JP/18/SUCI

JP/18/SUCI

Dancing for self-purification

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.