JP\/18\/SUCI<\/p>\n
Dancing for self-purification<\/p>\n
Tarko Sudiarno
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
That night, the soft light emanating from the bamboo torch
\nplanted on the ground gently danced on the surface of Sendang
\nKasihan bathing pool.<\/p>\n
Four pretty women clad in white slowly descended from the edge
\nof the pond into the water in the Bedhaya Keraton royal dance
\nmovement.<\/p>\n
The gentleness in which their arms moved and their freely
\nflowing hair accentuated the magic atmosphere created by the
\nfragrant smoke wafting from burning incense.<\/p>\n
The moment their bodies were fully submerged, the women made a
\ncircular movement so that the white cloth wrapping their bodies
\nformed a lotus-like circle on the surface of the water. Combining
\nJavanese classical dance movements with those of modern dancing
\n(ballet), they demonstrated their response to their natural stage
\n-- the pond, reportedly the legacy of Sunan Kalijaga.<\/p>\n
That was a scene from Jamasan Kapribaden (Self-Purification),
\na spiritual art dance created by Beghawan Ciptoning, a
\nchoreographer and a dance lecturer at the Yogyakarta Indonesian
\nFine Arts Institute (ISI) and performed at Sendang Kasihan,
\nBantul regency, Yogyakarta on Oct. 13.<\/p>\n
"We are performing this dance to welcome the fasting month of
\nRamadhan. In the Javanese tradition, following the teachings of
\nSunan Kalijaga, one of the nine pious leaders that propagate
\nIslam in Java, must purify themselves before Ramadhan by
\nperforming Padusan, or bathing in a river," Beghawan Ciptoning
\ntold The Jakarta Post after the performance.<\/p>\n
Padusan is usually performed en masse in a river, a lake or
\nother water sources, he said, adding that this time it was
\nturned into a ritual art piece. "We have chosen Sendang Kasihan
\nbecause this pool is known to be the legacy of Sunan Kalijaga and
\nis believed to bestow blessings to those who believe," he said.<\/p>\n
Local stories have it that people usually make a pilgrimage to
\nSendang Kasihan bathing pool, which is located about 10
\nkilometers south of Yogyakarta, every Kliwon Tuesday and Kliwon
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
Yudhoyono, an observer of supernatural affairs, said that
\nformer president Soeharto often made a visit to the waters of
\nSendang Kasihan before and after he became president.<\/p>\n
Local beliefs aside, Ciptoning, who once performed a spiritual
\nart piece in Boko Temple compound and the garden of Yogyakarta
\npalace, said that the performance of his dance piece in Sedang
\nKasihan should be regarded as an attempt to trace the history of
\nIslam through Javanese culture, following the practice of Sunan
\nKalijaga.<\/p>\n
"It is not my business whether this rite in Sendang Kasihan
\nwill be of any use or not. It all depends on every individual
\ninvolved. What matters to me is that this rite is my attempt to
\nget close to God by means of purifying myself in the way that our
\nforefathers have passed down to us," said Yudhoyono.<\/p>\n
That evening the dance performance began with the appearance
\nof four dancers, each carrying a lantern from the veranda of
\nSendang Kasihan mosque.<\/p>\n
The four dancers, making refined Jejer movements, tried to
\nreveal man's wishes for an enlightened path. They swung their
\nlanterns, symbolizing the light, to pierce into darkness.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by the chanting of prayer that Sunan Kalijaga
\ncomposed, they tried to find an enlightened path. "Ono kidhung,
\nrumekso ing wengi. Teguh hayu luputo ing loro, luputo bilahi
\nkabeh. (There is a prayer chanted, and heard at night. May all be
\nreleased from pain, from disasters)."<\/p>\n
Thus, read a verse from Sunan Kalijaga's Kidhung Dandhanggula,
\nwhich, that night, was sung from behind the dark old trees
\ngrowing at the side of Sendang Kasihan.<\/p>\n
Finally, after finding the right path toward the light, the
\nfour dancers changed their costumes, took off the crowns on their
\nheads and slipped into their white garb.<\/p>\n
In small steps they went into Sendang Kasihan and bathed there
\nto cleanse themselves, physically and spiritually.<\/p>\n
They purified themselves in the water of the pool, which
\nlooked really pristine under the light of the torches. This
\nbathing would heal their spiritual wounds prior to the arrival of
\nthe fasting month.<\/p>\n
Ciptoning, who completed his postgraduate program at the
\nIndonesian Art College (STSI) Surakarta, said that this dancing
\nprocession depicted how a sinful human being longed for
\nrepentance and for a meeting with God.<\/p>\n
After going through the Jamasan Kapribaden" rite, he will be
\nready, physically and spiritually, to worship God.<\/p>\n
"In Javanese culture, Jamasan is, symbolically or physically,
\nalso apparent in various forms like Jamasan Duwung (krises),
\nJamasan Topeng (masks), Jamasan Ringgit (leather puppets) and
\nJamasan Sarira (self-purification). Hopefully, this ritual
\nprocession in the Sunan Kalijaga bathing pool may serve as a
\nreflection of Sunan Kalijaga, steeped as it is in Javanese
\nculture," said Ciptoning.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18suci-1447899208",
"image": ""
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