Dancing for self-purification in 'Bedhaya Keraton'

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

That night, the soft light emanating from the bamboo torch planted on the ground gently danced on the surface of Sendang Kasihan bathing pool.

Four pretty women clad in white slowly descended from the edge of the pond into the water in the Bedhaya Keraton royal dance movement.

The gentleness in which their arms moved and their freely flowing hair accentuated the magic atmosphere created by the fragrant smoke wafting from burning incense.

The moment their bodies were fully submerged, the women made a circular movement so that the white cloth wrapping their bodies formed a lotus-like circle on the surface of the water. Combining Javanese classical dance movements with those of modern dancing (ballet), they demonstrated their response to their natural stage -- the pond, reportedly the legacy of Sunan Kalijaga.

That was a scene from Jamasan Kapribaden (Self-Purification), a spiritual art dance created by Beghawan Ciptoning, a choreographer and a dance lecturer at the Yogyakarta Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) and performed at Sendang Kasihan, Bantul regency, Yogyakarta on Oct. 13.

"We are performing this dance to welcome the fasting month of Ramadhan. In the Javanese tradition, following the teachings of Sunan Kalijaga, one of the nine pious leaders that propagate Islam in Java, must purify themselves before Ramadhan by performing Padusan, or bathing in a river," Beghawan Ciptoning told The Jakarta Post after the performance.

Padusan is usually performed en masse in a river, a lake or other water sources, he said, adding that this time it was turned into a ritual art piece. "We have chosen Sendang Kasihan because this pool is known to be the legacy of Sunan Kalijaga and is believed to bestow blessings to those who believe," he said.

Local stories have it that people usually make a pilgrimage to Sendang Kasihan bathing pool, which is located about 10 kilometers south of Yogyakarta, every Kliwon Tuesday and Kliwon Friday.

Yudhoyono, an observer of supernatural affairs, said that former president Soeharto often made a visit to the waters of Sendang Kasihan before and after he became president.

Local beliefs aside, Ciptoning, who once performed a spiritual art piece in Boko Temple compound and the garden of Yogyakarta palace, said that the performance of his dance piece in Sedang Kasihan should be regarded as an attempt to trace the history of Islam through Javanese culture, following the practice of Sunan Kalijaga.

"It is not my business whether this rite in Sendang Kasihan will be of any use or not. It all depends on every individual involved. What matters to me is that this rite is my attempt to get close to God by means of purifying myself in the way that our forefathers have passed down to us," said Yudhoyono.

That evening the dance performance began with the appearance of four dancers, each carrying a lantern from the veranda of Sendang Kasihan mosque.

The four dancers, making refined Jejer movements, tried to reveal man's wishes for an enlightened path. They swung their lanterns, symbolizing the light, to pierce into darkness.

Accompanied by the chanting of prayer that Sunan Kalijaga composed, they tried to find an enlightened path. "Ono kidhung, rumekso ing wengi. Teguh hayu luputo ing loro, luputo bilahi kabeh. (There is a prayer chanted, and heard at night. May all be released from pain, from disasters)."

Thus, read a verse from Sunan Kalijaga's Kidhung Dandhanggula, which, that night, was sung from behind the dark old trees growing at the side of Sendang Kasihan.

Finally, after finding the right path toward the light, the four dancers changed their costumes, took off the crowns on their heads and slipped into their white garb.

In small steps they went into Sendang Kasihan and bathed there to cleanse themselves, physically and spiritually.

They purified themselves in the water of the pool, which looked really pristine under the light of the torches. This bathing would heal their spiritual wounds prior to the arrival of the fasting month.

Ciptoning, who completed his postgraduate program at the Indonesian Art College (STSI) Surakarta, said that this dancing procession depicted how a sinful human being longed for repentance and for a meeting with God.

After going through the Jamasan Kapribaden" rite, he will be ready, physically and spiritually, to worship God.

"In Javanese culture, Jamasan is, symbolically or physically, also apparent in various forms like Jamasan Duwung (krises), Jamasan Topeng (masks), Jamasan Ringgit (leather puppets) and Jamasan Sarira (self-purification). Hopefully, this ritual procession in the Sunan Kalijaga bathing pool may serve as a reflection of Sunan Kalijaga, steeped as it is in Javanese culture," said Ciptoning.