, unlike t Pak Samboyo, he was much more oriented to the past. As a citizen without an official function, he had no need to keep up appearances, while moreover h had little affinity with government politics. Pak Dhalang and Pak Samboyo' son-in-law regretted the new course struck out by Pak Gambuh, which in the· eyes was leading Samboyo Putro to slide slowly downhill. The ritual of the 'blessing of the penis' , which took place virtually unn
T p r< ' ir

C p

p \,I

0

g iJ

a h

a a f, t

31

d 3'

h 37

Koho11ganis also a word for a small roo m in th e rea r pa rt of th e hou se in whi ch the bridal bed is located and ceremonies are conducted on spec ial occasions, in p arti cu la r at wedd ings.

IV Performances by horse dance groups

ltury,

.

The performancefor a konduran

:, fo tdig un

105

Pak Usodo told me the following anecdote concerning the significance of his role as gambuh in my interview with him with reference to the performance in Balowerti : Not long ago a woman came to seek my help for her niece (keponakan), who had been continually harassed (diganggu) (by a sprite) ever since she had had a miscarriage. This was because the niece had got rid of the tiny corpse out of shame (konduran38 diilangke merga isin).39 I said I was prepared to help her, and we agreed that I would come with my 'children' . I established contact (with the spirit) during the performance and asked it what the family should do to make it amends, so that it would leave the woman alone in future . In the course of the performance I received the message to have the body disinterred, to purify it, to wrap it in cloths tied with seven strings, and to rebury it with all due respect (that is to say, in accordance with Muslim custom) . I also received a list of-sacrifices and instructions as to where and when the family should offer these. When all the instructions had been carried out, the woman was as before (kaya ning ngunz).40

Comments Pak Usodo did not want to say anything about the form in which he had had contact with the spirit of the deceased infant or how the reburial had been performed, or what kind of sacrifices had been offered on this occasion. These were matters on which he could not enlarge, as they were some of the secrets of his specialization and could only be divulged to the initiated. Nor did I get an unambiguous answer to my question as to the identity of the spirit invoked by l1irn. I shall come back to this presentl y. Many if not all of Pak Usodo's clients were women who had either had a miscarriage (teregan) or a stillbirth (kond.1ran), as in the above case . They had subsequ entl y suffered from all kinds of complaints without any clearl y apparent ph ys ical cause , which meant they w ere being plagued (diganggu) by a spirit, Pak U sodo alle ged . Accordir .g to him his clients had generall y been ill for so m e time befo re th ey co n sul te d him , beca u se th ey did not as a rul e d o so till all other remedies , including Wes tern medi cines (he said thi s \•Vith a w ink

33

Derived from kond11r, m ea ning ' to go (back) home ' or ' d ea d ' (Pigeaud 1982), the wo rd konduran her e is use d ir. the sensec o f ' retu rn to one's origips'. 39 What th e niece felt ashamed about did :-io t become clea r to me. Poss ibly s'.1e bel ieved that her miscar riage had bee n a di vin e punishment for violat ing so me adr.f rnle . Quite po ss ibly also she felt ashamed towa rds her husband beca use she had the fee lin g th at she cou ld n ot be a prope r wife to him. 4 Fra g ment fro m an interview on 18 March 1986.

°

106

Jaranan

in my direction), had failed. He was as it were their last recourse. Pak Usodo blamed the fact that he was generall y only asked for help at such a late stage on the high costs of the offerings required by a healing ritual. He thus implicitly forestalled any possible suspicions that his fees might be responsible for this hesitancy . Like the more old-fashioned puppeteers (Clara van Groenendael 1985:108), he liked to uphold t..1.etraditional healer's ideal that he was not out after financial gain and only wanted to serve the cornrnunity. 41 Pak Usodo's help hence was sought especially for psychosomatic complaints . This was endorsed by Samboyo Putro's Pak Gambuh, who had drawn my attention to Haswo Usodo. He told me that the belief that the spirits of the deceased still actively interfere in the lives of their descendants is still widespread among the Javanese, and not only among the common people (wong · cilik), but also among the higher classes, such as intellectuals and government officials .42 When someone dies an unnatural or mysterious death, he went on . to say, the spirit of that deceased person seeks out a close relative, someone.., who is sensitive to stimuli from the invisible world - often someone in an · unstable emotional condition - and continually harasses this person until finally he/she enlists the help of a specialist to find out what his/her tormentor wants. In Solo, according to Pak Gambuh, people will consult a dhalang (of the · wayang theatre), while in Kediri, where the jaranan is popular, they will ask a gambuh for help. That puppeteers may also be confronted with this kind of situation became apparent from a conversation with the Solo-trained Kediri dhalang Ki Gunawan. Drawing on his own experience, he told me how he had once been i__ called on for help after a stillbirth. In this particular case the tormentor turned I out to be not the spirit of the child, but that of a grandparent who had passed awa y before it and had now come to the child 's aid (dimrinani) , desiring to point out to the tormented relati ves that the y should respect the adat, even in the case of a stillborn child .43 •1

'Modem ', progressive puppeteers like Ki Narto Sabdo of Sema ~«ng, Ki Ano m Suro to of Solo , e r Ki Pan ut of Yogyakarta , con versely, p rided themse lves on the exor bi tant fees th ey often commanded, wh ich the y cons id ered to be proof of their exceptional popu lar ity. 12 I observed an examp le of this during the prepar _at ions for the wedding of a d au ghte r of a sma ll the w_,dana (sc;b-district he2.d) of P~re. In the night preceding the wedding (111id11dnreni) procession , accompanied by the \Vedana's "'ife, headed for t\\·o sacred ba,n·ans, one oi them gro,ving in the compound of th e knwcdn11n11and the othe r a httle further 01, at th e side of the public road. They "·ere carrying small offeri:,gs for the spir its dwelling in thes e trees, to w h om they p1ayed th at they might b!ess the bridal couple . At the end of :hi s cerem on y m y hostess, fbu Wed~.na, stated ih3 t sr.2 had onl y dor .e this for the sake of th e pea ce of r,1ir,d of he r s taff bui 110 longer belie ve d in it herself. Hut one wo nd ers! 43 Persona l ::omm uni ca tion in th e course of preparat ion s for an exo rcist wayan g ritu al (ruwat nlllnvakala) on the occasion of the ann ual village purification 1;1ual (bersih desa) at the home of the head of the village of Gampengrejo (Kedir i) in 1985. 11,is celebration was com bined with th e circumcis ion ce remony for th e latte r's on ly so n (onlm1g-a11ting). H ere too, pri va te and community

At A A a C<

ir t1 b 0

11 k '\I

l

IV Performances by horsedancegroups

107

.

Ad hoc groups in Yogyakartaand Dongko at al. be

A prayerfor rain Another example of a performance in a crisis situation was given me by a fellow-anthropologist. 44 The group concerned was a small horse dance company from the environs of Yogyakarta , of which she saw a performance in November 1977. Because the first rains were late in coming that year , so that there was a serious water shortage , the population of Central Java was beset by all kinds of diseases, including the dreaded demam berdarah(dengue or breakbone fever) , which made many victims especially among children. It was in this difficult period that a group of four people - a dancer with a kuda kipang, a musician with a tambourine (terbang), a wild-looking woman with unkempt hair, and a man with an incense burner and a bowl of offerings - gave a performance near one of the hvo fenced:.in sacredl>anyan trees (waringin kurung) in the northern kraton square, the Alun-Alun Lor, in Yogya. The horse dancer was only wearing a half-length, dark pair of pants and a 5 jacket, with no ornaments or makeup. The other three wore no special lurik:4 costume either. The musician beat a roll on his tambourine and the horse dancer started dancing, but soon went into a trance, while the woman yelled and gestured threateningly in the direction of the tree . The fourth had gone and sat down at the foot of the tree inside the fence and was burning incense while mumbling a few prayers. The whole performance, to which none of the passers-by seemed to pa y any attention, lasted only a few minutes, at the end of which the group left the square without an y further ado.

Comments Of course it is not feasible to dra w any fundame!1ta ! conclusions from this description by a casual passer-by. What is clear, howe ve r, is that the actions of this group constitut ed not a performance in the tru e sense, but a supplica tion to the guard ic1nspi rit of the banyan. It wc1sa pri va te affair , pos sibl y on behalf of some local community or other. Jud ging from the lack of interest in the perfo rma nce, that was w hat it vvas take n for by the peo pl e in the squar e, if they noticed any thin g at all. What m essage the gro up was tfying to put acr oss is d ifficult to say. Th at it m igh t have h ad somet hin g to do ,,v ith th e curr ent dro ught is very probable. In calamiti es tran scending th e local communit y, such as long droughts , interests were intenvoven . D r. Danielle Ge imaert-Mart in, who was kind enough to share her expe rien ce wi th me . A JavanesP striped cotto n fab ric worn common ly by men in Yogyaka , ta.

H ;5

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Jaranan

excessive rains , epidemics, or other plagues, waringin kurung are regularly visited. 46 As will become apparent in the ne xt chapter, local tutelary spirits (dhanyang) have onl y very limited power. For a major disaster, the help of a more powerful protector is needed, therefore, and who better to tum to than the guardian spirit from the immediate surroundings of the ruler? 47

The Turonggo Yakso in Dongko In the foregoing I referred in passing to a special horse (:~.I1Cegroup (or groups) in Trenggalek, the Turonggo Yakso of the sub-district of Dongko. Owing to faulty communications between Trenggalek and Kediri during my stay in East Java, I was not informed in time of the precise dates Jn which there were to be Turonggo Yakso performances in the various villag, ·-:;in Dongko. Hence unfortunately I was not able to attend any of these performances and cannot speak from personal experience. My informant in the cultural affairs bureau in Trenggalek was not able to draw from personal observation either. Nor did he know the local name for the ritual as part of which the performances were held . Therefore he referred to it by the Indonesian term pesta ternak ('Feast of the Livestock'). Basing himself on information obtained in Dongko, he gave me the following account. The celebration is held annuall y in the month of Apit (the eleventh month of the Muslim-Javanese lunar year), but on a different day in each village. Because Turonggo Yakso performances take place exdusivel y in the context of this feast , a new group is formed each year. The day of the celebration opens with a slametan by the village in question . After that the Turonggo Yakso walks through the village in procession and then circumambulates the fields, repeatedl y stopping to give a bri ef perform ance. Th e gro up finally return s to the village, where th e actual perfo1mance takes place . It is an all-da y performance, in which the players go into a trance seve ral times . It is meant for the spiritual prot ector (baureksa) of the livestock , who, it is hoped , will be present at th e festivities and will be satisfied with

46

Personal communication by Pak Arintoko, lectu rer in Yogya. An example of the bel ief in the str ong protective powe rs of the ruler is the processiLln in r1karn/011)Kangj eng Kyai ·Tunggul Wulung is carried around out which the sacred weap on (p11,r1k s ide th e pa l,1ce "·h en di s;is te rs strike th e realm (R. Soedj;ina Tirtakoe soema 1932:-!2), a, "· ell as the kirnb p11sakn(the carrying round of the rul er 's sacred weapons in procession outs id e the pa l<1ce)on 1 Sur;i (th e first m onth of th e Mu slim-Ja,·;ine se ve ar) in Suraka,ta. Pemb e rton (1989:237), citing Singg ih Wibisono, w rit es about thi s: 'The karato11 is a so urce for sir.met and pro spe rity. As a center of the cosmos [kosm~s] and universe, its ma gical powe r is ab le to radiate out to a:J the people by means of sacred [sa!crn/] ritua ls, the magical power o f th e k;n 3 stored within the pusaka.' The annual prece ssion instituted in Solo under th e New Order in th e 1970s according to Pemberton (1989:235) is not based on a r. old er tradition and had nothing to do w i~h the origina! role of this ritual, but represented an attemp t by th e cour t (karaton) in Solo, backed by th e Suharto government, to recove r its idealized jJOSition as centre of Javanese cu lture.

47

IV Performances by horse dance groups

109

this mark of resp ec t in hi s honour and will bless the livestock, so that it may be fertile and w ill n ot b es .tru ck by di sease and other plagues .48

Comments

Much is left unexplained in the above description. My informant had no idea of the composition of Turonggo Yakso groups, for example. Does every village have its own group and theatrical props, or is there only one group that wanders from village to village? Who fixes the date for the celebration, and how? Who are the guests at the slametnn and do they include the horse dancers? Who presides over the slametan, the modin (mosque official) or perhaps the gambuh? What prayers are recited here? And what part does the livestock play in Le: celebrations as a whole? The baritan ritual

The Turonggo Yakso performance at the 'Feast of the Livestock' appears to hark back to an old ritual called baritan ('a kind of village (agricultural) ritual', Pigeaud 1982). The history of the Turonggo Yakso baritan of Dongko is as follows (Deskripsi tari Turonggo Yakso 1994:19-21): A dhukun from Dongko recei ved a message (wangsit) from the' god who divides riches' (dewa pembagi rejeki) one da y in 1923 to hold a baritan ritual after the harvest to prevent the crops and livestock from bE:ing struck by disease and epidemics. This ritual took place annuall y in the wet-rice fields (snwah) and the dry fields (ladang) on 1 Sura from that time on . In 1965 a stop was put to it because of the political unrest following the unsuccessful communist coup of 30 September. In 1972 Pak Suti yo no , then inspector of culture (penilik kebudayaan), made an attempt to blow new life int c the baritan Turonggo Yakso. Turonggo Yakso was further de ve loped i."1th e yea rs be twee n 1972 and 1976. Initially the hor ses had an ox's head, but thi s provoked criticism from the community beca u se of its political connota tions (the ox was the symbol of the Indonesian Nationa list Party, PNI, 49 ex -President Soekamo's par ty), and so it was replaced wit h a demo n's head. Moreove r, th e Turonggc Yakso was d isconnected from the baritnn ritual, so that it becarn e pos sible to dev elop the dance s of th e horses (and other characters figurin g in th e pe rforma n ce) furth er in ag ree m ent -w ith th E
The

Betwee n 1978 and 1989 th e Tl:ron ggo Yakso d ance comp any p articipated in various ti:aditional danc e competitions, o:-ithe Seib-di strict and district as well as the national level. •8 Perso n al co m m u r,ica tion by Pak M ud jiran, actin g h ea d of the Cu ltural Affair s Bureau in Trengga lek , 18 Ju ne 1985. 49 Pa rt ai I as iona l Ind onesia.

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Comments No thin g is said ab out the exact occasion for in stitutin g the baritan ritual. In view of the form the ritual w as given , disease amon g the livestock seems to be the m os t ob vious re ason , but I ha ve n ot been able to find any unambiguous informa tion about this. Like the annual purification ritual , bersih desa, whicH had (and has?) primaril y a proph y lactic purpose, the Turong go Yakso ritual w as aimed at pre vention of disea se among the livestock by appealing to the latter 's spiritual protector(s) and propitiating these by means of a ritual. Rituals for protecting the livestock are found elsewhere in Java as well. In Kerek (Tuban) , for example , there is a special annual ritual in w hich people address the cattle (sapi) and adorn their necks with different kinds of ketupa (coconut-leaf packets of steamed rice) to thank them for their share in the work in the fields. In addition a special ketupat is placed on the roof of the cowsheci as an offering to Dhadhung Aw uk , the patron saint of the livestock. 50 ' In Gegesik (Cirebon) there is a barikan ritual that is likewise performed annuall y. The similarity in name notwithstanding , this ritual is aimed not onl y at the w ellbeing of the livestock , but in a more general sense at the well being of the community and the elimination of negative forces (siluman). This ritual takes the form of a w ayang show , in w hich the dan ger of these negative forc es is expl ained and n eutralized (Cohen , Behr end and Cooper 2000:107- . 11). The articl e compares the barikan ritual to the exor cist wa yang ritual , ruwat murwakala. In the same w ay as in the ruwat murwakala the story is an essential element of the ritual (Clara van Groenendael 1998:xii), so too in the barikan. th e ritu al and the sto ry are in separabl y b ound up with each other ; more than th at, th e story is the ritu al. In the Tur onggo Yakso, mo nster h orses (}arr.man buta) pl aye d a cru cial part. That is w h y I wou ld like to d es cribe th e Tur on ggo Yakso as-a ritu al type of -~ h orse d ance. 51 Aft er th e Tur on ggo Yakso w as 'r edi scover ed ' by Pak Suti yo no aro und 1972, it was detach ed from its rihia l ori gin, to be d eve loped fu rth er as an in de p ende nt d an ce form . Thi s w as con sistent w ith the p olicies of iocal and nat ion al governme nt s unde r th e New Ord er, aimed as these we re at elimi nating aspec ts that in th eir eyes \'!ere sup ersti tious (in p articu lar the trance) . There was moreove r a need ~or a symbol reflecting the loca l identit y. In 19 9

I am ind eh ted for this inform3ti o.i w Ren s H erin ga, who ,-.,as kind P11nu gh :o g ive me a descr ipti cn of thi s ket11p.1ting kga ! ritu al (' ritu ai of the rice p a rceis in th e field ') and let m'c' use her photographs (Lei den, 6 July 2002). 51 The jaranan bu/a ritual bel ongs in the same category as the exo rcist ritu a l mwat murwaka/a (Cla ra van Groenendael 1998) and th e wayang gandru ng, for exam pl e (Clara van Gro enendael

5C

2000:52-67).

IV Performancesby horsedancegroups

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this development from a ' traditional ceremony' (upacara tradisional) with a religious dimension into a secular 'traditional art form' (seni tradisional) was crowned by the recognition of the Turonggo Yakso dance as a typical cultural product of the district by the then district head of Trenggalek (Deskripsi tari Turonggo Yakso 1994:21) . I am not able to say if in addition to this there is still a ritual Turonggo Yakso. The information I was given in Trenggalek leads me to suspect that this was indeed the case, at any rate at the time of my research (1985-1986).

The place and the significance of the horse dance in the festivities Whatever the occasion for a performance by horse dancers, it will always take place in an atmosphere of great excitement in which the entertainment ~spect is clearly dominant. An exception to this seemed to be fanned by the actions of the group of four near the waringin kurung in Yogyakarta , which did not really amount to a performance at all. The entertainment is meant not only for the visible but also for the invisible guests, the bangsa alus. For it is especially these 'guests', present at the invitation of the trance master, who need to be propitiated by means of the performance in order to be assured of their beneficial influence . The performance of horse dance groups, excepting that of the Turonggo Yakso company at the 'Feast of the Livestock', does not as a rule constitute part of the core of the event that is the reason for the celebration. For example, the circumcision of the sponsor's son (in both Pulihrejo and Sumberagung) , the bersih desa ritual (in Menang and Balowerti), and the official speeches in commemoration of a special date (17 Augustus, National Independence Day, in Menang , anJ the 'Day of the Police' and 'Anniversary of the Mobile Police Squad' and the demonstration in Mojoroto) h ad already tak en place before the horse d anc ers m ad e their first appearance. Their performance in fact generally constituted th e m err y close of the celebration. This is not to say that the se performances we re valued in the same way by ever yo ne , ho wever. It is in fact imposs ible to give an unambiguous answer to the ques tion of the sign ificance of horse dances. The pe~forrnan~ ·es are ~xtremely con1plex and often so chaotic one cannot ke ep tra ck of everythi ng that is going on. This encourages the idea th a t there is more go;ng on than meets the eye. It is precisely this deliberate ambiguity - which, as we saw above, was und erlin ed by the slnmpret - that lends thi s dramatic genre its great fascination. The performanc es progress on differen t levels simu ltaneo u sly. On th e geneBl level the y are a form of entertainmen t. Accordi ng to som e, thi s in itself has a beneficia l effect - be it that p eop le often have no more than a vague sensation of this - if only because these shows att ract many people

to ·

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Young calf with ketupat in Tu ban . Photograph b_vRens Heringa.

IV Performances by horsedancegroups

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to the spot, so that it is rame, which is viewed as a propitious sign . For the host or hostess the y frequentl y mark the close of a period that began with the making of a vow . A successful performance moreover boosts the prestige of the sponsor(s) (for example, the performances in Jombor and Menang) . At the same time it may provide an excellent opportunity for counteracting any possible feelings of envy through a generous gesture (as in the case of Bu Dhukun) . On a metaphysical level, the performance is a way to enter into contact with the invisible world - sometimes periodically, in order to propitiate the immaterial protector(s) so that the community may remain free from disaster in the future as well (as, for instance, in the bersihdesa or the 'Feast of the Livestock ' ), sometimes incidentally, to find a solution for some pressing problem (Haswo Usodo's konduran or the Yogyakarta group's plea for rain) or to confirm some crucial event (the circumcision in Surnberagung) . The performance creates a formal pause in daily life, a moment in which time is as it were suspended for a while and the humai, and spirit worlds encounter one another in the trance . Because this moment is not without danger, it is necessary beforehand to create the right conditions in which the spirits manifested in the dancers may be kept under control. How this is done will be described in the next chapter.

Intro, The , allov ritua othe: ants

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CHAPTER

V

Rituals surrounding horse dance performances

Introduction The object of the rituals in connection with horse dance performances is to allow contacts with the immaterial w orld to occur as smoothl y as po ssible. The rituals are aimed on the one hand at establishing these contacts, and on the other at forestalling the danger inherent in them. When one or more i...habitants of the invisible w orld are in vited to become temporaril y manifest in the human world, this leads to a blurring of the boundary between the two worlds. To keep the resultant situation under control , it is of the utmost importance to delimit clearl y the place and time of such an esoteric visit . In this chapter , I shall investigate how Samboyo Putro and other horse dance groups demarcate the context within w hich such contacts are permitted and how people try to arm themsel ves against the dangers of these contacts beforehand .

Rituals surrounding the production and maintenance of stage requisites The ritual preparations star t in a ver1 ear ly p hase. Pak Dh alang told m e h ow all kinds of precautions need to be taken prior to and in th e cour se of th e production of the hor ses, t!ie m asks, the wild boar puppet , and the whips to make it easier for th ese props to become _animated (dijlwai) by a sp irit and to ensure th at the y w ill be ligh t (e11thh1s)to u se. The nature of the preparations is partiall y dependent on the importance a,ta ched to th e particular prop. Thu s a bnro11gn°ask requires more sp irituai prepJration th,m, fm instance, the masks of the two kni ghts or of the sato gnlak.1 To be assured of th e necessar y spiritual power and in spiratiou to bring off th e enterpr ise successfully, people will seek contact with the invisible world , pref erab ly wi th the spirit of the

Why this is so will be explained,

in Chapter VII.

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character for whom the prop is intended, by means of asceticism. Depending on the personality "f the prospective maker and on local tradition, this may be done in a variety of ways. For example, one may isolate oneself for a while in order to concentrate on things spiritual, or offer sacrifices and bum incense · at the grave of an ancestor or a famous puppet- or mask-maker in order to invoke his blessing for the enterprise so that it may be completed without hindrance. In the old days people were more conscientious in the observance of these rules, according to Pak Dhalang. At present only a few mask-makers in Tulungagung follow them, he said, which is why Samboyo Putro gets · its horses and masks from Tulungagung. The group kept the location of the workshop where they are made very secret, afraid as they were that the interest of a foreigner might force up the prices of the objects. I never succeeded in visiting such a workshop, in fact. In the literature as well there are indications that communication with the spirit world plays an important role in the production of the horses and masks. So Pigeaud (1938:172), citing an essay by Soepangkat, 2 writes that (around 1928) it was usual in Bagelen (Kebumen) for the makers of barong masks to spend some time in religious seclusion before they started work on these. We are further informed that sometimes bamboo from a clump inhabited by spirits, which is therefore reputed to be mysterious or magically dangerous (wingit 3 or angker4 ), is selected for the horses . In Banyumas · at least one of a set of horses was said to be preferably made of such magical bamboo 5 (Pigeaud 1938:223). In Yogyakarta , people also attributed extraordinary powers to a horse that had such a piece of bamboo incorporated into it. It was especially this horse that was used to 'cure' the trance dancer, that is to say, to bring him to from his trance, by stroking him over the head with it a few times (Pigeaud 1938:230). This action, as we saw above , was also performed by Pak Suwuk of the hors e dance company pla ying in Jombor , though w heth er the horse used by him also incorporated a piece of bamboo from a sacred grove I do not know.

2

Thi s ess;iy, which appeared " ·ithout a titl e in May 1928 (Pigeaud 1938:98), wa s written oy (e>r by order of) R. Soepa ngkat , then sub-di strict hea d (1cerla11n)o f Puring , in Kar anga nyar · , (no\\· Kebum en), in n~spo n,e to a questionnaire sc:1t by the board of the J,,va ln sti tuut to the ' ln digen c 11 s rulers of Ja,·~ and ivladura' in 1926 "·ith a request for inf ormati o n about the clifferE:nt kinds of folk enter tainm ent in their respectin, areas , in particular mask dances and connected e volksverlo11i11gen(19:\Sj. perfo rmances. Pigeaud cites it frequently in h is Jnvaa11s 3 1eaning literall y 'command ing respe ct' (Pigeaud 1982) . -1 'SomeU,ing (a spot , tree, :md so on, in which a spec ial force r esides) that may not be ente red, touched (by everyo ne )' (P igea ud 1982). 5 Bamboo is, among o th er things , a svmbol of ierti lity and indestructible vita lity, w hil e the widespread bamboo shoot (tu111pnl) motif is allegedl y a prime va l symbol for vital force (E11cyclopacdi e 1917, 1:131).

ha it ro1

he in

Tl in in S(

P' tl ir ti

f< h r if

V Rituals surrounding horsedanceperformances

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Because the props are. intended as the earthly abode of the spirits, they have to be offered to the relevant spirits on their comple!ion, in order that later it may be easy for the person using them 'to be filled with the spirit' (diiseni rah), in other words , go into a trance .6 In Jombang (East Java) the masks and horses were placed towards this end in a spot commonly held to be angker or in a prayer house (langgar) for a while before the show (Pigeaud 1938:199). This custom also existed in Bagelen . Here people preferably chose a tall tree in a burial ground for this, under which a flower offering was placed and incense burned, according to Soepangkat's essay. As soon as a sound like the soft tinkling of bells was heard in the horses (there is no mention of masks), people knew that the spirit had descended into them . Then they could take the horses home with them in the firm conviction that the riders would go into a trance (Pigeaud 1938:223). Because the horses, m~sks, wI:!jps, musical instruments,_and so on, are the temporal abode of the spirits, they should always be treated with due respect, for instance by regularly giving them 'food' (nyaosi dhahar), preferably on holy days. If this was neglected, then the spirit concerned might appear to remind its descendants of their obligations. So the congkok (deputy village head) of Sawo (Bagelen) said, according to Soepangkat's essay, that if no flower sacrifices were offered to or incense burned for the barong on ma/amSelasa-Kliwon 7 or malam-Juma 'at-Kliwon , 8 then the guardian spirit (dhanyang baureksa) of the barongan would emerge from his bagor9 -fibre windings - at least, if these had not been tied as a precaution (Pigeaud 1938:172). This latter, rather ironic remark would lead one to believe that the congkok did not have a very high opinion of the dhanyang, which would thus have been too easy to outwit. On the other hand , ridiculing the sacred is often a way of masking the deep emotions aro used by something that is of existential imp ortance for the relevant person. 10 Although Pak Samboyo pretended to be indifferent to the mys tical aspects of the hor se danc e and to his role as gambuh, th e flowe r offerin g near the barong This is also true for Bali, whe re every stage in the production o f rr,asks requ ires offe rin gs in order th at their "'earers w ill be absolutely su re to enter a state of kernhnn (' possession by a spi rit') (Nnrli tmn cr 2000:43). ; The Tuesday e,·e (that is to say, l'vlond ay evening) coinciding with the dav Kliwon of the Javanese market week. The Javanese day starts in the e,·ening. 8 The Friday e,·e (hence Thursday even ing ) coinciding w ith the day Kliw on of the Jav anese market week. 9 A rna rse fabric made from the leaf fibres c f the grb~ng palm (De Cle1cq, Corypha !lmbel!ifera L.) (Ce ricke and Roorda 1901, II:636). IO C.J. Held (1950:89, 82) is of the op ini on, however, that there is often a 'facet ious famil iarity with th e sac red [to be] observed' in ritual officiants who are well acquai nt ed with the profanesacred dichotomv, which on the one hand mak~s the ritual act 'mag ic' and on the othe r hand reflects a recognition of 'human insignificance' th at tends to ha ve a rather comica l effec t.

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hanging on a wall in his house was regularly renewed. But, he explained, was mainly for :he sake of the peace of mind of the members of his comp who still believed in the magic of the barong.

The ritual preparation of the performers From conversations with members of different horse dance companie became a?parent to me that they observed particular rules of conduct be every performance. These varied from uttering the brief Muslim form Bismillah ('in the name of Allah') on leaving home for the performan observing a Lotal or a partial fast (for instance eating only one meal a day, ing unsalted rice, or eating rice only, without any side dishes) for some offering sacrifices in a holy spot, preferably at a family grave, holding a ·wake in such a place, or going on a pilgrimage. -• For Haswo Usodo's gambuh, who invariably placed great emphasis on.· therapeutic aspects of his performance, this personal preparation was a S\? ous affair. He told me that, contrary to the members of some modem co panies, who 'no longer respect the ways of the ancestors' (he was alluding _ Samboyo Putro, without mentioning that group by name), he fasted foi; least three days before every performance in order to be wholly pcre (bersih}) so that the spirits would have no hold over him. For it was important for Pak Usodo, as gambuh, to have sufficient spiritual authority over the spirits to ·& summoned. Companies like Samboyo Putro, which he labelled somewhat enviously as ' modem' (in other words, popular), did not neglect this spiritual preparation either, however . Most of the members of this company usually paid a short visit to the Plethik Kuning cem eter y opposite Pak Samboyo 's house, where man y of their relatives lay buried , befor e setting out for a perfom1ance , in order to invoke their de ceased rel atives' blessing on it. Pak Dh alan g, on the oth er h and , att ach ed littl e imp ort an ce to such br ief acts of piety, as h e called th em. To his rr.ind th e best gua rant ee for an undi stu rbed p erforma nce wa s a p roper attitude to life . H e therefore urged his yout h fu l he lpe rs to fast regular ly 11in order to strengt hen th eir inn er res ista nce. Some h orse da nce companies have a tJ\'ourite place they lik e to vis it to pr epar e them selves n°f'ntc1lly. For the horse dancers of Bc:nyum as thi s was Iger Karas (P:geaud 1938 :220), for Sambo yo Putro the place of pi lgr image Pamenang Jayabaya. According to Pak Gambuh . a visit t0 Jayc1baya's sym -

J

11 A t the tim e of my resenrch regular weekl y fasts , preferably on Mond2ys an d Thursdays, were popular esp eciall y among secondary school pupils and we re pro mote d am ong schoo lchildren as an effect ive preparation for exams.

1

I

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V Rituals surrounding horsedanceperformances

119

Pra yer at the principal monument to Pamenang Jayabaya . Photograph by author .

bolic grave 12 was even obligatory, at least if the group had to give a performance in its vicinity. In the course of th e prepc1rations for the show in Menang, the locati on of this pl ace of pilgrimage, I re peate di y saw a few members of th e group slip away for a bri ef visit to Jayaba ya's monument. The y would bu y a flower offering for a small sum a t one of the many stalls lining the c1ccessroad to th e sanctuary. Then th ey would mount the steps to the mon um en t in the compan y of the caretaker (jur u kunci , literall y 'k eep er of the keys') of th e sanctuary in order to pra y ther e for a while . Whil e th ey did so , th e ju ru ku nci would fan the flam es in th e in cense burn er to ensu re th at their prn ye r was heard. 13 At thei_r depar ture from the sc1nctuary, everyone would take something awav with the m fro m th e sac ri fici2il spot: some flowers, ri p iece of ince nse, or a sm all heap of ec1rth , w h ich, cc1refu lly fo lded in a handkerch ief, would be tu cked int o th eir belt as a ch ar;-n. 12 Tradition has it that Jayabaya ascended to hea, ·en physically, and the grave only indicates the place where he allegedly departed from this world (Suw arsono 2000:14-5; Petilasa11Sri Aji foyoboyo 1989:1, 13-5). 13 A bri g ht burst of flame indicated that th e prayer was fa,·ourably rece i,·ed.

Jaranan

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The props assembled for the opening ceremony in Mojoroto . Photograph by author . ur

Pak Samboyo, who , contrary to Pak Gambuh and Pak Dhalang, showed little int erest in the esoteric asp ect of the h orse dance (h ence Pak Usodo 's criticism was n ot entirel y unfounded ), stres se d that his ' child ren ', as he alwa ys call ed th e members of h is group , we re free to pr epar e th em selves in wh atev er w ay th ey ch ose, as lon g as the y m ade sure th ey remain ed eve n-t emp ere d . Some on e wh o wo rr ies or is em otion al, he said, find s it eas y to go int o a tr ance b ut is b ard to brin g to again, which makes hi s w ork as gambuh d ifficult. His chief task during the pr eparati rms, as we ll as durin g the p erfor m anc e, w as to see to it that everyo ne felt comfort able . Th at is w h y h e open ed ea ch p er form an ce w ith a communal pr aye r beseec hin g All ah's bl ess in g, so th at th e show m ight come off w ith o ut hind; ·ance.

as re of M

Cl

S, tr m 31

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Sr.111/Joyo Putro s opening ceremony

p \\

Samboyo Putro's communal pr ayer fo rmed par t of a fai rly elaborate ope nin g ritual intended to es tab lish contac t w ith the in vis ible wo rld, to in vite the va rious sp irits to hono ur the performance w ith thei r prese nce, and to unde rl in e the u nity of nil those presen t. Desp ite the fact thnt the cere m ony bo re th e

n,

V Ri tuals surro unding horse dance perform ances

121

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The opening cerem ony in Mojoroto . Photograph by author.

unmistakable character of a show , the m embers of the group experienced it as an essential elem ent of their spiritual prep aration . By w ay of exa mpl e I reproduce below a fragment from my dia ry describin g the opening ceremon y of th e pe rform an ce give n on th e occasion of th e ann ive rsary of th e Mojo ro to Mobi le Poli ce Squ ad . Th e frag m ent beg in s aft er th e official p art had end ed an d the gues ts (m embers of th e mobile police squad and th eir fam ilies and a few official s from the cultur al affairs b u reau ) departed . Aft er that th e compound was prep ared for Sarr.boy o Pu tro 's pe rformance . The gam elan w as set up and th e tabl e w ith the sacr ifices made rea d y. Me an w hil e a few m emb ers of th e gro up carried the m<1sk s, horses an d oth er stage req ui s ites to th e centr e of th e pe rform ance ar ea and pl ace d th em on m ats spr ea d out th ere. In front of th e m ats they pl ace d an inc ense burn er, a small pil e of cha rcoal, a p air of to ngs, r1 tin v,, ith p ieces of incense (me11yan 111 ad11), a small bottle of arom a tic oil '.l isal, wangi), and five plaited bana n a-leaf d ishes w ith sma ll floral offe rin gs (seknr te/01,) m ad e u p cf whi te and ye ilo'.v kanthi/ 14 and red rose p eta ls.

14 A mag nol ia- like flower (H orne 1974:256); acco rd ing to Ge ricke and Roo rda (1901, 1:407) th e name of a ca111paka(ga rd en ia) flowe r.

Jaranan

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The table of offerings and masks. Photograph

by author.

vVhen all t.11earrangements were completed, the company assembled and · sat down behind these requisites facing east (the performance took place in · the daytime). Pak Gambuh and Pak Beja, the second slompret player, sat in front. This time they were in charge of the ritual.1 5

711e opening ceremony in Mojoroto Pak Gambuh fans the flames and places a few small pieces of incense on them, so that thick clouds oi smoke come curling up. He taps the ground with his right hand three times. The whole group thereupon raise their hands , palms togethe r, to their forehead and th en to their sh ould er. Pak Gambuh mutt ers a pr aye r, unfor i n a f w time s . Afte r tuna tely un in te!lig ibly, to wh ich the group res pond s \\"ith 11111 th us repeiltin g the obe isa nce seve ral tim es, they .-ill rise to their fee t exce pt for P;:ik Gambu h and Pak Slomp re t. Pak Slompr et ho lds th e two slon!prct ove r the incense whil e mumblin g a pr ayer, aw i Pak Gambuh d oes the sa me w ith th e five floral offer ings . Th en the othe r stage requi site s are h an d ed to the m on e by one . Eve ry p ro p is held ove r th e smoke, acco m pa nied by a p r aye r, an d is th en ha n d ed bac k to one of th e helpe rs, w h o h eads for the sac rifi cia l ta!)le w ith it and p laces it th e re

15

In Menang th e gro up was led by Pak Sajen, in Pu lihrejo b y Pak Gambuh .

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123

'Feeding ' Singakumbang (left) and Singabarong (right). Phutogrnph by author . next to the sacrificial food displayed on it. Singakumbang's and Singabarong 's jaws are sn apped together loudl y a few time s, as if the y were inhaling the sm oke. A few mu sicians come to Pak Gambuh to have some oil poured on their hands . The y then rub it over tJ1eir instrument s. All the props are consecrated this wa y. Pak Gambuh picks up th e five floral offeri ngs and wa lks around th e p erfo rman ce area w ith the m . H e places one in ea ch of th e four come rs, leav ing th e last one in th e cen tre of th e area. Th en he ro lls up th e ma ts an d takes th em to th e mu sicians. Th e show is ready to star t. 16

Comments The two perso ns in charge of the ritual gave th e following explanation at th e end of the performance. The w ho le ceremonv was meant to inform the in vis ible be in gs (bn11gsnn/11s), in particular the local guard ian spirit (Dhanya;,g Mojoroto), th e re al ruler of the area, of the com in g eve nt. Th e offe rin g of incens e, flowe rs an d aromatic oil, constituting th e food of the ;nvisib!e hein gs, is meant first an d forem ost for him, in fact. The thr ee taps on the ground and lhe in cense vapours are meant to prepare him ar.d the othe r sp irit s fo.c th e projec ted enter tainme nt. This way th ey wiii n ot be frightened by th e sudden 16

Diar y ent ry, 1-l November

1985.

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noise and bustle, but on the contrary, will be put in a good mood and com and honour the festivities with their presence . To avoid passing any of the over, every requisite is consecrated by giving 'food' (nyaosi dhahar) to ea · spirit individually, and inviting it to take possession of the prop designed fo it . The floral offerings, finally, are intended to keep out the sprites (dhernit and demons (setan). They are supposedly frightened off by the scent of th flowers, as they have a natural aversion to fragrant things . Judging from this explanation , it looks as if we have here three differ~ rituals: one to inform the local tutelary spirit of the coming events, one t invite the spirits to descend into their temporary abodes, and one to keep ou any possible disturbers of the peace . The identity of the dhanyang was rather ambiguous. Some people referre to him as Dhanyang Mojoroto, alluding to the real or mythical found~ (cikal bakal) of Mojoroto, the place of the performance. Others mentione the name Kyai Buta Locaya (the Venerable Demon Locaya) 17 or Kyai D (the Venerable of Daha), the mythical founder of the ancient realm of Dana (Kediri) the leading character in the horse dance . Whatever his name, all agreed that no performance was complete without the dhanyang, who there:; fore should be treated with all due respect. · Soepangkat's essay shows us that all this is also true for Karanganyar" · (Central Java). It moreover infonns us that there was some sort of cooperation behveen the different local tutelary spirits : 'each dhanjang has its own territory. When one passes with the ebleg [...] from the territory of one dhanjang : into that of another, the former dhanjang has to hand over (masrahakl) these objects to the latter ' (Pigeaud 1938:223). What ritual accompanied this transfer is not mentioned, but its meaning is clear. By submitting to the local h1telary spirit, and henc e respectin g its authority, the group hopes to be assured of its cooperation, so that no harm will come to it. It also implies that the authority of the guardian sp irit s is fairly limited geog r ap hicall y. Even the invisible world has its hierarchy. Thus greate r power is ascribed to Kyai Daha , as the my thical founder of th e ancient Kediri realm of Daha , th an to the dhanyang of the subject region of Mojoroto. This is probably the reas on for the preferenc e shown by some member s of Samboyo Putro for this powerful protect or. As we shall see bel ow, Kya i Buta Locaya, acco rdin g to one of the num ero us ve rsions of the hor se dc1nce legen d, ach.1ally \\'as ju st another name for K\·ai Daha. Pak Gambuh and Pak Slomp ret remain ed rather vag ue about th e wor din g of the open ing prayer and the pra ye rs sa id during the ' feeding ' of the prop s. It is n ot unlik ely that this reser ve was prompt ed by th e idea that knowledge

17

He is includ ed und er thi s name in th e list of 'royal sp irit s' (rat11ning dhedhe111it)o r inv isible nusa Jawa) of the island of Java (Kid1111ganpurwajati 1966 :19). ent ities (lela111bati11g

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of such things was taboo to me as a woman. The only information they volunteered was that the opening prayer was an intrinsic component of the performance, meant to make the actors feel strong and free from fear. The object of the opening pra yer thus was to place the company under the protection of a higher power, implying that the group could not do without help from on high. The trance master of the jathilan of Wonokriyo (DI Yogyakarta) , a compan y with a marked Muslim orientation , formulated it as follows while he burnt some incense (Inggris 1923:102): 1n the

name of God, I am burning incense . I obey the precepts of Mohammed and follow the friends of God; the flame of the incense is as it were the real being, the fumes of the incense are the true faith. I implore God as far as heaven . May my wish be granted! A material being like man is powerless. I submit to God's commands .

To avoid any misunderstanding as to · tli.e area in which the inVIted spirits might manifest themselves, the performance area was moreover clearly demarcated. This was done by means of five flower offerings, one at each of the four cardinal points, the fifth in the middle - the point at which zenith and nadir , the upper world and the underworld, converge in the middle world , the world of man . The object of this symbolic act was twofold . On the one hand it served to indicate th e area within which the gUE,sts, both visibl e and invisibl e, might mo ve freel y. On the other hand it was intended to prevent uninvited guests from coming and disrupting the show . The flower offerings were used to dra w a magic circle around the area, as it were , inside which tempora ry chaos w as permitted but was prevented from spreading to the wo rld out side it and thu s esc apin g be y ond the trance master's control. As in the case of th e p arade of th e jaran kepang in Bany uma s (Kartomi 1973b:20-1), the d ance of th e full cast op enin g the Pon orogo-s tyle performance (Staugaard 1921:422), and th e cir cumambul ati on of the villag e by the Turon ggo Yakso of Trengga lek, the pe rforma n ce area is th us set apart from its sur roun dings. Inside the mag ic circle lies the h allowed world in whi ch di fferent norms apply (tempo rarily) fro m those in the world outsi d e it an d in w hi ch all those pres ent - d ancer s, musicians, th e tran ce maste r and his he lpe rs, th e relatives of the hos t and hostess, the in vited g u ests, and th e spectators - enjoy the protection of the in visib le bei ngs .

The offerings An ind ispensabl e element of h orse danc e performanc es incorporatin g a trance are th e offe rings . 1l1eir pr ep aration is th e responsibili ty of the sp onsor of the

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entertainment. The offerings for the performance 18 are intended primarily for the spirits to be invoked b y the trance master , who is consequently consulted by the sponsor about the necessary ingredients. As a rule this happens in the course of the negotiations between the sponsor and a representative of the company in question. It is then also that they discuss the arrangement and the suitability of the performance area, the role to be assigned to the group in the festivities as a whole, and the fee to be paid. Sarnboyo Putro on occasions like this handed out a stencilled sheet of information about the ingredients for the offerings for the three principal dancers whose leading spirits must be invoked (Table 2). There does not appear to be a great deal of difference between their respective requirements . The offerings for the two barongan comprised the following ingredients: a cone of rice boiled in coconut milk (nasi buceng) with various side dishes (lawuhan), such as tahu and tempe soup (jangan tahu tempe); a vegetable dish with sprouting beans (kulupan kacang, capar);a disll of sli12~d vegetables braised in coconut milk (bumbu krawoi-z);;x"nallfried sea fish (teri digoreng);and a spit-roasted chicken (ayam panggang disunduk) with some noodles (mie sedikit). Those for the celengan consisted of: a dish of rice balls boiled in coconut milk (nasi brokk?);19 a dish of spit-roasted chicken entrails (jeroanayam disunduk); and the same side dishes as for Lli.etwo barongan. In addition the stencil listed a series of offerings (sajenan) that had to be divided over two offering tra ys, or,e for the two barongan and one for the celengan. These comprised the following: two coconuts (kelapa);two pairs of half-globes of Javanese palm sugar (tangkep gu la kelapa);two packets of ingredients for betel quids (bungkus kinangan); two small leaf containers filled with scented flowers (bungkus kembang wangi); two pairs of bunches of 'king' bananas (tangkep pisang raja); two trays of market produce (sajenan beli di pasar), suc h as variol!s tubers (including a large quantity of sweet potatoes (ubi)); two small bottles of fermented sticky rice or fermente d cassava (botol kecil dadek tape');three Javanese hen 's eggs (butir telur ayam Jawa); a small pot of lump y Javanese lemonade (panci kecil dawet); a pot of finely chopped sweet fruits and tubers (panci rujak legi); a new jar (gendi baru) for holy wa ter (toya suci); a small bottle of fragrc.nt oil (botol miny ak wangi) of the Srimpi brand (cnp); kenanga flowers; a few lumps of incense (ken;enyan); and , finally, five small folde d banana-leaf container s (takir kecil) filled with multicoloured rice pudd -ing (jemmg sengkolo).20

18 The pe rscna l offe rin gs pr e pared by th e hos t a nd hos tess as p art of the festivities a re left out of consiJe ratio n here, J.S in this con text ! am con cern~ d exclus ive ly wi th th e group 's pe rform a.n C~,9 Th e stenc il here reads brokk, whi ch is p a tentl y erron eo u s . Pr obably m eant is ,rnsi brokuhan, 'r ice for a kind of re lig ious mea l' (Pige aud 1982). 20 Bedtty (1999 :-10) men tions a jena11g ma11cn warna (' multi co lou red puddin g'), w hi ch he explains as follows : dulur papal limn bndan ('fo ur sibl ings, w ith ego as the fifth ' ), tha t is to say, the pe rsonifications of the z:mniotic fluid , th e b lood, thE place nt a and th e um bilical cord tha t

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The two ketupat , the new mat, some food offerings and the two bo wls of kenanga flowers . Photograph by author .

The symboli sm of the se diff erent offering s w as not quit e clear . Pak Sajen exp lained tha t the ir comp ositi on was simpl y part of a traditi on h and ed dovm from ge neration i o ge n eration. To him the fact that th e tradition w as ob served · evide ntl y offe red su fficie nt gu arante e for th e effec tiven ess of the di fferent o fferings , even though th eir sy m bol ism was no longe r know n . What was · n otew orth y were the rice cone (nasi buceng) and th e rice balls (nasi brok) for th e barong,m and the celengan re spec tively, for whic h Pak Sajen w as u nable to give an y expl an ation . A ccordin g to one of my in form ant s from Cen tr al Jav a, rhe rice cone (st>gnt11111peng) o ften sy m bolizes th e m ale and th e rice ball (sega golo11 g n11)the female ge nit als . She warn ed m e, h ow eve r, that th ere are w id e local \'a riati on s in th e in terp retation of th e m eanin gs of o fferin gs.~' vVith only

a re buried toge th e r afte r birth and a re alleg ed to prot ect the newb c rn ch ilJ thro ughou t its life. Referring to We iss (1977), he says: 'Th e four siblin gs are th e p erso na l guardi an sp irits, imp ortan t in mag ic 2nd pr o tection from so rcery'. 21 This view, w hich co nfirm ed m y pe rso na l imp ress ion, was also end orse d by Ren s H er inga, w ho had the sa m e expe rier>ce in th e cour se of h er resea rch in Tub an (Eas t Java ).

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A horseman being given a drink by Pak Sajen . Ph otograp h by au tho r.

one excep tion , Sambo yo Putro 's celeng dancer was in va riab ly a man. Only in the 1992 performance in Sumberagung was th e ce/engan a yo ung woman, who then doubled as a sing er. In other companies th e part of rhe celengnn was p laye d now by a mc1n , nO\N by a yo un g girl , w ith out an y cleM prefer ence. He nce th e relation betw een the rice offering for th e celi:11 g nn and the female symbo l is hardly con vin cin g. As far c1.sI was able to see - th e situa tion in th e performance area was often ve1y confu sed during the trance - ea ch perfo:-mer di ose freely from among th e food sel o ut on the tabl e(s) of offerings . Th e bowls of kennn g a flowers we re particularl y popu lar with all the acto rs . I regularly saw one or an other danc er drinkin g from a bowl with gr ee d y gulps and stuffi ng hi s mouth with the flowers. H e wo uld th en gener ally go on ch ewin g these interminably till

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the juice ran down his chin. I was unable to find out if the flowers were actu_. ally swallowed. • The reason for this preference for flower water, I was told · by differen people, was that popular belief held the kenanga flower to be an excelle remed y against convulsions. I ha ve not found any indications of this in th literature , ho wever .22 In Solo and Kediri it was said to be used especially b mothers for young children. They chewed the flowers into a poultice , whi they then applied to their child's head, or made an extract for their toddlers t drink. 23 Because the dancers also often have a kind of co~-..vulsionsespeciaU when they go into or have to come out of a trance, they are advised to cc;> sume as many of these flowers as possible . Hence some of the offerings · believed to have a beneficial effect in more ways than one. Not all of the dishes set out by the sponsor were meant a.:::sacrificial f~o for the spirits entering the dancers. A considerable number were shared d among the audience by the dancers during the performance on Pak Samboyo' Pak Gambuh's or Pak Sajen's instructions, often amid great hilarity. I witnessed the wildest scenes in Pulihrejo once, when during the inter mission between the second and third acts a large part of the audience fe on the extra food provided by the host at a sign from Pak Sajen. In next ton time the table of offerings was stripped clear and I saw an occasional man, a few women, and a lot of children walking across the performance area wit small bowls , pieces of fruit , chunks of tuber, and what not . A scramble for food (rebutan, also meaning 'contest to seize something', Pigeaud 1982) like this was a ritual whic...hI witnessed more than once at wayang performances -· in Central and East Ja_va but which, as far as I know, was actually quite unusual at horse dance performances .24 Giving th e audience a treat by sharir.g the sacrificial food wit h th em in East Java actu ally constituted a form of redistribution , as a large proportion of the food had been d onated by the guests, w ho still mo stly contributed to a feast in kind. 25 The generosity of the host was n ot so much a sign of hi s eco-

22

Kenanga (Jav. Ca11angin11m odoratum B/\/LL) ma y be used for medicinal purposes (He yne 1927:628-9), but spasms are not mentioned <1mong the ·conditions for which they are used. 23 Personal co mmunirntion b1· !bu Tirta s~1darn10, my Solo in formant. 24 Pemberton , "·ho gi,·es a description of a reb11ia11ritual durir.g a wayang sho"· on the occasio n of the foundatic,n of a new ,·illage, states that ritual s likernberton (1994:252-3 ) once v;ih1essed. I have no per sonal experience of such excesses, and though tl ,e re/>11fanI wimessed were chaotic, they never got out of hand. 25 I \VOuld rem ind the reader here cf the d escrip tion of the prepo.rations for the perf0rma nce in Pulihrejo in Chapter I, fo r instance. At the tim e of my re sea rch in Central Java in the late 1970s it was already customary th ere for such contributions to be made in cash , by contrast.

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nomic prosperity, in fact , as of his ability to mobilize large groups of people for his p ar ties, which irt turn served to enhance his status in the community.

The closing ceremony

As a rule Sambo yo Putro's performances were rounded off with a communal closing ritual. For this , the group in Mojoroto assembled in the performance area agam, as for the opening ritual. They sat down with their faces turned towards the setting sun, this time without the props. After making an obeisance again several times , Pak Samboyo uttered the final prayer asking for Allah's blessings for all those present and forgiveness for any shortcomings in the pertormance, as well as wishing everyone a safe return home. Pak Samboyo did not explain who he meant by 'everyone', but Pak Dhalang and Pak Gambuh indicated that the closing ceremony was intended primarily to send the spirits back to where they came from, so that they would not 'bother' (ngganggu) people any more. This remark clearly reflects the ambivalent attitude towards the invisible beings, namely one of awe and respect mixed with fear. The spirits , though beneficent, at the same time are feared as potential troublemakers, because they keep reminding the living of their obligations towards them . The closing ceremony is meant to clearly mark the end of their appearance in the material world, so that the border between this and the other wor ld w ill be closed. That th e distance between the hvo worlds ir, the minds of many people is not ve1y big is apparent from the formula recited by the trance ma ster (penimbul) of Wonokriyo (Bagelen) when dismissing the barong spirit, w h ich was recorded by Inggris . After the barongan had be en dancing 'fo r a good hour' , accord ing to In ggris, the trance mast er said the following prayer (Ingg ris 1923:10 3): ln the name of God , my magic prayer , named si Wringi n soengsang, is encircled by huge fbmes. Bursting apart, it has changed into •..vater. In the n ame of God , yo;.i ha ve disappeared compl e tely. You, Lord, who are one and all, do you return to yo ur region, on the roc ks or in the trees, wh ere you belong.

'Th e ro cks' and ' the trees' here stand for the w ild ern ess, the unculti vated p;:irt of the wo rld , ch aos . \J\fri11gi11su11gsa11g(literally mea nin g ' up sid e-d ow n banyan ') is a ver y p opular magic formula , which has been repr od u ced, w ith min or variati ons, in num ero us pul.>lications. 26 In practice the clos ing ritu al d oes no t always spell the end of the perform -

26

Kid1111gm1 jm1gkepn d.: 19-20; Kid1111ga11 pepek ja11gkep1965:20-2; Kid1111ga11 purwajati 1966 :51-3.

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ance. In Menang, for example, a few children were fetched from among audience after this ritual. The y were made to finish off the lefto vers fro the table of offerings, which had been placed on the ground . The child w could get through a small pile of food the fastest was declared the w· and received, as a prize the chicken tied to the table of offerings through the entire performance . In Pulihrejo the performance ended with a sin · competition . In many cases it was moreover unclear at what exact mom the state of trance effectively ended. Even when all the actors seemed to h definitely retired to the dressing room, one of the dancers, who appare had not completely recovered consciousness, might suddenly reappear have to be calmed down by one of the two gambuh again. As indicated, the measures discussed above were intended to give formances the proper direction and keep the trance of possession un control. The next chapter will focus particularly on the trance of the h dancers and other persons 'touched by the spirit' (disriwili rah), with the ' of gaining an insight into the way in which this sort of trance manifests i in performance practice and how it is experienced by the persons involve

I,

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CHAPTER VI

The trance Introduction Of the many different kinds of trance mentioned in the literature, only two are important in the context of our discussion, namely the trance of the actors and that of the gambuh . The latter has already been discussed above, and here we will concentrate on the trance of the actors, commonly referred to as a trance of possession, or spirit possession. I hasten to add that the actors are by no means always really 'possessed' by an external spirit, as we shall see below. The ethnomusicologist Gilbert Rouget (1985:14), who has studied all kinds of trances in their religious context (initiation rituals), has summarized the outward symptoms of the 'trance of possess ion' point by point, as follows: 1. the possessed person is no longer h imself; 2. he is alienated from his surroundings ; 3. he may become pre y to neurophysiological disorders; 4. his sense s become abnormall y acute - in reality or in his imagination; and 5. all this is observable from the beha vio ur of the possessed person . Th e tra nce of Sam bo yo Putro's h orse danc ers invariably follo we d a more or less fixed pattern. It we nt throu gh 1. a prepara tory phase consisting of a joint d ance in accordance w ith a set choreography, 1 accompanied by the full gamelan orches tra and culminatin g in a series of mock fights; which led up to 2. an alt ered state of con sciou sness comp ri sing va riou s ph ases , such as a phase of to tal p owe rlessness, often 3lternating with viole nt physical reactio ns, ancl a ph ase in w hi ch th e actors in turn s danced around self-ab sorbed an d da ze d, sat sta rin g vaca n tly in to space , or as .i.na kind of eup h oria sh owed all sorts of abnormc:d behaviour; and 3. 'reco,·e ry', whereb y the trance dancer s were resto red to nor m al consci ousness, o ften under violen t pro test. Each of these phases, which lar ge ly co rr espon d ed with the stag es identifie d by Roug et and others,2 was ch aracte rize d by its ow n d ynami cs, which Samb oy o Putr o very

Thi s will be di scussed in Chapter IX. Rouget (1985:32), for in s tan ce, distinguishes th e following pha ses : prep aration , onset, climax .. and resolution; and Tj:ptono Darm adji and Wolfgang Pfeiffer those of 1. absorption (Vers1111krnheit); 2. co m·ul sions (Streckkrnmpf); 3. sleepwalking (so11111n111b11le n Zus/ n,;d); 4. wild, 2

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creatively turned to its own advantage, as will be shown in Chapter X. In order to bring all these different phenomena together under a sing! heading , I have taken a fairl y broad definition of the trance as my point ,0 departure . I define trance as a mental state, induced by a variety of factd w hich creates a distance between the person concerned and his surroundin and now renders him totally self-absorbed, now produces exceptional abnormal behaviour , of which he would be incapable in hi s normal state ~ which gives him a sense of liberation. My definition differs from Rouget's that I leave the neurophysiological aspects of the trance out of consideratio as this is more the province of medical specialists. 3 I deliberately use the term 'a variety of factors' in this definition, as it w impossible to isolate any single factor that invariably triggered the tran within one and the same group, and sometimes in one and the same~ son. Further important in this definition is the qualification that the tran gives the person concerned a sense of liberation. Rouget (1985:14), who mentions this element of liberation in his definition, associates it with ili transcending of personal boundaries as a consequence of the intensificatio of the person 's mental and/or physical faculties. He says: 'Thus trance alway manifests itself in one way or another as a transcendence of one's normal self, as a liberation resulting from the intensification of a mental or physical disposition, in short, as an exaltation[ ...] of the self'. This sense of liberation had not only a personal but also a social dimension. For the trance appeared to be very contagious, and again and again not . only the dancers, but also musicians, helpers or members of the audience were, if not actuall y possessed b y a spirit, then at least deeply affected by the· electrifying atmosphere and overcome wit.11excitement. This was the reason und erlying the idea that the invocation of one or more spirits created a dan- . gerous situation, not onl y for the p erso n directl y concerned , but also for his surroundings . TI1at was why people invariably looke d forward to the trance rathe r anxiously. Th ose responsibie always surrounded it with great care, and the authori ties looked on it with some degree of suspic ion. Onl y when all the p ersons in trance had been brought round again and the sp irits sent back to. their place of or igin would the dan ger be ove r, acc :irding to my informants. H ence the mountin g tensio il to whi ch the tran ce g,w e rise in Samb oyo Putro 's performa n ces was as a ru le g rad u ally red uce d thr ou gh the intr oducti on of all kind s cf ga mes, whic h wi ll be d iscu ssed late r. To g: ve an id ea of th e pro gr ess o f and the atmosph ere during the tranc e, I sh all begin my di scussion with a fragment from my d iary describing the un con trolled be h a,·iour (E1•tg!eise11);5 co n vu lsions (St reckkra111 pj); and 6. s lee p (Schl:ife) (Darrnadji and Pfeiffe r 1969:3284-7). 3 For thi s as pect of the trance see for exa m p le Dar m adji and Pfe iffer (1969:3287-90) .

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performance in Pulihrejo , the preparations for which were described in Chapter I above. For· this I have chosen the trance in the second act (jaranan pat). Whereas on the one hand the course of U1is trance was typical of such performances , on the other hand an incident occurred here that might easily have caused the whole show to collapse. Although the duration of this trance (122 minutes, to a total of 160 minutes for the whole of the second act) was by far the longest of the entire performance, I have decided not to abridge the description of it, c1sotherwise the idea of what a trance like this means to those present would be lost. In order to be able to tape-record Pak Dhaiang's chanted and spoken contribution to the performance in Pulihrejo in full, 4 I was obliged to remain seated next to him in the 2;amelan (see the drawing of the compound) all the time . This imposed severe limitations on my freedom of movement. Because this spot did not offer a good view of what went on in the rest of the compound or among the audience, there are a few inevitable gaps in my description of the action in and around the performance area. To make for quick recognition of the performers, I gave each of them a name in the course of the show, inspired by the most distinctive garment worn or item displayed by them. It was, however, impossible to keep track of all of the players all of the time.

The trance of thefour horsemen, a helper and several spectators The four horsemen, holding their horses tightly between their legs , have been dancing around the area to the music of th e ga melan in all kinds of formations 5 for a while. As th e music b ecom es faster, the dar. ce becomes wilder, and soon changes int o a seri es of man-t o-man fight s. Suddenl y one of the hor semen falls to the gro und .6 It is the d ancer with a bandag e around his foot , wh om I shall ther efore call Si Pinc ang ('th e Lam e' ). On e of the fou r h orse m en, Si Pincan g, trips over a co-actor kneelin g on the gr oun d in fron t of h im and ro lls on the gro un d frothi ng 3t the m outh , h orse an d all. H e app ears to b e in trc.nce. On e of th e h elp ers ru sh es forwa rd to unt ie th e cord b y w h ich the horse is su spend ed from his shou ld er. H is co-actor's co rd is un tied a~ we:!, but he goes on danc ing fo r a wh ile. Th e othe r two horsem en a re holding th e •r horses by thei r sid e a nd try ing to pu sh eac h oth er a way wi th the m, circling arou nd ea ch oth e r. Si Pin cang, appar entl y not ye t rea lh-, or no lon ge r, in tr an ce, h as scra mbl ed to his fee t. He h as los t h is h o rse, but r.is co-actor is s till h oldin g hi s betwee n h is legs.

Th e ver ba l co ntributi on ·.viii be d iscu sse d in Ch a pt e r VIII. A desc ription o f the different fonn ations ,vill be given in Chapter IX. 6 As th e perform ance too k pl ace a t n ight, 1 ,va s un ab le to tak e an y ph o togr a ph s. The p hotogra ph s tha t are includ ed here are o f sim ila r sih 1a tions in d ay tim e pe rform a nces.

5

8

5

4

7

- -¥-

8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 }0

Pak Begja house Makeshift dr ess ing room Tabl es for th e offerings Gamela:-i Performance a rea Front steps of Pak Begja's house Steps leading to higher ground The audience The gu ests A neighbour;ng house ·n 1e compcund

in Pulihrejo

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The y, too, now circle around each other , violently bumping into each other all the time. While Pak Dhalang sings a so ng, Si Pincang disappears from m y field of vision, followed b y his co-actor . Pak Samboyo is standing in the centre of the area with his whip Kyai Samandiman in his hand, now and th en cracking it loudly. This causes the other two horsemen to wince. One of them falls to the ground with his horse right in front of the veranda where the guests are sitting, while the other, still mounted on his horse, carries on like one frenzied . Two helpers try to take the horse of one of the dancers away from him, but he resists violently and they are unsuccessful. Two other helpers are meanwhile busy removing the horsemen 's headcloths, ear ornaments and whips. Suddenly Si Pincang's co-actor, now wearing a variegated scarf (sampur) around his neck, whom I shall therefore call Si Sampur, is standing right in front of the gamelan and signalling to Pak Pangendhang, the drummer , to play a different tune . The latter starts singing and , when the horseman appears pleased with the song, continues the melody on his instrument. The other musicians are about to join in, but then there is sudden confusion because one of the other horsemen (I am not able to see which one), who still has his horse with him, also comes to ask Pak Dhalang for a tune. The latter loudly calls for a sampak7and indicates which one he means by singing a few bars . Pak Slompret joins in at once and the two trance dancers gaily skip away. Now there is commotion elsewhere ir, the area, because a third trance dancer , a real madman , has plunged into the audience with his horse. Screaming at the top of their voices, the chilctren, who as usual are standing in front, scatter in all directions . Chased by one of the h elpers , the madman scrambles into the house with his horse . Si Pincang dances to and fro stiffly to the beat of the kendhang right in front of Pak Pangendhang , but then suddenly darts off to the centre of the area. His mate, Si Sampur, meanwhile is standing near the table of offerings , where Pak Sajen scatters incense fumes over him and gives him a drink from a bucket of kenanga flowers . Again there is great commotion, n ow because one of the help ers, r ecognizab le by his red-and-white striped (lurik) top, Si Lurik ('St ripy Top'), has gone into trance and is lying in con v ulsions on the ground. Pak Samboyo and Pak Gambuh ha sten forward, and the latt er stands on Si Lurik's sto mach to keep h im under cont rol. While th e two specialists are bu sy with Si Lurik , anot her great tumult breaks out, th is time behind the gamelan. Everyo ne h as stood up , but it is to tall y uncl ea r what is going on. Pak Dhalang in va in admonishes everyone to remain calm , and Pak G;imbuh and Pak Sc:.mboyo le<1veSi Lurik where he is and run with a fe\·v h elp ers to the sce ne of th e di saster. Th ere is an infernal racket. One of the musi cian s, who is stand in g a t the back cf the orc h estra, calls to Pak Dhalang that a fight has broken 0~1t, wherea'. Pak Dhalang again se izes hole! of the microphone and several limes summons the security offic;als, at the ~ame time signa llin g to the f;,w musicians who have re;:r,ained ·seated to play a soothing meiody. About four mim;t es later I see P:;k Samboyo taking someone off to the 'd ressing ro om', after which peace is restored. The spectators return to their places and th e musicians ,

A musical mode which in wayang plays accompanies marching or battle scenes.

A tranced horseman w!-io r.as fallen und er his horse . Photograph by author.

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who ha ve stood huddled together , sit down at their instruments again and strike up a tune. Because of the tumult I have lost sight of Si Lurik , the tranced helper . One of the four horsemen , who still (or again?) has his whip, and whom I shall therefore call Si Pecut , cracks this loudly . Although his eyes are rolled upwards , so that mainly the whites are visible , he deftly evades his assailants, who want to take his whip off him , every time. So he must be able to see something. The troublemaker of a moment ago , who was led off just now, emerges from the dressing room , apparently in trance . He is recognizable by his green (ijo) top, so I will call him Si Ijo. Standing near the tabie with offerings, he points to Pak Sajen's and then to his own head. He evidently wants the farmer's headcloth, and as soon as it is tied around his head, he dances off happily, clumsily mimicking the movements of the other dancers, to the great am:.isement of the nearby spectators. Pak Dhalang has taken hold of one of th 0 three angklung and shakes it now and then. Si Pincang approaches and makes funny faces. The musicians respond by playing another tune, and Si Pincang dances away stiffly. Meanwhile two of the other dancers, one of them Si Pecut, have been sitting staring in front of them dazedly for some time . Si Pecut now disappears into the dressing room. In the centre of the area a mat is spread on the ground. Pak S:c1mboyoand Si Pecut re-emerge from the dressing room, where there is suddenly a great bustle. Pak Samboyo drags the fiercely resisting Si Pecut to the mat, where he expertly floors him . Si Pecut remains seated on the ground with a glassy stare. When a moment later he rises to his feet again, he appears to be still in trance . Si Ijo, who has evidently also been hiding in the dressing room, now emerges from it holding an unshelled coconut benveen his teeth and a 500-Rupiah note (at that time worth about 57 Euro cents) in each hand. Pak Samboyo directs him to the audience, where he is supposed to select two little boys and take them to the m at. Amid loud cheers from the audience and teasing remarks from their friends , th e tw o pa infull y sh y children are pu shed ont o the mat by Si Ijo w ith th eir faces pr esse d toge th er. From w h ere I am sitting in the garnelan it i~ imp ossible to see w h at exactl y is going on, but a moment later I see th e h'lo bo ys run off, each with a 500-Ru p iah not e in hi s hand. Th en Si Ijo starts shelling the coconut w ith hi s teeth , and subseq u en tly d anc es around w ith it toge th er with Si Pincan g. (There is still a trance dancer sittin g n ea r th e tabl e of offerin gs, but it is ne t clear to me w hat exactlv he is cloing th ere.) Whf'n Si Ijo reaches the ga !I1elan, I see how he sp lits the coconut in two wi th his teeth. H e ju st lets the juice ru n d ow n his chin. A mome nt late r he and Si Pincang are dilncing around wi ldl y to the beat oi a popular tune "·hich the gamelan ha s just begun to plav. Th ey do no t seem to see each other , however. Si Lurik a lso approac hes the gamclon ard points to Bu Swarawati It is appar entl y her tum to start a new song now. While she sits nervously flicking through her exercise book, the gamelan falls silent . Th en she starts singing a :;ong at random , and when Si Lur ik appears to approve her choice, the gamelan strikes u p. Meanwhile Pak Gambuh, who has kept in the background for a wh ile, has spreild another mat on the ground and is now placing a sm all pos y of fragrant flowers on it. Si Pincang, as th ough attracted by the scent, approaches. Pak

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Gambuh seizes hold of him and pushes the flowers into his face and then shoves him ont o the mat. • Si Pecut emerges from the audience and I notice that Si Ijo is holding anothei two 500-Rupiah notes. Pak Gambuh , who points his big whip Kyai Samandim at him , acts as thou gh he is fir ing a weapon at him , shouting Dhel! Dhe/ 1 ('Bang' Bang!'), but Si ljo takes no notice of him . Nor does he show any reaction when P Gambuh approaches him with his whip, drags it along the ground right in fron of his feet, and cracks it occasionally. Elsewhere in the area two horsemen are dancing face-to-face, each in his o manner, ostensibly without taking any notice of one z.::other. Si Ijo, still holding the money, disappears behind the dressing room curtain, bu almost immediately reappears . One of the helpers tries to get him to do somethin or other, but evidently unsuccessfully so, and Si Ijo exits again. There are still two tranced horsemen left in the arena . (Si Lurik has not b · seen anywhere for a while and has probably disappeared among the crowd or in the dressing room again .) Pak Gambuh, who has meanwhile joined us in flit?: gamelan, stands watching their actions but does nothing. Si ljo enters again th1 time, apparently, without the money. Throughout these proceedings, on which the spectators pass comments at the top of their voices , Bu Swarawati sings on indefatigably . She presents a greaf variety of popular songs, accompanied in turns by Pak Dhalang and the musicians singing in chorus. But she is interrupted again and again by one or another trance dancer coming to request a song. At these points the gamelan falls silent , and it is· momentarily very quiet, as though the show has been suspended fer a while. Pak Sajen is fanning the fire in the incense burner near the table of offerings again, while Pak Samboyo sits quietly smoking beside the burner . He shows no . signs of any intention to intervene, but when one of the two remaining trance dancers comes near , he gets up, takes hold of him and blows the violently strug- , . gling dancer on the fontanel. Suddenl y there is great confusion in the gamelan again , because Bu Swarawati has not started singing the right song quickly enough . Tne dancer (w hom I do not recognize ) shak es his head and another song is tried. This is rejected too , however. The musicians n ow excitedly shout all kinds of suggestions at her, with the spect ators ga th ered aroun d the gamelan joining in. Th e dancer sudd enl y comes and stand s close to m e and wildl y strik es at the angklung. Two of th e m us icians immed iately st art sh aki ng the two rema inin g angklung. Th e d an cer see m s sa tisfied and the oth er mu sicians join in w ith a sigh of relief. Si ljo, w ho has evidentl y go t to his feet again , h as got hold of a wh ip . t ow th ere are thr ee tranc e dancers in the performance area aga in. Th ey dc:nce aro und thP com pound, now with gra cefu l movements of the arms, now very stiffly and clumsilv, and \,·ith_ eyes rolled upw ard s ar,ci a vacan t s_tar e. Pak Sam boyo ge ts one to turn some rsaults and anothe r to pe rform similar acrobatic fea ts over hi s big whip . Si lj0 signa ls to Pak Sajen near the table of offerings to wipe him dowr. with his !teadc!oth . H e is subseque n tly sprink led w ith aromatic oil, and a m ome n t later is wandering aro und w ith a ligh ted incense burner an d w ith a whip clas ped tight ly unde r his ar m. There has been another reques t for a tune. Si ljo, who has approached, has lost

r

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his burner and runs off into the audience, chased by two he lpe rs. Pak Dh alang shouts something unintelligible into the microphone. Pak Sambo yo still stands cracking his big whip in the centre of the performance area, but no one shows an y reaction . Two of the horsemen who have disappeared from view for a while emerge from the audience , followed by someone wearing a yellow (kuning) T-shirt, Si Kuning, who has gone into trance spontaneously and is now ranting and raving. He is pushed onto the ground, whereupon a mat is pulled under him . Pak Samboyo pulls him to his feet again with his whip, and he stumbles off, supported by two helpers . Another actor appears from among the audience in a trance. Pak Samboyo throws his whip at his feet and he runs into the dressing room. Si Ijo and Si Pincang are still dancing in the centre of the compound. The latter has meanwhile lost the greater part of the bandage around his foot. Pak Samboyo catches him and takes his face between his hands, mumbling something into both his ears and blowing him hard on the fontanel several times. Finally he rather roughly massages the head of the violently struggling Si Pincang, who makes repeated attempts to escape. But Pak Samboyo has the upper hand. Pak Gambuh, still sitting with us in the orchestra, has taken the kendhangpanaraga from the drummer, Pak Pangendhang, who has gone for a rest. Musicians are continually leaving the gamelan for a while to stretch their legs, the others taking over from them where necessary. On Pak Pangendhang's return, he takes the two smaller kendhang . Si Ijo appears to be watching from a distance how Pak Samboyo , who has got his whip again, is measuring his strength with Si Pincang . He has been occupied with him for at least five minutes. In the end Si Pincang admits ciefeat and lets himself be led to the table of offerings, where he remains seated on the ground in a daze . Pak Samboyo picks up a small whip from the table, blows on it, and swishes it in Si Pincang's direction. The latter still does not appear to have come out of his trance , however. He finally goes off docilel y about ten minutes later. Si ljo now is the only person remaining. One of the helpers tries to bring him to, massaging his head and limbs . His w hole body is shak ing as h e lies on the ground in convulsions. Pak Samb oyo n ow joins them and toget her with the help er massages him till the tensi on is go ne from his bod y. Dazed and leaning heavily on one of the h elpers , he remajns sittin g for a while. H e is hand ed a jug of water to drink from, and when he h as had enough, the remainder is poured ou t ove r him . Then Pak Samboyo and the help er to ss him in th e air severa l times. He is slum ped be tw een them like a limp lea the r puppet. Wh en th ey h&ve put him back on the gruund, Pak Samb oyo goes and stands on his stomach . Si Ijo lets th em d o as the y like with him , showing n o reaction. They finall y leave him alone and h e r_ema ins in the same state , sta rin g vacan t!:,' i,~ fron~ of h im for a ·.vhile. Tile g;.imelan has fallen silent in the meantime. Ac t tw o seems to have ended. Ccmments

The re is little I wish to 2dd to the above at this point, but J shall come back to it in the course of this chapter . Wnat was str iking was how long Si Ijo, th e tranced 'troublemaker' from the audi ence , took par t in th e action. As far as I was able to find out, he \vas not on e of th e regula r visitors to Sarnboyo Putr o's

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performances. 8 Whether he was the instigator of the fight I do not kno· rungDespite the fact t11at he was not a member of the group, his beha viour in Jl\esrri ance, performance area w as indistinguishable from that of the regular actors. I not have an opportunity of interviewing him after the show, as was my tO thE tom, 9 and hence do not know what motivated him in letting himself go int grouf trance . As was observed above, the trance provides a socially accepted pret kendh jrlstn for deviant behaviour, and the desire to be able to act with total aband excitE with impunity is certainly a possible motive. But he may also have had o becar reasons. It is not inconceivable, for instance, that by handing out 500-Rupi evidE notes he wanted to make an impression on his neighbours and so enhance status in. the community . It is not unusual for people to use a celebration as end' opportunity for making some generous gesture. I would remind the rea , and hypr here of the surprise sprung on her neighbours by Bu Dhukun of Menang hirri~ of the refreshments set out especially for the spectators by Pak Begja, the h crud in Pulihrejo. who From the reactions of the bystanders it was obvious that Pak Sambo p had made an impression with his effective handling of the fight. One femal Soe1 onlooker, who, like many others, had stood with bated breath behind the witr gamelan for a moment, nodded with a sigh of relief when the miscreant was led away by Pak Samboyo. Nudging the woman beside her, she confirmed the happy end and observed, alluding to the trance master's role: 'He is the· gambuh after all, isn't he? ' (Ya gambuh kuwi ta?), implying that the gnmbuh to. her satisfaction had come up to her expectations .

The triggering of the trance, and the trance master's role The fact that the performers in horse dance shows go into a trance is frequently ascribed to the hypnotic effect of the monotonous music , gradually rising to a hi gher and higher pitch of intensity , and the steadily wilder and wilder dancing of the actors. Kartomi (1973b:23), who has focu se d partirular!y on the mu sical aspects of horse dance performances, writes, for instance: · 'The Banyumas-style outd oor orches tra plays an imp ortant role in a jaran kepn11gperformance, buildin g up a tense, exciting at mosphe re at the beg in-···· .At this g roup'~ performances in the to\\'n of Kediri I n'gularly noticed an elde,h · mJn , 1,·ho was not one of the ;,ctors, going into a trance ,,nd takirg part in the sho1v for J while . Usua lly people just let him be . Jr. Bali, too, Jane Belo (1960:3 -4) freriuently ob~Prved a number of person s - m en, but more ofte,1 e:de~ly women - who, althoug:1 they had nc deariy defined, institutionalized role in the temple ceremonies, went from festival to festival, apparently se izing the oppo ,hlr.ity of going int o a trance offered there for their perso1·,al satisfact ion and th e release of th eir emotions. 9

I was obliged to break off my res ea rch premature ly here owing to personal circumstances.

He :

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10

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fo

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ning, It helps would-be

dancers to enter into a state of trance through its mesmeric continuity and loud , dissonant textures. ' The jaran kepang performance described by Kart omi here opened w ith a parade of the entire company to the accompanim ent of tvvo- or three-note melodies pla yed on a small group of gamelan instrument s, comprising a saran, a few small gong, two ]ce ndhang (not further specified) , and a slompret. For Samboyo Putro the latter instrument appeared to be the most important in creating an atmosphere of excitement. Nevertheless, none of the dancers I interviewed indicated they became tranced especially by it. 1 Kartomi (1973b:21) observes that the trance evidently only occurred after the trance master appeared on the scene at the end of the parade . She writes: 'Calm and relaxed, with feet apart and thumb and forefinger outstretched, he [the specialist] utters a hissing sound and hypnotises his first jaran kepang subject. The subject bows very low, prostrates himself on the ground and then, with vacant, dilating eyes , dances in a rather crude but stylised fashion.' So it looks as if the trance master here decided who was to go into a trance and when. According to Pigeaud (1938:225), citing the above-mentioned essay by Soepangkat, the performance ir1 the district of Kebumen likewise opened with a parade (janturan).11

°

With re feren ce to hor se dancin g, people sometimes u se the word djantoer, w hich has the same meanin g as kiter (' to w alk around in a circl e' ). [...] Djantoeran lends the sh ow a lively character . For after the horse dancers ha ve been made to dance quietl y for som e tim e, the y go and form a circle (kalangan) and run around , while the·ga m eian pl ay s fas t and loudl y. Whe n some of the hor se dancers thus dj antoered become into xicat ed [the local expres sion for ' trance ' ], the y ma y fall d own and then h ave to be h elp ed at on ce. [...] Thin gs th en become very w ild and chaotic.

Hence the dancers here seeme d to go int o a tranc e und er the influen ce of music and d ancing but w itho ut th e tr anc e ma ster's inter vention. Staug aard (1921:423-4) similarl y m entions that th e gambuh of Pesa ntr en (a sub-di stric t of Kediri), for examp le, was convinced he had no in fluence at all on w h en the performers went into a tra nce . In another descripti on, of a perfo rm ance by horse danc ers in Bagelen (Central Java) , the role of th e tran ce mast er (here called rfh11k1111) is more stronglv emph asized, o n th e o ther hand . It po int s out

10 Rouget (1985:72), who has done resea rch particula rly into the re lations hip betw ee n tr ance and mu sic, al,o concluded th2t the music is not by defin ition respons ibl e for the cc curr ence oi a state of trance, which is very much dependent on externa l factors. Rouget w riies: 'In certain cases, music triggers the Et, in oth e cs, on the contra ry, it br ings it to an en d. Some times it seems to play a dec isive role in inducing trance; sometimes it seems to ha ve n one wha tsoeve r.' 11 Th e word ja11tum:1 designates th e ope ni ng scene in w;ciyang plays, but also means 'to per form a kind of magic ' (Pigeaud 1982).

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that he invoked the spirits by burning incense and reciting prayers to ta.I( possession of the 11.orsemenor the barongan (Inggris 1923:102) . Our conclusio must be that there were major local va riations in the means employed top the actors into a trance. The members of Samboyo Putro generally attributed the fact that the became tranced to the 'voice' of the sacred whip Kyai Samandiman. Som as we saw above, did indeed seem to be very sensitive to the sound of whip and were seen to wince whenever it was cracked by one of the t\ gambuh, even though it never touched them . Other performers took no noti of this whip at alt on the other hand, and went into a trance without any ficulty even when it was not to be heard. A slap in the face with Pak Sajen headcloth sometimes had the same effect on a dancer . The sound of the ja of the barong snapping shut when attacking his assailant, or a blow from , celengan was sometimes also enough to put a horseman (or one of the oth performers) into a trance. But at other times it took a while for such an atta . to produce any effect, and the assailant himself might go into a trance befo he had laid one of the horsemen low. A trance also often occurred without the two gambuh or Pak Sajen even being near. Hence the role of the specialist in triggering the trance of the actors was rather vague . Some performers appear to become ' addicted' to the trance, so that] then little is needed to put them into that state. Pigeaud (1938:224-5), citing Soepangkat's essa y, says: Th e p er formers allege that they feel th ey are addicted (karem) to this state of intoxication. What is certain is that tl1ere are two things that ma y produce such intoxica- · tion, namely the invocations (danga) of the penimboel, here called medhojang, and th e gamelan. Of th ese two , th e music is th e dominant factor. Even thou gh the penimboel intones his invocation s wh ile the horse d ancers are circling round (kiter), ~ [...) the dancers in all probability will n ot become int oxicated as long as the gam e-' Ian rema ins silent. Conversel y, th ey ma y succeed io this w hen onl y th e gamelan is pla y in g, even if the penimboel does not utt er an y in voca tions, inde ed, even if he is not pr esent a t all. As pro of of th is we m ay take th e fac t that it h as occas iona lly co me to p ass th a t so r.ieo ne from an othe r reg ion, w ho had b eer. int ox icated b efor e, h oweve r, imm ed ia tely beca m e d run k and wen t ru n nin g off to th e sp ot w h ere the horse dancer s had started perform ing as soo n as, when peacefully inside a home, he he2rd th e so und of th e ga m elan of the horse dance at a di st;ince of abou t half a pan/. i 2 Another exa mpl e is th a t of the only one of a group oi ch ildren pla y ing toge tlw r once - pr ete ndin g they were ho rse dancers and im itat ing the ga melan with their voices, so that only th e sound cou ld be heard[ ...] - w ho h ad a pr ed isp osition to drunkenn ess, 13 immediatel y beco ITcingint oxicuted.

12

A pnnl ,vas a n1eas ure of di stance o f 1506.9 4 n1etres , la te r 1500 metres 1961:1459). 13

Th e loc al expression fo r being in trance is 'being drunk' (111nb 11k).

(see Van Dale

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Pigeaud's (1938:443 -4) comments on this imply that if people go into a trance at the slightest provocation, this is mainly because they are addicted to a 'thrilling of the senses' 14 or 'frenzy', a state that should be distinguished from -, what he calls 'genuine possession '. For here, in contrast with the latter state, there is no question of the entry of a spirit. According to Pak Samboyo, conversely , addiction to the trance was connected with the influence of malevolent spirits (dhemit) . He told me that someone who is prone to this finds it increasingly easy to go into a trance, so that eventually he need only close his eyes to lose consciousness (hence evidently also without music!). He considered this an undesirable development, as it was usually a sign that such a person was emotionally unstable and consequently an easy prey for unwanted intruders . For the gambuh, Pak Samboyo said, it was exceptionally difficult to restore someone who was the victim of this to full consciousness. One reason why he lived among his actors was that he wanted to avoid such disagreeable sih1ations . If one of them were to go into a trance without provocation, then he was near to offer help immediately. Although Pak Samboyo believed that someone could go into a trance without the mediation of a specialist, he was convinced that his actors could not come round from their trance without his help or the help of his assistant gambulz. He pointed out that everyone has a different personality and that only the specialist knows how to address each person individually. He remained extremely vague about how he was able to identify the different spirits and how he approached these. Pak Usodo said, on the other hand, that one neede _ci a guide to enter into contact with the spirit world. Someone who entered the spirit world without cere mon y, he observed, ran the risk of losing th e way back and mor eover alarming the spirits, with all the attendant dangerous consequences (for man) . His own guide , as we saw above, had appeared to him in a dream once, from whic h moment on he h ad specialized as gambuh. Just like the relation with the spirits takin g possession of someone, the J.

11 Pig ea ud (1938:-1-1.J)d,iierentiate s bet"·een ' poss ess ion by a spirit' and the state of 'ecs tasy ' . The former he regards as belonging in the provinc e of Javane se religi on, and the latter , which in his vie"· possesses a distinct\ erotic elem,mt, in that cf psychology. At another level he c01rnects this 'ecstasy' and the associated id eas of 'youth' 3r.d 'pass ,cm~te exuberance' with th e Javanese classificaiory system. It is impo~sil:,le fo;· me to go into ihis .:t !ength. I wish on ly to point out th at Kartomi (1976) in my ,·iew right ly refrains from consigni,1g ecstasy pe r se and th e accompa n yin g erotic sensations to the realm of ps ycho log y, but has g iven it a place w ithin th e socio -religious context of the dramatic genre of the horse dance. It is m y experience, too , that both aspects - possession anc! so-called 'ecstasy', a certain form of euphoria - are invariahly present in Samboyo Put~o's performan.:: es as well as in those of o ther horse dance groups.

-_.:.I

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communications with such a spirit guide 15 are extremely precarious . Usodo's guide qemanded his reward at every performance, and he ha take care then to be of service to him at once. Although Pak Usodo did want to discuss this in more detail - it was, after all, one of the secrets of trade - it is not improbable that the consumption of the head of a live chick as during the performance in Balowerti, was in fact the 'reward' he ha mind. At this dramatic climax of his performance, which reminds one of gambuh at the annual fair in Yogya, Pak Usodo himself was possessed by guide . At that moment there was hardly any difference between his tr and that of his co-actors, or so it seemed. We must conclude from the that Pak Usodo (like the gambuh in Yogya) was able to send his guide a without outside help that his contacts with the spirit world were of a diffe kind, however . From the expression' appeared in a dream' we may infer that the initiati for the very first contact with his spirit guide had not been taken by him or at any rate not exclusively (there is always also a particular predispositi involved, acquired by practising one form of asceticism or another), but th it had come about as a result of his being a chosen person . Although the pr . • ess of becoming a 'chosen' person according to the literature is often attend · with certain psychosomatic disorders, in particular in the case of traditio healers (Belo 1960:2; Lu.h Ketut Suryani and Jensen 1993:51), I did not obser:,~ this to be the case in any of the horse dance companies whose performance$ . I visited.

The different phases of the trance The introduction to the trance in the case of Samboyo Putro , as of other groups, was a dance opening each new act. This dance (w hich wi ll be descri bed in Chapter IX) followed a set pattern. Whipped up by th e increasingl y louder music and the faste r and fast er rhythm, it became w ilder and wilder. The music and the dan ce as it were created the right atm osphe re for trigger ing

15

Rouge! (1985 :19), \\·ri ling about the d ifference between the shama •1 as someone " ·ho goes o.-, a journey to the spirit "·crld and a possessed perso n as so m eo ne who is visite d by a sp irit or sp irit s, su gges ts that co mbinat ions of th e iw o ar e also p ossi ble . H e sa ys, in qu a lificati on of his th es i~ tha t tl, e mit:a ti,·e for LOntac ts bE:t, veen humans an d sp irits is alw ays tak en by the spirits , th at 'Th e~e is n ot hi ng to pr eve nt someo ne [...] fro m se tt in g ou t on his or he r jou rne y only after ha ving " inco rp o ra ted" a uxilia ry sp irits to ass ist hi m or he r in the oth er wo rld ' . It did no t be com e clea r to m e h ow exac tly Pak Uso d o imagined h is contac ts ,,· ith h.is gu id e. I h ad the irr,p ress ion that he sen t hi s gu ide on a jo u rney.

tl a a t i

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the trance . The members of Samboyo Putro regarded this introductory dance as an extra invitation tct the invisible beings , such as the local tutelary spirit and the spirits of the various stage requisites , to honour the performance with their presence. As was said above, the dance did not end at the same time and in the same way for every dancer. For Si Pincang and the two horsemen represented by the second pair of horse dancers the transition was very abrupt. Rouget (1985:44) uses the term 'crisis' or 'fit ' to describe the actor's state in this transition, defining it as a 'very temporary, often painful and more or less convulsive state marking the transition from a normal to a trance state, or, on t..¾econtrary [...], the end product of that state'. For Si Pincang's opposite number, on the other hand, this transition appeared to be ve~, gradual, in fact almost imperceptible. In Rouget's (1985:44) words, 'there are also nonviolent - even calm - trances, and others [...] in which possession is so interiorized as to go almost unperceived by an inexperienced spectator'. The latter form frequently led the spectators to wonder if the trance was genuine or perhaps only simulated . But even a quiet transition to the state of trance says nothing about its further progress. It was not unusual, for instance, for an initially calm trance to suddenly tum into frenzy without any demonstrable cause . Hence vigilance was necessary at all times. The entry of a spirit

Abrupt transitions, in which the dancer appeared to become alienated from his surroundings, as was indicated above cften went hand in har,d with such symptoms a~ convulsions of the limbs, uncontrollable spasms of the body, rolling on the ground and frothing at the mouth , or running around blindly without taking notice of obstacles such as co-actors, the audience, a tree, or a house. In this state the actor's eyes were wide open and rolled upwards, so that the pupils were scarcely visible. For the onlookers this was proof that a spirit had rea lly entered him and th at his trance ,vas ge nuin e (ndadi, derived from dadi, 'come off', Pigeaud 1982), ther efore. As long as the d anc er remain ed in this state, he did not react to hi s su rroundin gs and seemed to be totall y self-ab sorbed. H e was, to u se Rou get's (1985 :13) words, 'p lun ged into a so rt of bewilderment', a s tate of which he had no reco llection at all after wards, as th e area of his consciousness had been taken over entirel y by hi s trance. It is as if th at which m;ike s a human being human, that is to say, the cultural facet of hi s ex istence, then is temporarily suspended. According!)~ this p articular phase of the tranc e, in contrast to the next phase , displays great similarities worldwide, independent of cultural or personal idios yncrasies, Jan e Belo says. She attributes this to a deeper psyche over whic h th e individual has no control, saying : 'T h ere is a univer sa lity about th is stro n g seiz ur e: it does not differ, apparently, from one culture to another, n or from

', E 1:

t 1:

A tranced horse dancer in convulsions on the ground. Photograph by Marije Duijker.

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one individual to another. It comes from too deep a level to be influenced by custom or by idiosyncratic trends of the personality' (Belo 1960:212) . Pak Slompret, the Penthul dancer, described his sensation at the moment he went into a trance as a feeling of 'emptiness' (suwung, literally meaning 'vacant', said for example of a house without an occupant, Pigeaud 1982). But because he was reluctant to leave his body, there was first a struggle between him and the external spirit , which he always lost , however. After that he remembered nothing. A similar experience is described in the essay by Soepangkat, as cited by Pigeaud (1938:224), as follows: When a horse dancer is on the point of becoming intoxicated, he feels dizzy in the head (moemetpetpetan);the world turns black to him for a few moments, so that he can see no one, though there is little change in his hearing. After that he feels nothing at all any more, all feeling (consciousness) has gone. Perhaps [Pigeaud concludes] this is the entry, the touch, of the dhanjang. When the performers entered a trance, the situation became very confused and chaotic, as is apparent from the description of the Pulihrejo case. This was to a large extent due to the fact that the trance was infectious, so that often not only the dancers, but also helpers, musicians, or the odd bystander became tranced one after another. The two gambuh then had their hands full to keep things under control. As soon as someone went into a trance somewhere , they would go running towards that person to calm him/her down. If this person was a member of the audience, then he/she was led away from among spectators in order to be treated. Young children and women were immediately brought to by Pak Samboyo, who believed that it was dangerous to leave childr en in a trance, because they did not yet have sufficient spiritual strength to resist thi s state (and thus might easil y become addicted) . As regards women, feelings of piety were largel y responsible for his concern. Som eon e in trance , he explained, tends to ' lose all feelin g of shame' (ora weruh isin) and ma y do things that are reall y unfitting. Th at is w hy h e brou gh t women out of th eir trance again at once , since he was 'co n cerned. about their goo d n a::ne' (prihatin diluwang i becik) - an observation that shows how much he wa s influenced by the pu rit an ism of th e In do nesian New O rder.16 Men and yo u ng boys, on the o ther hand , he usua lly left alone for a 1\·hile as soon as the convuls ions stop ped . A n exa mpl e of thi s was Si Ijo, the 'row d y' from the au die n ce w ho remair,ed active ly involved for th e w ho,e of the second act. But here, too, the excepti on p roves the rul e: Si Kunin g and a youn g m an I wc1sun able to id entify were almos t immed iately restore d to conscious n ess by Pak Sa mboyo after

16 Ev idently Pak Samboyo had pushed the idea that not the dancer in trance but the spirit that had en tered h im/her was responsible for his/her behaviour into the background .

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they had b een fetched from among the crowd . Wh y this wa s, I do not know As is apparent from the various d escripti ons (Rouget 1985; Belo 19 Darmadji and Pfeiffer 1969), such a pha se of frenz y or con vulsions as a is quite short. This was also the case in other companies of which I attend . performances. When the frenz y had subsided and the con vulsions ceased, subject usually remained unapproachable and sat vacantly staring into spa near the table with offerings for a w hile, or just danced around rather sti _ though alwa y s in a recognizably Javanese fashion. He only seemed to rea to his surroundings again to some extent after a while . This is not to say · he had then come completely to his senses, ho w ever . As Pigeaud (1938:2.i basing himself on Soepangkat's essay about the tranced horse dancer , repo 'after he loses consciousness, sight and hearing are restored but he is una to speak ' .17 A new phase had then set in, in which the person concern seemed to surrender completely to this new state , deliberately or unin tionally, though it might suddenly change again to one of frenzy, convulsio or lethargy without any demonstrable cause .

The surrender to the trance This phase w as characterized by the tranced person's in turns walking aroun in a daze, with or without some prop or other , with w hich he or she mign disappear in the audience; coming to the table with offerings to be g for fo and drink; getting up to all kind s of antics in the performance area; bombarding the musicians with requests for tune s; or suddenl y lapsing into some sort of immobility . In the literature this phase is sometimes compared to sleepw alking (somnambuli sm ) (Belo 1960:212; Darmadji and Pfeiffer 1969:3284). It is defined by Belo (1960:212-3) as a de ep h ypn osis in w hich th e sub ject, .th ou gh still uncon scious , is cap able of per formin g compl ex actions w hich., be ar the clea r stamp of hi s cultural bac kg round as w ell as hi s p ersonality., Pigea ud (1938:444), as we saw, op ted for the term 'ecstasy' or 'frenzy' and . was of th e opinion th at th ere was no pene tra tior, by a spirit involved he re. The most typ ical answe r whic h I received fro m the trance dance rs themselv es to m y question ho w th ey felt in this ph ase w as wis om pnkewuh ('rel ieve d of a burden', Pigeaud 1982), in ot her words, free to do as they pleased, witho ut fear of criticism fron, their surro undir: gs . None of th<::people 1 questioned referred to the presence or absence of a sp irit , an d their description of their

17

The loss of the ability to speak ,vas typical for all horse dance groups of vvhich I sa'-'v performances in Central 2nd East J;:n·a. Even so, judging from a statement by CW. Wo rm ser (1920:78-82) ~bout a performance in Temanggung (Central Java), cited by Pigeaud , this do
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A trance dancer with a coconut n ear the table wi th offerings. Photograph by Marije Duijker .

experience in fac t closely approxima ted Pigeaud's definition. For the bystanders things seemed to be slightly different, however. To m os t of them the most striking features of this pha se - the rolling upward of the eyes and the vaca nt gaze of th e perform ers, alon gs id e th eir sp as tic m ov em ent s and fits of violent i ) and rage - \\'ere proof that the perso n concerned was rea lly in tr ance (11riad that th e spi rits (rah) we re in atten da n ce. As long as the dancers just sat aro u nd nea r the table w ith offerin gs or . danced around in a d az e, as was regul arly th e case, people had the impression th at th ey we re com pl etely shut off from th eir surroundings .18 But th en 18 G rego ry Bateson and Margaret Mead (1962:4) held tha t in Bali thi s vaca ncy and aw aynes s from one's surrou ndings were characteristic of Balinese cu ltu re as a wh ole. To w hat extent thi s is also tru e of Javanese culture I would not venture to say.

Trance dancer roll ing his eyes. Photograph

by Marije Dui jke r.

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Trance danc er still oblivious to th e world. Ph otograph by Marije Duijl
again the behaviour of those who got up to all kinds of antics, such as turning somersaults, or handed out food, flower petals or mor,ey among the spectators, proved that, though obviously net in their normal state of consciousness, they were clearly capable of reacting to their surroundings. Hence the term somnambulant in the sense in which Belo (1960:11) takes it seems to me inappropriate , the more so as the dancers afterwards definitely had some recollec-

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Singabarong's entrance in Menang. Photograph by author .

tion, no matter how vague, of what had happened to and around them while in this state. The dividing-line between the various phases of the trance was very thin , however, and there was constant uncertainty about the true state of the dancers. This added to th e a~biguOl:; ; ·character of the performance, strengthened by the mu sic of the s/ompret and the continuall y changing tunes and songs pla yed and sung at th e req u es t of the trance dancers . Th e true nature of the trance of the individual performers was put to the test again and again by the audience, as we shall s~e further down. As was observed earlier, the stage at which the spirit makes its entry shows the same signs worldwide. At this point there is hardly any difference noticeable i.n the behaviour of the subjects, whether they be Javanese horse danc ers or participants in some African initiation ritual. This is different in the

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Singabaron fin the midst of the horsemen in Menang . _., Photograph by author.

next phase, and then not only because the cultural component is prominent here, as I pointed out abqve. In this phase it becomes clear that horse dances and initiation rituals are performed on different levels, in fact. The important point in this phase, described by Rouget (1985:323) as the culminating phase (of the trance) in initiation rituals, is that the subject enters into and confirms a relationship with a spirit that will help and support him or her throughout his or her life. That is why identification of this spirit is of the utmost importance. Its identity is suggested by the music that is distinctive of it. The music here (as opposed to the first phase) pla ys a decisi ve, socializing role. For the dancers of Samb oyo Putro , on the other hand, for whom the p erformance was first and foremost a temporary escape frcm everyday reality and the true nature of the spirits to be invoked was not really rel evant for their daily Eves, the music fulfilled a differenT}unction. The.re was onl y one point at w hich there was a direct relation between the music and the entrance of one of the dancers . This was at the entran ce of the Singabarong in the final act, which was invariabl y ushered in by his very own signal tune. He was traditionally the leading character in the performance , afte r all, as will become apparent in the next chapter. Although none of the other dancers we re identified with a particular tun e or instrument of their own, the music nonetheless pla ye d an imp ortant role in the performances. It was esse ntial for keep ing the d ancer s in the desired

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Kala Srenggi on the offensive in Menang . Photograph by author.

m oo d, w hil e the num ero u s so ng s we re also aimed at entertainment of the audience. But in addition it appeared to be indispen sable in creating the right atmosphere for bringing on as well ·as terminating the trance. In this connec tion I would remind the reader of the role played by the musicians and the singers in calming down and bringing round the trance dancer in Jombor. The dancers of Samboyo Putro invariably appeared with the same prop, and hence always pla ye d the same part. Ariyasena Ja yasekara Gunawardana (1977:67), in his sh1dy of the modern de velopment of the Asian theatre , posits

Kethek in a tree in Mojoroto. Photograph by author.

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that role specialization is characteristic of all 'traditionalist' theatrical forms as he calls them.19 He writes: 'the performer's craft is "particularistic" in ti ditionalist theaters, in contrast to its "universalistic" quality in the mode · theater . That is to say, the actor in traditionalist theater prepares himself for role with which he stays for the rest of his acting career .' 20 The explanation which members of Samboyo Putro gave for their rol specialization was that they had received a divine sign (wangsit) accordinglri and so had a special relationship with their particular stage attribute : a horse demon, monkey, wild boar, and so on . Although initially they stated ;that the could play any part at all, they also said that it was difficult, if not impossibi~ to bring a part to life (njiwaz) if you had not received a divine sign. Therefo r . they commented, you should never forget to 'feed' the spirit of the mask (o_ horse) in order to persuade it, as it were, to descend in its earthly dwellirtg ,. Notwithstanding this close identification with a particular part, most o Samboyo Putro's horse dancers showed little consistency in the interpretation of their roles. Brief periods in which they behaved in accordance with: the nature of their attribute alternated with longer periods in which they just danced around aimlessly, played all kinds of pranks on each other or on th~ audience, continually came to ask for a new tune, or sat in a daze near the ,. table with offerings. The mask dancers and Kala Srenggi, on the other hand, often did act in character for longer periods. Singakumbang and Macan challenged one knight after another, Singabarong threatened everyone who ventured near him, and Kala Srenggi went constantly chasing after his 'prey'. The actor who most consistently stuck to his part, however, was Kethek. .· Pujangga-Anom and Toh Bagus were the particular targets of his antics. He was also regularly to be seen climbing the trees surrotmding the perfonnance ' area, swinging from branch to branch and sending down showers of coconuts or bananas, or sitting on the ridge of a roof, sending roof tiles flying around. Every time he did this, the closely packed cro w d breathlessly watc hing all his antics would disperse just in time . It was difficult to disco ver if an yone was ever really struc k. As a rule no one ended up being hurt by these dan gero u s pranks . I at least do n?t know, eithe r from the literature or from personal observation, of any se~ious accidents ever happening. Staugaard (1921:426) wrote how in one performance in 19

Ariyase na Jayaseka ra Gunawardana (1977:60) preferred the term ' traditionalist theater ' to 't raditional theater ' bec;,use the latter term is taken to refer to everything old, th3 t is, non-modem'. whereas the former rathe r sugges ts a certain atti tud e toward s traditi on. Thi s mo re dynamic defirntion in my view is more appropriate for the d eve lopment of Asian theatres in modem t ~S an s~cieties, which is the subject of his study . Tius does not entirely agree with my observations . The dhalang of Klaten , for ex3mple, who also pe:formed as mask dancers in the Panji stories, at any rate until the 1970s, strove to pla y mcrea smgl y more demanding parts , with as ultimate objec tive th e role of Klana.

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Wlingi (Kediri), for example, the horsemen were dancing around with a kind

~~f sabre (klewang) when·one of them went flying at a group of children. But jhe latter quickly scattered in all directions, so that the klewang only struck the · rock on which children had been sitting just a few seconds before. Moreover, during a baronganperformance .in Banyuwangi 21 all the spectators were urged · to leave ~e .performance _area before the barongwas due to make his entrance at the end of the show . That this was not a false alarm became apparent when the barong (whose part was played by two dancers) started grubbing up stones and hurling them in all directions. He dragged four helpers who tried to restrain him all over the compound. The performance of Singabarong in Samboyo Putro was not as wild , although he too repeatedly lashed out furiously at -his assailants and often hit home. Really remarkable w~s the baronganscene in Tulungagung. According to one informant from this area the part of the barong was not always played by the same actor in .the . group concerned. Regularly a number of persons, both performers arid spectators, appeared to feel the urge to dance with the barong mask for a *-hile . as soon as they fell 'under the spell of the barong' (kesawabanbarong).JI !'fortunatelyl did not have an opportunity of attending so do not know what happened to these such a performanc ~fpersonally, a1:1c;i barongdancers . T Wild scenes like those described by Staugaard and witnessed by me in Banyuwangi as,iy,rell as in performan,ces by Samboyo Putro and Haswo Usodo, among o.tji.ps, usually <;>f!JY l~st~d .as long as the dancers did not have their attribut e/taken away from them . vVhen this happened, they generally put up a fierce ;r esistance and flew into another rage, so that the gambuh then had to inter vene to calm the entranced dancers _down again . Although such outbursts of aggression were treated with due concern , they were not condemned. The violence of the dancers' resistance when they were brought out of their trance serv ed as an ind ication of ho w the spirits had experienced the performance. The m ore th ey had enjo yed thems elves, the greater the ir reluctance to leave the dancers , but at the same time the greater the blessing that mi ght be exp ected from them in the future . At an y rate , that was the , the acto::: op inion of Pak Beja, th e second slompret playe~,. and .~a.~ Ga1:1):)Uh who played the part of Singaku mban g, as well as of var ious spec tators. As I indica ted above, bystanders affected by the excitement of the atmosphere might go into a trance as wel l. So Kar tomi write s with reference to a horse dance p erformanc e in Ban yum as (Kartom i 1973b:23):

21

A barongansempritan (sempritan = 'w histle') performance by the group Tresno Budoyo from Kemiren , in the sub -di strict of Glagah which I attende d on (2 May 1986).

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At intervals , some of the spec tators themsel ves become hypnotised. The y emerge from the crowd, approach and bo w to the penimbul, and begin to act and
This shows how trance dancers from the audience sometimes also believed special spirit to have taken possession of them . In this respect there was no ·. ference between them and the so-called 'regular' dancers . I do not know if the, had been ' touched' by a spirit before and had formed a special relationsl:ii with it, however. According to Pak Gambuh and Pak Dhalang, the spirits co cerned were free-roaming spirits (dhemit) who had come along with the spin invoked by Pak Samboyo. As a rule the identity of the spirits that entered ili dancers remained unknown. One exception was the case of an elderly m· who regularly attended Samboyo Putro's performances, at least when tfi! group performed in town . He -appeared to have a strong bond with Cakil an believed himself to be continually possessed by the spirit of Hus rather luai crous, demonic character from the wayang theatre, and behaved according! , even though he never had the mask appropriate to this character put on :; few members of Samboyo Putro's regular cast, too, sometimes seemed to ·lie touched by the spirit of Cakil. In Pulihrejo , the wayang theatre as such eve , appeared to be a source of inspiration . Not all of Samboyo Putro 's performers went into a perceptible trance .II have neve r seen Pak Samboyo, Pak Sajen, or the two knights, Toh Bagus an ~ Pujangga-Anom , fly into a rage or suffer a fit of convulsions. According Hi what they themsel ves said, they were not really ' possessed' by a spirit eithe ~ The y did feel touched by the electri fyin g atmo sph ere of the performanc e, however , so that th ey always took part w ithout inhibition in the general merriment pred ominantl y characterizing th is pha se of th e trance . The y said th at their p articipati on h ere was im port an t to th em be caus e it m ade them feel good ,md the y did n ot need to be afr aid th at peo p le wo uld m ake fun of th em . In othe r words, the per form anc e offered th em, too, a socially accepted safety valve for abn ormal behavio ur. In th e wo rds of Darma dji and Pfeiffer, 'the state of trance en ables the dancer to aban d on the stric t ru les of cus tom . to indulge impul ses that otherwise remain represse d. Thus he is able to step into the limeli gh t, to adopt aggressive, even bestial behavio u r.' 22 Because th e participants them selves unambiguously experienced this sense of libera tion from opp ressive social n orm s a.s somet hin g entir ely out of 22

' dass es der Trancezustand dem Tanzer ermoglicht, aus den streng en Regeln der Sitte herauszutreten _.um Impuls e auszuleben, die sonst unterdriickt bleiben . So kann er nun in den Mittelpunkt tret en, aggressives, selbst tier isches Verhalten annehm -en' (Darmadji and Pfeiffer 1969:3290).

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Pak Gambuh fighting with Singabarong in Sumberagung. Photograph by author .

the ordinary, I feel justified in subsuming this state likewise under the heading 'trance'. For many members of Sarnboyo Putro it was the chief reason for joining the company . As was said above, the trance afforded an opportunity of briefly escaping from the dail y grind. Moreover, the dancers derived a certain prestige from their unusual behaviour . The activities initiated in this phase lent Sarnboyo Putro 's performances the character of one great communal game. In thi s respect this company clearly differed from other horse dar1ce gro u ps whose pe~fo~man~~s 1 ~a -tched. Although there was an element of play present in all performances, as for example in th e act of th e two clowns in the performance in Jomb or, the audience was never actively involved in the same degree as here. As became ap p aren t from my interviews with Pak Samboyo, involving the audience in sense of collective responsibilhis performances was his way to encourage ity for carrying on the Javanese traditions. Solidarity, ii, his opinon, was not only a sacred legacy from the ancestors (tinggalan adiluhur) that ough t to be cherished, but also provided the basis for the united effort the government

a

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expected from its citizens to tum Indonesia into a modem state. This thro Pak Samboyo's official position into sharp relief . How he put his views in practice will be seen in the discussion of the element of pla y in the perfo _ ance in Pulihrejo.

The 'recovery'of the trancedancers On what signs the decision to 'cure' (marz) a particular dancer, that is to -. to restore him or her to full consciousness , was based is difficult to say. choice of the right moment to bring a trance dancer out of his trance se~ to be primarily intuitive . This may be 'When the pawang feels that the : is ripe - a matter merely of convenience, of boredom with the antics o particular horse-man, of feeling that enough is enough' (Burridge 1961:KO.L. Burridge (1961:34) also writes -That in order to be able to act as pauJ° (the word for 'trance master' in Johore, Malaysia) one has to be bo : pawang. Pak Samboyo, conversely, felt that his police training had given _ the necessary psychological insight to decide on the appropriate mom , The decision about the exact moment even so often remains a gamble. Wpi Pak Samboyo or Pak Gambuh considered the time ripe, they usually c: with fierce resistance from t..¾edancer concerned . They frequently acted WI great circumspection. In the example above we saw how the first attempt bring particularly Si Pincang and Si Pecut round from their trance had to . stopped when their resistance turned out to be too strong. 'You never kn ~ what the consequences would be', Pak Gambuh said, and so it was better ,t leave someone a little longer in trance than to force a reco very. The behaviour of a dancer in trance gives no indicatio n as to the w ay · w hich he or she will come out of the trar1ce. For example Singabarong, who in Menang behaved very w ildl y and constantl y w ent rushing at the audience, put up a fierce resistanc e w hen hi s mask wa s taken away from him . In Mojoroto , on the other h and , he could be restor ed to consciou sne ss w ithout any resistance w orth speaking of. H e u su ally ne eded a fair w hile to reco·1er compl etely, however, and was neve r able, or willing, to say any thin g about what he experienced during the trance. Kala Srenggi , too, who was also exceptiona lly su scep tible to the trance, coul d often only be brought roun d again with th e greatest of d ifficu lty. Every time it looked as it he had calmed dow n com pl etely, he wou ld sud de nly go runn ing off aga in, and th e wh ole th ing wou ld start all over again fro m the beginni n g. In th e p erformanc e in Sumb eragu ng in 1992 (after Pak Sam boyo's dea th ), when the p art of Kala Srengg i was pl aye d by a you n g girl, th e ' re cove ry' took pl ace virtu ally unn oticed. H er per form an ce as celeng d ance r was chi efly restrai ned and sty lize d, and it was not clear to w hat extent she had been

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The 'recovery' of a horseman in Sumberagung. · Photograph by author. really in trance. This example shows that the way in which a particular attribute, in this case the wild boar puppeJ, is brought to life and _affec!s !he dancer's behaviour seems to be dependent on the actor him self rather than on th e spirit of that attribute. The dancer's frame of mind at the time of th e performance appears to play a decisive role . According to Pak Sajen it was easy to see why the spirits were not keen to depart from the performance, the place where they felt at ease and which was alive with activity (rame). So they always have to be persuaded to leave the body of the dancers , for instance by plying them with specially prepared offerings. We saw how Pak Gambuh tried to tempt the spirit that had entered Si Pincang -.vith a sprig of flowers, for example. Another method was to

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induce the spirit.to move to its attribute - the mask or boar puppet, or, the Jombor case, the horse of the trance dancer. Judging by the results, ., often appeared to be a tricky undertaking. Not infrequently the trance dan would take off w ith his ,prop again and the helpers would have the greaf of difficulty in parting him from his horse, mask or puppet. The method used by the two Samboyo Putro gambuh to cure the d · ers was roughly the same as that employed in other horse dance grouP.s involved massaging the head and limbs, blowing on the fontanel, the at which the spirit allegedly leaves the body, and whispering prayers into ears of the actor. Once the dancers had been restored to consciousness, _, would either remain sitting on the ground in something of a daze for a w (like Si Pincang and Si Ijo, for example) or go running into the dressing · to recover completely (Si Kuning and a person unknown to me). They w then look very exhausted, although they dc,timed they felt none the ~ · for the trance, even if, like the dancers of Samboyo Putro, they had ~ tranced more than once in the performance. The actors ascribed this to fact that they enjoyed the protection of the invisible beings, the bangsa·~ during the performance.

p,

The dangers of the trance The members of Samboyo Putro, as well as of other horse dance grou came across, stated emphatically how important il ":as at all times to com with the wishes of the trance dancers as quickly as possible. What shoul q ,: avoided at all costs was provocation of the tranced person. For if the spirit ilia had taken possession of the dancer should become angry, it might refu'se'~ leave his bod y. Rumours about the vindicti veness of frustrated or provoke sp irits w er e rife am ong the cast. According to one member , a spirit w as kno wn onc e to ha ve left a tran ce dancer alone onl y after several d ay s. It had terrorized the village all th e int erve ning time and had made th e m ost di ve rse demanas · for sati sfa ctio n for insult s it h ad suffered in the cour se of the perfonnance. According to another, one colleague w h o h ad been badly h arassed du ring his ~-. p erformance had become ill as a result and still had not recovered. A thir d. asser ted that an offended spiri t mig h t somet im es carry the dance r off with him. So the group had onc e lost a performer, whom the y had onl y found back, seriou sly up se t, in th e cem etery after a lon g tim e (hours , d ays?). The gambuh on that occasion had h ad the g rea test of difficul ty in brin gin g hi m ro un d. 23 23

In Bali there appear to be cases of people being 'hidden by a spi ri t' (engke bang memedi) and sometimes only being found again in a cemetery , a marketplace or a bamboo clump da ys later. The spirit is then said to have acted 'out of love for that pers on', whi le the 'victim' ma y afte r-

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Doubtless such stotjes about the vindictiveness of provoked spirits, of which never the informant himself but always someone else had been the victim, added to the tense , nervous atmosphere that took possession of all those present, performers and spectators alike, as soon as the trance commenced. Whenever a trance dancer wanted anything, the person addressed by him would try -and oblige him immediately. But, because he had lost the power of speech and could only make his wishes understood through gestures and facial expressions , it was not always possibk :o guess his meaning straightaway. Especially when he asked for a particular melody, the musicians might grope in the dark for a while. Helped by colleagues and spectators, who would loudly shout all kinds of suggestions, th~ musician concerned would then try one tune after another, until the tranc dancer would finally start dancing again and everyone · would heave a sigh of relief. That the excited, nervous mood . might occasionally find -an undesirable outlet is shown by the fight among the audience in Pulihrejo. Because Pak Sambo yo managed to separate the troublemakers and to integrate one of them in the performance, -he was able to turn this sudden disruption to his advantage and thus to dim all memories of the irregular occurrence. Pak Dhalang showed satisfaction at the favourable outcome , pointing out in particular that it was proof once more of Pak Samboyo's great magic power. 'You ne ver kno w ho w the spirits will react, and if a gambuh is incompetent , all kinds of accidents are liable to happen', he said. The musicians around us nodded their heads in agreement and proudly proclaimed that the incident had confirm ed Pak Sarnbo yo's and the compan y's prestige once again. They clearl y connected the outburst of aggression with the unpredictable behaviour of the omnipre sent spirits . Aw e at th e unpredictab ility of the spirit s w as not so deep- seated , ho w ever, that the re w as a taboo on provoc ation of the trance dancer s. The aud ienc e and t.l-i e mu sician s alik e often shouted all kind s of goo d-humour ed jibe s at th em an d consta nt ly comm ent ed loudl y on their action s. Some of th e dan cers appeare d to react to this by ado p ting a threatenin g p ose and ma kin g as if to attack th e challenge r, in pl ay or in earn est. Others see med to take no no tice at all of the insults shouted at them and to go on doing their own thing. In ·the former case the challenger as a rule would sw iftly hide among the crO\·v d, and if the trance dancer became very wi ld, th e gambuh or the helpers would run forwa rd to calm everyo ne d ow n. A painf u l rap cin the grasping fingers of a greedy spec tator or a playful rebuke of an inattentive chiid, as at the 'y oun g

wards ha ve th e pl easan test of memories of his s~ay in an imaginary world , but be unabl e to give any ex planati on of h ow he came to be !here (Luh Ketut Suryani and Jensen 1993:23). I do not know if 'abducted' Ja va ne se trance dance rs .·eta in similar pl easan t m emo ries.

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people's slametan' in Menang, were the severest punishments I ever saw Samboyo Putr; trance dancer mete out . Although the atmosphere during the so-called 'liberating' phase, wh the cast entertained t_he crowd with all kinds of pranks, as a rule bee ' more relaxed, it was important for people to remain on their guard even s At the slightest provocation, often for obscure reasons, one or another oL performers might fly into a rage or have a fit of convulsions again . Every -. this happened, the tension would again mount to a high pitch for aw · until the person concerned had been calmed down. The other performe generally took no notice whatever of such sudden moods of excitement would carry on unperturbed with whatever they were doing.

The significance of the trance Not only for the spectators but also for the performers themselves , the tran remains an intriguing, though largely elusive phenomenon . This was app ent not in the last place from the vague, sometimes contradictory repli from the performers themselves. So they said, for example, that it was ea . to go into a trance and that all you needed to do to get into the desired state was to enter into the mood of the performance . Hence it looks as if for the going into a trance was a kind of automatism. On the other hand, they admitted that the y were by no means always successful in this, as the spirits (roh a/us) are very fickle, which again indicates that they did believe themselv~ to be dependent on a reality external to themselves. Pak Slompret put it ~s follows: ' If the spirit still does not come (yen durung ndadi), it isn't difficult to act as if (rnk angel ethok-ethok). It is better to be touched by a spirit (luwih becik dijiwai), for then the blessings are close by (kanugrahan wis celak). Then everything becomes light (kabeh dadi enteng) and easy to keep up (gampang betl?h).'Pak Gambuh formulated it slightly differentl y. He said, in explanation of th e fact that he had only appeared very briefl y in the performance are a as Singakumbang dancer in Pulihrejo ,24 that th is time the spiri t (roh) h ad bee n too heavy for him. This, he s;:iid, had forced him to finish his act quickly. The majority of horse da ncers claimed they were touched (rlisriwili ) by a spirit (roh or bangsa a/us) dunng p erform ances, but were un able to give a clear description of this spirit . Only one or two dancers maintained they had never been really touched by a spirit, but this was difficuit to tell from their performance. I at any rate could not discover any diffe rence between th eir 21

Because I was sitting among the gamelan , I do not know wha t became of h.im once he had disappeared from view. He was probably in the dressing room recovering, but how I was not able to asce rt ain.

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performance and that of their ·co-actors who asserted they had been in trance. . And, going by the reactiot\s of the onlookers, nor could the audience . What is' clear is that, as far as most of the performers were concerned, the operation of the trance was attributable, no matter how vaguely, to some real but impalpable entity, usually referred to as rah or bangsa alus. The spectators were generally also very sceptical about the real nature of the trance "of the individual dancers, and the question ndadi? ('in trance?') or affirmation wis ndadi!('in trance already!') of the one would often be countered with the negation durung! ('not yet!') of others. That they generally continued watching fascinated nevertheless was not due solely to the performers' skill. Even though they had doubts about the genuineness of what they thought they saw, the belief in the existence of spirits and in the possibility that these may take possession of humans was generally still very strong. This was not affected by the absence of convincing proof during the show. Moreover, the frequently chaotic and ambiguous nature of the performance helped to keep this conviction alive. There ·was usually no first-hand proof of any of the performers being really possessed by a spirit - n~ ;inore than of any informants themselves ever being the · object of the veng~ance of the enraged spirits, reports of which were always from hearsay. was normally inferred from the audience's excited reactions to what was ·going on elsewhere in the performance area, but which the infonnants the!Ilsdves had evidently just missed. The stirring music, the bursts of laughte; and the cheering, which rolled across the area in waves, added to the electrifying itmosphere in which everything seemed possible. It not only put the regular performers in a state of heightened sensitivity to the supernatural, but aj~oleft the spectators anything but unaffected, giving them, too, a sense of liberation. In contrast to Bali, where the trance, in Belo'~:(1960:J0) words, is 'fully explained in terms of the religious beliefs', in Javaf!l;le tr
Tiiis

I

':

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show-like elements. Thanks to their ambiguity, however, they provici: ample scope for art idiosyncratic interpretation of the trance dancers' beha iour even so. The performances were perceived by cast and audiences ar as a higher reality in which temporarily everything seemed possible. W/ their emphasis on Javanese tradition, as reflected in among other things · choice of songs , these performances moreover helped to give people a se' of sharing in the preservation of the precious legacy from the past and iri strengthening of the Javanese identity. The so-called socio-cultural dimension of the performances was un lined by the legend associating the origin of the Kediri-style horse dance , a legendary East Javanese prince from a glorious period in Javanese histo

CHAPTER

VII

The significance of the horse dance legend Introduction In the course of Samboyo Putro's performances, the legend of the origin of the Kediri horse dance was recited several times. It deals . with the intended marriage of Dewi Sariggalangit, princess of N gurawan (Kediri), 1 and when chanted is presented in the 'small'Javanese metre (tembangmacapat)2 Dhandhanggula. Kacarita ing Ngurawan nagri jumeneng nata gung binathara Lembu Amis ena juluke kinasih dewa agung darbe putra putri sawiji Dewi Sanggalangit asmanya ayunya linangkung tinantun ing palakrama gya ngemban dhawuh ing sang rama aji ning darbe patembaya.

' Now let us speak of the realm of Ngurawan, ruled by the great sovereign named Lembu Amisena, beloved of the exalted gods . He has one daughter, her name is Dewi Sanggalangit . Her beauty is extraordinary and her hand is requested. She quickly obeys the wish of her father the king [to get marri~d] , but stipulates a condition .3

Urawa n : 'archaic name of a region in th e eastern part of Java, pos sibly pr esent-da y Blora ' (Gericke and Roorda 1901, I:57). Urawan is also known from the Panj i stories, w here Lempun gkaras (not Panji) marries the yo un ger princess of Urawan (Poer batjar aka 1940:90) . 2 Tembang macapat is a traditional Javanese literary genre, sub ject to strict rul es of prosody or poetic conven tions wi th respect to th e number of syllables per lin e, the end vowe ls of th e lin es, and the number of lines to th e stanza . Th ese were drawn up by th e 'men of letters' (pujangga) in the eig hteenth and nineteenth cenl\.;ries and are distinctive of the Jiff e rent types of 'small metre ' (le111ba11g 11wc apal) (see, for example, Pigeaud 1967:2.2; Ras 1982:309-10; Arps 1996:49, n ote 3). These len;bang mr.capatwere, and someti mes st ili are, intend ed to bte sung at gatherings (jagongan) where special events in the life of the family are celebrated , at commemorat ion ceremon ies, or at meetings of special macapat societies. 3 TI1e word palemb,1ya means literally 'ag reement , arrangement' (Pigeaud I982). In the pre~ent contex t it has the connvtation of an agreement to choose a husband by means of a contest or competition, that is to say, by holding a sayembara ('con test w ith a prize in respect of marriage' , P!geaud 1982). In wha t follows I have taken palembaya in the sen se of sayembara and trans lat ed it as ' marriage by choice of the bride ', meaning a choice made by a princess from among the candidates v,ho have satisfie d the condition set by her .

170

Wus sinebarwartaning sang Dewi • pra kawula jro jaba nagara wus kathah kang mirengake wau ta Pangeran Toh Bagus Pujangga-Anom tan keri arsa nunggu patembaya kang nuju prana sang ayu angasta kepel sekawan Singabarong Patih Singakumbang wus nglunasi laju sowan mring praja (031)

Jaranan The princess ' ne w s has spread . Man y subjects at home and abroad ha ve heard it. Prin ce Toh Bagus and Pujangga -Anom do not remain behindh They prepare to meet the condition that pleases the princess, and are on their way with four horses . Sing::barong and Patih Singakumbang have '.. alread y been defeated [by them] and the y pa a visit to the capital.'

Hence in this legend, popular in KecL~·i and environs, connected with the complications surrounding the marriage of the prin of Kediri, Dewi Sanggalangit, usually identified with Dewi Sekartaji, a le . ing figure in the well-known Panji legend . A key motif in this legend J · marriage of Dewi Sekartaji to the legendary East Javanese prince of Jengg "' Panji. 4 Some informants accordingly referred to the horse dance legend ~ carita Panji ('Panji story') . Contrary to what this title suggests, the perfo ance s appear to be concerned with something other than the enactment of episode from the Panji stories . Moreover , the ori gi.., of t..¾ehorse dance is link ed wi th the Panj i legend every where. In the present chapter I will try establish how the legend relates to the performance and what is the si cance attached to the legend.

n

The horse dance legend according to Harjono H atjon o, th e in itiat or of the Jaran an Kepang in Mojoroto , ga ve the follow in g vers ion of th e lege nd conc ernin g th e origin of the horse dance (Harjono · 198 1:26-7) : In th e realm of Ngurawa n , in Kediri , King Lembu Amisena is rul er. Hi s stunnin gly bec1utiful d aug ht er, Dewi Sc1n gg alan git. is still sin gle c1nd is c0urt ed by many princes , vicero ys and nobleme n . She dec ides to orga n ize a cont est for the choice of a husband (sayembara) amon g he r suit ors to pr eve nt fightin g be tween the car,didates for he r hand an d avoid bloo d shed in Kedi ri. She th erefore has the following annou nceme nt made : 'W hicheve r of the candid ates is abl e to orgariize a performance ne ver before show n [in Kediri] and com es to Ked iri wi th it wi thout tou chin g the ground shall be my hu sband ' .

'Panj i' is an East Jav an ese ti tie fo~ a highborn pe rso n . The n ame of th e prin ce.w ho is the he ro of this lege n d is Panji Asma raba n gun .

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When the king of Ponorogo, King Toh Bagus, hears this announcement from Kediri, he decides to sue for the princess' hand together with his chief minister (patih) Pujangganom , alias Pujangganong [Pujangga-Anom] . They form a jaranan kepang group comprising four horses for the soldiers , a mask for Pujangganom, and a group of musicians . The .gamelan consists of a kempul, a kethuk, a kenong, a kendhangand a terompet [a variant of slompret],and four angklung. Singabarong, the king of Lodoyo, 5 does not wish to lag behind either. Like his chief minister , Singakumbang, he is endowed with supernatural powers . They are each able to change into an animal : Singabarong into a lion (singa) and Singakumbang into a boar (celeng). The group from Ponorogo is the first to arrive in Kediri . It is received in audience by Dewi Sanggalangit . Toh Bagus tells her he has covered the distance from Ponorogo to Kediri not on foot but on horseback . The horse dance performance he offers her has ne ver bef ore been shown in Kediri . Dewi Sanggalangit is impressed by Toh Bagus ' handsome appearance and accepts his contribution . She promises to marry him and assures him the marriage will be celebrated soon. Not long after that ,the grcup from Lodoyo led by King Singabarong also arrives in Kedhi . He has not travelled by road but through a subterranean tunnel and has surfaced in the alun-alun of Kediri. When Singabarong hears that Dewi Sanggalangit is already betrothed (dipersunting)'to Toh Bagus, he is furious . At the height of his rage he is like someone possessed. Together with his followers he destroys everything he finds in his path . He demands that Dewi Sanggalangit become his wife nevertheless , as he has after all satisfied the condition stipulated by her . Toh Bagus, pondering on a means of placating Singabarong and his chief minister , remembers that they are both very fond of gamelan music . He instructs his subjects to play the gamelan . As soon as Singabarong and Singakumbang hear the stirring melodies of the gamelan , it is as if they are overwhelmed by the music and they start dancing . Even the whole group of attendants of the bridal procession from Lodoyo dances to the sound of the gamelan from Ponorogo . Thus the anger of King Singabarong and his minister is subdued. The ruler of Lodoyo decides to give up his suit for Dewi Sangg alangit. frldeecl, J::iepromises that he and his followers will keep peace and order at the prince ss' wedding to Toh Bagus . Hen ce the marria ge of th e ruler of Ponorogo w ith the princess of Kediri is performed pe acefully and amid great m erri ment . To add to the gaiety, the horse dance is performed as well at the pr ince ss' request. Si.ngabarong and Singakumbang do not remain behindhand , so that there is a full cast. King Singabarong here acts the part of ,epnplok6(barong) and his chief mini ster that of celeng(wild boar) . Thi s art form , ,vhich we know by the nam e of juranan,has been practised down to the present da y a1~dis still very pop ular with the people of Kediri and enviro ns as a traditional art.

A region in the district of Blitar, to the so uth east of Kediri. This word, the meaning of wh ich I was not ab le to trace , is probab ly ar. onomatopoeic derived from the sound produced by snapp ing the barong's wooden jaws together.

6

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Comments The performance described in this legend, known in numerous varian Kediri and surroundings, is roughl y similar to the horse dance perform ·. of Samboyo Putro. All the elements of these shows - the horse dancers,. mask dancers, the animals and the gamelan - have a place in it. Con to Samboyo Putro's chanted version, Hatjono's variant has the ma between Toh Bagus and Dewi Sanggalangit actually performed . As become apparent below, this union cannot really take place, however, . is never enacted in the performances . The celeng (which does not feature in the chanted version of the leg according to Hatjono's version is a disguise of Singakumbang. In Sam: Putro's performances, on the other hand, Singakumbang is represente a cat-like monster (kucingan), and the celeng, the wild boar Kala Sre11g Singabarong's regular companion. In the versions of the horse dance le_g used by Sarnboyo Putro there is no mention of any disguise of the two be{ The fact that the origin of the horse dance is not attributed to the gods 0 one of the nine saints of Java, 7 but to the profane wish of a princess for a ' able bridegroom and a new kind of entertainment is illustrative of the .I status of this art form as compared with the wayang theatre. ·

The earliestreportsof the horsedance legend The earliest reports of horse dances, dating from the beginning of the 111!1 teenth centu ry, contain nothing to suggest that there was a story underlym this danc e genre. The y only mention hor se dances as part of a circumcision · wedding proce ssion , 8 as a means for members of some religious communi

7

In the Old Java n ese text Tnnt11Panggelnrnn th e origin of th e wayang prmua is ascribed to the g0ds Vishnu, Brahma an d Ish, ·ara, who are sen t ci0w n to ear th as " ·avang performers to protec t mar. kind against the vorac ious appet ite and destructive p ow er of Kala-Rudra , that is, Siva (in wJvang pla vs Bathara Kala; Pigeaud ]924 :103, 170). On e "'ell-known Ja,·anese treatise on the origin and development of the wayang theatre , th e Snstra ivJiruda, ascribes its orig:n to the Wali Sar,ga or n ine :saint s who allegedly propagat ed Islam in JJva (Kus u mad ilaga 1930 :10) . 8 Canto 293, vErse 33, of the Sera/ Centhini me n !iun s a gro u p of twe;1ty horse danc ers m ov ing along in a circumcision procession (Kamajaya 1988, IV:170). Poens en spEaks of a n um ber of pe rsons following i.'1 a wedding pro i::ession w ith an imitati on horse (kapa/'an) of pl aited bamboo (kepang) b etwee n thei r legs and a pike in their ha nd (Poensen 1872:79-80). Maye r (1897:375-6), too, mentions a wedding p rocession includin g a numb er of h orse dance rs (ebegor jaran kepang) - though judging from the acco mpan yin g illustration of a very singula r kind - besides some ogres.

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..... ft:to go

into ecstasy, 9 or as a street sho w.10 There is no mention anywhere of more or less elaborate performances like those of Samboyo Putro. Only a few · articles from the first half of the twentieth century first tell us something about / the existence of a legend in connection wi th the horse dance, as was indicated Y_;; above . The horse dance shows · discussed in these were all mixed performances, in th~ sense that they featured, aside from horse dancers, mask dancers ' '. :-, and dancers disguised as animals. Staugaard (1921:421), alluding to a so-called 'Ponorogo-type' horse dance group fro~ Kediri performing in Pesantren, writes, for example, that 'in a simple dance performance [...] a heroic legend from the Babad Kediri' was enacted . The episode in question was not similar in every detail to the corresponding episode from the history of Kediri as recorded by Sumasentika (Van den Broek 1902), according to Staugaard . A large part of the latter text, a sequence of folk traditions about the origin of place names and unusual features of the landscape, for instance, deals with Panji and his rivals. The legend of the group in Pesantren recorded by Staugaard (1921:421-2) runs as follows:

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The ruler of Bantarangin ; Klono-Sewan-Dono , is on his way to Kediri with 144 horsemen under the command of Boedjangganong to ask the princess' hand in marria ge. In the forest th e tiger Rodjonowo comes to devour the horses . Boedjangganong fights the tiger and loses. The king thereupon implores the hermit Kjai Goenore so, who has his abode on a nearby mountain, for help . The latter helps the hard-pressed ruler and eliminates the tiger , whereat the king gives a part y gra ced by a gamelan orche stra and femal e dancers .11

1he legend was enacted in a four-part dance , Staugaard says. The first part featured Klana Sewandana , wearing a red ma sk with a long pointed nose (so that he wa s remini scent of Pujangga-Anom), in addition to his commander-in-chief Bujan gganon g (a varian i: of Pujangga -Anom ), wearing a whit e mas k, 12 four kuda kepang dancer s, and the barong Rajawana 13 (literally 9 Canto -BS, verse 14, of the Serat Centhini gives a descr iption of a performance, ca lled ja ranjaranan, am on g the _foll ower s o f a Mu s lim relig ious tea ch er, wh o 'are m ounted ' as though on horses on all kind s o f object s, such as kit che n ut en sils, lea f ribs, and so on, a nd ride around in a da ze, im agini :1g th ey are riding th e celes tial h orse Kuda Sembr~ni (Kamaja ya 1989, VIII :102 ). l 'l C.F. Win te r (1848:306 ), in ]nvaa11sc/1e zm11ensprnken, wr ites ab out reyog, a sho, v featuring men on pl a ited b a mb oo h orses carr ying lan ces in th eir hand s . 11 Kartomi (1976: 112-4), referring to Staugaard , reprod u ces a more deta ile d ve rsion of this legend. 12 Staugaard probabl y d id not understand the information he was give n concerning th e d ifferent clown masks entirel y correctly, as is bo rn e ou t also by another statement. Se'c' also Pigeaud's (1938:186) comm ent on this. In Sambo yo Putro's performances a red mask like the one d esc ribe d by Staug aard was worn by Pujangga -Anom , the white (half-)mask being distinctive of Pent hu l. 13 Rod jon ow o, as the name is spelled in Staugaard 's (1921 :422) text, is erroneous , as the autho r himself indi cates in a footnote .

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'King of the Forest'). The latter part was acted by two men, the one in fro w earing a tiger mask•topped w ith a p eacock-feather crown (a smaller versi . of the reyogpanaraga),and the one behind being hidden under the cloth han ing down from the mask. At the end of this first part an actor wearing a bla mask entered as well. Although Staugaard refers to this figure as Penthul ; is clear from the accompan ying photo that it is actually the latter's oppon e Tembem, who according to Staugaard did not play a real part in the p1 Then, in part two, followed the struggle between Bujangganong and barong Rajawana, which was lost by Bujangganong . :::' he third part fea~ the confrontation between the barong and the hermit Gunaresa ('Ingenio Protector'), a character wearing a brown mask with a woolly mop of n, The barong was defeated by means of the hermit's magi.: formulae. Part f comprised a comic act, with erotic overtones, by two pe1: c:rmers: the dan ·" woman Wayang Jepre ('Chatterbox') and the clown Patrajaya (also referred as Regol-Patrajaya). Staugaard (1921 :422) concludes with the statement ili: nothing further is said about Klana Sewandana's adventures in Kediri.

Comments This legend explains most of the characters appearing in the performan The only exception is the clow n with the black mask, which is probably wlJ. Staugaard says he had no part in the actual plct. The unnamed princes plays only a very marginal role in this version of the legend, which seems be completely adapted to the play . She does not figure at all in the perfon:nance, her marriage onl y being mentioned as the cause of Klana Sew andana's appearance. The latter is represented as the leading character. In the play, nbt Klan a Sewandana 's encounter w ith Rajaw ana but the confrontation between Rajawana and the hermit Gunaresa is the key motif, howe ver. As we saw, Rajawana , the ' King of the Forest' 14 - which symboliz es all that is untamed - is n ot defeated by Bujan gga nong' s ph ysical po wer, but by the herin it's magical sup eriority. Like Sam boyo Put ro's gambuh, he appe ars to be the speci alist sk illed in h andlin g th e supe rn atur al forces, symboliz ed by the barong, that - . com e int o pl ay here. That noth ing fur ther is sai d about the rem aind er of Kian a Sewandana's journey is, in fact, unde rsta!1dable in light of the cru x of . The reference to the performance : the appearance and the def ea t of the bnrc11g the marria ge of a princ ess of Kediri in the syr:ops is of the performance crea tes the illusion that an episode from th.e pop ular Panji legend is being p reser1ted he re, whereas in rea lity th e lege nd was only th e framewo rk w ithin w hi ch the Pesan tren gro up enacted thi s cru cial show do wn.

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14

. According to Kart omi (1976:109), the name Rajawana, another name for Singa Barong (Smgabarong), a chth onic creaturt , p oint s eve n more empha ticaily to his un tamed nature.

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A JewCentral Javanesehorse dance legends The story of Prince Panji and Princess Sekar Taji That the above story ' from Kediri' was also popular beyond the 'core' area of Kediri is apparent from the earlier cited article by Inggris (Inggris 1923) about horse dances in Central Java. It relates how Prince Panji is repudiated by his father, Lembu Amiluhur of Jenggala, because he refuses to marry the princess chosen for him. He leaves the kingdom and in the course of his wanderings encounters a Bengal tiger (barongan),a forest sprite couple (gendruwon), and a giant brooding bird (bango-thonthong), in that order, all of which he subdues. He finally arrives in Kediri , where he meets the king's servants, who are in search of the man with whom the king's daughter, Dewi Sekar Taji, has fallen in love in her dreams. They recognize him as the lover in question and take him to the palace. At the sight of the princess, he in tum falls in love with her. The marriage of Prince Panji and Princess Dewi Sekar Taji is celebrated amid great pomp . The wedding procession includes the animals defe.ated by Panji, besides Panji's servants Penthul and Tembem (mentioned for the first time only at this point in the legend; Inggris 1923:107-8). Comment s

This legend is reproduced, together with a second legend to be discussed presently, at the end of frlggris' article on horse dances in Jogonalan and Wonokriyo respectively . The article does not specify from which of these two areas this partic.ular variant of the Panji legend originates. Going by the descriptions of the characters figuring in performances in Jogonalan and Wonokriyo, Jogonalan , in Yogyakarta, seems the more likely of the two. All the characters found here - the jaran kepang, the barongan,the gendruwon, Penthul , Tembem, and bango-thonthong (the local name for Thithit-thuwit) - occur in the above legend as wel l. The description of the characters appearing in performances by hor se d an ce group(s) from Wonokriyo doe s not mention Tembem, on the oth er hand , while it does menti on, in addition to Thithit-thmvit , a kind of ghos t (cepetan, a masked figure wearing a jute sack with chicken feathers stuck all over it) that does not appear in the legend (Inggris 1923:99). Alth ough no informati on ·is given on how the legend is enacted in the performance, the hero and heroine of th e legend, Panji and Sekar Taji, evidently did not figure in the performances of eith er the Jogonalan or the Wonokriyo group. We are told with reference to Wonokriyo, however, th at the horse dan ce compan y participated in a wedding procession accompanying the bridegroom to the house of the bride (Ingg ris 1923:101). That is to say, it appeared in the context in which horse dancer s often perform .

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At Javanese weddings, the bridal couple is represented as the divin couple Sri and Sed;na, 15 as is manifest from, among other things , their roy attire and trimmings . Hence in the bridal procession in Wonokriyo the pa of the two protagonists of the legend are in fact pla yed by the bridal coup in whose honour the performance is given . In this case the festive wed · procession is really an enactment of the legend, therefore. As so often in Ja . w e see how closely here , too, myth and reality are interwoven .

The downfallof Ki Ageng Mangir The tale of Ki Ageng Mangir ('the Great Man of Mangir ' ), a popular sto from the Mataram period, 16 relates how a powerful man possessing a sacr weapon resisted the authority of Panembahan Senapati (reigned ?1,5 1601).17This caused the latter, the founder of the realm of Mataram, gj:· embarrassment. To defeat his formidable opponent, endowed as he was wj supernatural powers, without having to fight him, he ordered his
Comments About the horse dance gr oup L1.elegend onl y tells us that it performed during the da y, while the wayang shows took place by night . The horse dance grou pl ayed no part in the seduction of th e saint , an epis ode which w as enacted in th e wayan g p erformance . Moreover, except for the horse dancers, none ofth chara cters m en tione d as app earin g in the perform ances of the horse danc comp anie s from Won ckri yo or Jogonalan figure in thi s sto ry. The legend provides no key to the characte rs appearing in the pe rforma nces, in fact, and

15 Dewi Sri and her brother Jaka Sedana are the mythical bringers of the crops of the fields, and in this p ar ticula~ case of agricu\tu rP und of pesticides to protect the crops (Kats 1923:87, 169-71). 10 The story of this reb"!!Eous nob leman, namf'd afte r h is p iace of origin , the viliage of Mang ir, was a regular feature of the repe rtoires of variOu$ kethup ral: groups during my stay in Solo (19761978) and Kediri (1985-1986) r2spectively. Its popularity is also eviden t fro m the fac t tha t it h as been adapted for the nationa l theatre (Pramoedya Ananta Toer 2000). 17 Very little is known of the earlies t history of the realm of Mataram (De Graaf and Pigeaud 1974:223-5; Rick lefs 1974 :12-3).

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clearly has no connection with these whatever. 18 That Inggris' anonymous informant connected 'the horse dance with this history of Mangir seems , in effect, to have had something to do with the wish to place the horse dance in the context of a popular local, in this particular case Yogyakarta, history . The lack of any clear connection 'between the legend and the actual performance is irrelevant here. As we shall see, they each serve a different purpose.

The leg~nd as told by SamboyoPutro members In the case of Samboyo Putro as well, the horse dance legend was connected with a popular local history . For instance, the versions recounted by Pak Samboyo and Pak Dhalang respectively mentioned the Guwa Selamangleng (a cave in the side of the hill of Klothok, to the west of the town of Kediri) and a number of mythical personages venerated there, one of whom played a very special part in the performances, as we shall see . Guwa Selamangleng, in Poensen's (1866:35) words 'a cave approxi.J;nately three paa/19 from Kediri', is a popular , place of pilgrimage, like Pamenang Jayabaya, though less famous. 20 At the time of my stay especially the local people regularly placed offerings here. Two of the sculptures in this place figure in Samboyo Putro 's horse dance legend, namely that known as Putri Kediri (literally 'Daughter of Kediri'), 21 alias Dewi Kilisuci (out actually representing a man), and that of the head of an ogre known as Kyai Buta: Locaya. The latter is in the form of the head of a crO'wned dragon car ved in the rock to the left of the entrance. 22 The carving represents the mythical founder of Daha (the original name for Kediri ; Van den Broek 1902:2, 5-6) and is worshipped as the abode of the dhanyang of Kediri . Flower offerings are regularly placed on its crown. 23

18 Inggris ' article likewise points out that, though there is a close correspondence between this 'horse dance legend' and the so-called Babad Man gir ('Hi story of Mangi r '), the ep isode of the perlmmance of a horse dance troupe is not found in the legend (Inggris 1923:105; Babad Mangir 1980:Canto XX, Pangkur 115-6). l? A ppro xim ately 4500 _121etres;_see _n ote 12,. Ch apt e r VJ. 20 Acco rd ing to the E11cyclop,1edie vn 11Nederlnndsch-lndie (1918, Il:293) it is a se ries of man -r.1ade caves visited pa rticularl y by Chinese p ilg rims, for who m a Chin ese altar h as been e rected. At th e time Qf m y resea rch, sticks of Chi nese incense we re in fact still freque ntl y bu rnt in front o f the sta tu e of Putri Ke
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Kya i Buta Loca ya in the Guwa Selamang leng, Ked iri. Photogr aph by Marijke Klokke .

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Thestory of Dewi Sanggalangitaccordingto Pak Samboyo The Putri Kediri, Dewi Sanggalangit, alias Dewi Sekartaji , the pretty daughter of Lembu Amiluhur (Lembu Amisena in the chanted version), king of Ngurawan (Kediri) , is urged by her father to hold a sayembara(contest to choose a bridegroom from among a number of suitors). 24 Although she has little inclination for a marriage, as she knows she is barren (kedhz),25 she does not dare oppose her father's wishes. Therefore she has an ani,ouncement made that she will marry the man who comes to her without touching the ground. Of the numerous participants in the contest, twc eventually remain: Kiana Sewandana (alias Toh Bagus) and Singabarong . Kiana Sewandana, a knight errant from Ponorogo, is really in search of his father. Arriving in the village of Campurdarat (in Tulungagung), he hears about the Princess of Kediri's bride choice and decides to try his luck . He also hopes to find his father among the crowds in Kediri. To meet the condition set by the princess, he travels on horseback together with his patih (chief minister) Bujanganom ·(a variant of Pujangga-Anom) and four soldiers. His rival, Singabarong, is the first to arrive . He has had a tunnel dug from the southern ocean by his patih, the supernaturally endowed wild boar Kala Srenggi, and, to the princess' great alarm , ·surfaces right before her feet. Because he has met her condition, she cannot reject him and so promises to marry him . Before she is ready to do so, however, he is to withdraw with his men to the west bank of the River Brantas. He may not return to town until all the preparations for the wedding have been made. Si..rigabarong departs and pitches camp near the cave Selamangleng . Barely has King Singabarong left, when Kiana Sewandana and his men, all mounted on horseback, come to pay their respects to the princess. She also promises Kiana that she will marry him, provided he fulfil another condition imposed by her. This is that he first defeat the monster dwelling near the Guwa Selamangleng and threatening the peace of Kediri . Kiana Sewandana complies with her request and goes with his men to do battle with Singabarong . They do not appear to be equal to their adversary's supernatural powers , howe ve r. Bujanganom thereupon decides to go and meditate in the Guwa Selamangleng for a while and ask the 'Spirit of Selamangleng ' for help. When the fighting flares up again, he succeeds in cutting off Singabarong 's head, which is then stuck to the cliff as a reminder of the great battle. There it is stili to be seen tod ay. Kiana Sewandana finally defeats Kala Srenggi . When he return s to the palace to recei ve his reward , he discovers that the princ ess has m eanw hil e disappeared thr ou gh th e tunnel excavated by Kala Srenggi, h owever. Her father subsequei: .tly has an announcement made that he will marry his daughter to the man who restores her to him. 26

Pak Samboyo concluded his story with the statement that , although the tale is much longer, the rest was not relevant to Samboyo Putro, so that he wo uld end it here . 24

In actual fac t this is a compe tition with th e princess' h and as prize. Acco rd ing to Pak Samboyo , Kediri owes its n ame to this fact - a good exa mpl e of folk ety mology. See also Van den Broe!< 1902:27. 26 Tape -recorded interview, Kediri , Augus t 1985. 25

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Comments

When we compare this version or the horse dance legend with what already know about Samboyo Putro's performances, we immediately noti that the legend can only be regarded as a very partial key to the characte figuring in these performances . The princess of Kediri, Dewi Sanggalan and her father, Lembu Amiluhur (alias Lembu Amisena), play no part in performances. Conversely, Singakumbang and his companions - Kethek , Macan, who, as we shall see in the next chapter, account for an entire act the performances - do not occur in the legend. It is also worth noting that the roles of Klana Sewandana and his pa appear to have become interchanged . King Klana Sewandana joins b~ with the patih of the other side, while his patih, Bujanganom, overcomes · Singabarong_ _'.\fith the aid of the 'Spirit of Selamangleng', not further id . fied by Pak Samboyo. If by this 'Spirit of Selamangleng' Pak Samboyo m _ the mythical guardian of Kediri, Kyai Daha or Kyai Buta Locaya - w seems to be the only plausible interpretation in this context - we more have a contradiction here. For on the one hand this mythical figure d indeed feature as protector of Kediri, and hence of the princess, by defea · the unwelcome suitor, Singabarong, as Bujanganom . But on the other h precisely this luckless lover is identified with this selfsame mythical guardi of Kediri. It is after all Singabarong's petrified severed head that is revered _t this day as the abode of that protector. Hence this version of the legend is full of internal contradictions, w ' are partly attributable to Pak Samboyo's less than perfect knowledge of Javanese literary tradition . He offered his apologies for this at the be · of our interview by reminding me that he was only a simple policeman. His reason for relating the legend to me was not that he wanted to me an explanatiorr for the origin of horse dances or for the characters appe • ing in Samboyo Putro's performances; but that he wished to show that these performances are based on the Javanese (literary) tradition . Thanks to Pak Dhalang , who had introduced the literary aspect in the performances, t.1iistraditional dram atic genre in Pak Samboyo's view had_been lifted to a level above thai: of a simple (kasnr) folk entertainme nt and corresponding more to that of the wayang tradition. This was his way of contributing to the preser ~ vation of th e Javanese tradition, which after all was also held in high esteem. in th e West, (winking at me) as witness m y presence. By conforming with contemporary trends, and so giving his performances an aura of progressivec ness (kemajuan), he hoped he would be able to make especially young people familiar with and enthusiastic about the much-praised Javanese heritage, so that it would not be lost. Pak Dhalang, who had also listened to Pak Samboyo's exposition, a few

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days later spontaneously ~rought up the subject again, to add a few more details, as he put it. His version of the legend was as follows .

. , Thestory of Dewi Sanggalangitaccordingto Pak Dhalang Although Toh Bagus (alias Klana Sewandana), the knight from Ponorogo, is really the principal character in the legend, the leading part is not actually played by him but _by his supernaturally highly gifted patih, Pujangga-Anom . Prince Toh Bagus is merely the person in authority on whose orders other characters act, but otherwise he remains in the background . On their way to Kediri to take part in the bridal choice contest they come to grips with Singakumbang's army in the forest of Roban - an episode Pak Samboyo omitted to mention. Singakumbang, a ruler from overseas (bantarangin), like Toh Bagus is on his way to Kediri to participate in the sayembara. He tries to waylay Toh Bagus and his followers, but after some bitter fighting Pujangga-Anom succeeds in defeating him . Toh Bagus and his men continue on their way . At the entry to Kediri their way is blocked again, this time by Singabarong, the magically gifted guardian of Kediri. He owes his special powers to the spirit of Buta Locaya, which has entered him to protect Kediri against unwanted strangers . Singabarong refuses Toh Bagus admission to the palace because he is not a suit~ble candidate for marriage with a princess of Kediri, as is obvious even from his coarse appearance. There is more fierce fighting. When Pujangga-Anom after many exertions is finally vic:tori0us, Toh Bagus is able at last to pay his respects to King Lembu Amisena. But then all their efforts appear to have been in vain, as the princess has vanished. Her father makes a vow (kaul) now to give her in marriage to the man who shall return her to him. 27

Comments By pointing to Toh Bagus' encounter with Singakumbang prior to that with Singabarong, Pak Dhalang brought the legend into line with the reality of Sarnboyo Putro's performances. At both encounters the baronghere again is defeated by Pujangga-Anom . The latter two are in fact the ac tual protagonists of the drama . From Pak Dhal ang's version Singabarong 's identity moreo ver becomes clearer. He is exp licitly identified wi th Kyai Buta Locaya , alias Kyai Daha , th e guardian spiri t and , according to tr 2di tion , m ythical founder of Kediri. 28 In other words, he is th e dhnnynng to w hom Samboyo Putro dedicated it5 performance s in its opening rituc1L 27

Personal commu nic ation, KPc\ir i, August 1985. Van de.i Broek 1902:5. Poe n sen (18M:234-5) informs us that towns a,1c!cities have no dhang dedemit ('spirit king '), and that that of Kecliri was named Si Koreq. Elsewhere ya11gbut a rat1111i,; Buta Locaya is represented as baureksa kadhiri ('gu ardian spiri t of Kediri ') (Kid11nga11;angkep n.d. :81), and hence no d istinction is m ade betw een the supernatural guardians of the town or city and of th e reg ion. A Si Korek is m enti oned as the lelembut i11gPa11 araga ('spirit of Ponorogo'} , moreover (Kid1111ga11 purwajati 1966:19). 28

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The entrance of Singabarong, invariably at the end of the performance, is regarded by many as the climax of the show. People can tell by the way he comes on and by the duration and intensity of his performance if he is satisfied with the entertainment dedicated to him , has accepted the offerings, and is prepared to bless those present. Although the identity of the dha_nyang manifesting itself in the barong sometimes remains rather vague, as we sa_ above, people are unanimous about his true nature. By whatever name n is known locally, he is always identified with the protector of the particula region in which the performance happens to take place. Whether he is kno _ as 'Dhanyang Mojoroto', 'Kyai Buta Locaya', 'Kyai Daha', or by whateve , other local name or names is irrelevant. The identity of the conqueror of the barong appears to be different in ea ,. version of the legend . He is called now Kyai Gunaresa, represented as hermit who brings his great magic authority to bear (Staugaard), now Parij" the prince of Jenggala who succeeds in subduing his non-human advers _· ies (Inggris), or Toh Bagus, who has the barong pacified with gamelan musi (Hatjono), or Bujanganom/Pujangga-Anom (Pak Samboyo/Pak Dhalang · who defeats one or both of the barong. How the struggle between the two protagonists is portrayed in the petr fonnances is not indicated in the different legends. In Samboyo Putro's pen formances the course of the combat remained vague . Although Pak Dhalang emphatically pushed Pujangga-Anom to the fore as the barong's assailant, ,._ behaviour hardly differed from that of Toh Bagus . It is true that the latter kept mostly aloof during thf: fighting, but Pujangga-Anom's role could scarcelyj be said to be heroic either. In the performances, in contrast to the legen the barong, or the dhanyang, was defeated not by Pujangga-Anom, himself actor in the drama, but by the gambuh. Enactment of the legend, as we shall see, played only a minor role in the performances.

The symbolism of the barong In the versions of the legend discussed above, the /wrong (like the other ani mal monsters) invariabi y appeared to be v,mrsted . According to Pak Samboyo's variant he was killed, in the other versions he was only subdued and forced to admit hi s opp onent 's superio rit y. Tn Harjono 's and ln gg ris' va riant s he was moreover made one of his victor's followers. The barong"sdefeat seems to be at va riance with his role as local tutelary spi rit and, in the performance, as eagerly awaited guest. H is role is in fact polyvalent. Th.e dhanyang, th ough having a beneficial i:::1fluen ce, is first and foremost the representative of the realm of the dead (Van Hien 1933:249):

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The Dhanjang is the source of all blessings, all good fortune enjoyed by the desa, though not seldom also @f the trials and tribulations which it endures , and which are then regarded as so man y signs of the spirit 's dissati sfaction and displeasure , when remissness in his w orship on the part of the inhabitants of his desa has aroused his anger .

His arrival in the midst of the community of the living leads to a blurring of the dividing-line between the two worlds . This is given expression by the trance , the state in which the dancers as it were balance on the boundary between · both worlds . As we saw above, the performers believe that this state, in which they are touched by a spirit from the beyond, is not without danger .. They are conv~ced that thE;~e is a real risk of the trance dancer's being pulled across the .boundary for .good . I would only remind the reader here of ·the many stories circulating among the members of Samboyo Putro (and other groups) about acts of revenge on the part of the spirits . Although people looR-forward in ·nervous anticipation to the arrival of the dhanyang, and his appearance is the highlight of the entertainment, his presence is not supposed to get out of hand. When the proper moment arrives, he must be prepared to return to his usual abode, so that the two worlds, that of the living and that of the dead, of men and of the ancestors, may be clearly demarcated once more. Pigeaud , in his chapter 'Algemene beschouwingen van het mommenspel' ('General observations on mummeries'), gives an explanation of the role of the barong in classificatory terms. He points out, for instance, that with respect to the monster disguise or barong, sometimes along with the 'dhanyang and similar spirits', the view is occasionally taken in the 'old Javanese way of thinking' that the barong is really indispensable and 'that the onl y thing one can do is to try and subdue it' (Pigeaud 1938:434). Considering _the dhanyang 's beneficial aspect , this conclusion seems to me to be formul~t ¥. slightl y too vaguel y. The sole object of the fight w ith the barong or dhtinygng is that hi s opponent ma y assert hi s own superiority in order to ensur e that the positi ve p ower s of the barong or th e dhany ang w ill act for the benefit of the communit y, while at th e sa •· e tim e his nega tive powe rs will be neu tralized . The crux of th e st ,:uggle is a · 5ht betwee n th e magic powe rs of the tw_o_aciversa ries, wh;ch nrnst eve ntuai ly be· decided in favour of the living. This became most clearly apparent in the legend , in par ticul ar in Staugaard 's and H arjono's version s. In the former the mag ic authority of the hermit Gunaresa pre vailed, and in the latte r th at of Toh Bagus. In the perfo rma nces, as we saw above, th e role of 'charmer' of the barong is in variab ly reserved to the gambulz.

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The significanceof the legend for the horse dance The significance of the horse dance legend is twofold. In the first place lends the genre a certain measure of legitimacy. In the second place it refe to a deeper level of meaning which the horse dance has possessed for community by tradition. The Panji legend is part of the universally respected Javanese traditi) It is represented not only in literature but also in a range of dramatic g res, such :'.~mask plays (topeng dhalang),puppet plays (wayang gedhog), kethoprak- genres that are associated with the royal court, either as a re_ of being incorporated in the court culture (topeng and wayang) or be sa . the stories e1.acted concern figures of royal descent (kethoprak).By linking horse dance -·._1i th the Panji legend, the genre was as it were lifted to a le above that of 'uncultured' folk entertainment and associated, be it only bolically, with the official (court) culture . More importantly, however, the horse dance legend symbolically expl · more explicitly in one variant than in another, the true significance of ho dance performances. The primary point of these performances is, as we h~ seen, communication with the dhanyang, who in the form of the Singabaro symbolizes the spiritual protector of the community . To him society owes physical and moral existence . It is this deeper meaning, the generative powe inht?rent in the legend that is acted out in the horse dances . How this was accomplished in Samboyo Putro's performances will be described in the ne chapters .

I Part Three

Theme and variations The performance in Pulihrejo

' CHAPTER

VIII

Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo Introduction To round off my discussion of the dramatic genre of the jaranan in East Java, I shall return once more to Pulihrejo. In the prelude to this book a description was given of the preparations for a performance by Samboyo Putro both in Pulihrejo, the venue for the performance, and in Bandar-lor, the group's home base . In the following chapters a description will be given of the performance itself. Three aspects to be discussed here in particular are the verbal aspect, the fo:::mal opening dances, and the element of play. To enable the reader to place the different episodes in the performance as a whole, I shall first give an outline of the struchire of the performance.

The structure of the performance Samboyo Putro's performances varied from show to show . Aside from the unpredictable course of the trance, this had to do with, among other things , the wishes of the host, the nature and time of the entertainment (day or n ight), and the condition of the per formance area. A complete da y or n ight performance lasted on average eight to nine hours. It comprised five acts, each nam ed after the leadin g characler( s) in it, namely jaranan nem (jaranan, 'horsema n '; nem, derived from enem, 'six'), jaranan pat (from papat, ' fo_ur'), jarana11ro (from Iara,' two'), kucingan ('cat -like animal') , and bnro11g.1n-celengn11 ('monste r-boar '). That is to say, th ese five acts feat ur ed six, four and two horse dancers, the kucingnn Singakumban g, and th e bnrongnn Singabarong accom panied by the wild boar Kala Srenggi, referred to in the text 35 celeng gembel. According to Pak Dh alan g onl y th e jaranan pat, kucingan and barongall were an integral part of the core of the performanc e. The jaranan nem, jaranan ro and barongan-celengan had been added later, he sai d , in orde r to expan d Sambo yo Putro's performances into even ts filling a who le d ay or night . The spec tat ors wo uld be disappointed if th e pe rformanc e er1ded too soon.

Jaranan

188

Each act, in tum, was made up of two parts, namely a rigorously directe opening dance foll;wed by an often chaotic trance phase. This second phase which included the dramatic improvisations initiated by the two gambuh invariably took up the greater part of the relevant act. In the performanc in Pulihrejo, which starte 'd at 7.26 p.m., immediately following the openm ritual, and ended at 4.24 a.m . the next day - and hence lasted 8 hours, 58 min utes - the total duration of the first, fonnal part of all five acts combined 2 hours, 50 minutes (for the dance), over against 5 hours, 49 minutes (for th trance including dramatic improvisations) for the second, improvising part.

w

Table 3. Duration of the dance and the trance plus improvisations in the performan Act

1 jaranan nem 2 jaranan pat 3 jaranan ro 4 kuci11gan 5 barongan-celengan

Total

Dun ·,,:,n of the dance

Duration of the trance plus improvisation

of act

30 minutes 38 minutes 29 minutes 27 minutes 46 minutes

40 minutes 122 minutes 67 minutes 59 minutes 61 minutes

70 minutes ,. 160 minutes , . 96 minutes : 86 minutes 107 minutes

170 minutes

349 minutes

519 minutes

The remammg nineteen minutes were spread over four intermissions between the different acts, when the performers retired to get changed and take a breather . During these interludes Pak Dhalang and Bu Swarawati often sang a medley of popular songs to entertain the audience and prevent its being disappointed and le,wing early - the risk of which seemed to be present all the time, considering Pak Dhalang's repeated admonitions.

The role played by Pak Dhalang I tape-recorded the performanc 2 in Pulihrejo in its entirety . Because I was interested first an d foremost in Pak Dh alang's role , an d I onl y had one mi croph one at m y disposal, the ve rb al contributio ns of the musicians, in cluding Bu Swa ra wat i, are of ten diff icult to und ers tand in thi s reco rdin g. These can therefore onl y be considered sporadically in the discussion. Pak Dhalan g had the responsibility for the greater pa.rt of the spoken and chanted contributions , frequently in consultation with one or other of the mc.1sicians. His 'conducting' consisted chiefly in intonation of th e songs and chants, which we re then sometimes taken over or backed by Bu Swa rawati and /o r other members of the group. He also often suggested particular songs

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbalcontribution in Pulihrejo

189

Pak Dhalang . Phot og raph by author.

or melodies at points w h ere there was confusi on abo ut thi s among th e mu sicians as a result of conflicting reqUE·sts from the dancers. Pak Dhal,mg 's aEd BE Swara• .-vati's singing was re3ularl y backed b y chornl singing (gernngan), exclamations (senggakan) and clapping (keplnkan) by the musicians, which greatly enhanced the live liness of the performance . The ve rbal contributions consisted both of texts explainin g or commentin g on the action or introducing the actors, and of so ng s and communicati ons

I

190

Jaranan

intended primarily to create the right mood. Texts of the first type, cons ing by far the smallest minority, formed part of Pak Ohalang's regula r"r toire. For his incidental verbal contributions he let himself be inspired B situation of the moment, as he himself said. In these he continuall y re to the w ishes of the dancers, the musicians, or the audience and, last bu_ least, the host. For, besides being conductor of the musicians, Pak On also acted as master of ceremonies in Pulihrejo. . The lyrics of the regular and incidental songs rendered by Pak Oh and Bu Swarawati were jotted down in a handbook (pakem) consistirig number of exercise books. This handbook was continually supplem with the lyrics of new songs that became popular at a given moment be·: they featured in some popular radio or television programme, movi w ayang or kethoprak performance. · I shall now discuss three types of text in succession, namely texts pe . ing to the course-of the performance and containing references to the leg other chants and songs, and announcements and speeches by Pak Dhalatt his capacity as master of ceremonies of the evening.

The presentation of the legend The texts from this category that I came across served to announce a new to introduce the dancers, to comment on the dancing, or to encourage ·· fighting . As a rule they were brief and in prose . The h-vo exceptions to which I noted were the song about the bridal choice of the princess of Ke . and that about Kiana Sewandana a.TldPujangga-Anom, both of them Rr sented in act four (kucingan). The first of these tv.•o songs was sung in Javanese ver se (tembang macapat) in the 'small' metre Ohandhanggula, the second fuafree melod y not bound by any p articular metre . The lyrics of these tw o songs · were noted do wn in Pak Ohalang's and Bu Sw ara w ati's handbooks . The other texts in th is group we re reproduced from mem ory, be it in fairly stere oty ped wor din g, by Pak Dha lang. Becau se at th e pe rformance in Pu lihr ejo Pak Oh alang only turned up in the middle of act one (jarana11nem), the customary introduction to this act ,,\ ·as omit ted. Although Pak Slomp ret, assisted by Bu Swa rawati, stood in for him temporaril y, th ey did not once refer to th e legend. It was not until the . d ance rs had reti red to the makesh ift d ressing roo m in the first interval that Pak Oh alang, wh o had meanwhi le arrived, explained the p lot of the lege nd. Although h e did no t do so in th e for::n of a song, he did use prac tically the same wo rdi ng as in the chant ed version di scu sse d above. Imm edia tely following th is he ann oun ced th e arriva l of th e fou r h orsemen, as follows:

VIII Pak Dhalang 's verbal contribut ion in Pulihrejo

191

Menika cariyos ipu n mekaten. Mangke adegan ingka ng angka kalih menika medal kuda kepang sekawan minangka prajurit Ian badhe nglebeti patembaya. Njih menika ngasta kuda kepang menika anggambaraken duking nguni. (008) 1

'The story runs thu s. Presently, in act two, four kuda kepang will enter. They represent soldiers and will take part [as their master 's attendants] in the bridal choice contest. Indeed , those holding bamboo horses in their hands depict how things were in the past.' While Pak Gambuh Dhalang encouraged

summoned the four horse dancers one by one, Pak them with cries like:

Paraga Sambaya Putraaa! . Kalisaa ing samb ekala. (010)

'Sani.boyo Putro! May you be free from misfortune.' As soon as the horsemen had taken up their positions opposite the gamelan, but on the other side of the performance area, Pak Dhalang once again announced the second act , followed by a prayer . Thereupon he gave the four horsemen a signal to start dancing, saying: Para tamtama magita-gita lumeksana baris; Paraga Sambaya Putmaa! Siyagaaa! (011) 'The soldiers

excitedl y go and stand in line. Sambo y o Putro! Attention! '

(Literally: 'Prepare yourselves!') While the horsemen were dancing their set routines , Pak Dhalang sang all kinds of songs that bore no relation whatever to the legend or to what was going on in the perform ance area, both together and alternately with Bu Swarawati. The horsemen , accompanying themsel ves with loud whip cracks and tinkling anklets, meanwhile went on dancing imperturbably. Just before the first hor se man went into a trance , Pak Dhalang asked the following rhetori cal question: Sinten tu ingkang nitih kuda kepang sekawan menika?

'Who are the pers ons ridin 8 these

four

bamboo horses?'

To which he himself imm ediately replied: Para prajurit utawi tam lama ingkm zg badlze nglebeti pat embaya ing kitha Kedhiri, saperlu dherekake11Pangeran Toh Bagu s kinanthe11 Patih Pujangga -Anom ingkang ngrasuk busan:ming kapm.juri tan ingknng ngasta pu sakaning pecu t Kyai Samr.udiman . Lampahnya para tamtama ga liyak-gali y ak kados gajah ke/nngnn srati. (018)

Th e numbers between round brackets refer to th e recorded sequence in the Appendix.

192

Jaranan

' It is the soldier s, or raother the arm y, on th e way to the tow n of Kediri to take part in the bridal choice contest. The y ha ve to escort Prince Toh Bagus and his pat ih, Pujang ga -Anom , attired in battledress and holding the sacred whip Kyai Sam andi m an in th eir hand s. 1)1e soldiers are ad vancing slo w ly but steadily, like elephants that ha ve Jost their mahout.'

Only at this point in the story does it become apparent that the soldiers are , escorting their master, Toh Bagus, to Kediri - a detail I have alread y added between square brackets in the translation al:-~ve. This is just one example of . the wa y in which Pak Dhalang unfolded the plot bit by bit, by adding sup- . plementary information each time he was referring to the legend. · From the time the first of the four horsemer. went into a trance, not long after this last statement , the legend was ignorE ~. The remainder of the verbal contribution to this second act consisted of announcements and popular ; songs , which will be discussed in the next section . The two horsemen entering for act three after another short interval were ' · announced as follows by Pak Dhalang: Para rawuh ingkang minulya menika badhe medal ingkang angka tiga minangka senapatin ing praja. (022)

' Hon ou re d gu es ts, the persons about to ent er for [act] number three represent the · commanders-in-chief of the realm .'

After the two horsemen had gone through their regular patterns for a while, , Pak Dhalang introduced them once again . He added a few comments , however, w hich referred not so much to the performance as to the local situation, • and as such wer e obviousl y appreciated by the audience. Para rawu h ingkang m in uly a kud c. kepang kalih men ika angg ambaraken senapatining praja ingkang badhc mriksa n i ing babalam wewa ng unan menapa kemawon kadosta ka/a wau saking Bandar sowan dhateng Pu lihreja, griya -griy a samp un sae, neon-neon samp un padhang njingglang, andame l reseping para kadang mi tra sami . Tamtama magi ta-gita lumaksana haris. Paraga Sambaya Pu traaa! Siyagaaa! (023)

'Ho no ur ed gues ts, th e two kuda kepang represent the two commande rs-in-chief of th e realm int en din g to inspec t th e new ly recl aim ed are as and buildings , or whate ver. H avi ng just come from Bandar for a visit to Pulihrejo, [they see] that the houses are fine an d th e neon lights are shming brightly, wh ich is causing relati ves and friends all to be pleased . The sold iers excitectly go and stand in line. Samboyo Pu trol Attenti on!'

As th e da n ce of the two com mande rs-in-chief grew wilde r an d w ilder, Pak Dhalang sang a med ley of p op ul ar tun es, only sp ora dically int errupted by a brief comme nt o:i wha t was taking pl ace in th e p erform an ce area, as in the following example, in which he involved the game lan as we ll:

I VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo

193

Sinten ta! Para tamtama kalih menika anggambaraken senapatining praja ingkang ngrasuk busananing kaprnjuritan, nitih kuda, ngasta pusakaning pecut Kyai Samandiman. Binarung /aras ing pradangga,kempul kendhang trompet munya, surak-surakpara niyaga gumuruh ambata rubuh. Lampahnya para senapati galiyak-galiyak kados gajah kelangan srati. (026)

'Whoever can it be! The two soldiers represent the commanders-in-chief of the realm; attired in battledress, they are mounted on horseback , holding the sacred whip Kyai Samandiman in their hands . The garnelan is harmoniously joining in. Kempul, kendhang, slompret, let's hear you . Let the cheers of the musicians sound like the rumbling of tumbling bricks. The commanders-in-chief are advancing slowly but steadily, like elephants that have lost their mahout .' Pak Slompret reacted with a few bars on his instrument, concluded with the words:

whereat Pak Dhalang

Para senapati mriksani para tamtama ingkang wajib wonten ing palagan. Swantenipun pecut Kyai Samandiman amecahnaing langit. Hooo! (026)

'The commanders-in-chief are reviewing the troops, who are performing their duty on the battleground . The whip Kyai Samandiman sounds as if it is causing the heavens to split. Whoa!' Of the many songs, comments and announcements in act three , these were the only fragments to refer to the legend or to the dancers . When during the trance phase a few members of the company , assisted by several children from the audience , performed a wayang play (027), Pak Dhalang joined in with total abandon from the sidelines, backed loudly by the musicians and the enthusiastic crowd. At the end of this play he picked up the thread of the performance again . Until the dancers were brought to from their trance , he sang a variety of popular songs agab , regularly backed by Bu Swarawati and occasional choral singing by the musicians . In the brief interval following this third act, Pak Dhalang left the gamelan with a few of the musicians to have a meal that had meanwhile been put ready for the performers in the dressing room. The other musicians and Bu Swarawati kept the performance goirig by singing and pla ying all kinds of hmes, some of th em in reaction to suggestions from th e audience. As soon as Pak Dhalang returned to the game lan , h e re sumed his role as d irec tor and announced act four wit h th e wo rd s: Para rawuh iilgkang minulya adegan salajengipun rnenika mcdahpun Pangcran Toh Bagus kinanthen Patih Pujangga-Anom. Menika ingkang badhe ngayahi wajib won/en ing palagan, saperlu nglebeti patembaya, dipun,;eiingi ia:.:p-laupkridha jiwa. (030)

'H0noured guests, this is the next act. Enter Princ e Toh Bagus who, 2ccompanied by Patih Pujangga-Anom, will do his duty in battle , with the intention of taking part in the bridal choice contest. [Their en try] is interspersed with cheers.'

194

Jaranan

Pak Dhala1;g then gav~ the musicians the signal to start playing and sang a five-stanza song in the Dhandhanggula metre , the last two stanzas of which contained the history from the legend as reproduced above . Because the
This was the sign (sasmita) for the musicians to start playing the melody for the opening dance of act four. The piercing tones of the slompret, whi · . sounded shrilly above the rest of the orchestra, immediately created an excited mood. With loud cracks of his big whip Kyai Samandiman, Pak Samboyo now summoned Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom to come on . Standing facing one another, they straightaway started dancing, encouraged at short intervals by Pak Dhalang with cries like: Pangeran Toh Bagus ingkang badhe ngayahi wajib, tindak dhateng kitha Kadhiri, prang tandhingipun kaliyan Patih Singakumbang. (034) 'Prince Toh Bagus , who will do his duty. He is on his way to the town of Kedin [for] his duel with Patih Singakurnbang.'

As the action progressed, Pak Dhalang sang about horses gasping for breafrl and Pujangga-.1\nom dancing the kiprah. This song was irnmediately followed by the song 'Klana Sewandana', about the fight behveen the hero Klana Sewandana (alias Toh Bagus) and his chief minister Pujangga Anom on the one hand , and Singakumbang on the other , which was sung in a free metre . A few lines we re also de vo ted to a more domestic kind of scene, however, while reference was made as we ll to a number of gamelan instruments. 0

Kiana Sewandana mja mll(/ha ing Panaraga, siyaga ing yuda nglawan ra/11mi singa.

'Ki ana Sewandana , th e viceroy of Pono rcg o, rea d y for battl e [and) offerin g res istan ce to the lion-fac ed ru k r.

Ngasta pusakanir.g pecut Kyai Samandiman, pcrange sangsaya rame kekarone padha sektine.

In his ha,1d he h olds the sacred whip Kyai Sarnandirnan; the fighting is b eco ming fiercer and fiercer, the twc are equal in magic power.

Pujangga-Ano m nglawan pepatihe

Pujangga-Anom

fights wi th th e patih

VIII Pak Dhalan g's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo

195

ratu rai singa . Swaraning pecut Samantiiman mecahna ing angkasa.

of the lion-faced ruler . The sound of the whip Samandiman as it were causes the heavens to split.

Biyung rina wengi tansah uyang-uyung , nggendhong aku nganti aku bisa lumaku .

Da y and night Mother trudges around and around, carrying me on her hip till I am able to walk.

Ayo kanca padha bekti maring yayah rena.

Come, friends, pay respect to father and mother .

Binarung larase pradangga kempul kendhang trompet munya. Surak-surak para niyaga gumuruh ambata rubuh.

Sound the kempul, kendhang and slompret in tune with the gamelan. The cheers of the musicians [sound like] the rumbling of tumbling bricks.

Ya suraka-surak hare! !ya! Ya suraka-surak hare! (035)

Let us cheer, hurray! Let us cheer, hurray! '

After that the kucingan Singakumbang entered. The remainder of the songs bore no relation whatever either to the legend or to what was going on in the performance area. Toh Bagus' and Pujangga-Anom's dance, which began as a series of hand-to-hand fights, soon degenerated into a wild chase, in which now Singakumbang, now one of the two knights was the challenger . They were encouraged by Pak Dhalang with shouts like : Pang eran Toh Bagus kinanthen Patih Pujangga-Anom wajib ngayahi , wajib wonten ing palagan . Prang tandh ing kaliyan Patih Singabarong katungka galiyak sato galak. (036)

' Prince Toh Bagus, accomp an ied by Patih Pujangga-Anom, does his duty, his duty on the battlefield. He has a duel with Patih Singabar ong , with the slowl y and steadily approaching dangerous animals at his heels .'

After a w hil e, whe n the action in the performance wilde r, he added:

area became increasingly

Prar.gipun Pntih Pujangga -An o,n kaliyan Singakwnbang anggegirisi, katungka sato galnk sadulur knliynn ,unnara. (037)

' Patih Pujangga -An om's fight with Singakumba ng is terrif y ing. Th ey are soo n follow ed by the dangerous animals, brother [Macan] and monkey [Keth ek ].'

When Singakumbang even tu ally went into a tr ance and fell to the ground, Pak Dhalan g made th e following announcement: Prang tandhi ng Pangeran Toh Bagus kaliyan Pujangga-Anom. Lampahnya Patih Singa kumbang sampun nglunasi , kat ungka lampah nya sadulur kaliyan wanara. (038)

196

Jaranan

'Prince Toh Bagus ' and Pujangga-Anom's duel. Patih Singakumbang is soon followed by brother [Macan] and monkey [Kethek] .'

has died .

A little after this, Singal
The remainder of this act consisted of acrobatics and ofteH comical anti : the two knights and the sato galak Kethek and Macan. The latter had me while reappeared without his mask. His 'death' apparently symbolized being 'dead' to the world, or really in trance, in the same way as Kethek, had likewise lost his mask. In the interval following this fourth act, Pak Dhalang announced act five with the words : Para rawuh ingkang minulya, ingkang nitih kudn menika anggambaraken babaring tandhing kaliyan Singabarong. Kadospundi babaring cariyos. Para tamtama magitalumaksana baiis. Paraga Sambaya Putraaa! Siyagaaa! (040) 'Honoured guest s, those mounted on horseback depict the course of the duel. Singabarong. How will the story unfold? The soldiers excitedly go and stan line . Samboyo Putro! Attentio .n!'

At that same moment Toh Bagus entered and summoned on the six horsem one by one with cracks of his big whip. Pak Dhalang once more sang a med ley of popular songs in accompaniment of the dancers . At a given moment he interrupted his musical contribution with the announcement: Para tamtama ingkang ngrasuk busananing kaprajuritan, ingkang nitih kuda ngasta pusakaning pen d Kyai Sam:111diman, ingkr.ng badhe siyaga ing yuda prang tandhing kaliyan Si11gabarong.S,enraning pent/ Kya; Samandi111anamecahna ing angkasa. Lampahnya para tamtama gr.liyak-galiyak kaciosgajah ngo!ing. (042) 'The sol dier s, attired in battledress, mounted on horseback, and holding th e sacred whip Kyai Samand iman in their hands , are preparing for battle , a duei wi th Singabarong . The sound of th e sac red w hip Kyai Samandiman is as it we re causing th e heavens to split. The soldiers are slow ly lumbering alon g, shifting the ir weight from one foo t to the other like elepha nts.'

Pak Slomp ret imm ediatel y joined in, but was almos t straightawa y in ter rupt-

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo ,j ed by -~ came \ fights · ;L again like:

197

Pak Dhalang , who started singing the song for Singabarong as the latter on dancing. His da~ce soon lapsed into a succession of hand-to-hand between him and one horseman after the other, however. Pak Dhalang did his bit here , alternating his roaring and hissing with exclamations

r

Singabarongkatitihaken pecut. 'Sing?hi'.rong is made to mount the whip .'

And: Pra,ng tandhingipun Singabarong kaliyan para prajurit. Swaraning pecut Kyai Sanz.andir , ''1 amecahnaing angkasa. (044) 'The duel between Singabarong and the soldiers. The sound of the sacred whip Kyai Samandiman is as it were causing the heavens to split.'

Meanwhile the wild boar had also entered. Because of the enormous din in the gamelan as well as in the performance area and in the audience, Pak Dhalang's comments here were very hard to hear. Celeng gembel katindakakengembel subekti. MP.da/ipunceler.ggembel menika minangka purnuning pasugatan. Kados pundi prang tandhingipun para tamtama kaliyan cc/eng gembel? (045) · 'The celeng g~mbel appears as r.1 wild boar bearing respect. The entrance of this celenggembe/ is meant to render the reception of the guests complete . How will the duels of the soldiers with ce/enggembel proceed?'

As Pak Dhalang uttered these words, he switched off the microphone, inti mating that his task was accomplished . He left the gamelan to await the end of the performance in the _dr essing room . The play was still in full swing, however, and would continue for almost another ho .1r.The remainder of the time was mostl y filled in w ith all kinds of games to be discussed later. 1

Comments

It is evidenr from th e above h ow loose th e connectio n betw ee n the leg end and the action in the p erformance area really was. Not only w as nothing but a bare outline of the legend presented in the texts recited by Pak Dhalang _.but also little further elaboration of it w as given here . In addition it is apparent from th e extremel y formulaic wording of Pak Dh alang's comments and announcements th at th e story played only a very minor role in the performance. What was strikin g was th at the introdu ction of th e actor s invariabl y took

Jaranan

198

place in stages, whereby a new detail was added to the information each · Although the dance offered no clues as to what part of the legend the d¾ q were supposed to be acting, the texts did provide some information on , So we were told, for instance , that the four horsemen in the second act (ja;a pat) and the two horsemen in the third act (jaranan ro) represented Toh Ba soldiers and commanders-in-chief respectively. The obvious inference . is that the group of six horsemen in the first and fifth acts (jaranan nem barongan-celengan)represented the four soldiers and the two commander . chief together . The information about this in the texts is not decisive, as horsemen were not introduced individually in these acts . Inggris' earlier .,ci article indicates that in Jogonalan a definite distinction was made between · . roles of the various horse dancers. The two foremost of the group of six ho men there appeared to represent the commanders (Inggris 1923:104). · The actors with djaran-kipang stand in two lines side by side. The two for~ . actors play the part of commanders and carry a club or a sword. Their names usually Tatit and Mendoeng-Tatit means 'thunderless lightning', and Mend 'rain cloud' - while the four other actors hold a plume in their hands. Tatit and Mendoeng, each accompanied by two other actors on horseback, perfo a fight as they dance, in which Mendoeng is defeated.

The information concerning the performers given by Pak Dhalang served ' loose link between the various acts . His songs, comments and cries of en agement were chiefly aimed at livening up the performance. In this res these texts actually differed little from the songs to be discussed below.

17ze remaining, chanted contributions The song 'Stm puji dhateng Pangeran' ('I pray to the Lord'), which was s at the opening of every performance by Samboyo Putro and repeated endlessly in its course, gives a good idea of the type of song that was intended to create the appropriate mood. For thi s reason 1 shall reproduce the lyrics of th is song , chant ed in a free metre_.in th eir entirel y h ere . Sun puji dhate11gPa11 gern11 kada11g111i,'ra sami 111..igi kalisa ing sambeka/a anebihna ing bilai.

'I pr ay to the Lord ti 1at rela tives and frien ds ma y rem ain free from trouble and th at mi sh ap s ma y remain far.

Acelakna ing panunggil ngrungkebi kers.:injl!nj ung, budaya Jawi asli traping fatakrama.

May th at which unites come near _. [let us] em brace and foster th e auth enti c Javan ese culture in accord ance w ith go od manners .

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo

199

Para kadang mitra sami mirsani kuda kepang, Rt. pitu dunungipun Balong padhepokane.

Brothers, sisters and friends are all wa tching [the feats of] the kuda kepang from household number seven. In Balong is the house,

Bandar-lerdhusunipun budaya Jawi asli, naluri /eluhur kita ingkang sampun sampurna.

Bandar-ler is the village of authentic Javanese culture handed down from our ancestors who have passed away [literally ' are perfect'].

Bapa Sambaya pandhegane Sambaya Putra Sambaya Putra kalisa ing sambekala, mugi Gusti paring pangayoman kawula tansah ngabekti.

Father Samboyo is the head of Samboyo Putro . May Samboyo Putro remain free from trouble, may the Lord offer protection to us, who pay Him respect continually .

Mula sinaua basa rakitane gendhing Jawi, iku ngemu surasa anuntun lakuning budi.

Begin by studying polite speech and the arrangement of Javanese music, with the intention to be guided by reason.

Nadyan ta sira tan wasis wajibe kudu angrungu, sakecapwanda pada suku pelik menyang Iegena.

Though you are not really competent, you must listen to the spoken word and the form of the punctuation marks, the 'u', the 'i', up to the bare character.

Binarung larasepradangga kempul kendhang trompet munya surak-surak para niyaga gumuru h anzbatarubuh.

Harmonizing with the sound of the gamelan, the kempul, kendhang and trompetsound, the cheering oi the musidans is like the confu sed rumbling of tumbling bricks .

Ya suraka-surak hore! Ya suraka-surak hare! (001)

Yes, cheer, cheer, hurr ay! Yes, cheer, cheer, hurray! '

Pak Dhalan g's prayer for an undisturbed gathering and request for attention for authentic Javan ese .culture - by which he meant in particular the h orse dan ce, spo ken and w ritt en J;ivan ese, and ga m elan mu sic - as well as the publici ty he made for hi s ow r, compan y constituted important compo:1ents of Sa mb oyo Putro 's m essage to th e audi en ce. Thi s m essage was continuall y repea ted, in the same or a sligh tly different word in g, in both the spoken and th e cha nt ecl texts throughout the p erform ance. Its aim, according to Pak Dhal an g, was to stimulate the spec tators ' love for their cultural legacy and to impress upon th em tha t they all shar ed th e responsibility for its preser va tion . He gave th e Javane se character of the performance ex tra emphasis by sin ging numerous traditional folk songs and chant s in various Javanese m etr es (tern-

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bang macapat). Alth_ough he and Bu Swarawati also rendered old and mode Indonesian songs, at the request of the trance dancers and the audience, the· respective contributions may be regarded first and foremost as a tribute f Javanese culture . I shall give a few more examples of this below. Pak Dhalang intoned the song ' Poma-poma wekas mami ' ('My urge message'), in the 'small' Asmaradana metre, at the point where the first of · six horsemen of the first act (jaranan nem) went into trance. Poma-poma wekas mami mring anak putuku aja katungkul uripe Ian aja karem mring pepaes donya; siyang dalu den emut yen urip manggih antaka.

My urgent message to my children and grandchildren is: don 't let yourselves be totally preoccupied by '' or your minds clouded by the superficialities q the world, ; [but] be aware day and night that life ends in death.

Putra kadang kula sami sumangga ta kita samya tansah atut ing burine mring pitedah kang prayoga nuju mrih karaharjan; datan kongsi kalimput kedah kanthi kawaspadan .

Children and friends, let us ever steadily follow the wise advice aimed at (our] well-being. For one's mind not to be clouded one has to act with alertness.

Yen tindak kudu tumolih mring kanan Ian kirinira awya kongsi katalumpen iku araning waspada yen ta ana bebaya sumadya saderengipun bakal manggih karaharjan.

If one sets out on a journey, one must look aroun to right and to left take care never to forget it. It is called alertness when, if danger threatens, one is prepared . Then one will meet with good fortune.

Sampun kathah ingkang bukti sinten ta ingkang sembrana mesthi nampi ganjarane, awit menika sinedya dalan n11ruti pit ednh snking para p i11i5ep11h n11ruti karsn priy nngg a.

Many have proof [already] that those who are irresponsible are sure to receive their reward, because the y are determined not to fol)ow the advice of their elders, [but] th eir own w ishe s.

Wit kasmarnn mardi siwi timb rm g samy a darbi rasa sum ramhah andhap asor; tandang-tanduk so/ah bawan wi tira /an renga amrih datan kari 11tangku

Love start s with concer,tratio n on the younger generation, in accordance wit h one 's feelings. One 's actions must be equally di vided among high and low , so th at my d ebt will not remain ;

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo tinggal duga Ian prayoga.

act with prudence.

Prayogane wong urip kudu ngerti empan-papan mapakake ragane; anengganana kalumrahan neng jagat sesrawungan ja gage dcning patempuh mundhak samya ingewanan (006)

It is fitting that you should know your place in life and act accordingly. Abide by custom in your dealings with others do not go hasty to your goal otherwise you will give offence.

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According to Pak Dhalang, he tried with this song to soothe people:s feelings, which had become very heated as a result of the stirring music. The song 'Tumrap kawula gesang menika' ('In our view, in this life you must'), rendered in the 'small' Dhanurnmggula metre, had the same moralistic purport. Tumrap kawula gesang puniki tansah engeta mring Gustinira ingkang tansah nedahake sedaya marginipun kajujurnn kalawan ing ngerti kudu tumindak prasaja ngudia kautaman, denesrananipun datan ana pcnggalih nuju ing pamrih Ian tumindak angkura.

In our view, in this life you must be ever mindful of the Lord, Who unceasingly points out all the ways of honesty and understanding. You must be straightforward and strive after virtue . The means towards this is to be free from thoughts focused on ulterior motives and not to act out of self-interest.

Punapa ta ingkang dennaluri lwg ungan Jawi kita sadaya sampun won ten ingkang supe kinarya buktinipun bilih kitn trahing Jawi punika kinarya tanda den tuhonana kesenianipun; dat-:inana penggal:'h nuju ing pamrih inn f11mi11d11k nngkara.

What we will imitate is our common Javanese heritage; let nothing be forgotten [but let it] serve as proof that we are of Javanese descent and be a sign th at th e arts are fa ithfully practised. Let us be free from th oughts focu se d on u lterior m otives and not act ou t of se lf-inter es t.

kadang mitra sami Fra 111iyarsa T/1 dnnidhangetake s111111111gga macapat i11gwanci dalu datan kilap su tris11amacapat; nwlem mangkat haririreki malem tirakatan Mu gi Hyang Mahaag ung peparinga mring kawula

Listeners, relati,·es and friends, all of you come, let us listen at th is hour of the night to (th e song inj the ' sma ll' m etre; d o not say 'love for th e mac,1pat is alien to me ' . The ni ght of thi s da y is beg innin g [with ) this night wa ke . May Go d Most Hi gh offer protecti on to Hi s serva nt s

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202 ingkang tansah ngabekti paringa pangayoman. ·(019)

who show Him respect without cease.

Like the opening song 'Sun puji maring Pangeran', this song was repeated several times by Pak Dhalang and Bu Swarawati in turns during the performance, each time with slight variations in wording. At the beginning of act four (kucingan) it was immediately followed by the song about the bridal choice of the Princess of Kediri with which we are already familiar. The last song in tembang macapat to be sung by Pak Dhalang was 'Ana kidung kang rumeksa ing wengi' ('There is a song that affords protection in. the night'), namely at Singabarong's entrance in act five (barongan-celengan) ~ This song in the 'small' Dhandhanggula metre was allegedly still frequently' . sung in the villages to lull little children to sleep. It is to be found, with minor variations, in numerous songbooks. The version sung by Pak Dhalang ran follows.

as·~·

Ana kidung kang rumeksa ing wengi teguh ayu luputa ing Iara luputa bilai kabeh jim setan datan purun p.w ruwang tan ana wani miwah panggawe ala; gunane wong luput geni atemahan tirta maling adoh tan ngarah mring wak mami guna duduk pan sirna. Sakeh Iara pan samya ba/i sakeh ngama pan samya miruda we/as asih pandulune kadi kapuk tibaning wesi; tibnning wesi tawa, sato galak lutut, sakehi11g/Jrafa /1'plll; k11y11 ae11glc111ah sa11g .1r so11g i1,g !ar,r/hak, g11w1111ing wo11 g, lcmah miring, kadi pakipaning merak. (043)

There is a song that affords protection in the night, steadfast, unharmed, free from disease and from all misfortune; evil spirits and demons are loth, and their comrades do not dare to practise black magic. Other people's magic miscarries; fire ends up being water, thieves keep at a distance, none targets me, for the spell and the magic vanish. All illness returns forthwith, all plagues flee tog ether ; the sight of it is pitiful , ju st like iron falling on kapok. The impact of iron is h armle s's, w ild b eas ts beco m e tame, all weapons mi ss their ta rge t. Curi ous tr ees, haunted grl)Und , tile po rcupine's burro w, m en's cave s, sloping gro und , like th e p eacock' s b owe r.

Like m any Javanese, Pak Dh alang believe d that thi s son g was an excepti onally potent cha rm aga in st ev il (see also Arp s 1996:48). It was no coincid ence, in fact, that it was su ng at Sin ga baro ng's entr anc e. For, as I demon strat ed in th e pre ced ing chap ter, he was id ent ified w ith th e prin cip al guardian spir it

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. of Kediri and was the real protagonist of the performance. From him people __expected to receive blessings, which was the chief objecti ve of the perform. ance, besides providing entertainment. In addition to the above songs w ith a moralistic or exorcist purport, Pak -Dhalang and Bu Sw arawati presented a large variety of popular songs , many of them with an erotic tinge, referring to incidents in da y-to-day life. Only seldom was there a connection with what was going on on-stage at that particular moment. Many of these songs were repeated several times, in part or in their entirety, at the request of the dancers and/or the audience. Frequently only the first few notes were sung, either because the particular song was immediately rejected or because another dancer put in a new request. Here it is only possible to discuss a small number of the songs rendered by Pak Dhalang, as many of the lyrics were hard to understand or totally unintelligible because of the enormous background noise. The songs included some that had been collected by Overbeck as far back as 1938 (Overbeck 1938). Most if not all were, in fact, the audience's common property . Hence their intelligibility was not really important. A striking feature of many of these songs was that they were made up of a series of disconnected statements, grouped together in varying combinations and moreover interchangeable with fragments from other songs . They were often difficult to translate. With one or two exceptions , I shall restrict myself to a brief characterization of these songs. At the entrance of the four horsemen for the second act (jaranan pat), Pak Dhalang sang the w ell-known Indonesian song 'Bengawan Solo' (009), which according to Pak Tjokromihardjo of Kediri was popular already when he was a youngster and so must date from around World War II at the latest . It sings the praiseE: of he riv er flow ing through the Central Javanese town of Solo. At th e on set of the trance of the four horsemen Pak Dhalang sang the song 'Len ggan g Kan gkun g' (kangku ng, an aquatic plant , a variety of spinach) (012). Because he frequentl y repeated vari ous lin es and w ords of th is song, its fourline structur e wa s no t imm ediatel y appar ent. The text w ithout the repetiti ons n ms as follows: Lenggang-lenggang kangkling kangkung di ka11a-kn11a. Pulang sama tambung jiwa manis terbayang-bayang. ' Leis u rely swingi!lg one 's arms (on one's way ], wit h kangkung plan ts like 'gold ' brace lets, [then ] re tu rn ing home as if in blissfu l igno rance [w ith the image of] a sweet crea tu re in mind .'

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The two last lines of the poem indicate that it is a pantun (Javanese parikd - a four-line epigrammatic type of poem, very popular among the Javane _ of which the last two lines are the punchlines. Familiar characters from the wayang repertoire, in particular the clo were often also the subject of these songs. So in the third interlude Pak Dhal . ·· sang the following song after his introduction of act four (kucingan). Neng karangdhong pelik ledhang Kyai Lurah Semarsapranakanemiyat kebon sami ngundhuh taru pala sesuka sesindhenansamya nfogedgenti-genti. (032)

'Kyai Lurah Semar and his sons are strolling to Karang dhong pelik, to the garden; they pick the fruit of the nutmeg trees, amusing themselves by singing and dancing in turns.' The point at which this song was sung, namely when Toh Bagus, the protag nist of the legend (though not of the performance, as we saw above), was abo to enter, was ve1y much reminiscent of the corresponding pofrlt in shado plays at which the hero (or heroine) of the story first comes on . His entranc invariably preceded by a comical interlude featuring Semar and hi.s sons. · similarity between w ayan g plays and Samboyo Putro's performance can _ • taken a step further still. fa wayang plays, the entrance of the clovvn-serva.'i~ followed by the hero or heroine, at the beginning of the second (and middle) act, marks the end of the introductory part of the performance (the exposition and the beginning of the denouement In jaranan performances, the entrance o Toh Bagus - first his 'fight' with the forest animals , or sato galak, and then his encounter with the long-awaited Singabarong - likewise invariably indicated that the pla y was moving towards its climax from that poi..'1ton. Pak Dhalang always scored a great success with allusions to the local situation in his me d ley of popular Javanese and Indonesian songs. He invariably concluded th e enum eration of familiar Javanese place names in the song 'Njajah desa milan g kori' ('Tra ve llin g to many place s' ) (014) w ith th e name of the pl ace w here the releva nt p erform ance w as ·being held, h ence in this case Pu lih rejo. Pak Dh alan g likewi se often se ized on th e so ng ' Bari s te,ik ternp e' ('A row of m eat and soy dish es' ) (024) as an opportunity for establishing a link with th e local situation by giv ing an enumeration of the dishes se t out on th e table with offerings by the host or hostess. This was n ot the case in Pulihrejo, ho w ever , where h e restricted himself to a series of disconnected statements on th e following subjects: a row of meat an d so y dish es (line 1); burnt soybeans on a tray (line 2); ducks swimming in th e river (line 3); rubbing oneself wi th

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- scented soap (line 4); gently stirring flowers representing the soldiers (?) -(lines 5 and 6); friendship turning into enmity, and an attempt at reconciliation (lines 7-12) ; a wa rning against divine punishment, and a confirmation (lines 13-15); and a tangy fruit dish (line 16). He concluded this with the following three lines: 17 jaran kepang mangan pari 18 klambi abang marahi 19 Hahuha hi hi! Hahuha hi hi! 17 'The jaran kepang eats unhusked rice; 18 [the one with] the red jacket is the seducer.

19 Hahuha hi hi! Hahuha hi hi!'

The song 'Cempa ya rowa' ('Short-grained red rice for the party') (025) may be ch!ssed in the same category . It likewise consisted of disjointed statements alternating with onomatopoeia. It had the same ending as the preceding song, with one minor variation, in the Javanese text below. jaran kepang mangan pari klambi abang sing marahi. 'The jaran kepnng eats unhusked rice; (it is the one wi th the] red jacke t who is the seducer_'

This is an example of the interchangeability of the various fragments. Fragments that were identical or contained minor variations were often attached to different songs without an y transition . This was the case with, for instance, the songs 'Ayo ngguyu' ('Come on, smile') (016), an appeal to give expressio n to one's joy, though not too noisil y (aja seru-seru), and 'Kecikkecik isine sawo' (029), in whi ch the opening line and a w arning (lines 1 and 2) are followed by a statement about the lost stone of a ring (line 3) and an admonition not to forget one's friends (line 4). These songs were sung in acts two (jaranan pat) and three (jaranan ro) respectively at the request of the trance dancers_ Both included the statement, with only minor var iati ons, that the crowin g of the cock at dawn is a sign for peo pl e to rise (lines 5 and 6), followed by an exho rtation for peopl e to enjoy themselves but not to forget to remain alert (lines 7 and 8). line 5 line 6

line 7 line 8

'Ayn ngg uyu ' (016) eEuk-esuk jagone padha ke/uruk pratandhane yen bangun esuk ayo kanca padha suka-,;uka snjroning suka eling karo waspada

'Kecik-kecik isine sawo' (029) esuk-esuk j,1gonekeluruk mratnndhane yen bangun esuk ayo kanca padha suka-suka elinga kelawan waspada

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Another example of the combination of loose fragments is the song 'Lurk · kilur kombang' (ktJmbang, ' carpenter bee') (041), sung in the course of -afive (barongan). Its first four lines correspond, with only one tiny differene with song no. 388 in Overbeck , which contains the same opening lines, re untranslated by Overbeck (1938:210). Pak Dhalang

Overbeck no. 388

Lur kilir kilur kombang kombangejai•u( bocahcilik turu kasur embahenusu/. ?

Loerkilir-kiloer kombang kombangedjanoer botjah tjilik toeroekasoer baboenenoesoel.

'A coconut-leaf carpenter bee(?); the little child is asleep on the mattress, presently followed by its grandparents'

'(?) the little child is asleep on the mattr soon followed by its wet-nurse'

(?)

This is where the similarity ends, however . The remainder of Pak Dhal version appears to correspond with the song 'Thit Thoethoeit' (a varian thithit thuwit, 'bird disguise'), listed as no. 552 in Overbeck (1938:267), thou it evidently differs quite considerably from it . Pak Dhalang Thit thuwit (?) ' re-light the extinguished lamp (?) the toad is sitting on a stool a rjckel belt but no mone y half a cent bu ys a rotten tuber .'

Overbeck no . 552 (name of the song?), 're-light an extinguished lamp a poisonous toad in a bamboo clump a nickel belt, bought on eas y terms.'

This shows that the combin ing of disconnected statements is not a recent ph nomenon , but was not uncommon even in Overbeck's time . The same wa true of the song 'Ke mb ang jagung' ('Com flower') (015), which Pak Dhalang ... · sang several times in act two (jaranan pat). The lyrics sung by him are largely .. th e same as in song no. 415, 'Mbang djagoeng ', in O verbeck (1938:221), with · onl y minor difference s. It rur.s as follmvs : corn flower (lirie 1); three vil'Jage houses by the side of the road, the middle one intended for ego (lines 2-4); Gempa ascends to a cave , de scend s to the ro yai garden , pick s asoka flowers . there, and offers them to his father, the king (accor din g to Pak Dhalang), or to th e king (Overbeck) (lines 5-8); you are wo und ed on attacking , cru she d on retreating (lin es 9 and 10); followed by a knight's challen ge (lines 11-14). In the phases in which the actors were in trance and were contin u ally bombarding the musicians wi th requests for new songs, th e Java n ese element sometimes receded somewhat into the ba ck grou nd . Some of th e danc-

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ers seemed to have a predilection for more modem Indonesian songs with a romantic or revolutionary purport. Examples of the former type were the songs 'Bunga rampai' ('A nosegay of flowers') (013), comparing Balinese female dancers to a posy of different varieties of blossom, and 'O Sarinah ayu' ('Oh, pretty Sarinah'), an invitation to pretty Sarinah to go home with the singer, which immediately followed it. The absolute smash hit in the repertory of romantic songs, and in the performance as such, was the song 'Madu clan racun' ('Honey and poison') (017), however. The refrain of this song, which was about the uncertainty of the loved one's intentions and was very popular at that particular time, ran as follows: Madu di tnngan kananmu, racun di tangan kirimu. aku iak tahu man_a yang kau kan beri kepadaku.

'Honey in your right hand, poison in your left hand. I don't know which one you'll offer me .'

As we shall see below, it was sung again and again that night, with the active participation of the younger members of the audience. The revolutionary song 'Dengar seruan massa' ('Hark at the call of the people') (028), an appeal to people to lay down their lives for the freedom of the fatherland, was only sung once, on the other hand. It was moreover the only revolutionary song that night. In the performance on the occasion of National Independence Day (Pitulas Augustusan) in Menang, conversely, not only this song but also various other songs relating to the struggle for independence were sung a number of times - an unambiguous reference to the occasion for that particular performance . These and many other songs sung in Pulihrejo likewise formed part of Pak Dhalang's and Bu Swarawati's standard repertoire. In all the performances by Samboyo Putro that I attended, the songs appeared to be combined slightly differently each time , however . Comments Pak Dhalan g, as th e exa mp! es sh ow, possessed a stock of tex ts, be sides the legend, for imparting the gis t of his message - respe ct for th e cultural legacy inherited from the ancestors - to th e audience. H e cate red to a w id e rang e of tastes, with th e moralistic texts ap p ea lin g m ainly to th e older and the songs cho sen by th e dancers more to th e yo uthful memb ers of tl1e audience . A striking feature of most of thes e contributions was their four-line structure , which unfortun atel y it is impossible for me to go into further here . Ma n y of th e songs cons isted of a number of stateme nt s la cking an y logical connection . We ha ve see n some examples of thi s above. As Pak Dhal2ng 's and

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Bu Swarawati 's contributions formed part of a familiar repertoire, the lyric - of which there are moreover a number of regional variants in circulatio - were not really relevant. Because of the enormous background noise, i was often virtually impossible to hear the words, what is more . In fact, it ~ not so much the content of these songs and chants as the mood they evok - 'authentically Javanese' (caraJawi tulen), as one of the spectators put it ~ nutshell - that was important.

Pak Dhalang's contribution as master of ceremonies One of Pak Dhalang's tasks in Pulihrejo was the official welcoming of H:i guests, the introduction of the Samboyo Putro company, and the communi tion of all kinds of messages from the host to the audience. As Pak Dhalan was late in arriving in Pulihrejo, Pak Slompret temporarily stood in for ·: as master of ceremonies . ;· After the six horsemen had made their entrance for the first act (jaran nem) and stood lined up in a row at the back of the performance area, Slompret addressed the guests and bade them a war.n welcome (002). First all he introduced the company and its leader, Pak Samboyo, not omitting mention Samboyo Putro's full address . Then he enumerated some import!111 guests, such as the sub-district head, Pak Camat, the military district co · mander, Pak Danramil (Komandan Rayon Militer), the section commandef Mr . Dansek (Komandan Sektor), and the village head of Pulihrejo, Pak Lurah · and his staff , and asked them for their blessings. He concluded his spee . with the announcement that the guests would be treated to a.>1authenti Javanese dance performance (sendratari .Tawiasli) in the form of a kuda kepang show; in the sty le of the ancestors , so that Lhis tradition might be preserved and not vanish without a trace . After these wo rd s of welcome, the gamelan struck up and the horsemen starte d dancing. As th ey were going through their regular routine , PaK Slompret once more drew atten tion to the ieade r of Sambo yo Putro with th'e wo rd s: Para pamriksa ing dhuow1 P11/ihrejafan sakitaripun ngaturc.ken tetepa11ga11, 111bokbilz1 1 P11/ratak~ih sepi11dhah111c11ika sowan won/en ing d/111su11 Pulihrejc ki;da kepang Sa111/?aya warden ing dalemipun Bapak Begja. Mbok bilih panjenellgan smni deri11gtepa11gkaliymz Bapa Sambaya, menika wujudipun Bapa Sambaya, ingkang ngasta kcnong. Nj ih menikr. Bapak Senna pa/isi wilayah Kediri utnwi Eapa Sambaya ingkang ngasta kcnang menika.Piyantunipun a/it, sanes menika, sakalangan menika. Mbok bilih benjing sanes dinten kulawarga Sambaya Putra badhe sowan mriki malih. Nuwun. (005) ' H ono ured spec tators of Pulihr ejo and surroundings, as this is th e first time the Sambo yo Putro h orse dance company has come to perform in th e vi llage of

f

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Pulihrejo , at Mr. Begja's house , let us introduce ourselves . In case you do not yet know Mr. Sambo yo, that"is Mr. Samboyo , the one playing the kenong. That is Mr . Serma polisi of the district of Kediri or Mr . Samboyo , playing the kenong. Not the little man sitting in the same circle [of musicians] . Perhaps the Samboyo Putro family will pay another visit here some day in the future . Thank you.'

With the remark about 'the little man', meant as a joke, Pak Slompret was alluding to Pak Dhalang, who had arrived only a moment before and was sitting next to big, heavily built Pak Samboyo, just then playing the kenong. In anticipation of act two (jaranan pat), Pak Dhalang addressed himself directly to the audience with the words: Para rawuh ingkang minulya , para rawuh ingkang minulya, Aawula matur gunging panuwun ingkang tanpa upami dhumateng Gusti ingkang Mahaa;_,·,>1gsampun amarengi kanugrahan arupi menapa kimawon ingkang sampun kawuia tampi. Amin. (007) 'Hono~red guests, honoured guests, I wish to say thanks from the bottom of my heart for ·the blessings I hav _e [been fortunate enough to] receive(d) in whatever form from God Most High. Amen .'

Thereupon Pak Dhalang received a request from the host to say another word of welcome and at the same time explain what the occasion for this festive gathering was. He did so as follows: Nuwun sewu _menika taksih ngemban dhawuh saking ingkang kagungan dalem. Kula ngembani malih Ian kula ngaturaken pambagya kasugengan Iumebering dhateng para kadang mitra sami; kagem para pinisepuh ingkang mengkoni dhusun Pulihreja, lan cikal-bakal, Ian kagem panjenenganipun Bapak Kepala Dhusun sakandhahanipun, Ian para Ibu-Ibu PKK, saha kagem para taruna LKMD, keluarga Sambaya Putra nyuwun tambahing pangestu. Mboten kalepyan kagem panjenenganipun Bapak Camat, saha Bapak DanRaMil, saha Bapak KaPoISek, /an bagian kebudayaan sakandhf!pipun keluarga Sambaya Putra nyu wun tambahil,g pangestu. Para rawuh ingkang minulya ngaturaken salam pitepangan kuda kepang ingkang dipunpandhegani Bapa Sambaya kanthi a/amat gamblang dhusun Bandar-ler,kiduiipun rumahsakit Gambiran, menika wonten pasarean Plething-k:ming, dalemipun ngajenganipun persis, utawi kanthi alamat Palisi Wilayah ... (?) Kadhiri. Para rawuh ingkang minulya sowanipun paraga Sambaya Putra ing dhusun Pulihreja ing da/emipun Bapak Begja s::iperlumengeti tanggap warsa utawi selapanipun putranjpun i11gka11g khitanan. Kaping kalihipun inggih menika ngiras ... 111 enapa nienika tanggap , nuwun se-wu, medal sakembaran.. kakung utawi putri. Mugi warsa putra11ipu11i11gka11g mugi /11111antar pasugatan sor.ten 111eniica ingkang khitanan sagcda :ua/11yatelilah ing jati. Mi,gi-111ugiputranipun ingkang kemba,-kalawau sageda widada 1;,-ing sambekala. Mugi Gusti paring pangayoman. y a bda kepang ingkang badhe kawula panientasan ing dhuPara rawuh ingkang 111i11ul sun ngriki menika war.ten sejarahipun, inggih menika sejarah kitha Kadhiri as/i.(007) 'Please , excuse me. I am acting in compliance wi th the requ est of the host. I wish to add somethi n g [to the welcoming speech of just a moment ago ]. I wo uld like

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Jaranan

to welcome you all warmly and wish you all, relatives and friends, good heal · as also the elder~ responsible for [the well-being of] the village of Pulihrejo, guardian spirit, and you, Mr. Village Head, and your staff, and the ladies of , . PKK,2 as well as the young people of the LKMD;3 the Samboyo Putro family as your blessings. And last but not least you, Mr. Sub-district Head , and you, '. Military District Commander , as well as you , Mr. Kapolsek , and [the represep' tive of] the Cultural Affairs Bureau, together with your staff; the Samboyo Pu _ family asks your blessings. Honoured guests, I welcome you and introd uce to you the kuda kipang le4 Mr. Samboyo , of the easy adciress : village of Bandar-lor, south of Gambiran no pital, directly facing Plething-kuning cemetery, or of the address Police Dis [... ?] of Kediri . Honoured guests , [the reas .m for] Samboyo Putro's visit to the villag~ Pulihrejo, at the house of Mr. BP~a, is to celebrate the selapanan(a 35-day pen of his son's circumcision . Secondly, um, also including, um, the birthday of children who, please excuse me, were born simultaneously, a boy and a girl. ~ the night-time performance contribute -to a speedy recovery of the circum ·t boy. May the twins remain far removed from misfortune and may the Lord I/ protection . · Honoured guests, there is a story connected with the kuda kipang which I . stage here in the village - the history of Kediri in former times.'

That Pak Begja was not just anyone, but was someone with a high positl . can be inferred from the presence of the various civil as well as military d nitaries. What exactly his position was did not become clear to me, howev Pak Samboyo also appreciated the presence of so many prominent perso ~ but in particular that of his local colleague. He regarded this as a mark o . respect to him and his group . Pak Dhalang did not omit to address the invisible guardian of the village the dhanyang of Pulihrejo, in his welcoming speech either . As has beco apparent from the foregoing, it is important for the group to show the prop., resp ect to the local protector. After all, he will manifest himself in the barong in the course of the performance , it is hoped . Hence it is to be avoided that the dhanyang will disrupt the performance from di spleasure at lack of respect. Nor did he forget the village elders, wh o ha ve of old occupied a special position in the commun ity on accoun t of their expe rience in life an ci the su ppose<;i" spiritual understanding connected with it. Espeoa lly striking was the emphatic publ icity the company made for itself. As ,,ve sa,"'· earlier, it started doing so already on the trip to Pulihrejo, repeatedly urging passsers-by by megaphone to follow it to the performance. rne same me ssage was also frequentl y rep ea ted la ter, during th e per form2

PKK, Pembinaan Keseja h teraan Keluarga, Promotion of fami ly we lfare. LKMD, Lembaga Ketahanan Masyarakat Desa, Organization for the defence of the village commun ity.

3

I ~

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo

211

ance. The group's name and full address were moreover displayed on- a banner suspended above the tables with offerings. The company really left no stone unturned to publicize itself - 'Just as in the movies' (Kaya pelem), as one of its members confided to me jokingl y. Following the above message from the host, Pak Dhalang explained the legend, announced the second act twice more, and ended with the words: Wusana kanthia pinarak ingkang sekeca. Mbok bilih wonten paraga saha niyaga ingkang mboten nuju prana ing penggalih panjenengan, kawula sagugupan titah ingkang Iimrah tamtu kadunungan sih penjenengan kersa maring gunging samudra pangaksami.Wusana mugi-mugi ingkang kagungan dalem minangka ing karaharjan, mugi Gusti pareng pangayoman kawula ingkang tansah ngabekti. Kalisa ing sambekala.(008)

'i inally, [I would ask you] to sit back and relax. If any dancers or musicians fail to please you, I beg you to bear with us all, as simple people, and to let your forgiveness be as wide as the_ocean. Finally, may [the performance] bring the owner of the house luck and may the Lord offer [us] servants, who praise Him without cease, protection . May we remain .free from misfortune.' Pak Dhalang received several more requests to pass on some message or other from the host in the course of the evening, such as the occasional appeals to the young people of the Siskamling who were responsible for security and for serving the guests. One such appeal was made in the interlude foUowing act two, for instance, when the audience remained restless, even after the performers had retired to the dressing room. Matur panyuwara wonten para petugas Siskamling ing dhusun Trisula-satu saged ing dalu menika ingkrmg wajib, wajibipun tugas jagi setunggal sedherek ... ( ?); nomor kalih sedherekAkhir; nomor tiga sedherekSyukur, (um, .. . ?) nomor sckawan sedherekSukiman; nomor gangsal sedherek Sambi; nomor nem sedheri:kPadi. Dados menika supados ... (?) wonten ing pas Siskamiing. Matur nuwun . (021)

' I address myself to the officials of the security organ izatio n of the village of Trisulo-one who have a task to perform, those who are on du ty toni ght are numb er one ... (?), number two, Akhi r, number three , Syuk ur, (um, ... ?) number four, Sukiman , number five, Sambi, number six, Padi; will those of the security organization [please take up their positions] Thank you.' The call to number one, whose name 1 could not hear, was greeted with loud cheers from the byst~nders . Because the din did not stop , Pak Dh alang continued with the wor ds : Para rawuh petugas Siskamling ingkang sampun dipunaken kala wau supadns siyaga ing pos;pun piyambak-piyambak. Sepindhah malih, ingkang kagunga11kuwajibcmSiskamling kula aturi 11geposwon ten ing posipwz piyambak-piyambak.Matur nuwun. (02 1)

' Honour ed guests, I request the Siskamling officials just mentioned to remain on

212

Jaranan

standby, each at his own post. I once more request those with a duty to perform in the Siskamling to each man their post. Thank you.' Once in a while one or ar:10ther of the gamelan players also directly addresse :the audience, for examp1e with a request to stop pressing forward and t© leave room for the performers. Para pamriksa ingkang wonten ing ngajengsupados pinarak kemawon, ingkang wonti · ing ngajeng kawula suwun supados pinarak dados ingkang wingking saged katinga/. (004)

'The spectators in front are requested to sit down; I request those in front to sit down so that those at the back may be able to see.' ·

11\is

Several times the guests were warned that the show had not yet ended . was particularly the case when the actors had retired for a while and tll performance area lay abandoned. Pak Dhalang, after announcing the arriv of the two horsemen for the third act (jarananro), gave the audience the folee lowing warning, for instance : ·· Pararawuh menika taksih kirang sekawanadegandadnspanjenengansampun kersakondhur, malam Minggu malam santai malam tirakatan.(022)

·Honoured spectai:ors, there are fot:r m0re acts to follow, so please do not go ho yet. [After all] it is Saturday evening, [and so] an evening to relax, a tirakatan.'4 Someone in the audience surrounding

the gamelan commented :

Ma/am minggu ngantuk lho, ma/am ninggu bk ngantuk ta!

'Saturda y evening, hey, and [you're] sleepy; how can you be sleepy on Saturday eYening?' Before retiring to the dressing room well before the end of the performance, Pak Dhalang especiall y addressed the host once more to thank him for his hospitality and expressed the following wish: Samboyo P11tromatur pa11y11wun ingkang tanpa upami dhumatcng ke/11nr gn Bapak Begja i11gka11g sa111p1111 maringi ka1111grnha11 nrnpi 111ennpnkhnmP,m. M11gi-11111si pi11nringa11a herkah asesanti 'Sura dira rnyn ning rat leb1!rclt!ning pangast11tisumehing wadana mahananing pndnang ing bawa11a'.Nuw11n, nuw1111.(046)

4

Deri ve d from lira/w t, m ea nin g religious asce tiscism (fas ting and the lik e) (Pigea ud 1982). Tirakatan resem bles a wa ke, in which an in d ivid u al or gro up says up all ni ght , p r~ferably in a sac red locatio n such as the grave of a h oly pe rso n, w ith th e ai m of inc reasi n g spi ritua l power preceding an importan t d ecis ion or even t (like grad u a tion or marriage).

VIII Pak Dhalang's verbal contribution in Pulihrejo

213

Sambo yo Putro expresses her great gr atitude to Mister Begja who has sho wered u s w ith all kinds of bressin gs. May he be given prosperity with the pra yer: Sura dira raya ning rat lebur dening pangastuti sumehing wadana maharianingpadhang ing bawana. Thank you . Thank you .

Comments

We see that Pak Dhalang's task that evening was quite comprehen
CHAPTER

IX

The character of the opening dances in Pulihrejo introduction

The opening dances 1 of the different acts, like Pak Dhalang's standard repertoire, constituted some of the more formal parts of the performance. They contrasted sharply with the following trance phase. The dances comprised numerous figures, which were executed in perfect harmony with the music, with the intensity constantly being increased. They often ended most abruptly the moment the first dancer went into a trance. From that point on, there was usually no longer anything like orderly, coordinated dancfr1g among the dancers. I came across the same dichotomy between a rigorously directed opening dance and a chaotic trance phase in the performances of all horse dance companies th'3t I attended . In comparison with those other groups, Samboyo Putro's opening dances were exceptionally elaborate and carefully executed, however . This was to a large extent due to the fact that Sarnboyo Putrc was regarded as the showpiece of the local police and was expected to tum out to give demonstrations at all kinds of events . I would remind the reader here of Samboyo Putro's performance on the occasion of the visit of a few important guests from Jakarta. The influence of Pak Samboyo's official position is clearl y noticeable here . The stylization of w hat were originally rustic folk dances had taken place earlier, as was indicated in Ch'3pte r II above, under the direction of the Kantor Kebudayaan (Cultural Affairs Bureau) of the Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (Department of Education and Culture) of the town of Kediri in accordance with the general guidel ines evo lved by the government in an attempt to up grade regional dr amatic genres (see also Sinopsis 1985; Soekamo

Samboyo Putro had no specia l name for thes2 opening dance~. Among horse dancers in Surinam, descendants of Javanese immigrants , kembnngnn (de rive d from kembang, 'flower', translated by Gooswit (1990 :26) as 'ornament') seems to be the common name for them, on the othe r hand. It is a very apposite name for these dances.

I

_,I

216

Jaranan

The barisan formation. Photograph by Marije Duijker.

1983:14-21) . The local govem1nent's interference in the development of the do.nee met with Samboyo Putro's general approbation, as it gave the group a progressive, modem image. As far as Pak Samboyo was concerned, the · · dances were a good advertisement for the group. Samboyo Putro's dance patterns and rhythms were particulary highly developed. What was especially striking about the latter was the sudden 'freezing ' of movement whenever the dancers remained standir.g motionless for a moment , often with one leg raised high in the air. These moments lent the danc e great intensity and added to the atmosphere of excitement. 2 All the different dance figures were performed in both a forward and a backward direction. As the hors e dancers th emse lves said, they surrendered totally to the dance because, as one of them put it, it mad e th em feel good (jogedki:wi nyenengnke). H ence what was important to th em was, to cite Rouget (1985:118), 'the pleas ure of dancing , of using one's body in pla y', which in itself tends to give the dc!r.cer a sense of liberation, of catharsis . 2

I cannot say with certa inty w h ethe r this kind of 'fr eezing' of th e dance was th e consequence of a change in the drummer 's rh y thm. My impression in retrospect is that it coincided with su d· den loud beats on th e kendhang panaraga.

J=..~-- ...+·"~ . ;',, ~~

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IX The characterof the opening dances in Pulihrejo ., ,. -t-"'" , 17 t~.-·u,,~ ,, 2

The tantangan formation. Photograph by Marije Duijker.

The opening dances of the different acts were invariably group dances. In the trance phase, on the other hand, the performers usually danced by themselves. Even when there were two or, more rarely, more performers dancing in pairs facing each other there was normally no coordination whatsoever between them . Although the dancers sometimes moved quite gracefully when in trance, they generally danced rather stiffly and jerkily in that state, as though in parod y, and would frequently break off their dance abruptly tc go and do something else . In the opening dances of acts one, two, three and five there were five basic patterns to be distinguished. The dance of the horsemen invariably opened w ith a barisan (deri ve d from baris, 'in lin e') formation, w ith the h orsemen dancing eithe r in a single row side by sid e or in two rows facing each other. In th e first, second and fifth ac ts - the jarana11ne111, jaranan ro and barongancelengan, featuring six, two and again six horsemen respective ly - th e barisan was follo we d by th e kitiran (derived from kitlr, 'sma ll windmill') formation , in which th e horsemen danced orie behind the other in a circl e. This formation regularly alternated and was sometimes combined w ith the tantangan (fro m ditantang, 'challenged') formation . Her e the hor seme n in turns danced towards and awa y from each other in pairs or circled around each other in twos . The tantangan, finally. merged into the peperangan (from perang, 'battle')

218

Jaranan

formation, in whi.ch the dancers often roughly bumped against each otiJe in pairs . These fights generally quite soon induced a trance in either of ·p:i partners ..In act two (jarananpat) the barisanwas followed first by a figure which the four horsemeI'\_danced towards and away from each other from · four comers of the performance area. For this figure Samboyo Putro had special name, sometimes referring to it as barisanpasagen('square formatio and sometimes as pojokanpapat ('[from] the four comers'). Below I shall the latter term, as it best describes this dance figure. Before describing the opening dances of the various acts as performetl _ Pulihrejo, I will give a clarification of the meaning of the symbols used in accompanying choreographic diagrams. ;

Explanationof the symbols The diagrams show only the basic patterns of the dance, the various pos of the dancers are briefly described in the text. 3 An elongated triangle denotes a horseman, its point indicating the dire · tion he is facing. My point of reference in the discussion of the dance figures was my own position in the gamelan, so that 'forward' means towards the gamelan arli'bar:kward' aw c:y from the gamelan .4 The choreographic diagrams are ela rations of rough sketches I made in the course of the performance . They onl refer to those acts in which horsemen figured . I was not able to take any ch reographic notes on the dan ces in act four (kucingan), as I was ha ving a me · with some of the musicians at that point. As far as I was able to ascertain, flie group itself had no graphical representations of the dance formations . It had developed the dances from the general basic patterns dravm up in accordance with th e guidelines of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, in dose cooperation · w ith the musician s, in the course of tim e. Because of the frequen cy of their performances , the dancers and musicians w ere well attuned to each other. ·

3

For a fai rly co mpr eh ensive list of th e d ifferent postures of the da n cers in th e tw o open ing danc es of th e six (k uda lu mpi ng uni t) and four horsem en (k uda lumping m assal) resp ective ly in Centr al Java , see Soeka mo 1983:17-9. 4 For a bird 's ey e view o f the co m pou nd in Pulihr ejo see Chapt er VI, pa ge 136.

....._ standing hor?eman horseman sitting on one knee (and sporadically on both knees)

· C::>

.I!:?-- horseman sitting besides his horse ...,..

Toh Bagus

--C [ :ngabarong •

Kala Srenggi

~ •· forward direction of the dance

,,,,,,

barisan , side by side

....._

barisan, one behind the other

.....

....,_

....._

backward direction of the dance

1111,,..

kitiran

pojokan papal

horse's head bending alternately to left and right

tantangan

A

perangan

220

Jaranan

Jaranannem: the danceof the six horsemen As soon as Bu Swarawati has finished singing the opening song 'Sun puji dhateng Pangeran' 5 in Pak Dhalang's absence , Pak Gambuh lures the first horseman, already holding his bamboo horse between his legs , out of the dressing room with a few cracks of his whip, Kyai Samandiman . The horseman prances to the back of the area in a zig-_ zag course (Choreography 1), to the accompaniment of the shrill tones of the slompret,_ gracefully letting his dance sash flutter to and fro between stretched fingers . The sec- _ ond horseman is summoned on. Number one has meanwhile come to a halt backstage. After number two has entered in the same way, the third horseman is summoned 011 with cracks of the whip. The entrance of the fourth horseman is accompanied by cries of encouragement (senggakan) from the musicians . He is followed almost immediately by numbers five and six, who come on simultaneously . They join the others. Standing side by side, their faces turned towards the gamelan, they form a long row (the barisan formation) . The gamelan falls silent and Pak Slompret welcomes the guests. As soon as he stops speaking , the musicians resume playing. The six horsemen mo ve forward towards the gamelan, slowly dancing on their Choreography 1 bamboo horses and accompanying themselves with whip cracks, and then, without turning, dance back again, dancing : (Choreography 2). When they come towards the gamelan once more, the angkiung starts playing. Then the y fan outward in threes (Choreography 3), a!1d the formation dissolves into two circles (kitiran) of three horsemen each. Now various dance patterns in the kitir:m formation follow each other in rapid succession, to the accompaniment of the stirring tones of the slompret and the exciting rh y thm of the kendhang panaraga. Eve ry change of pattern is introduced by the angklung. The two groups are contin u ally Choreography 2 circling around beside each othe r in opposite directions, first clockwise and anti -clockwise, forward and backward respectively (Choreography 4). Next the dancers cur ve towa!"dS each other from the perim~t er of the imag inary circle, da,ic ing forward towards the centre and backward towards the perimeter (Cho reography 5). This Ch oreog raphy 3 I was not able to take any photos, as the performance

took place at night.

IX The characterof the opening dances in Pulihrejo

221

they repeat several times, now and then dancing further away from each other. When they approach each other once more, they rotate in the centre with their faces turned to each other (Choreography 6) and then, doing a half-turn , to the audience (Choreography 7). Dancing away from each other, they again form two circles. At Choreography 4 the same time the character of the dance changes . Moving one behind the other, now clockwise now anti-clockwise, the horsemen raise the horses to a virtually perpendicular position, while they lift their left and their right leg high in the air alternately, standing thus perfectly motionless for one moment. 'Just like a rearing horse' (kaya kuda ngrunjah), the man sitting next to me comments. (1he lights .are Choreography 5 playing up all the time and a number of pressure lamps are carried in and pumped up on the spot.) After a while the horsemen form a single large circle. They jump around rhythmically, setting Choreography 6 their anklets tinkling . They vary this with a prancing step on the tips of their toes, fluttering their dance sashes with graceful motions . The y moreover slightly lean towards or away from each other with their horses as indicated by the dotted lines 01oreograph y 7 (Choreography 8). 'The angklung again introduce s a change of formation. The horsemen spread out and once more form two circles revol ving in opposite directions. The y dance alternately towards each other and back to the perimeter of the ima ginary circle skipping b ackward. After a while the y dance toward s the centre again, where th ey rotate around their own axis (Cho reog raph y 9), jumping rh ythmi cally from one leg onto the other, se tting th eir ankl ets tinkling, and continuall y cracking their whips. . ' ' As they ar e imp ertur bably jumping around like thi s for a while , the eamelan falls s ilent and Pak Slompr e t Chore ography 8 givr.s another speech, introducing th;: group Samboyo Putro and its leader once again. At a sign from him the musicians resume th eir pla y. The melody this time is very monotonous and it is drowned out by the shrill tones of th e slompret and th e exc iting bea t Choreograph y 9

00

00

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/

---

--"-

222

Jaranan

of the kendhang panar~ga, which becomes faster and faster. This is a signal for tn horsemen to mo ve into the tantangan formation. (The audience , which has pressed ftiv ther and further forward, is again exhorted to leave sufficient space for the dancers ,) The horsemen stand in two rows of three facing each · other (double barisan), and ·the dance figures now ___ .,_ _ succeed each other even more rapidly. The horsemen move alternately straight towards each other in pairs •.,.___ _ and then, dancing backward, away from each other .,_ (Choreography 10). They repeat this several times, dancing now in a line parallel to the gamelan, r.ow Choreography 10 diagonally across the performance area (Choreography 11). Finally they dance past each other and continue at a gallop to the opposite side (Choreography 12), and then, dancing backward, back again to their point of departure. After dancing to the opposite side once more, they go on to form another single large circle (Choreography 13). They continue dancing like this for a while with their faces Choreography 12 turned to the audience (Choreography 14). The tantangan formation appears to have changed into the ki ran formation . But the horsemen, dancing past each ot, backward, soon return to the centre (Choreography 1 Choreography 11 After passing one another, they stand facing each oth in pairs. One member of each pair drops to one kn while the other leans over him and incessantly cracks his whip over his head . They de around each other this way \__ -------- -~-- ) (Choreography 16). (The helpers ) n ow rush for\___ wa rd to try and ) unti e the h orses' cord s.) Ch oreograph y 13 Choreography 14 Th e m oment of the battle does not appea r to h ave arrived \'et af ter al l, ,,nd the couples move away from each oth er again and form first one large circ le and · then two smaller circles. Patterns 8 up to and including 16 are. repe ated. The horse m en imitate th e paces of a horse in time w ith the music , w hich is now quiet , n ow excitin g. When the couples sta nd facing one anothe r on ce more , the fighting seems to begin in earnest. The h orsemer. bump wi ldl y agains t each oth er w ith th eir horses in twos and try to push one anothe r awa y Ch oreogra ph y 15 (Chor eog rap hy 17). Each drops on one kne e in turn , rotating in

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th( hi1 ad fa] an

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k

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IX The characterof the openingdancesin Pulihrejo

) ) )

Choreography 16

Choreography 17

223

i\ i\

the same direction as his partner, who is circling around him, leaning far forward over him and incessantly cracking his whip . The first horseman soon falls into a trance. His adversary goes on dancing for a while, but then simply walks off. A second horseman falls to the ground, and then a third, and from that moment on there is no longer anything like a dance. Chaos reigns supreme.

Comments An official report on the jaranan jawa from the sub-district

of Kauman in Tulungagung (Sinopsis 1985) shows that the dances described there differed little from those performed by Samboyo Putro. Like them, they were a mixture of typically Javanese dance movements (the report speaks of tari baku, 'authentic [Javanese] dancing') and imitations of the steps of a horse (tari solah kuda, as the report puts it). The graceful fluttering of the dance sashes and prancing on tiptoes, like a horse trotting, alternated with rhythmic jumps, like a horse galloping, whereby the horse's head was now raised, now moved from left to right. The dance figures, too, appear to be roughly similar, be it that the report mentions fewer variations on basic patterns. The same appears to apply to the kuda lumpin g of Temangg-Jng (Central Java), judging from Soekarno 's ciescriptions. 6 It was int eres tin g to n o te how th e h orsemen ju st we nt on d ancing durin g Pak Slomp ret's second speech, d esp ite the fact that the music ha d stopped playi n g. The y sh owe d n o rea cti on eith er to th e n ervo u s rushing around among them of the sec u r ity peo p le rep lacing the defec tive generator, bu t just w ent on dancing imperturbabl y wh en the latter entered the performance ar ea with some pres sure lamps and proceed ed to p".l.mp these up on the spot

6

Soeka rn o 1983 :20-1. To thi s d esc ripti on a long list of b rief cla rifica tion s of da nce move ment s and a dozen diag rams are adde d .

Jaranan

224

It

and hang them up . was as though they were already a little high and ha shut themselves off from their surroundings. This state, which accordirt to Darmadji and Pfeiffer precedes the actual trance , is referred to by thes . authors as a Zustand der Vers,unk enh eit ('state of self-absorption' ; Darmadji an Pfeiffer 1969:3284). Pak Slompret described it as an inner sense of emptin~ (suwung), a totally blank mind. Although the opening dance was generally regarded as an extra invitatio to ~he inhabitants of the immaterial world, the bangsa alus, none of the dance gave any sign of being possessed by any sort of spirit in this phase. The next act was that of the four horsemen. They were summoned on P· Pak S1.mboyo.

Dr gii pr• sic ag

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Jaranan pat: the dance of the four horsemen After a brief interval, in which Bu Swarawati has once more sung 'Sun puji dhaten Pangeran ', in addition to all kinds of popular songs t.11ewords of which were difficiil to hear , Pak Sambo yo enters the performance area with his whip Kyai Samandim When the gamelan starts playing a new melody at a sign from Pak Dhalang, the horseman comes running at great speed from behind the curtain . Decked out in a red headcloth (iket), ear ornaments (sumping), and leather arm and wrist bands (kelat bau and gelang), he looks like d wayang wong dancer . His dance is veq wild, with abrup~ jerky movements that remind me of the dance of the demon Klana .7 He dances toward the back, circling around for a few beats and executing a few steps or. the spot in turns. As soon as he is roughly halfway, Pak Samboyo summons on the second horsem _ The latter enters the performance area just walking, contrary to all expectation, an onl y starts dancing, though then straightaway very wild! y..when he is standing directly in front of th e gamelan. Every few steps he lifts his leg high and remains sta_'1ding motionl ess like this, wi th his arm with the whi p stretched side ways, for a moment. A few minutes later number three enters, again dancing . It is Si Pincang, recogniza ble by the bandage around his left foot. When he comes to a halt at the · back as well, number four com es on. H e holds his right arm wit h the wh ip stretched sideways and lifts his leg high every f~w steps, m ov ing hi s head back and forth , w hich Choreog;·aph y 18 to me is more remini scent of a bird than a horse. 11,e entrance of th e ~ :-. four horsemen is accompanied by encouraging cries from Pak Dhalang and clapping by the musicians . The fom hors emen are stan ding still at the back and Pak Chore cg raphy 19

7 A demonic characte r from the waya ng theatre , the ad versary of the hero or heroine of the story.

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Dhalang relates the legend 'Kacarita ing Ngurawan nagri' . Then he gives a sign to the musicial'ls, who start playing at once. As in the previous act, the horsemen move slowly forward, dancing side by side, and return to the back dancing backward. Moving to the front again, they fan out and each dance to a comer of the performance area (Choreography 18). First they do some dancing more or less on the spot, Choreography bending to left and to right with their 20 horses (Choreography 19). Then they advance towards each other from the comers and, dancing backward, spread out again (Choreography 20). After a while, when they have come close together again, Choreography 21 they do a half-tum. The dance changes to the kitiran formation (Choreography 21). Then they curve towards each other again and, when close together, all four drop to one knee and Choreography 22 rotate in a clockwise and an anti-dock\A:ise direction alternately (Choreography 22). After a while they rise to their feet Choreography 23 again, rotate around their own axis, and then go on dancing, Choreography 24 each to a comer of the performance area (.pojokanpapat) (Choreography 23). Advancing towards each other once more, they again drop to one knee _.rise to their feet, dance backward back to their point of departure, and then back to each other again . Now only one of each pair drops to one knee and revolves along with the upright dancer, who continues circling around him (Choreography 24). All the horsemen have risen to their feet again and dance back to the four comers , tum around and, dropping to both knees , dance towards each other again Hus way (Chor ecgra ph y 25). When they stanC: facing each other in twos, th e fighting begins in earnes t. While the gamelan repe ate dly plays the same two notes all the time, th e horsemen bump against each other with their horses and circle around each ot her, now in an t•pright posi tion, n ow or. one kne e, loud ly cracking their wh ips and taking great sw ipes at eac h other w ith their hor ses. Si Pinc ang has fallen to the ground with his horse and seems to be in tran ce, but he scrambles to his feet agaii1. Hi s ad versary has sim pl y gone on dancin g. Suddeni y th ey both go scur rying away from the p erformanc e area. The two othe rs, w ho ha ve taken no notice of them wha teve r, go into a tr ance almos t simu ltaneous ly a little later. Choreograph y 25

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Comments The entrance of the first horseman in this act was as wild as that of the s· horsemen was quiet ~d restrained in the first one. This immediately creat an atmosphere of excitement. The entrance of number two was something an anticlimax. The comical effect of this drew a burst of laughter from the au · ence. But as soon as the horseman began dancing, the tension built up again. H intensified this by lifting one leg high in the air every few steps. Then he wo':tl remain thus as if 'frozen', holding the opposite arm with the whip stretd) sideways, for a moment, to go on dancing even more wildly after that. Pak Dhalang's songs seemed to bear no relation at all to the dance. dancers only reacted to the angklung, which, as in act one, signalled changes in dance patterns , and to the kendhang panaraga,which set the tern · of the dance, playing now fast and loud, now more slowly. · The vigorous (gagah),but more especially tempestuous (riwut) character the dance of these horsemen, introduced by Pak Dhalang as soldiers (prajuri again contrasted sharply with the dance of the two commanders-in-chi (senapat1)in the next act.

Jarananru: the dance of the two horsemen It is again Pak Gambuh who summons the horsemen on. Standing in the centre · the performance area , he cracks his whip, and the first horseman enters dancing. He prances to and fro in front of the gamelan for a while, letting his dance sa sh flutter gracefully between stretched fingers . Suddenly he dashes backward, dancing in a zigzag line . The second horseman is summoned on . Like the first dancer , he lets his . dance sash flutter gracefully while prancin g around on tiptoes wi th short steps. As he reaches number one , both dancers place their horses at their side and wait for Pak . Dh alang to finish con veyi ng his mes sag e to the audience. As soon as he stops speaking and the slenthem star ts playing th e m elody, the two horsem en come gracefully dancing forward side by side and go ba ck again skipping backwa rd , rh ythmically bending their h orses' heads from left to right. The da nce patterns are partly a repetition of those in the two preceding acts. This time, however, the barisan immediately changes int o a sort of mi xhir e of the kitiran and the tantangan formations, w ith the two ho rse m en now pranc ing aro _un d each othe r, r.ow m ov i.n g away fro m eac h other , as in th e pr eced ing act, and, desc ribin g a wide circle, danc ing towa 1ds eac h other halfway and then backwa rd aga in, to the p er im eter of th e im aginar y circle (Cho reog raphy 26). Th e dance is much quieter th an in the previous act, and th e mo vements of the two horsemen are more refined , in the style Choreography 26 of Arjuna .8 Pak Dhalang 's cries of encou ragement are echoed

A youn g princ e in th e w ayan g th ea tre, w ho se m ove m ent s are always refined (a/us), and to

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by the musicians ' senggakan and underscored by sudd en sound explosi ons from the angklung each time the horsemen change dance pattern . Finall y the two horsemen mo ve towards each other in a curving line from the large kitiran formation and end up in a position immediatel y facin g one another. At a sign from Pak Dhalang, the music slows do w n . The m elod y chan ges to a succ ession of the sam e two not es pla ye d over and over again on the kenong with steadil y increasing speed and intensity . At this , the dancers seem to take on a hunted look, and their movements soon degenerat e into a series of w ild collisions and swipes at each other with their horses (peprangan). Each in tum drops to one knee , whereat his opposite number leans far over him, inces santl y cracking his w hip. The two horsemen go into a trance immediatel y after one another .

Comments

The most striking feature of this dance was the much greater elaboration of the tantangan formation in comparison with the two preceding acts. The dancers' continual provocative prancing around each other and then leaping at one another made them look like two gamecocks . It seemed more like an imitation of the widely popular cockfight than of a fight between horses. The fights this time again remained undecided, however, as the two opponents w ent into a trance .

Kucingan: the dance of Toh Bagus, Pujangga-Anom, Singakumbang, Kethek, and M acan Pak Dhalan g announces act four, and Pujar.gga-An om enters dancin g, followe d soon afterwa rds by hi s m aster , Toh Bagus . The tw o knights danc e facing on e another in th e centr e of th e p er formanc e ar ea . Toh Bagus is occup ied in altern ately grooming himself and inspectin g his tr oops . No w he strokes th e long tassel s att ached to either sid e of his headdre ss and acts as if h e is looking in a mirror or adju stin g hi s clothes . No w he tosses th e ta sse ls back with a motion of hi s head , h old s his left han d ove r hi s eyes wi th qui ve ring fingers, as tho u gh trying to see better, and w ith his righ t an :n stre tched m imes the count ing of soldiers. His m ove m ents are very vigo rou s (gagah). H e keeps h is legs wid e apa rt and makes sweep ing m otio ns w ith his arms. Pujangga -Anom 's da nce is likew ise gagah,but hi s moveme nt s are not as -ex travagan t as hi s mas ter's. He clea rly has a sty le of his own. The dance of th e two kn igh ts is like a di2.logue , in whic h Toh Bagus does most of th e talking. Afte r they have thus danced opposite one anct her for about eight m inut es, Pak Dhalan g ann ounce s the arrival of Singakumbang . The suspe nse amon g the m usicians and h elpe rs is no ticeab ly mo un ting, an d the aud ience pu sh es forward so as no t to mis s an y thin g .

Wes tern tastes even affecte d . In the wayang wo11gof Solo, th e p a rt of A rju n a is u sua lly danced by a \ovom an.

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Singakumbang entE;rSdancing with his big wooden mask on his head. He makes ra er clums y mo vements with his arms, just visible from behind the long piece of cl hanging down from the mask, which have a comical rather than a threatening ef£ He dances provocatively opposite Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom in turns, now · : then taking his mask in both hands and letting it snap (nyaplok) at one of the knights with a loud crack (plokplokan) of its jaws. The dance soon lapses into a chase, in which it is hard to tell who is the pursuer and who the pursued. Sudd , Singakumbang goes racing towards the gamelan, falls, scrambles to his feet again, ' darts into the dressing room, knocking over one of the helpers . (The two knights meanwhile stanc.,-,g idly beside the table with offerings.) Kethek enters turning somersaults. Pujangga-Anom immediately challenges him, they play a kind of cat and mouse game across the whole of the performance ar, Kethek makes hims ~!£ scarce, jumping on all fours, and then suddenly sits down starts provocatively scratching himself. A moment later Ma can also appears . Craw · on hands and knees, he lashes out viciously with his paw at anyone coming near · Pak Dhalang eggs Kethek and Macan on with growls and screeches from where he sitting in the gamelan. The two knights and the animals now engage alternately in dancing, tumbling ~ clowning, but especially the latter .

Comments

The dmce of the two knights was similar in style to the wayang wong of Sol Toh !3agus' dance in particular bore a strong resemblance to Klana's kiprah (derived from kiprah-kiprah, 'to dance around passionately'), as this demoni tragicomic wayang character is preparing for his assignation with the worn of his dreams. The kiprahan, in the words of Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen (1995:43), 'forms the core of the popular gandrung dance where the dancer performs a sequence of iconic m0vements, showing how he is grooming himself and dressing up [...] in the expectation of his meeting with the object of his passion' . In the context of our jaranan, Ll.e kiprah dance portrayed Ton Bagus' passionate longing for the princess of Daha , to whom he was on his way to propose marriage (in vain, as we saw), according to the legend. Although Singakumbang's performance here and there was reminiscent of a Surakarta style of dancing, his mo vements were much less refined than those in th e h orseme n's openi ng d ar.ces . H e esp ecially gave his d anci ng a com ic tw ist so as to st ress the non -hum an aspec t of his natur e, as it ,-vere . Hi s two foliowe rs, Keth ek and Mac&n, acted in accordance ·with their an imal n atu re, as w as to be expected. , and presented a more or less fai thful imitation of thi s. It was interesting to note ho w this time Singakumbang exited quite soon. In the performances in Mojoroto (fer 'Poli ce Day') and Menang (for the combined bersih desa and National Indep endence Day) he continEed taking part in the action together with Macan and Kethek for a much longer time , and even wen t into a trance more than once . Returning to the gainelan , h e said with a

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sigh ora dadi (' a failure') . To this Pak Beja, the second slompretplayer, replied that you just never know what the spirits will do. The opening dance of the final act (barongan-celengan)was unusually elaborate . The dance patterns were to a large extent copies of those in the first act, except that here Toh Bagus joined in the dancing as well .

Barongan-celengan : the dance of the six horsemen, Toh Bagus, Singabarong,and Kala Srenggi Pak Dhalang announces act five. Toh Bagus stands in the centre of the performance area. As soon as Pak Dhalang has finished speaking, he summons on the first horseman with loud cracks of .his whip. As in act one, the horseman dances towards the back in ·a zigzag line. When he gets there, Toh Bagus summons on the second horseman with cracks of his whip. He dances towards the back in the same way. Then the remaining four horsemen •are summoned on one immediately after the other. As soon as they are all on, they -dance forward in the barisanformation c>.ndthen go back again !ikipping backward . This figure is repeated several times. Toh Bagus continually dances in the opposite direction in and out of the line of horsemen (Choreography ,27). When the horsemen change to · the kitiran formation, Toh Bagus dances inside and outside the big circle (Choreography 28) or · between the two smaller circles (Choreography 29) in turns. After they have thus danced for almost a quarter of a.'1 hour, Pak Dhalang Choreograph y 28 sings Singabarong's introductory Choreography 27 song, 'Ana kidung kang rumeksa ing wengi' . This is the signai for the hor semen to withdraw. The y dance towards the back and sit down on the grow1d ne xt to th~ir ·horses in the "barisan formation. Toh Bagus takes up hjs ppsition ~ front of them ; ..~,:, i {.q!t2reogra ph y_~0).

'''''' (~ ~?,~?,~~f ~~t~~ '

Choreography

~

30

in st rateg ic places in front of the crowd , which has come flocking in in large numb ers again . The tension is tanCh oreo g raphy 29 gibl e. Singabarong ent ers, holdin g the mask above his head in both hands and lettin g it snap its jaws all the time. He is challenged by Toh Bagus and trips arow:_i.dhim on tiptoes, in turns holding hi s mask high above his head and putting it on his ,he ad and making a few clum sy dance movements with his arms, which has a comic~ :e.ffect : N9w --and then Toh Bagus and Singabarong dance

230

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away from each other and then towards one another again, and circle around each other once more , chal\ lenging each other. They do not really engage in battle, however. In the meantime the horsemen have risen to their feet. Whilz they form a circle around Singabarong and challenge rumin turns, Toh Bagus stands aside (Choreography 31). The horsemen leap high into the air one by one, trying to strike the monster's open jaws. Singabarong manages to deftly evade each of his attackers and finally to escape from the circle. He Choreography 31 calmly walks towards the table with offerings, where he is given a drink from a bucket of flower water . While he is attended to there, the horsemen dance one behind the other in a big circle 'ilS before. Toh Bagus has not joined in and stands looking on from the sidelines. He stay~ aloof even when Singabarong is back and the horsemen take the offensive once more ~~ wild chase soon ensues, in which now Singabarong, now one of the horsemen appeap; to be pursued. There no longer seems to be anything like an orderly dance, even thou~ the horsemen, whenever they are not engaged in a fight with Singabarong, continUe dancing around in a circle as if there were nothing wrong. ··' Kala Srenggi has also entered, unnoticed by myself. As soon as the horsemen catch they all six form a circle around him and Singabarong (Choreography 3tl· sight of rum, It now looks as if there is going to be a free-for-all fight. ~ t Kala Srenggi and Singabarong challenge one another / _ ) ·, as well as the horsemen . The latter in their tum try to ·/,,,.strike them with their hor~es or th~ir fists. Kala Sren?gi ~L • occasionally dances outside the arcle, now draggmg the puppet's snout low along the ground, as though l he is making it track someone down, now holding it behind his back with both hands , to lash out fiercely . with it as soon as Singabarong or one of the horst?men . . . approaches. His dance is very graceful at times ~&7he~t~;:i,;, _~Chor _eography 32 Kala Srenggi is attacked by a group of horsem~ tr-orlce'-:3:'t·· c:·~more, he goes running into the audience ,yj !Jt ~9. f, i}ie help ers on his heels. One of the horsemen appears to be in tr~U_~:~ ~4bf::w.ay~ ·;;_Q!§horse in the air. (Toh Bagus is no longer anywhere to b~s·e ·· he has gone.) --':: ~~tW4fetsl '$6 lding his mask Singabarong now and th en goes running ,.;=!!'in both hands. (The hors eme n ha ve meari\.;;,'ffiie t a· adTh~ir 'hofs~iu nti ed) Suddenly Singab,uong falls to the ground; he appears to be in trance. H e is surrounded b y a number of helpers , as though to stand guard over him. One of them tri es to take his ma5k off him. After a brief scuffle he seems to give in, but then appears to remain lying on top of his mask. Kaia Srenggi has returned and is provocatively dancing from one horseman to the other w ith his puppet. There are five h orsemen still mo1;nted, wh ile one has lost his hor~e, though I have not noticed how. In all probability Singabarong has succeeded in knocking his horse out of his hands. Singa barong has finally lost his m as k after all. He moves towards th e table with offerings , whe~e Pak Sajen takes him to task . While the preparations for th e slametan are being made elsewhere in the perfm·mance area, Singabarong comes to stand in the

~I

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v;

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IX The characterof the opening dances in Pulihrejo

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gamelan. His eyes are turned upwards . He does not appear to react to the music . Then he seems to be wandePing around in a daze . Meanwhile all the horsemen have lost tl-)eirhorses . They are just haphazardly dancing on their own.

Comments Up t9 the point where Singabarong was announced, the opening dance of the six horsemen was virtually identical to that in act one. Toh Bagus' movements, . always in the -direction opposite to that in which the horsemen were dancing ,-did, however, lend the dance greater tension. The .:tantangan formation of the six horsemen did not culminate in a series of man-to-man fights as in the first three acts, but was interrupted by the arrival-of Singabarong. The horsemen even withdrew temporarily to give Toh Bagu? and Singabarong ·room, as it were . The encounter between these two 'rivals' was restricted to a dance in which they challenged each other, circling around one another, without actually corning to blows. Hence there was no such thing as a victory,by Toh Bagus over Singabarong, as this encounter is represented in some versions of the legend. As soon as the horsemen entered the fray, Toh Bagus even cleared out. The challenges and fights between the horsemen, Singabarong and Kala Srenggi remained undecided as well, with the performers going into a trance one after the other . v\That was striking was that Singabarong's 'recovery' took place almost unnoticed, without any violent physical reactions lik~s pasms or rolling on the ground frothing at the mouth, and even without the;intervention of a gambuh. As in the case of Singakumbang, his trance this time seemed to be simulated rather than genuine. He refused to say anything later about how he felt during the trance, however . In Sambo yo Putro's performances it was not always Toh Eagus who took up arms against Singabarong. In the performances on the occasion of the 'Anniversary of the Mobile Police Squad' in Mojoroto and the 'National Independence Day' celebration in Menang, Pujangga-Anom and his cavalry opposed Singabarong and Kala Srenggi. In the 'Police Day' performance in Mojoroto, the two knights entered the arena. In all three cases the knights continued to tak e an active part in the action for the whole of the act. In Menang , Singabaro ng moreover kept his ma sk to .the ve ry end. His fight s with the hor seme n regularly alternated w ith lun ges at the audience, what is mor e. 11-ietwo gn111buh and the h elpe rs had the grea test of difficul~ , in keepin g him under control while he was in th.is sta te. Whereas in Menang Singc1.baron g's tranc e was very much foregrounded and he seemed to be hardly aware of his surroundin gs, in Pubhrejo his actions were marked by deep involvement in the activities initiated by Pak Snmboyo in cooperation with Pak Gambuh, Pak Sajen, and the helper s. Ho w Singabarong reacted in this case will be described in the next chapter.

CHAPTER

X

The element of play in the performance in Pulihrej o Introduction In the foregoing I pointed .out that during the trance the performances often lacked a clear focus of interest. In order to hold the attention of the audience during the numerous moments when the dancers were just wandering around aimlessly or sitting near the table with offerings in a daze, or simply remained invisible for a ·while (hiding among the audience or in the dressing room), all kinds of games iwere played, for which usuall y a few persons, mostly young boys, w ere cho1,,enfrom among the audience . Although of course in actual fact the whole pe_~formance was one big game, I would like to use the term 'game ' particularly ~with reference to the antics of the dancers after they became more or less conscious of their surroundings again, but before they became completel y their normal selves . Because these games were so closely interwoven w ith the trance, some repetitions in w hat follows are unavoidable . Far from bein g a drawback, this on the contrary offers an illustration of ho w the games were in!egrated into the performance , in my view . During the trance of the six and the four horsemen in acts one and two (jaranan nem and jaranan pat), litt le actuall y happened to bring the audience in to action . In act on e, onl y the horseman w ith the number four (papat) on his back , Si Papat , conce rn ed h ims elf d irectl y wi th the spectators. He occupied h imself in h an ding ou t sacrific ial flow ers all the tim e. Th ese we re very popular with the audi ence , eager to take them home as jimat, 'goo d lu ck ch arm; amulet ' . This character struck a comic n ote by h and ing out only one peta l at a time with a grand ges tur e, which d id not fail to h av e its effect and provo ked great hi larity . Every tim e one of the wo men (the flo we rs w ere hand ed out chie fly to mo th ers w ith you n g chi ld re:1) tried to grab m ore_.Si Pap at w ould give he r a corr ective r ap on the knuc kles. On e of the musicians who w as wa tching Si Pa p at's actions w ith keen in terest reacted to thi s w ith a laugh ar1d th e wo rds kanugrahan siji okeh padha wae, 'i t isn' t th e qua n tity th at's impo rtant for th e bless ing' .

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The way in which the element of play was integrated into the second act (jaranan pat) was described in the chapter on the trance . There we saw how the audience became more actively involved in the performance in this act. In this connection I would remind the reader of the behaviour of Si Ijo, the tranced 'troublemaker' from the audience, and his attempts at playing some kind of game (what game remained unclear) with a number of children, to send them off with a 500-Rupiah note each in the end. In the third act (jaranan ro) the action, inspired by the wayang theatre, acquired a wider dimension, in the sense that all those present - actors, audience arid guests - became involved. It started with the imitation of Cakil, illeone-toothed demon. This well-known character normally appears in the middle act, the pathet sanga, in wayang plays, where he is invariably worsted :_ the duel with the hero or heroine. In Pulihrejo his entrance marked the begin ning of the wayang performance, of which the horseman with the numbet. fourteen (patbelas) on his back, Si Patbelas, turned out to be the puppetee (dhalang). The latter was continually thwarted here by his opposite number, identified by the number ten (sepuluh) on his back, Si Sepuluh. The fragmen't following below starts at the point where Si Patbelas and Si Sepuluh are both in trance.

The wayang play (jaranan ro) Si Patbelas has been dancing around for a while, imitating the one-toothed demon from the wayang theatre, Cakil, to the great amusement of the audience. 1 Si Sepuluh causes a great commotion by banging his head hard against the framework of the gong. He now re-enters the performance area and starts dancing, like Cakil, scattering around handfuls of soil, to the hilarity of the audience (at least that part of it that is out of the range of fire). The musicians, who, aghast at Si Sepuluh's sudden fit of rage, stopped playing a while ago, have meanwhile struck up a new melody, and peace seems to have been restored to some extent. A mat is spread on the ground and Si Patbelas signals to one of the helpers to come and dance with him. After a while the helper is told ~o lie down on the mat on his stomach , and at Pa k Samboyo's directi ons Si Patbelas fetches two small boys from amo ng the audi ence. Th ey c1retold to 's tand gua rd ' eve r the hel pe r. An inc ense burner is p laced nearb y, Th en Si Patbelas sta rts doing all kinds of gymnastics , telling the boys to repe:it them afte r him. Th e children at ii,·st are ver y reluctant , but even!ually do as the y are told. After a whi le (the helper ha s meanwhile d isappea red) Si Pa tbel as directs them to ' mount' th e mat by tak ing it between their legs. The smaller of the two fails to ' ride' the mat , though he does his best. His legs are too short and he is replaced by ancther boy, Thi s boy is so shy, however, th at he just stands shaking his head ·with an unhapp y look on hi s face , despite the repeated urgings of Pak Sajen and Pak Gambuh,

Thi s and th e followi ng quotes are taken from th e n otes I took during the performance.

X The element of play in the performance in Pulihrejo

235

who have approached. Finall y he in tum is replaced by another boy, and the children are directed to the centre or-the performance area with the mat.

The 'riding' act appeared to mark the introduction to a genuine wayang performance, with Si Patbelas as puppeteer. Because the latter was in .a trance, and so was unable to speak, Pak Slompret acted as his mouthpiece and took care of the introductory song (ada-ada) and the story (kanda). Pak Dhalang did the voices of the wayang characters and provided the comments. The audience and the musicians, finally, tried to guess with Pak Dhalang which particular wayang characters the dhalang had brought on . Si Patbelas has walked off . He comes back with a bamboo fan (tepas)belonging h, Pak Sajen 'and a mallet (gandhen) belonging to the slenthem player, and handles them as if theywere wayang puppets. Pak Samboyo, who has joined him, has a third boy fetched from the audience, who is to play the kecerthat has been taken from the gamelan. He does so with gusto. It looks as if a real wayang play is going to be performed. The two little boys are now told to hold the mat upright, as if it were a wayang screen. Si Patbelas is sitting crossed-legged (in the sila position) on the ground in front of it, holding a 'puppet' in each hand. Bu Swarawati, sitting in the gamelan, starts singing, while .next to her Pak Slompret is intoning the introduction. While Si Patbelas lets his puppets dance in front of the screen , Pak Dhalang tries to guess, with the help of the musicians and the spectators, which characters are represented by the fan and t.1-ie mallet. There is loud yelling and cheering . Si Sepuluh, who initially .took no notice of all these goings-on, now also comes to the fore. Accompanied by screechings mimicked by Pak Dhalar.g, he acts like a monkey. He alternately sits scratching himself and disrupts Si Patbelas' performance . The latter thereat tries to tap him on the head with his mallet , but Si Sepuluh evades him neatly every time. All this pro vokes bursts of laughter especially from the young members of the audience. It looks as if the performance has ended. The children who have had to hold up the screen disappear among th e spectators. Si Patbelas, the dhalang, simply carries on with his perfo rmance , however. The children reappear wit.1-itheir arms full of lea ves, which they are to ld to hold in a ve rtical po sition beside the screen. The leaves rep 1·esen t trees (gunungan) in which Anuman (the tepas) is lea ping from branch to branch . Pak Dhalang in turns pro vid es comments on the performance wi th grea t verve and sp u rs on the actors w ith a ran ge of sou nds rep resentin g th e screechin g of th e m cirikey Anuman and the howling of the latter's adYersary, now ide nti fied as the d emon But a Telek (th e gandhen). Whe n fin aily Pak Dh al3ng an noun c~s that Buta Telek is defeat ed, the perfo rmance en ds. The boys are chased away and go runnin g into th e audienc e amid loud laughter from the specta tors. The helpers pick up th e m at and the other props. Si Sepuluh , who after An11man's entrance started dancing around 3imlessl y on his own, approaches the gamelan and points to the slompret. Pak Slompr et plays a tune and the entire gamelan joins in.

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1he wayang performance in Surnberagung. Photograph by author .

Comments For the first time this evening there was some sort of interaction between the trance dancers, the musicians and the audience as a whole. Although it looked as if Si Patbelas spontan eously improvised the wayar1.g performance, it was , actuall y integrated into the performance at the explicit request of Pak Begja. The trance phases pro vide pre-eminently suitable opportunities for responding to the specific wish es of sponsors. Vie shall see a few examples of this prese n tly. How su ch a req u es t is m et is u suall y left up to the p articular group to decide . Pak Sambo yo's way of com p lyin g w ith Pak Begja 's v,,ishes was at th e sam~ time a gest ur e to Pak Slom pret , who occasionally ac ted as . puppet eer, as we ll as being a music ian. By getti n g him to in tone the int roduc tion to the p lay, he was giv in g Pak Slompret an opp ortuni ty of sho w in g off hi s spec ial sk ilis once m ore, Pak Samboyo explained . Si Sep uluh 's int erference in the wa yan g performance up the -point wh ere the ' m onk ey' Anuman came on represented an ,_mmistakable hint to Si Pa tb elas to b ring on thi s po pul ar way an g ch ar acter. Once Pak Dhalan g id enti-

X The elementof play in the performancein Pulihrejo

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fied the gandhen as Anuman, 2 Si Sepuluh lost interest in the performance and went away. • The moment at which the wayang play was introduced was not randomly cho~en, but was connected with the rules of procedure for that evening . It was · in the course of this third act that the guests had a meal offered them, at the enq ,of which they were supposed to take their leave. A meal invariably marks the end of the official part of the festivities at family or community celebrations like this. It is customary for the host's request to the group to entertain his guests in some special way to be granted at that point. The circumstance that., this third act was the least chaotic of all should also be understood in terms of the rules of procedure for the festivities .3 Although in Pulihrejo I did not have an opportunity of keeping an eye on -t;hat went on in the part of the house where the guests were seated, it is reasopable to assume that the pattern of events there differed hardly, if at all, from .what is customary on this kind of occasion. That is to say that most of the guests probably arrived in the middle of the first act. This at the same time explains why the second, more elaborate speech of welcome to the guests was not delivered till the second act. The usual exchange of greetings and of the latest gossip, whereby the guests continually move around so as to get a chance to chat to a~ many relatives, friends and acquaintances as possible, r~ormally takes place at the begi..ruung of the evening, while refreshments are being handed out to tfie guests by way of welcome. Only during the meal, when the talking stops, is attention given to the performance, for which the host often has a special surprise in store. The end of the wayang play appeared to coincide more or less with the end of act three. Si Patbelas, the dhalang, then moved towards Pak Sajen, who gave him a drink from a bowl that he slurped empty half-lying on the ground. Si Sepuluh, after asking the gamelan for another number, continued dancing around for a short while, but then suddenly disappeared , to reappear no more. Meanwhile another three children and a few youths from the Sambo yo Putro famil y had been mustered up on Pak Samboyo's instructions fer a bridhen dance (break-dance) derr.onstr ation in the interlude before act four.

2

In the seco nd p3rt of the "performance' , after the chi!drrn had gone and go t th e br a!lches , the tepas appeared to represent Anuma!l, and the gandhi!n the demo r. Buta Telek. 3 A wayang pla y was likewise incorporated in Samboyo Putro's performance in Sumberagung in 1992, but here too k place towards the end of the performance. Becau se, except for a few rel atives and close neighbours, there were no invited guests here , let alo n e offic ial guests, few for malit ies were observed that da y. ·

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Interlude: a bridhen da-nce led by youths from Samboyo Putro The angklung pla yers strike up a new melody again and Pak Gambuh assembles · few youngsters from the Sambo yo Putro family, who are to choose three little bol! from among the audience to dance with them . Pak Samboyo instructs them to giv a demonstration of the popular bridhen dance with the children . The Samboyo Pu J-OUthSdo not seem to be very much in the mood for this and make repeated atterrw to run away whenever the helpers so much as tum away from them . They are lit ally dragged back by the hair, however . Eventuall y the y seem to take pleasure in tl,_i role as instructors after all. First they dance with all three children together and tH with each individually, amid shouts of encouragement from the musicians and · audience. Pak Samboyo looks on laughing, with Kyai Sarnandiman in his hand, , occasionally joins in for a few steps. Because of his heavy build and rather stiff Jim this has a somewhat comic effect. The bridhen dancers, on the other hand, look ·as the y don 't have a single bone in their body and twist around and over each other , ·. eels. Suddenly the gamelan falls silent, though it is not clear wh Y:_The three chi! . are chased away and the Samboyo Putro youths withdraw. ··-

Comments The bridhen dance, like the wayang performance, was not a part of Samba Putro's regular reperto ire, let alone of the rigorously choreographed open r dances . Obviousl y the decision to let the young stars take part in the perfo ' ance this time was taken impromptu by Pak Samboyo. This also explains : youths' reluctance. The enthusiasm of the children, who obviously looked '{i to th em, flattered their va nity , ho w ever, and made them give up their initicll · resistance . Very occa sion ally a bridhen d ance w as included in the programme before th e sho w. This gave the young people an opportunity to prepare for their act, for instance b y dressing up for it. In the performance s for ' Police Oaf in M ojoro to and 'N ational Ind epen denc e Day' in Menang th is dan ce was includ ed in th e fourth act (kucingan), w here the d anc ers we re challenged by Ma can , Keth ek, an d Sin gak urnban g in turn s . Their dance on thos e occasions was ve ry ela b orate. Whil e th e audi en ce was be in g trea ted to a bridhen dance , th e prepa rat ions for th e next act were in fu]] swing. Pak Sajen held th e Singa kumba ng, Kethek and Maca n m as ks over the in cen se on ce more (a ren ewe d in vitation to th e spi rits to desce n d in to the masks) and the n took th em to the dressing roo m . Meanwhil e Pak Gambuh sa t n ea r th e tabl e w ith offe rings calmly p eelin g a bas ket of sweet p otat oes (kete!a). Wl,en Pak Sajen returned, lte put n few m ore pi eces of incense on the burn er. As soo n as dense clou ds of smoke started cu rlin g up , as a sign that th e 's tage' was se t for the entr an ce of th e actors, Pak Dhalang announced act four (kucingan). Dur in g the trance there w as n o lon ger an y suc h thi n g as a performance of a sing le big p lay taki n g p lace, but

F -

X The element of play in the performancein Pulihrejo

The bridhen dancers challenged by Macan (forground) Photograph by author.

239

and Kethek.

rather, as in acts one and two, a whole series of separate activities scattered all over the compound, some of them in the middle of the audience, in which now this no w that dancer took part. The following fragment begins at the point where Toh Bagus' and Pujangga-Anom's dance with Singakumbang chan ged into a w ild cha se.

The aciion in act four (kucingan) Singakumbang, hoiding his mask high above his head w ith both hands, runs in ail directions all over the performance area, chasing now Toh Bagus , now PujanggaAnom. To the great amusement of the audience , every time Singakumbang approaches Toh Bagus tries to hide behind Pujangga-Anom, whe reupon the former quickl y run s off again amid loud cheering from the onlookers . The helpe,s

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~ave gone to stan.d at their posts to stop Singakumbang from hurling himself at ili spectators. Suddenly excited cries of 'The barongis in trance. Watch out, the baro is in trance!' (Barong ndadi. Awas, barong ndadi!) are to be heard from the audien Singakumbang heads for the gamelan at full pelt and falls on top of the drumnt throwing him to the ground. The player of the small kendhang immediately s a different rhythm. Singakumbang rushes away headlong again without pa _. attention to anything, however . He knocks into one of the performers with a lo bang and then dives into the dressing room, with Pak Samboyo and a few hel~ in pursuit. · This seemed to be the end of Singakumbang's appearance . For a while .m Bagus and Pujangga-Anorn, who were dancing around rather stiffly on eith side of the performance area, had the compound all to themselves. When '~ gamelan struck up another tune, Kethek and Macan emerged from the dre ing room one immediately after the other. Kethek enters the performance area turning somersaults, soon followed by Ma Toh Bagus makes as if to ensnare Macan. Kethek, meanwhile, tries to climb on Pujangga-Anom's shoulders or to ride him piggyback, but the l_atter continuall:Y.: shakes him off. These and other acrobatics continue for quite some time. Macan has now actually been snared and is placed in front of the gamelan with _th words Macane mati ('The tiger is dead'). Two helpers take charge of him and c hi.-n off to the dressing rcom. Kethek di:;appears behind the curtain. Toh Ba and Pujangga-Anom, who have joined in with Macan and Kethek with great ve and abandon all this time, without apparently having gone into a trance, leave performance area together as the gamelan falls silent. For a moment it looked as if this act was finished. But then Pak Samboyo, of whom I had lost sight for a whiie, reappeared and walked to the centre of the performance area carrying a coconut from the table with offerJ1gs. There he signalled to one of the helpers to set the coconut on fire. At the same time Macan and Kethek emerged from the dressing room and were both assigned a task by Pak Sajen . While Pci.kSambo yo has a fire lit in the centre of the performance area , Macan reappears, this time without his mask, with Kethek at his heels, also without a mask. Pak Sajen thrus ts a pile of ~weet potatoes (kete/n) int o their arm s and sends them off into the audience with these . Kethek just ·wanders around air.ilessly with them . Eventu ally he hands out a few among the child ren, at Pak Samboyo's repeated ur gings, and then approaches the gamelc1n.After some hesitation he gives me one as well. Then he goes tc look at the fire. It app ears to be a burnin g coconut. He dan ces around it a few times, iike an inqui sitive monk ey, repe atedl y sittin g dov,n, to scratch him self. Finally he picks up the burning coconut ar.d walks siff with it. Macan has been invisible for a while. I d on't kn ow what has become of him . Mac an , as it turned out , h a d gone entirel y his own w ay. Sometimes he would com e to the table with offerin gs and ask to be given a drink or be rubb ed

.... X The element of play in the performance in Pulihrejo

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·· down and sprinkled with aromatic oil. Then he would disappear among the spectators again. Judging-from the cheers to be heard now here now there, he was keeping his audience well entertained. From where I was sitting in the gamelan I could not see what he was up to exactly, however. In the performance area, on the other hand, Kethek was stealing the show up to the point where one of the musicians went into a trance. Kethek is standing near the gamelan and gives Bu Swarawati a sign that he wants to hear another tune . She starts singing, but he angrily rejects her choice. Nervously flicking through her exercise book, she repeatedly tries a new song, with the musicians and the audience shouting all kinds of suggestions at her. She still can't find the right song . To help her, Pak Beja blows his slompret. Finally Kethek begins to dance again and everyone heaves a sigh of relief . Bµt then the musicians suddenly scatter in all directions with cries of excitement, and people all around me warn me to move aside. Before I fully realize what exactly is happening, Pak Slompret, who is sitting right next to me, is-slumping over the slenthem he has been playing till now. He has gone into a trance and lies with legs and arms wildly flai!ing in the air. Pak Samboyo and two helpers come running along. They half carry half drag him off to the dressing room . The commotion has evidently made Kethek lose interest in the music . He climbs onto Macan's back with the still burning coconut in his hand . They disappear among the audience together.

At the very moment when the performance area was lying empty and abandoned, the tranced Pak Slompret reappeared from the dressing room. He was led by Pa_'kSamboyo to the table with offerings. With a blow on the penthul mask he indicated that he wanted to play the part of Penthul, the clown who is so popular in East Java. Pak Slompret emerges from the dressing room . At the table with offerings the penthul mask is~tied before his face and Pak Sajen scatters incense fumes over him . A bo wl of kena~ga flowers is thrust into his arms and he is sent into the audience

~i th it. Kethe ~ and Macan are now also standing near the table with offerings. Kethek is giver{ a bunch ..of bananas to distribute among the audience . He obeys ~. ·::F~;~ thou t ,d enj~~i ~J?..u t ?~~f~ bis mou~ :Vtith_the fruit , p eel and_ all. He is also s~ll '. ·/:· ;c,arrymg the c:c,~onut, whic h has meanwhile burned out. A little later I see him di gg ing a p it w itlYhis bare hand s. After pluckin g the burnt fibres off the coconut , h e puts it in the p it. Th en h e gives one of the helpe rs a sign to fill in the pi t, whil e he him self goes and d a:ices aro und a littl e. (Pak Gambuh ha s come and joined u s in the ga melan. H e see ms to be complet ely his old self aga in now that his part as Singak umb ang is played out.) Kethek has fetched two persons (frcm the audie nce?), who are told to di g up the coconut again. When i:hey have finished doing so, Kethek comes to the ga melan with the nut , asks for the slenth em player's mallet , and cracks the nut in two. He allo ws the juice to run aw ay.

f

Singabarong

with sac ri ficial chicke n. Pho tograp h by au th or .

X The element of play in the performancein Pulihrejo

243

The musicians continued playing indefatigably while all this is going on, and Bu Swarawati and Pak Dhalang sang one song after another, this time without being pestered with all kinds of requests by the dancers. When suddenly there was a great hullabaloo somewhere at the back of the performance area, the gamelan fell silent and Bu Swarawati and Pak Dhalang momentarily stopped singing. It did not become clear what was wrong. Whatever it was, it did not appear to have anything to do with the performance, for the two gambuh and Pak Sajen showed no reaction. After a little while calm was restored. Penthul had meanwhile fetched a child from the audience. fenthul has seized a little boy from the audience. Totally at a loss and constantly looking around at his pL ymates, he is told to imitate various silly movements demonstrated to him by P nthul. The latter meanwhile keeps making all kinds of grimaces in the direction of the gamelan, evidently with the intention of getting it to play a particular ·melody . Bu Swa~awati st~ singing and Penthul demonstrates an exercise from the popular self-defence (pencaksilat) repertoire. The little boy really does his best and is clearly enjoying himself now. After this exercise he is sent off. Pak Sajen is invited to give a solo pencak silat demonstration . Next a child is fetched from the audience to dance with one of the he!J,ers. Urged on by the young members of the audience, they engage in a pencak-silat-style fight. (Macan and Kethek have disappeared among the audience again with a bunch of bananas.) It appears to be a very unequal fight, for the helper is exceptior.ally tall, whereas the child is extremely small . He defends himself bravely, however, but eventually is worsted and is chased away amid loud cheering. Suddenly it is very quiet again. At a sign from Pak Dhalang the musicians have stopped playing . One of the helpers whispers something into Penthu.l's ear. The latter dives into the audience and a moment later returns with a violently struggling bo y. He leads the boy to the table with offerings , where Pak Sajen takes him in hand. The boy's face is blackened all over , after which he is sent off amid laughter and teasing remarks from the onlookers . Whi)e all this is going .op, the musicians hesitantly try out a new melody, though without receiving a :r~;qp.est from any of the performers. After several false starts, the entire gamelan s~ =~\.!P· ~ .•_·· 0

~-

For a moment it was unclear if the perform3nce had end~4 :C-:· ~~~jeparture of the 'blackamoor', which was why th e musicians only sfa: _laJi ng again hesitantly. Penthul , Maca_n and Kethek just danced or wan eied · aimless ly around the performance area , appare;1tly still in some sort of trance , until they were seized soon afte r each other by other member~ of the company. A crowd has gathered at the tabl e w ith offer ings. Kethek h as been caught by Pak Sajen and Macan is lying in Pak Samboyo 's arms. Penthul is wan d erin g around in a daze, but w h en one of the helpers makes a move to take hold of him , he hid es behind Pak Samboyo . He is caught in the end . His mask is removed and he falls to the ground in a spa sm. Th en Pak Sambo yo approaches him and rap s him on the he ad w ith his big whip a few tim es. Without any further resistance , he rises to his feet and walks off.

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Comments

d

g It was interesting to note that not only Singakumbang but also Toh Ba . and Pujangga-Anom mad~ only a relatively short appearance this time, contrast to most other performances by the group which I attended . Usu Singakumbang, Toh Bagus and Pujangga-Anom continued to take an aqi part in the performance together with Macan and Kethek throughou t_· trance phase, with only short breaks to recover somewhat near the table ¼ offerings . Here too, as in Pulihrejo, the actions of the two knights consiste chiefly of a kind of cat-and-mouse game with Macan and Kethek (who b retained their masks) and all sorts of acrobatics, tumbling acts and gags. explanation was given for the briefness of their appearance . Because circumstances prevented me from discussing the perform an afterwards, as I indicated above, the reason for this brief appearance rem · a matter of conjecture. It is not improbable, however, that the preference . Pak Begja, the host, for a performance that was more in tune with mode times and in which there was not really any room for spirit possession, ,_. responsible for this. At the same time, this may explain why Singakumb ' did not really go into a trance. Pak Begja's stamp on this particular producti was unmistakable . It was evident not only from the wayang play incorp rated at his request , for which he had even made a few musical instnrmen available, but also from the prank played on the boy fetc.11edby Penthul. boy was a real little rascal, people said , whom Pak Begja wanted to teach a le son in this playful way. Hence the joke had an educational purpose as well. Kethek's aim in burying the burnt-up coconut and having it dug up again . little later was also not dear. It was explained, like the' guard' kept over one of, the helpers by two bo ys from the audience in the preceding act, or the actors' sudden exit after first ha ving thrown the musicians into a panic - actions that did not seem to lead an yw here - by referring to the unpr edictable behaviour of the bangsa alus, the in visible gue sts. These actions reinforced the improvisational , ambi gu ou s character of the performanc e in the · trance phase . Alth ough Macan and Keth ek continually made the audience lau gh with their jokes, Penthul was the pivot of th e perform ance as soo n as he came · on. As in the wa yang performance , he re too the aud ience and the musicians enth usiastically entered into the spirit of the thing as the perform ers went through their act, particularly during the pencnk silat exercises. The last of th e five acts was th e mos t chaotic of all, as u sua l. The confu sed character of the eT'.dwas re inforced by th e fact th at it stoe,d in such stark contr ast to the very elabora te, rigoro u sly choreog rap h ed dan ce op ening this act. Duri ng th e d an ce, Pak Sajen again was bu sy fannin g the fire in th e in cense burner and rearranging the leftover sacr ificial food. Th e barong mas k was brought ou t and add ressed and was take n w ith th e w ild boa r pup pe t to th e

C

I

X The element of play in the performance in Pulihrejo

245

dressing room, where Singabarong, Kala Srenggi and the six horsemen were getting ready for their .fmal appearance . When dense clouds of incense started curling up, this was a sign that the preparations were finished. As soon as Pak Dhalang sang Singabarong's signature tune, the audience, which had thinned out considerably during the interlude, crowded around the performance area again en masse. The tension became palpable. The next fragment begins at the moment when Singabarong's mask was taken away from him. The final act (barongan-celengan) Singabarong has lost his mask and is now aimlessly dancing around. Kala Srenggi is dancing among the four remaining horsemen (the other two are in trance) and is provoking them by furiously lashing out at them with his wild boar puppet. Meanwhile the preparations for the slametan are also in full swing. Suddenly Singabarong flashes past, pursued by one of the helpers. A moment later he is standing in front of the gamelan again . Kala Srenggi approaches, still carrying his puppet. They both want to hear a new melody. Bu Swarawati, Pak Slompret and Pak Pangendhang, the drummer, simultaneously strike up a new turie, a different one each . Singabarong becomes angry and strikes a blow at the kendhang. Pak Pangendhang immediately beats another roll, but again Singabarong wildly shakes his head. Then the slenthem enters, but before the other musicians are able to join in, Kala Srenggi has seized hold of an angklung . There is dead silence for a moment, and then the angklung players and other musicians start playing in unison. After several beats the gamelan falls silent, however, because Kala Srenggi refuses to dance. When the musicians resume playing, it is the same melody again. Singabarong and Kala Srenggi simply walk off together . Kala Srenggi has lost his boar puppet and is now carrying a burning incense burner instead. He goes and takes a look at the small group that has meanwhile gathered for the slametan and dances around it several times. The ceremon y is in full swing . Pak Dhalang has reappeared and is just commencing his speech . Singabarong is meanwhile given a large tray with the lefto vers of the sacrificial food, which he is to share out among the spectators . The crowd presses around him . Singabarong continuall y makes as if to give someone some of the food , but then quickl y put s it in his OWI1mouth . ill the_!J1E'arttime deals bystanders trying to sn atch so methin g from the tra y som e smart slaps. Back at the tabl e with offerings, he signal s to .Pak Sajento give him the chicken tha t has stood tied to the table by one of its legs all night. Fondling the chicken , he danc es aro und the compound with it in his arms. Now and then he pushes it int o the face of someone in the audi ence. Bu Swarawati ha s st.:ng he, pa r ting song,-l takes off her microphon e and goes to the d ress ing roo m . Th e mu sician s con: inue, howeve r, so that the perforrr.anc e d oes n ot seem to h ave en d ed ye t.

he

4

Th is was the song 'Ketawang Suba kastawa' (ketawang, 'a p a rticu lar gro up of ga m elan me lod ies', subakastawa, roug hl y synonymous wi th ny embah, 'to pay defe ren ce'; Pigeaud 1982) . It was often played as a farewe ll tune in wayang perfo rmances in the area surrou nd ing Solo (Cl!ntral Java).

(

The horse dance competition for young people in Sumberagung. Marije Duijker.

Photograph

by

X The element of play in the performancein Pulihrejo

247

While in one part of the compound the slametanis in full swing and in another part Kala Srenggi and the horsemen are chasing one another again, a song contest is staged beside the gamelan . The helpers have brought on five little boys from the audience , who are lined up in a row. They are each in tum to sing a song under Pak Samboyo's direction . The musicians join in with great gusto, enthusiasticall y accompanying one 'pop star ' after the other. But Singabarong repeatedly disrupts the contest. He gives the boys a scolding and chases them away one by one, so that a new group has to be formed each time. Now for the first time a little girl is fetched and lined up with the boys. The song contest begins all over again from the start for the umpteenth time. (A few of the musicians have had enough, gather up their things and leave the gamelan .) The competition is finally won, after much squabbling, by the only girl taking part , though not till after the top hit 'Honey and poison ' ('Madu clan racun ') has been siing extremely loudly many times over. Singabarong thrusts the chicken in the armt --,f the lucky, but very shy winner without further ado, and she quickly walks off with it . The other children are chased away. The remaining musicians now also leave, to join the other members of the group in the dressing room ."The performance is unexpectedly over after all.

Comments The organization of contests was a regular practice with Samboyo Putro. The form of the contest differed each time . In Menang, as we saw, a number of little bo y s had to gulp down as much food in as short a time as possible without cheating . During the ' Police Day ' performance in Mojoroto a bridhen competition was staged for the y oung people . And for the 'Mobile Police Squad Celebration ', also in Mojoroto, and the circumcision party in Sumberagung, a varying number of children aged between six 3/1d t1n t qd to dance along kfld§N pang. The memwith the regular horsem en 'mounted' on extra sqi~lJ_ ber s of Samboyo Putro generally judged _SlJ.d}}'"''·,,·, · ~'"':""')!i~:f tp:ntest positi vel y. Preci sely because it w as a concessi ,90..tf ' ':it~~ lt, it was proof once more to them that the comp ~1ytimes . The per fo rmanc e in Pulihr ejo w as the :~o)J(_" /;aw a little girl p a rticipat e in the gam es st aged bt S:am. _ ::~::_,, .,,,,si I, h ad no op po rtuni ty for a ch a t with the h ost at f!ie / r e/ as was indica ted above .. I was u nab le to find out wno isfi.e iw:· . . u
«L.

~;i:Ji-)t} e :tifQ'.f f

tL- .,.,;,,.

~~

5

Admittedly thr ee children, incl ud in g two littl e girls, we re fetched from the audien ce in the Police Day performance in Mojo roto , but after being asked a few questions , whic h we re unintel lig ibl e to the bysta nde rs, they were sen t off agai n and so did n ot take part.

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ers, fizzled out as soon as Singabarong went his own way and took no more notice of the horsemen and Kala Srenggi . His act comprised first of all an encounter with the audience, which he continually put on the wrong track by putting the food he was offering them in his own mouth, or by quickly withdrawing the sacrificial chicl
X The element of play in the performancein Pulihrejo

249

The characterof the performancein Pulihrejo The performance in Pulihrejo is an illustration of the fact that the character of a performance is more dependent on the wishes of an individual sponsor than on the category of sponsors - a family, a community or an organization - for which it is intended . For example, the two performances given by Samboyo Putro on the initiative of a government organization - the Mojoroto police -which one would expect to be 'modem' or in conformity with contemporary norms, struck me as being much more 'traditional' in many respects than Pak Begja's family performance . They were traditional in the sense that the trance of the horsemen as well .as of Singakumbang, Singabarong, Kala Srenggi, Macan and Kethek was foregrounded much more, most of the 'recoveries' were extraordinarily spectacular, and the dancers' actions displayed all kinds of 'folksy' or 'primitive' elements that in Pulihrejo had been considerably watered down or had disappeared altogether. Such acts as, for instance, Kethek's pelting the audience with coconuts, bananas or even roof tiles from a height (a tree or a roof) - which was not altogether without danger - in the 'Police Day' performance, in Pulihrejo had been modified to the throwing of handfuls of soil (by Cakil). Stunts like eating 'food' that is unfit for human consumption, like glass ,light globes (Singakumbang) or charcoal (Penthul), or stuffing oneself with oats (some of the horsemen), and actions betraying childish behaviour, such as rubbing chewed food all over oneself (KeL'1ekand a few of the horsemen at the 'Feast of the:Mobile Police Squad' in Mojoroto) were omitted altogether in Pulihrejo . ; ' · A reason for the greater libertie _s Sarnh9t~.fu.tg> ='I:Ya_s, ~~le to permit itself in frvo:sponsors - the police the performances in Mojoroto was the facf lliat}Jie _ force in both cases - want~g to m~ke ·an .~~ [email protected] wreio ~e community for the sake of strengtl;l ~nin :·"'""· t~~ iqffidal guests departed before th~ be . ~&:.st.f-Wi fp
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In thi s book I ha ve onl y discu sse d the perfo rm ances b y Samboyo Putro th a t I attended in thei r enti rety. Severa l times I stayed to watch a per formanc e· - some times by chance, sometimes int ention ally, when I knew a show was being s taged in th e neighbourho od - for only a ,while

6

250

Jaranan

a sound, contemporary 'traditional' performance most closel 1~ in my view,, in the sense that it excluded outdated, so-called 'folksy' or ' primitive' ele~ ments connected with the trance for the greater part. The trance dancers here, instead of letting themselves go completely, were continually urged witn gentle pressure from the two trance masters or the helpers to engage in all kinds of games, in which they had to get a few, mostly young, children in the audience to participate. The performance thus turned into one big communal game, in fact, whereby the trance dancers became constantly involved in the here and now. This way Pak Samboyo subtly transmuted the trance
when actually on my way to some other event. Because I took only -,e ry summary n otes, w hi ch moreover add little to the genera l picture of Sambo yo Putro, during these brief attendances, I have left them out of consideration h ere_

(

CHAPTER

XI

Conclusion When, in the 1980s, economic , social and intellectual developments rapidly changed the face of Indonesian society as a consequence of the successive five-year plans of the Ne w Order, the traditional dramatic genre of the horse dance (jaranan) appeared to be the most popular dramatic genre but one in the town of Kediri . The nucleus of this folk genre was formed by the tr·ance of possession . This is a trance form in which the dancers temporarily believe themsel ves to lose their own personality and to be possessed by otherworldly po w ers such as (local) guardian spirits and/or ancestor spirits (bangsa alus). These are in voked by the trance master for consultation about problems that are imposs ible to solve for human beings . Underl y ing the belief i..'1the materialization of these supernatural po w ers in the bodies of the trance dancers is the con v iction that man ow es his ph ys ical and moral existence to his ance stors . After their death , -the ancestors continue to interfere in the lives of their de scendants , it is belie ved , and ma y b e approadled through the mediwn of the tran ce. This conviction fonns the basis for Agama Jawa, or 'Javanese religion ', in w hich the ance stors pla y a ke y role . Under the ~ew Order this faith was called int o ques tion. Part icul ar p ra ctices ccill}ec_tep b7;th it, like the ~ an ce of p ossess _ion, w~re consi d e~ed su per:5titi~t{~~l~£ ifer -relevant m a m ode m soci ety b mlt on a ration al foundatio J1t.t'O J'i ~~ :t:,v e the genre of th e h orse d an ce, on e of the m os t ch ara cteristic @ tgr 4l ~fes tati ons of Eas t Java, for futur e gene rations, th e adm inistr ati_qhtoJ _~¢~ i~ Wade variou s atte m pts at mode rn ization of this genre. H ere bi :{p i y-oQ.~fgfr. genera tion beca me the focus of attention, as th ey are expectecf' ti ciity ·lbti the cultural · · , -~' tradition in the future. One response to the governm ent's question as to h ow to modernize the dramatic folk genre of th e horse d ance ca1ne from Harjcmo, an official w ith the Cultural Affairs Bureau cf the sub-di strict of Mojoroto (Kedir i), in the form uf a specially formed Jaranan Kepang company. This was an all-girl group adapted to the dominant aest h etic ideal on the points of both costum es, p roperties and performance. That is to say, it was mo delled for the grea ter part on the wayang , a trad itional dramatic ge nre reg arded n ationally as w ell as int ernationall y as one of the high points of th e Java nese dramatic .'S- -

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252

Jaranan

tradition. Obviousl y there was no room in it for the trance, so that the ancient relation between the.horse dance and the ancestor cult was severed. Another response came from the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Kediri town. On its initiative, horse dance competitions were organized for children in the school holidays, in which the trance was likewise lacking and the aesthetic aspect was dominant. These two local-government-initiated horse dance forms drew little reaction from the Kediri community beyond the narrow circle of participants and their relatives. Besides these activities , directed specifically at the younger generation, the Kediri administration also involved existing companies in its modernization programme. Thus the horse dancP groups Haswo Usodo and Samboyo Putro · were selected once to represent Kediri in the annual national competition for the title of 'artist or artist group ot the year'. To be eligible for participation in this stepped competition, the first round of which is held at the local level and the final one in Jakarta, contestants were required to convey the essence . of the relevant genre in a performance of no more than ten minutes for a · non-Javanese audience . In their preparations, the contestants had to comply with the guidelines set by the government. In the case of Haswo Usodo and Samboyo Putro, these guidelines translated into so-called 'demonstrations' of the genre by a few horse dancers and mask dancers which lacked the trance. These rigorousl y choreographed performar1ces offered no scope for improvisation or ambiguity - the very aspects that appear to be characteristic of socalled 'regular' performances in this genre, as they reinforce the suggestion that there is more lo them than meets the eye, and hence refer to a deeper leyel of meaning. Su ch 'de monstrati on s' are an illustration of the problem with which regio n al cultur al manifestations h ave to cope when the y have to function on th e national leve l. Sed yawati, who has drawn attention to this problem, points out, for example, th at regional tr ad ition al dramatic genres, often possessing an ethn ic tie, need to be 'tra nslated ' in order to b e under stoo d on the national stage, as th e obvious meaning such a genre possesses in its region of origin is to some extent lost elsewhere. In the case of H aswo Usodo and Sambo yo Putro , thi s 'translati on' for the purpo se of their participation in the national com p etitior, culmin a ted in a demon str2ti o•1 of mere form without ·conten t. Like the Jaranan Kepang and ot her gove rnm ent- o~ga nize d theatrical forms in Kediri, the ge nr e lost its ve ry es!"ence, contrar y to th e original int ention. Although Haswo Uso do and Samboyo Put ro both took part in the national competition, and as a resu lt mad e a certain name for themselves, th eir reguiar p erfo rmanc es were see n to differ greatly from each other. This was clea rly a fun ction of the differ ent pers onaliti es of the trance masters of the two gro u?s. Pak Usodo , th e tranc e m aste r of Ha swo Usodo, was not interested in modernization of th e genre . He regarded himself first an d foremost as a tradi-

XI Conclusion

253

tional healer, who with the help of his trance dancers sought solutions from th e ance stor spirit s for l>he m os tly ps ychosomatic probl ems of his clients. In practice this translat ed int o performances in w hich the trance master pla yed a key role as the interpreter of messages from the immaterial world . Haswo Usodo pla yed mainl y to the audience, w hich might ask the trance master for help either during or outs ide a performance , but w hose role otherwise w as chiefly that of spectators. In this connection it was significant that only the performers themselves took part in the slam etan which w ere a fixed feature of the performances of this group. Despite the fact that Haswo Usodo had a reputation as being old-fashioned (kuna) - a qualification with generally rather negative connotations - the compan y obviousl y met w ith some appreciation from the local government on account of its clear-cut specialization. This was in fact the reason why Haswo Usodo was chosen to take part in the national competition. The irony is that the demonstration offered no scope for precisely this specialization. Pak Usodo regarded his participation in the demonstration/competition as confirmation of his ability to adapt to any situation , but did not allow this to influence his regular performances . The Kediri authorities, on the other hand , considered the demonstrations as proof that the traditional genre of the horse dance w as capable of modernization. The y regarded this as a first step in the direction of revaluation (revaluasi) of the genre. Pak Sambo yo, th e founde r, trance master and leader of Samboyo Putro , contrary to Pak Usodo , had a pos itive attitude to the __ go vemment -propagated adaptations that were supposed to q ring the tradiqonal genre of the horse dance into line with the trend of sociai -4e velopment i .l3_ecau §~..of his position as comma n din g officer of th e Mobile:fg -uce Squad of;_l\ 1ojo~ofb ·a; d as a membe r of th e gov ernment par ty, Gql_lgt r~~} .{elt he ha<:ltl)e :dµ jy fif be -a:role model

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n orm s (mla 1 ke1_ pjj ~f.~J"tJ!_ S'.• rnm e:st~@ p [.~S~nt?!iQ{r;~ ere con(kasar~. c~med in ord~f: Tne mclu s10rrWf _;·, ·,~ . .!w:P g_, .,·,.,J;l. ~':.q: f~m ~tf ,S.m ger (swa rawatz) in the group to in tr6duc:E( thi JaVa1\e.sf lftha r)' 'trad ition in Hit pe rform an ces, as well as the attention bes towed on the Jes thetic quality of the openin g dances , exec uted in perfect h ann ony wi th the ga melan , are examp les of thi s. To th is exten t Pak Samboyo was prepared to mee t the gove rnrn er..t's w ishes with rega rd to th e developmen t of the genre. H e d evia ted from th e official guide lines, however, by also giving the trance and assoc iat ed ritu als a pl ace in his pe r formances . As a result of the way in w hich the tran ce d an cers we re continuall y called on to pla y all kinds of popu lar games w ith ch ild ren from the audience or to get the audience inv olved in the p erformance in o ther ways

~~·ijfj~~ f~i;y~~-a ty

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254

Jaranan

as well, these performances did take on a wholly new meaning , however : Thus the y no longer· functioned as mediums through which contact wit!) the supernatural powers (bangsa alus) was sought in order to find solution s -' for pressing problems , but as mediums through which the audience's active' participation in the performance was secured. This way the sacral aspect of the genre, namely communication with otherworldly powers, was subtl x transmuted into a social aspect, communication with the audience . ,f So, in spite of the fact that Pak Samboyo liked to pride himself on th ; modem, progressive image of his company, he had not turned his back on the more traditional facets, as had happened in the case of the Jaranan Kepang : Instead, he had integrated these with the more contemporary aspects in "'a w ay that was acceptable to everyone. In so doing, he had clearly considered ; the preferences, wishes and expectations of all those involved : the fellow} members of his group, his sponsor(s), the latter's guests, and the audience. Exc-ept for the 'demonstrations', Samboyo Putro's performances, as a result o··. their largely improvisational character, offered everyone an opportunity fo. personal interpretation . The uncertainty about the true nature of the trance · the vagueness about the dancers' intentions, as a result of which the specta tors were again and again put on the wrong track, and the toying with the audience 's expectations, which were continually challenged, so that accepted · norms and values were put into a different perspective, gave not only the per- · formers but also the spectators a sense of liberation. The mixture of tradition and innovation served to meet the need for change and adventure (hasrat ber-· tualang) on the one hand, and the desire to :retain the familiar (kekrasanan) on the other. In Samboyo Putro's case there was no sign of any conflict between the two , as a consequence of the modernization of society, also on the local leYel, of the kind to wh ich Sedyaw ati points . Pak Sambo yo seemed to be well aware tl1at a large section of the population of Kediri , like the majority of the member s cf his group - the relati vely uneducated wong ciiik on whom he was dependent for his commi ssion s - had not yet embrac ed the modem w ay of life, or had don e so onl y very parti ally. Accordingl y Pak Sambo yo did no t introduce the said inn ovation s in his pe rform ances with th e in tention of freeing hi mse lf from trad ition by seek ing to conform to a gove rnm ent- acivoca ted , mainly Western ideal of an aes thet ically p leasing performance. On the contrar y, hi s aim was to guard th e generall y hi ghl y respected tr ad itional va lu es and customs, such as mutua l cooperation (gotong royong), peace ful coexiste nc e (rukun), and th e Aga m a Jawa core ritu al, the slametan, agains t erosio n . Thi s was also hi s ma in re&son for int egrati n g a 'slamefai1 for youn g p eopl e' int o perform an ces, for exampl e, for which repe atedl y a nu mber of youn g childr en we re selected from am on g th e au di en ce. Samboyo Putro 's performances in po in t of fact clea rly also p ossessed an

XI Conclusion

255

educational aspect, meant especially to stem the tide of all kinds of foreign, mostly Western influeftces. The best way for regional dramatic genres like the horse dance to contribute to the development (pembangunan) of a modem Indonesian society with its own identity - an ideal about which government leaders felt especially strongly - was not, according to Samboyo Putro, by abandoning tradition, as the younger generation was only too easily tempted to do , but on the contrary, by making this generation aware of their cultural roots. This was in fact the chief reason why the younger generation wr1sinvariably assigned such a prominent role in Samboyo Putro's performances. The ideal that Pak Samboyo strove after in his attempts at modernizing the genre was not the same as that of Jakarta, grafted as this was onto the f.lobal, mostly Western, idea of a modem dramatic genre, which he even condemned as being superficial. Rather, it was that of the Central Javanese wayang theatre, which he and many others with him regarded as the apex of the Javanese dramatic culture. Thus he unequivocally opted for the Javanese identity, in other words, for the component of diversity in the Indonesian national motto, 'Bhinneka Tunggal Ika' - 'Unity in Diversity'.

Pak Samboyo and the author in Mojoro to

t

I APPENDIX

Transcription of the co recording _Words given in square brackets are interjections by the musicians or by the audience. Three dashes - - - indicate exclamations by Pak Dhalang intended to spur on the dancers . Three dots ... indicate a short break in Pak Dhalang's speech. Three dots enclosed in square brackets [... ] ind icate that a portion of the wayang pla y has been deleted from this CD. 001 Opening music followed by Sun puji Nga.turi dhateng Pange ran mugi kadang m itr a sami kalisa ing sarn.bekala anebihna ing bilai. A celakna ing panunggil ngrungkeb i kersa njunjun g, buda y<'!Jaw i asli tr apin g tat akr am a. Para kad ang m itra sa rni mir sani kud a ke p ang. Rt . pitu dunun gipun Balon g padhepokane . Bandar-lor dhu sunipun budaya Jawi asli, naluri lelu hur kita ingkang sampun samp uma. Bapa Sambaya pandh ega ne Sambay;, Put ra Sambaya Putra ka lisa in g sambekala, mugi Gusti paring panga yo man ka•.,vu]a tan sah ngab ek ti.

258

Appendix

Mula sinaua basa rakitane gendhing Jaw'i, iku ngemu surasa anuntun lakuning budi. Nadyan ta sira tan wasis wajibe kudu angrungu, sakecap wanda pada suku pelik menyang legena. Binarung larase pradangga kempul kendhang terompet munya surak-surak para niyaga gumuruh am: ~ta rubuh . Ya suraka-surak hore! Ya suraka-surak hore!

002 Greetings and introduction of Samboyo Putro Nuwun para pamriksa angaturi salem pambagya pasugengan lumebering p kadang__mitra sami . Kuda kepang ingkang dipunpandhegani dening Bapa Samba ingkang madhepok wonten ing dhusun Bandar-ler, kecamatan Mojoroto, kotamad Kadhiri kanti alamat Polisi Wilayah Kediri. Bapa Samboyo sabrayat mbotem kes pen ugi angaturaken salam pambagya kasugengan dhumateng panjenenganip ·Bapak Camat Kepala Wilayah sah& Bapak DanRaMil, Bapak QanSek, Bapak Kepal Dhui;un ing Pulihrejo saandhanipun kulawarga Sambaya Putfa nyuwun tambahin pangestu. Ing dalu menika badhe andamel s~ I~ p~_ngg~ panjenengan sami. Para pamriksa kados pundi babaring pagel ~I]fi : ing d~~fi '\ ffl.'effiicaingkang arupi pasugatan sendratari Jawi asli . Kuda kepang -,... -.·.~-.,,. · ,-~·. ' ':"'. :·'W,tUr kita ingkang " sampun sampuma tansah kita uri-uri S~Jf ' :· ,-; Sepindhah );~ng -amirsani · '-_-,__,:.. ~ malih Bapa Sambaya mboten kesupen an · ngantos paripuma. i ,,,,.:··" · · : . "' Paraga Sambaya Putraaaa! (kendhang, gong) $i ;s

asi.!<· ;

003 Cheering sounds during a musical intenrii~1 . __

-

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004 Req u est to audier:ce to sit down Para p amri k3a ingkang wo nten ing ngajeng supa clos p inarak kemawo n . ingka ng wonten ing ngajeng kawula suwun supados pinarak dados ingkang wingking saged katingal.

005 Introduction of Pak Sambo yo Para pamrik sa ing dhusun Pulihreja Ian sakitaripun n gaturaken tetepang an, mbok

Transcriptionof the CDrecording

259

bilih kuda kepang Sambaya Putra taksih sepindhah menika sowan wonten ing dhusun Pulihreja wonten ing daiemipun Bapak Begja. Mbok bilih panjenengan sami dereng tepang kaliyan Bapa Sambaya, menika wujudipun Bapak Sambaya , ingkang ngasta kenong. Njih menika Bapak Senna polisi wilayah Kediri utawi Bapa Sambaya ingkang ngasta kenong menika. Piyantunipun alit, sanes menika, sakalangan menika. Mbok bilih benjing sanes dinten kulawarga Sambaya Putra badhe sowan mriki malih. Nuwun. Ya!

006~ Poma-poma Poma-poma wekas mami mring anak putuku aja katungkul uripe lan aja karem mring pepaes donya; siyang dalu denemut yen urip manggih antaka. Putra kadang kula sarni [sami] sumangga ta kita samya [samya] tansah atut ing burine mring pitedah kang prayoga nuju mrih karahatjan ; datan kongsi kalimput kedah kanthi kawaspadan. Yen tindak kudu tumulih mring ka..'1anlan kirinira awya kongsi katalumpen; iku araning waspada yen ta ana bebaya sumadya saderengipun bakal manggih karaharjan . Sampun kathah ingkang bukti [bukti] sinten ta ingkang sembrana [sembrana] mei;thi nampi ganjarane , awi t menika senidya d atan nurnti pitedah sak in g para pinisepuh nuruti ka,sa priyangga . Wit kasmaran mardi siwi [si~-vij timbang samya darbe ras:i, sumram bah andhap asor; tandang-tanduk solah bawan witira Jan renga amrih , datan kari utangku

Appendix

260 tinggal duga lan prayog.a . Prayogant> wong urip kudu ngerti empan-papan mapakake ragane; anengganana kalumrahan nengjagatsesrawungan ja gage dening payempuh mundhak samya ingewanan .

.

007 Request from the host

t

Para rawuh ingkang minulya, para rawuh ingkang minulya, kawula matur gung~ ing panuwun ingkang tanpa upami dhumateng Gusti ingkang Mahaagung sampun amarengi kanugrahan arupi menapa kemawon ingkang sampun kawula tampi. Amin. (At this point, in a largely incomprehensible portion of the recording, the host interrupts Pak Dhalang to explain to him the reasons for the feast. His words are not transcribed here.) Nuwun sewu menika taksih ngemban dhawuh saking ingkang kagungan dalem. Kula ngembani malih. Lan kawula ngaturaken pambagya kasugengan lumehedng dhateng para kadang mitra sami; kagem para pinisepuh ingkang rnengkoni dhusun Pulihreja, . lan cikaI-bakal, Ian kagern panjenenganipun Bap.;k Kepala Dhusun sakandhanipun, Ian para lbu-Ibu PKK, saha kag;:rn para taruna LKMD, keiuarga Sarnbaya Putra nyuwun tambahing pangestu . Mboten kalepyan kagem panjenenganipun Bapak Camat, saha Bapak DanRaMil, saha Bapak KaPoISek, Ian bagian kebudayaan sakandhanipun keluarga Sambaya Putra nyuwun tarnbahing pangestu. Para rawuh ingkang rninulya ngaturaken saiarn pitepangan kuda kepang ingkang dipunpandhegani Bapa Sambaya kanthi alarnat ingkang garnbiang dhusun Bar,dar-Icr, kidulipun rurnahsakit Gambiran, menika wonten pasarean Piething-kuning, daiernipun ngajengipun persis, utawi kanthi alamat Polisi Wilayah ... (?) Kadhiri . Para rawuh ingkang rninulya sowanipun paraga Sambaya Putra ing dhusun Pulihreja ing daiemipun Bapak Begja saperlu mengeti tanggap warsa utawi selapanipun putranipun ingkang khitanan . Ka ping kalihipun inggih menika ngiras ... menapa menika tanggap warsa putraPipun ingkang, nuwun sewu , medal sakembaran , kakung utawi putri . Mugi-mugi lumantar pasugatan sonten menika , ingkang khitanan sageda walu ya temah ing jati. Mugi-mugi putranipun ingkang kembar kalawau sageda w idada nir in g samb ek ala. Mugi Gusti p arin g p angayo man . Para raw uh ingkan g m inul ya kuda kepa ng ingka ng badh e kaw ul a parnenta san in g dhu sun ngriki meni ka wo nt en sejara hipun , ingg ih meni ka sejarah kith a Kad hir i asli.'

008 Introduction of the secor.d act Menika cariyosipun m ekaten , Mangke adega n ingkan g an gk a kalih men ika m edal kud a kep ang sekawan min an gka, minangk a prajurit Ian badh e nglebeti patemb aya . Njih menika ngast a kud a kepan g menika angg amb araken duk ing nguni . Wusana kanthi a p inarak ingk an g sekeca. Mbo k bilih wo n ten pa raga saha ni yaga in gka ng mb oten nuju prana ing pen gg alih panj enen gan, ka w ul a sagugupan titah in gkang limrah

Transcription of the CD recording

261

tamtu kadunungan sih penj enengan kersa roarin g gunging samudra pangaksami. Wusana mugi-mugi ingkap g kagungan dalem minangka ing karahatjan, mugi Gusti pareng pangayoman kawula ingkang tansah ngabekti. Kalisa nir ing sambekala.

009 Bengawan Solo Bengawan Solo, riwayatmu ehe, Sedari
011 Prayer Para rawuh ingang rninulya menika adegan ingkang angka kalih . Kuda kepang sekawan menika anggambaraken ingkang badhe sow an dhateng kitha Kadhiri badhe nglebeti patembaya . Para rawuh ingkang maluya sakderengipun pasugatan kawula wiwiti sumangga sesarengan ngeremaken panggalih minta dhateng Gusti ingkang Mahaagung: 'Sun puji mring Pangeran mugi kadang mitra sami kalisa ing sambekala, anebihna ing bilai acelakna ing panunggil. Mugi Gusti paring pa."1gayoman kawula tansah ngabekti . Amin.' Para tamtama magita-gita lumaksar1a baris. Paraga Sambaya Putraaa! (slompret, kendltang) Siyagaaa! Ya! Ha ho hi - - -

012 Kangkung (int ersp ersed with exclamations) Ya! Lenggang-lenggang kangkung Kangkung di kana -kana . Lenggang, lenggang-lenggang kangkung Kangkung di kana-kana. Pulang sama tambung Jiwa manis terbayang-bayang . Pulang Si; ••,a tambung Jiwa mani f' terbayang-bayang. He! He ! 013 Bunga rampa1 Heeee! (kenong, angklung)

262

Appendix

Bunga rarnpai, tari Bali, bunga cernpaka, rnawa'r suci , rnelati, indah perrnai, suci rnurni, tanda rnata yang kubawa darirnu . 0 Sarinah tak kandhani nak c1jangguya-ngguyu. [He He] Sarinah ayu, klambine biru, ngguya-ngguyu nak forr! brr!] arep melu aku. [brr! brr!] O! O! Sarinah ayu [brr! brr!], hi hi!

014 Njajah desa milang kori Ya! Njajah desa milang l<:ori Solo, Bojonegoro, Residen Rernbang lore Blon. [he he] etan Tub an, Babad , Larr.ongan, Sedayu, Pasuruan , _ Besuki, Besuki , Bondowoso, BanY'.1wangi, (all toget..l,er:) Pulihrejo! Lalala - - -

015 Kembang jagung Ya! 1 Kembang jagung omah karnpung 2 pinggir lurung, jejer telu, 3 sing tengah bakal ornahku. 4 Gernpa munggah guwa, 5 medhun neng kebon raja 6 methlk kembang soka, 7 dicaoske kanjeng rarna . 8 mundur kowe ajur, 10 jokna sabalamu, 11 ora wedi sudukanmu. 12 Ild lho dhadha satriya . 13 Ild lho dhadha satriya. 14 Ild lho dhadha satriya. 15 Hahoha hi hi! - - -

016 Ayo ngguyu Ayo ngguyu [ha, ha, h :: 1--ia] Ayo ngguyu [ha, ha, ha ha] Olehmu ngguyu, . Aja seru-seru. Esuk-esuk jagone padha k2:uruk pratandhane yen bangun esuk . Ayo kanca padha suka-suka,

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sajroning suka eling karo waspada. Ngguy u meneh, [ha,ha ,ha ha] ngguyu meneh , (ha, ha , ha ha] olehmu ngguyu , [ha, ha, ha] Aja seru-seru. Hahoha hi hi - - -

017 Madu dan racun Ya! Madu dan racun! (Ha ha ha hi hi] Engkau y,mg cantik , engkau yang manis , engkau yang ::nanja, se lalu tersipu. Ra wan sikapmu di balik kemelutmu, di remang kalbumu, dikabuti mega-rnegarnu . Ku melihat dua tangan di atas punggungmu . (choir:) Madu di tangan kanannm, [hi hi] racun di tangan kirirnu. Aku tak tahu mana yang kan kauberikan kepadaku.

018 Introduction of the four horse dancers Sinten ta ingkang nitih kuda kepang sekawan rnenika? Para prajurit utawi tamtama ingkang badhe nglebeti patembaya ing kitha Kedhiri, saperlu dherekaken Pangeran Toh Bagus kinanthen Patih Pujangga-Anom ingkang ngrasuk busananing kaprajuritan ingkang ngasta pusakaning pecut Kyai Sarnandirnan . Lampahnya para tamtarna gali yak-galiyak kados gajah kelangan srati . Ya! Hoi hoi hoi - - -

019 Tumrap kawula Tumrap kawula gesang puniki tansah engeta rnring Gustinira ingkang tansah nedahake sedaya marginipun kajujuran kalawaning ngerti kudu hlmindak prasaja ngudia kautaman; dene srananipun datan ana penggalih nuju ing parnrih

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Ian tumindak angkara. Punapa ta ingkang denna!uri kagungan Jawi kita sadaya ; sampun wonten ingkang supe kinarya buktinipun bilih kita trahing Jawi, punika kinarya tanda den tuhonana kesenianipun ; datan ana penggalih nuju ing pamrih lan tumindak angkara . Pra miyarsa 1-:adang rnitra 1-ami sumangga ta dimidhang etake macapat ing wanci d2.lu datan kilap su tri sna macapat ; .!'Ilalem mangkat har irir eki malem tirakatan . Mugi Hyang Mahaagung peparinga mring ka¼-ula ingkang tansah ngabekti paringa pangayoman .

020 Musical intermezzo 021 Summons of the Siskamling (neighbourhood security organization) Wis .... Matur panyuwara won ten para petugas Siskarnling ing dhusun Trisula-satu ing dalu menika ingkang wajib, wajibipun tugas jagi setunggal sedherek [ha ... !]; nomor hlih sedherek Akhir; nomor tiga sedherek Syukur, Sakur (?); nomor sekawan sedherek Sukiman ; nomor gangsal sedherek Sambi; nomor nem sedherek Padi. Dados menika supados dhateng wonten ing pos Siskamling. Matur nuwun. Para rawuh petugas Siskarnling ingkang sampun dipunaken kala wau supados siyaga ing posipun piyambak-piyambak. Sepindhah malih, ingkang kagungan kuwajiban Siskamling kula aturi ngepos wonten ing posipun piyambak-piyambak . Matur nuwun. 022

Introduction of the third act Para rawuh ingkang, .. . Para rawuh ingkang minulya menika badhe medal ingkang angka tiga minangka senapatining p:aja. Para rawuh, menika taksih kirang sekawan adegan dados panjenengan sampun kersa kondhur. Malam Minggu, malam santai, malam tirakatan .

l

J

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023 Introduction of the two horse dancers Para rawuh ingkang mfuulya kuda kepang kalih menika anggambaraken senapat ining praja ingkang badhe mriksani ing babakan wewangunan menapa kemawon kadosta kala wau saking Bandar sowan dhateng Pulihreja , griya-griya sampun sae, neon-neon sampun padhang njingglang , andamel reseping para kadang mitra sami. Tamtama magita-gita lumaksana baris. (kendhang, kenong) Paraga Sambaya Putraaa ... ! (saran centhe, gong, kendhang) Telue. Siyagaaa! Ha ho hi - - -

024 Lolobis kuntul baris Ya! Lolcbis ktmtul baris. 1 Baris terik tempe 2 Ri dhong dh ele gosong. 3 Bebck adus kali 4 Gosokar. sabun wangi. 5 Kembang enteng -ent eng , 6 Kembange suradhadhu . 7 Biyen renteng-renteng , 8 Saiki ngajak satru. 9 Embuh, ora weruh, 10 Satrumu ngajak wawuh. 11 Wawuh dina iki 12 Tak paringi roti rnari. 13 Aja dhi , aja dhi, 14 Sedulur tuwa malati. 15 Bener-bener . 16 Rujak nanas enak seger , 17 Jaran kepang mangan pari 18 Klarnbi abang manasi. 19 Hahuha hi hi! - - -

025 Cempa ya rowa Ya! (slompret)Cempa ya rowa Pakananrnu apa, ya rowa . Pupu gendhing ndhing , ndhing, ndhing Rowang-rawing wing, wing, wing . Bung kecibung . Jarane jaran buntung, Sing nurnpaki Pak Turnenggung, Jejeg kenong jejeg gung Jejeg kenong jejeg gung Jaran kepang mangan pari Klarnbi abang sing rnarahi, ya ta?

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026 Second introduction of the two horse dancers (the gamelan plays softly) Sinten ta! Para tamtama kalih menika anggambaraken senapatining praja ingkang ngrasuk busananing kaprajuritan, nitih kuda, ngasta pusakan .ing pecut Kyai Samandiman . Binarung larasing pradangga, kempul kendhang trompet munya, surak-surak para niyaga gumuruh ambata rubuh. Lampahnya para senapati galiyak-galiyak kados gajah kelangan srati . Hoi, hoi , hoi .. . (slompret) Para senapati rnriksani para tamtama ingkang wajib wonten ing palagan . Swantenipun pecut Kyai Samandiman amecalma ing langit. Hooo! - - -

027 Wayangplay (Pak Poyo [PP] recites th e ada-ada in the ·Yogyakarta style , siendro pathet sanga, changing to kandha of the gara-gara in the Yogyakarta style, followed by Pak Dhalang's [PD] commen ts, with contribution s by Bu Swarawati [BS] and a number of musicians and . ·members of the..audience [PN]. Because all kinds of people were shouting at the same time, it was often difficult to distinguish who said what. This section is not transcribed here .) (garnelan) PN: Sigeg ing ... PD: Para rawuh gandhen menika anggambaraken wayang Gathutkaca PN: (?) PD : Baladewa, Baladewa. Anoman ... Anoman. Dados gandhen menika A.rtoman PN : Mungsuhe Anoman. PD: Lha tepas menika Dasamuka. Lho Dasamuka? ... Mungsuhe dhewe. PN: Sugriwa, Sugriwa PD: Sugriwa. PN: Cangik PD: Cangik. Cangik, Cangik, Cangik ... PN : Petruk . ( ... ?). PD:( ... ?) sapa? PN: Baladewa, Baladewa .... Buta Terong PD: Buta Terong PN: ( ... ?) PD: Petruk PN : Buta Terong . Buta Terong. PD: Ha iya Buta Terong ... sing lungane ... PN: Buta Telek PD: 0 Buta Telek, ha ha ha ha ha PN: (Peals of laughter) PD: Para rawuh apa tumon Anoman perang karo Buta Telek? Ha iya, ha ha ha. Anomen . Anoman perang karo Buta Telek .. . Bagus! hua ha ha ha ha ha. PN: (Peals of laughter) PD: Lho Bagus , butane mbengok BS: Nangis ira

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PD: 0 nganti nangis barang butane kalah nangis . BS: Buta nangis !ho! PD: Perang tandhingipuh Anoman kaliyan Buta Telek PN: (Peals of laughter) PD: Huee he he ... . Anoman khue kok. Anoman ki kruek, ha ya Anoman he khuieh khuieh hue hue. Heeee aku ngati(?) akang ... aku ngati(?) akang ... Aaah .. . aaah . Nangise iki nangis, butane nangis kalah, Buta Telek ha ha ha ... uaaaheeee PN: (Peals of laughter) PD : Heee Lha dalah bojleng ( ... ?) Anoman saiki, khueh ii, Klme ii - - (PD imitates all kinds of animal sounds mingled with peals of laughter from the audience) PD: Saiki Anornan karo Buta Telek perangan saiki.Wis, neng sandhing klewer (?) wae, ha yo' (gamelaP. ) [. . . ] P D: H aaaa. Anoman kalah . BS: ( ... ?) (gamelan) PD: Goleka godhong dadi gunungan. (gamelan) PD : Godhong sembarang he. ( garnelan) [ ... ] PD: Khueee . Ha! Ha! Ha! - - - .Buta Telek kalah . Ayo, Buta Telek kalah. Diajar nganti rnumet. BS: Buta Telek. PD: Iya Suta Telek kalah. PN: (Peals of laughter) PD: Ajur murnur. (This is the end of the wayang performance.)

028 Dengar seruan massa Dengar seruan rnassa, bergelora di udara. Mernanggil para putra, betjuang gagah perwira. Rela berkorban jiwa, bagi negara rnerdeka.

029 Kecik-kecik isinc sawo l. Kecik-kecik isine sawo 2. Kadhung becik ja kaya ngono [kaya ngono J 3. Ali-ali ilangan matane 4. Aja lali karo kancane.

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5. Esuk-esuk jagone keluruk (imitating the crowing of a cock) 6. Mratandhani yen bangun esuk. 7. Ayo kanca padha suka~suka , 8. Elinga kelawan waspada .

030 Introduction of the fourth act Para rawuh ingkang minul ya adegan salajengipun menika medalipun Pangeran Toh Bagus kinanth en Patih Pujang ga-An om . Menika ingkang badhe ngayahl wajib wonten ing palagan, saperlu nglebeti patembaya , dipunsP.lingi laup-la11p kridha jiwa .

031 Kacarita Ngurawan nagri (thP. gamelan falls silent) Kacarita Ngurawan nagri jumeneng nata gung binathara , Lembu Amisena julu ke kinasih dewa agung, darbe putra putri sawiji Dewi Sanggalangit asman ya ayu."lya linangkung tinantun ing palakrama, gya ngemban dhawuh ing sang rama aji ning darbe patembaya . Wus sinebar wartaning sang Dewi pra kawula jro jaba nagara wus kathah kang mirengake . Wau ta Pangeran Toh Bagus Pujangga-Anom tan keri arsa nunggu patemba ya kang nuju p1ana sang ayu , angasta kepel sekawan, Singabarong Patih Singakumbang wus nglunasi laju sowan mring praja

032 Nengkarang Neng karang dhong pelik ledhang Kyai Lurah Semar sapranakane miyat kebon sarni ngundhuh taru pala sesuka sesindhenan samya njoged genti-genti . He, 'he!

033 Urging on a companion Ayo kan g, saik.i tindak sowang-sowang ing kutha Panaraga! Oooo! Ha! ha! ha! - - -

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034 Task of Pangeran Toh Bagus Ho! Ho! Ho! - - - PangJran Toh Bagus ingkang badhe nga yahi wajib, tindak dhateng kitha Kadhiri, prang tandhingipun kaliyan Patih Singakumbang. Ho! ho! ho! - - -

035 Klana Sewandana Klana Sewandana raja mudha ing Panaraga, siyaga ing yuda nglawan rat'.1 rai singa . Ngasta pusakaning pecut Kyai Sam,mdiman; perange sangsa ya rame kekarone padha sek tin e. Pujangga-Anom nglawan pepatihe Ratu rai singa. Swaraning pecut Samandiman Mecahna ing angkasa. Biyung rina wengi tansah uyang-uyung, nggendhong aku nganti aku bisa lumaku. Ayo kanca padha bekti roaring yayah rena. Binarung larase pradangga kempul kendhang trompet munya. Surak-surak para niyaga gumuruh ambata rubuh. Ya suraka-surak hore! Iya! Ya suraka-surak hore!

036 Duel between Toh Bagus, Pujangga-Anom and Singakumbang Pangeran Toh Bagus kinanthen (slompret)Patih Pujangga-Anom wajib ngayahi, wajib wonten ing palagan . Prang tandhing kaliyan Patih Singabarong katungka galiya:, sato galak.

037 Du~l between Pujangga-Anom and Singakumbang Prangipun Patih Pujangga-Anom kali yan Singakumbang anggegirisi , katungka sato galak sadulur kali yan wanara.

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038 Death of Singakumbang Haui, aui grrr - - Prang tandhing Pangeran Toh Bagus ka!iyan Pujangga-Anorn. Larnpahnya Patih Singakurnbang sarnpun nglunasi, katungka larnpahnya sadulur kaliyan wanara. Kuehl kueh! ha - - -

039 Death of Macan Haw, haw , grrr- - Macane rnati. 040

Introduction of the fifth act Para rawuh ingkang minul ya, ingkang nitih ku da menik a anggambaraken baring prang tandhin g kaliyan Singabarong. Kadospundi babaring cariyos. Para tamtama magita-gita lumaksana bari s ... (kendhang, kcmpul) Pa raga Samba ya Putraaa! (slompret, kendhang) Siyagaa·a:: .! Hi a Ge he ·ne- - . 04.1 Lur kilir Lur kilir kilur kombang kombange ja..,ur. Bocah cilik turn kasur embahe nyusul. lhit thuwit timan mati muliha. Kintel lingguh dhingkling. Sabuk nekel ra dhuwe dhuwit . Dhuwit dhuwit setheng ditukokke tela bongkeng Ayo! 042 General combat with Singabarong

(the gamelan plays softly) Para tamtarna ingkang ngrasuk busananing kaprajuritan, ingkang nitih kuda ngasta pusaka..ning pecut Kyai Sarnandiman, ingkang badhe siyaga ing yuda prang tandhing kaliyan Singabarong . Swaraning pecut Kyai Sarnandiman arnecahna ing angkasa. Larnpahnya para tamtarna galiyak-galiyak kados gajah ngoling . Ya!

043 Ana kidung Ana kidung kang rumeksa ing wengi, teguh ayu luputa ing Iara, luputa bilai kabeh; jirn setan datan purun pan rowang tan ana wani

II I

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miwah panggawe ala; gtmane wong luput; geni aternahan tirta , maling adoh tan ngarah mring wak marni, guna duduk pan sima . Sakeh Iara pan sarn ya bali , sakeh ngama pan samya miruda , welas asih pandulune, kadi kapuk tibaning wesi ; tibaning wesi tawa, sato galak lutut, sakehing braja luput; ka yu aeng lema h sangar songing landhak , gu waning wo ng, lemah mirin g, kadi pakipaning merak. 044 General combat of the horse dancers with Singabarong Prang tandhing ipun Singabarong kaliyan para prajurit. Samandiman arnecahna ing angkasa . Lho! Lho! Lho! - - -

Swaraning

pecut Kyai

045 Combat with Celeng Gembe! Celeng gembel, katindakaken gembel subekti . Medalipun celeng gembel menika minangka pumaning pasugatan . Kados pundi prang tandhingipun pra tamtama kaliyan celeng gembel? 046

Parting words by Pak Dhalang Samboyo Putro matur panyuwun ingkang tanpa upami dhumateng keluarga Bapak Begja ingkang sampun maringi kanugrahan arupi menapa kemawon. Mugi-mugi pinaringana berkah asesanti : "Sura dira jaya ning rat lebur dening pangastuti sumehing wadana mahanani pad.hang ing bawana". Nuwun. Nuwun.

047 Song contest between children from among the audience Madu dan racun - - -

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Index Entries like 'A na kidung ... ' denote songs translated and /o r discussed in the main text and included in the Appendix

ad-hoc groups 77, 107-9 11datceremon y 92, 97 Agama Jawa 30 see also Javanese cultur al

tradition - ruwat ritual 31 alas-alasan 83 aliran kepercayaan 30

Alun-alun Lor 88 alus art complex 3f-;3 'Ana kidung ... ' 202-3, 270-1 ancestors 30 - influence 30-1, 106 Angkara Kasih 83 angklung group 56-7 -role 59 Anuman 23 artist 27, 80 Arjuna 226-7 Asmaradana 200-1 audience - entertainment preferences 18 - evaluation of the trance 151, 167 - familiarity with the songs 203 - interaction with the trance dancers 165-6 - social status 38 - touched by the trance 160 'Ayo ngguyu .. .' 205, 262 babad 10 Balowerti 68, 90 bamboo - invested by the spirit 116 - jaran kipang 4

- magical potency 14 bamboo fan tepas 235 bango-thonthong lbango-tontong 81-2

Bapparda 71

barikan ritu al 110 ' Baris terik tempe . .. ' 204-5, 265 barisan danc e formation 216-7, 219 baritan ritual 109-10 barong 21

- aggression 159 - appeased 174, 182-3 -- dancer(s) 25 - jaranan jawa 68 - mask 50-1, 74 - offerings 117, 126-7 - Rajawana 173-4 - source of blessings 159, 183, 202-3 barongan 82 - barongan Banyuwangi 72-4, 159 - barongan-celengan act 93-4, 187, 1968, 217, 229, 231 - barongan-sempritan 159 Bathara Kala 31 baureksa 21, 108 bedhug 69-70 'Bengawan Solo .. .' 203,261 bersih desa 80 - Balowerti 90 -Bendo 97 -Menang 101 - Mlorah 96-7 - slametan 92-3 Bhinneka Tunggal Ika 9, 255 biduan 15-6 bilingualism 35 black magic 92 'Blessing of the penis' ritual 102-4 Boedi Oetomo 30 bridhen 46 -costume 62 - dancer 239 - performance 238-9 Bu Dhukun (host) 99-101

286 - social position 29, 80 Bu Swarawati 46, 65 - costume 62, 65 - repertoire 190 - request from trance dancer 139, 241 - social position 47 Budi Utomo see Boedi Oetomo Bujangganong 14, 173, see also PujanggaAnom 'Bunga rampai .. . ' 207, 261-2 Buta Locaya see Kyai Buta Locaya Buta Telek 235, 267 Buta Terong 266 Cakil 160, 234 celeng 48, see also Kal a Srenggi - disguis ed as Singa k umban g 172 - offerings 126-7 celeng gembel 187, 197 · - food offerings 126-7 celengan 46 'Cempa ya rowa .. . ' 205, 265 centhe 57 charm (jimat) 119, 202,233 Chinese gong 70 Chinese pilgrims 177 choral singing (gerongan) 189 choreography 220-31 - development 37 - symbols 218-9 circumcision 79, 83, 101, 104 civil society 36 classification of Javanese art 32-3, 35 closing ceremony 131 community celebrations 81 crossroad scenes 83 Cultural Affairs Bureau (Kantor Kebudayaan) 36-7 - cultural policy 36, 215, 218, 251-2 dalangldhalang ruat !ruwat 28-9 dance 215-32 - Arjuna style 226 - choreography 217-9 - 'frozen' stand 226 - gandrunglkiprahan 228 - invitation to the spirits 147, 224 - kembangan 215 - Kiana style 224 - movements 223 - showpiece of Samboyo Putro 216 deified ancestors 20-1, 30, 37 - continued influence 30-1, 78

Ind ex

Dedd y Dance Company 35 Delische Kunstkring/ Deli Art Society 48 demonic characters 21, 31, 51, 82-3, 124, 160,234 demonstration performance 97-8 demung 57 'Dengar seruan massa ... ' 207,267 designations of 'horse dance' 14-5 Dewi Kili Suci/ Kilisuci 177 Dewi Sanggalangit 169-71, 179, 181 Dewi Sekar Taji /Sekartaji 170, 175 DewiSri 31 dhalangldalang (puppeteer) 11, 106 - dhalang ruwat 31, 28-9 - dht!lang school 47 - dhalang tenun 32 - trance ma ster 27-8 Dhandhanggula 169, 190, 201-2 dhanyang 108, 117, see also spirits - guest at perform an ces 123 - legitimate spirit 31 - source of blessings 183 - spiritual protector 177, 184 Dhanyang Mojoroto 123-4, 182 (dhe)dhemit 21, 24 dhukun!dukun (trance master) 25, 27 - social status 28 dhukun bayi 30 dhukun prewangan 27-8 Directorate of Tourism (Bapparda) 71, 73 divine blessing (wahyu) 83 divine inspiration (wangsit) 29, 43 Dongko 70-1, 108 dream (mimpi) 19-20 dressing room 5-6, 136-7 drum group (kendhang) 56 dukun see dhukurt elmu gaib 20, 27, 92 eroticism 22 esoteric science (elmu gaib) 20, 27, 92

family celebrations 79 'Feast of the Livestock' (Pesta Temak) 70, 79, 108-9, 111 'Feast of the Mobile Police Squad' (HUT Mobrig) 81 feeding the props (nyaosi dhahar) 25, 117, 122-4 fertility 22-4, 116, 176 festivals see horse dance competitions Five-Year Development Plan (Pelita/ Repelita) 8-9, 41-2

Index folk art genres 33

gambuh 27, see also tranc~master - social standing 31 - therapeutic role 32 games 133, 161,234-5 , 238,243,247 gandarwa 13,82 , 84 gandhen 235 gandrung dance 228 Geirnaert-Martin, Danielle (informant) 107 gemblak 23 - lending out for wedding nights 24 generai electicns 43 gerongan 189 ghost (cepetan) 175 Go Tik Swan (alias R. Tmg. Harjonagoro) 14, 25, 55, 59 Goenoreso (hermi t) see Kyai Gunaresa Golkar (Golongan Karya) 43 gong group (gong) 56 gongscng 61 gotong royong 97 guardian spirits 251 guests at performances 97 - contributions 3-4, 130 - spirits (bangsaa/us) 111 - lTeatment 237 Gunung Kelud 3 Guwa Selamangleng 177-9 handbook (pakem) 190 Harl Kemerdekaan 47, 80, see also National Independence Day Harl Kepolisian 81, see also Police Day Harjono (civil servant) 36 - aesthetic ideal 251 -horse dance legend 170-1 - reassessment of the horse dance 368, 75 Hardjonegoro, KR.T., see Go Tik Swan Haswo Usodo company 20 - difference with Samboyo Putro 69 - jaranan jawa genre 67-9 - national competitions 37-8, 252 - old fashioned (kuna) image 75 - outfit and props 67-9 - ritual preparations 118 - sedentary type of group 77 - slametan 91 holy days 83, 117 homosexuality 23 horse dances 3

287

- demise 37 - denomination 15 - door to the spirit world 38 - earliest description 13 - legends 169-71, 173, 175-6, 179, 181 - popularity 15-6, 67-8, 75 - prestige 32 - public event 77 - ritual preparations 118-20 - sideline occupation 17 - significance 111-3 -structure of performances 187-8 - theories concerning the trance 21-2 - vessel for the spirit 24, 27 horse dance companies 3, 8 - cat egori es 33, 77 - competitions 36, 109, 132, 252 - genr es 14, 42, 67-71 - names 15, 22 - popularity 75 - reassessment 36, 75 - relation with h·ance 21 - supporters 17-8, 38, see also sponsors horse dancer 3, 49 - feeding 129 - in trance 138, 148, 153 - recovery from the trance 86, 163 - social status 24 host/hostess 3, 99, 121, 125 - choice of entertainment 18 - influence on the performance 101-2, 236,247 - requests 209-10, 260 - significance of the performance 113 HUT Mobrig see Mobile Police Squad Iger Karas 118 importance of the youth 95, 97, 252 Indonesian identity 8-9, 34-8 - and performing arts 35-8 - Javanese influence 34-5 Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) 109 informants 14, 22, 33, 68-9, 71, 73, 107-9, 203 initiation ritual 13:} , 1.55 introduction to the acts 191-6 - act one (jaranan nem) 220-3 - act two (jarananpat) 135-41, 191-2, 224-5 - act three (jaranan re) 192-63, 226-7 - act four (kucingan) 193, 227-8 - act five (barongan-celengan)196-7, 229-31

In dex

Macan 49,52 , 63, 244,196 - in performance 98, 240-1, 243 'Madu dan racun .. . ' 207,24 7,263 magic circle 85, 87, 108, 125, 143 Majapahit 23 malam Jum a'at Kliwon 83, 117 malam Selasa Kliwon 83, 117 maracas 57 market d ay s 83 masks 4, 49-53 - invested by the spirit (enth eng) 115 - 'feeding' (nyaosi dhahar) 25, 117, 1224

-makers 116 mbela 89 m ed itation (semedi) 19 Me nan g perform ance 47, 101 - d escripti on 80, 94, 99-101 Men d oeng 198 mimpi 19 Mobile Police Squad (HUT Mobrig) 81, 120-3 Mojoroto performances 81 - description 97-8, 122-3 Mulud 88 music - accompaniment 189 - entrance song of Singabarong 155 - instruments 56-9 - pelog-slendro ambiguity 57 musicians 44, 58-60, 65, 189 National Independence Day (Hari Kemerdckaan) 47, 80 - performances 49, 101, 207 'Neng karang dhong pelik . .. ' 204, 268 New Order (Orde Barn) 8-9, 13, 30, 36, 108 - campaigns 33 - centralization of power 34, 97 - cultural policy 34-8, 97, 110-1 - feudal attitude 34 - general elections 43 - ideology 91 . - Javanese influence 33-4 - problems 8 - Unity and Diversity 9, 255 - w ayang as model 33, 37 'Nj ajah desa milan g kori ... ' 204,262 Nyai Lara Kidul 31 nya osi dhahar 25, 117, 122-4 'O Sari nah . .. ' 207, 262

289

occasional p erformers 47-8 occasions for p erformances 78 offerings (sajen) 5, 121-2, 126-8 - redistribut ion of the food 130 - symboli sm 128 ontang-antin g 106 opening ceremon y 120-3 - dances 215-7 Old Order (Ord e Lama) 8 Orde Barn see New Order Orde Lama see Old Order Pak Arintoko (informant) 108 Pak Begja (host) 3, 142, 210 - influ en ce on th e p erforman ce 236, 247 - me ssage to the audi ence 209 - social p osition 210 - treatment of the gu ests 237 - treatment of the audience 142 Pak Beja (musician) 58-9 - opinion 159, 229 Pak Dhalang 41, 46, 98, 189 - horse dance legend 67, 81, 181, 192 - master of ceremonies 101, 209-13, 245 - message to the audience 199, 207 - role in the wa yang play 235 - task at performances 213 Pak Gambuh (trance master) 45,161 , 234 - as Singakumbang 66, 227-8 - as musician 58, 141 - at Sumberagung performance 101 - at Pulihrejo performance 137, 220, 226, 234, 238 Pak Hadi (informant) 68 Pak Murdjiran (informant) 109 Pak Pangendhang 137, 141, 245 Pak Probohardjono (informant) 33 Pak Sajen 5, 45, 129 - speech at slametan Menang 94-5 - role in Pulihrejo performance 140, 230, 233-4, 237-8, 241 Pak Sarnbo yo (leader, trance master) 3, 17, 45, 256 - as role model 253 - cultural pol icy 92-3, 95, 161-2, 180, 199 - divine inspiration 43 - handling of the fight 137, 142, 165 - hors e dan ce legend 179 - ideal musical accompanim ent 59 - in performance 137, 139-41, 224

288

Index

introduction of Sambo yo Putro compan y 208-9 itinerant groups (jaranan barangan) 33, 61, 77-8, 84-90 Jaka Sedana 176 jaranan 8, 14 -popularity (laris) 75 jaranan genres 14, 42 - breng 69-70 - butalbuto 70-3, 108-10 - jawa 55, 67-9, 75, 223 -kepang 70 - pegon 69-70 - senthere.we 45, 48-9, 59-70, 73, 75 Jaranan Kepang company 36-8, 75, 81, 251 jathilan 15, 22, 81-2 - d ancers 23 - at Sekat en 88 - in Mangir 17 - in Yogyakarta 88-9 J2.vanese cultur:il tradition - collective responsibility 161, 199 - cultural supremacy 30 - literary tradition 180 - religion (Agama Jawa) 30, 36, 91 - traditional artist 8 - weddings 79, 82, 176 -prophesy see Ratu Adil jidhorljidhur 70 jimat 55, 233 Juma'at Kliwon 83 juru kunci 119 kabupaten 15 'Kacarita ing Ngurawan nagri ... ' 169-70, 268 Kala Srenggi 53, 156, 231, 245 - in performance 94, 98, 230, 245, 247 Kangjeng Kyai Tunggul Wulung 108 Kantor Kebudayaan see Cultural Affairs

Bureau kasar art complex 32-3 kaul 78, 87, 99 kebudayaan daerah 35 kecer 59 -player 235 'Kecik-kecik ... ' 205, 267-8 Kediri 12 kelebihan 42 'Kembang jagung ... ' 206, 262 kembangan see dance kempul 56

kenanga flowers 5, 103 - healing quality 129-30 kendhang group 55-6 kendhang gendhing 168 kendhang panaraga 56-7, 60 kenong 55-6, 68, 85 kepang 13-4 keplokan 189 keprak 57 Kethek s2-3, 69, 98, 100 - in performance 99, 157-8, 228, 240-4 kethoprak 15 - and jaranan barangan 84 - source for verbal contributions 190 kethuk 55-6 ketipung 55-6 Ki Age:ng Mangir 176 Ki Gunawan (dhalang wayang kulit) 106 Kili Suci see Dew i Kili Suci kirab pusa ka 108 kitiran dance formation 217,219

Klana 22.4 - kiprahan dance 228 Klana Sewandanan (alias Toh Bagus) 68, 173-4 'Kiana Sewandana ... ' 194-5, 269 konduran performance 105 Kotamadya Kediri 15 kroncong 88 Kucingan (alias Singakumbang) 52 kucingan

- act four of Samboyo Putro 187-8 -performance 193-6, 227-9, 239-45 kuda kepang 36 - performance at Jombor 84-7, 116 kuda-kudaan 63-4 kupat luwar ritual 90 Kyai Buta Locaya (alias Kyai Daha) 24, 177-8181-2 Kyai Daha see Kyai Buta Locaya Kyai Gunaresa (Goenoreso) 173 -appeasing the barong 174 Kyai Samandiman 53-5, 98,229 laris 75 ,awe menang 61

!,embuAmiluhur/Amisena

169,175,180 'Lenggang-lenggang kangkung ... ' 203, 261

Lodoyo 171 ludrug!ludruk 15 LiiE;n, Barbara (informant) 14 'Lur kilir kilur kombang ... ' 206, 270

290

Index

- member of Golkar 43 - New Order ideology 91 - social position 17, 41, 43, 47 - spirituai leader 47 - trance policy 149, 161-2, 254 - wayang wong as model 33 Pak Sardjono (informant) 71, 73 Pak Slompret 59, 137 - as master of ceremonies 190, 208-9 - as dhalang 235 - as Penthul 46, 62, 241, 243 -experience of the trance 149,224 Pak Soetrisno (host) 101 Pak Sorip 71 Pak Supandi see Sarnbo yo Putro II Pak Su wuk (trance master) 85-6, 116 Pak Tjokromihardj o (informant ) 203 Pak Usodo (trance master ) 20, 68, 104-6, 118 - contact with the spirit world 90, 145 - financial reward 106 - traditional healer 118, 252-3 - slametan 91 - trance .of possession 46 pakem 190 Parnenang Jayabaya 43-4, 101, 118-9, 177 Pancasila 9 - religious article 10 Panji Asmara Bangun 82 - Panji legend 170, 175 Partai Nasional Indonesia 109 Pelita see Five-Year Development Plan pencak silat 243 Penthul 50-1, 69, 81-2, 86, 174-5 - Pak Slompret 62, 241, 243 performance - ambiguous character 154 -area 136 - at crossroads 83 - closing ceremony 131 - formal parts 188, 215 -joining in (mbela) 89 - occasions 78-81 - opening ceremon y 120-3 - ritual preparations 118-120 - structure 187-8 -surveys 42 Pesta Temak see Feast of the Livestock Petruk 82 pilgrimage 43, 118, 177 Pitulas Augustusan see National Independence Da y places of pilgrimage 43, 118, 177

Plethik Kuning 118 PNI see Partai Nasional Indonesia Police Day (Hari Kepolisian) 81 'Poma-pomawekas mami... ' 200-1, 259-60 Ponorogo type of horse dance 21, 173, see also reyog panaraga prang kembang 83 prapatan 83 prayer 125, 131 - for rain 107 President Habibi 8 President Soekamo/Sukamo 8 - Pancasila speech 9 President Suharto 8, see also New Order policy prewangan 27 ·- socia l status 28 priyayi attitude 34 processioris 22-3, 79, 81-4 Prophet Muhammed 31 Proyek Pengembangan Kesenian Jawa Timur 42 Pujanggan-Anom/Bujangganong 49-50, 93,157 - in the legend 171, 173 - in the performance 227-8 Pulih:rejo performance 135-41, 187-250 - evaluation 244-5 - preparations 3-5 Putri Kediri 177 Ratu Adil prophesy 43 reassessment of the tradition 36-7, 75 rebutan 130 regional art (kebudayaandaerah) 35 Regol-Patrajaya 174 religious ideology (aliran kepercayaan) 30 Repelita see Five-Year Development Plan reog 14 reyogpanaraga 14, 21, 23-6, 57, 68 -iegend 22 -music 57 - performance 25 - trance 25 rite de passage 83 ritual 115-32 - Feast of the Livestock 75, 78-9, 108-9 - healing 103, 105-6 - rain 55, 107 - kupat luwar 90 - tiban 55 Rouget , Gilbert 18-20, 28, 133-4, 143, 147, 150, 155

\.

I f Index

Rukun Santoso 22, 71, 73, 77 ruwat massal 31 sacrificial chicken 7, 88, 90, 242, 245 - as prize 132, 247 sajen see offerings Samboyo Putro 3 - origin of the name 45 -youth 46, 237-8 Samboyo Putro II 41 Samboyo Putro company 3, 38-67, 77, 90-1 - banner 5, 7, 122 - competitions 37-8 - costumes and prop s 59-67 - declin e 250 - differ ences w ith th e survey 63-7 - demonstratio!l s 81, 97-8 - educational role 92, 94-5, 168, 199, 254-5 - history 43-5 - jaranan sentherew e genre 42, 45, 63 - marginal role in celebration 101 - members 5, 45-8 - modem (maju) image 167-8 - narrator-singer 11, see Pak Dhalang - popularity (laris) 17 - publicity 4-5, 7, 199, 210-2 - role specialization 158 - sedentary type of group 77 - slametan for the young 93-4 - treatment of the audience 99, 101, 233-5, 237-8, 240 saran group 56-7 suto galak 51-2, 82-3 sedentary groups 77; 90-106 sekaten Yogyakarta 88 Selasa Kliwon 83 Semar 204 semedi 19 seniman 27 sentherewe 45 setar. (harassing spirit) 21, 124, 146 Si Ijo (the troublemakers) 139-41 Si Kuning 141 Si Lurik 137, 139 Si Papat 233 Si Patbelas 234-7 -as Cakil 234 - as pupp eteer 234-6 Si Pecut 139-40 Si Pincang 135, 137-41, 224-5 Si Sampur 137

291

Si Sepuluh 234-5 Singabarong 50, 52, 93-4, 123, 154, 161 -dancer 242 - entrance song 155, 202-3, 270-1 - identity 181-2 - in performance 229-31, 245-8 - in the legend 171, 173-5, 177, 179-81, 242 - symbolism 182-3 Singakumbang 50-2, 98, 123, 170-8 - in performance 239-40 - in the legend 171-2, 181 Siskarnling 211-2, 264 slametan 80 - arlat eve;.t 92, 97 - change of empha sis 97 - for th e yo un g 93-7 - religious event 91-3 - syst~m of invitation 92 slendro 57 sienthem 57 slompret 8, 56, 68 - pelog-slendro ambiguity 57 - players 58-9 somnambulism 133, 150, 153 song contest 207, 263 songs - disconnected statements 203 - in performance 194-5, 189-207 - Indonesian element 206-7 - public property 203, 208 spirits 159 - ancestor 20,251 - blessing 159, 183, 202-3 - contact 19-20, 27 - deified ancestors 20-1 - demands 105 - entry 147-50 - evil spirits 32 - feeding (nyaosi dhahar) 25, 117, 122-5 - forest spirits (gendruwon) 175 - free spirits 160 - guardians (dhanyang) 31, 123-4, 1823, 210 - harassing 21, 124, 105-6 - hidden by the 164-5 - hierarchy 21, 31 - identity 89, 160 - illegitimate spirits 32 - invitation 238 - kinds of spirits 31 - reluctance to depart 163 - sending home 131

292

- spirit food 87 - spirit medium 27 • - tutelary spirits 124 sponsors see also host - categories 77-8, 80-1 - influence on the performances 249 - offerings 117 Sri see Dewi Sri Sri Sedana 176 state philosophy (Pancasila) 9-10 Surnberagung performance 101-3, 236 'Sun puji dateng pangeran... ' 198-9, 257-8 Supersemar 8 Suprapto (dancer) 35 symbol of fertility 23-4, 116, 176

tantangan dance formation 217 Tantu Panggelaran 172 Tatit 198 teater tradis.i 35 tembang majapat 169 - Asmaradana 200 - Dhandanggula 169-202 Temberrt 69, 86, 174

tepas 235 theory of praxis 36 Thethek-melek (alias Pujangga-Anom) 63-4, 68 . Thithit-thuwit 72-3, 82, 175, 206, see also bango-thonthong tirakatan 212 Toh Bagus (alias Kiana Sewandana) 49. 50, 68 - in performance 93, 98, 170, 2i9, 227, 31 topeng 10 Touwen-Bouwsma, Elly (informant) 14 traditional artist 8 -role 8-9 traditional performing art genres 9 - changing attitude 34-8 - New Order problem 8 -surveys 42 trance 18 - ambiguity 166 - changing role 250, 254 - characteristics 19, 147, 154-5 - contagious 134, 159-60 - dangers 164-6 - definition 18, 134, 147 - door to the spirit world 38 - initiation ritual 155 - mock fights 21-2

Index - music 142-3, 155-6 - of posse ssion 18, 21, 251 - performance 135-41 - phases 19, 133-4, 146-7 - real fighting 137 - real or simulated 19, 151, 166-7 - religious framework 133, 155, 167 - role specialization 158 - significance 166-8 - social event 19 - socializing role 155, 167 - somnambulant 150, 153 - theories 21-5 - triggering 142-5 trance dancers 129, 136, 148, 151-3, 163 - addicted 144-5 - audience contact 250, 254 - au d ience perception 151, 167 - experience 224 - genuineness of the tran ce 19, 151, 166-7 - interaction with the audience 233, 240-1, 245, 247-8, 250, 254 - loss of shame 19, 149, 254 - loss of speech 27, 150 - recovery from trance 141, 162-4, 231, 243,248 - role specialization 158 - sense of liberation 134, 150, 160 - unpredictable behaviour 158-9, 165 trance master 11, 25-33, 162 -no women 29 Tresno Budoyo 159 Tuhan Yang Maha Esa 10 Tulungagung 22, 69 -mask makers 116 - type of horse dance 21 'Tumrap laiwulagesang puniki ... ' 201-2, 263-4 turangga 15 Turonggo Yakso 15, 70, 75, 78-9, 108-9 - ad hoc type of group 77 -ritual 110 Unity in Diversity 9, 255 upacaratradisional 111 vow (kaul) 78, 87, 99

wahyu 83 Wahyu Turonggo Budo yo 15, 22, 69 - sedentary type of group 77 Wali Sanga 31, 172

I

I

Ind ex waringin kurung 107, 111 warok-gemblak relation 23

wayang characters 31, 46/69, 82, 160, 170, 174-6, 226-7, 234-5 wayang genres 10-1, 16, 19, 33, 35, 59, 61-2, 227 WayangJepre 174 wayang model 33, 37 - similarities with horse dance performance 83, 204 wayang scenes 83, 234-7

- request from the host 236 wedding 79, 176 - customs on wedding night 24 - procession 22, 82-4, 175 welcome speeches 208-10 whips (pecut) 48, 53-5 wild boar (Kala Srenggi) 4, 48 wong cilik 47, 254 wong osing 73 wong seni 80 wong tuwa 27

293