Ponorogo spiritualists take young men as 'wives'

Ponorogo spiritualists take young men as 'wives'

By Rohmat Kemislegi

PONOROGO, East Java (JP): Homosexuality is often considered a
phenomenon of modern, urban societies, represented by thriving
gay and lesbian communities in cities such as Sydney and San
Francisco.

But research has shown that same-sex relationships, whether in
the berdache of Native American communities, the samurai of
ancient Japan or hijra of India, have also been tolerated in some
traditional societies.

In the town of Ponorogo, East Java, these relationships are
identified with the traditional martial art and spiritual form
known as Reog Ponorogo. They develop between the warok, a martial
arts expert endowed with spiritual powers and the leader of dance
groups, and the gemblak, the young men who are usually the
performers of the special jatil, or horse, dance.

Many in the local community assume that sexual intercourse is
part of these relationships. Until recently, this aspect was not
frowned upon but tolerated, and many parents hoped their sons
would become a gemblak to bring in additional income to their
families.

Traditional warok counter that sex is not part of these
relationships. They argue that they avoid ejaculating because the
loss of sperm would cause depletion of their spiritualism. This
belief is related to the Buddhist Tantric teaching that spiritual
strength can only be achieved through shedding all desires,
including sexual urges.

The name warok is derived from the Javanese words uwal,
meaning free, and rokaan, the term for communal activities. The
name refers to the practice during the Wengker kingdom, which
lasted from 500 A.D. to 1486 A.D. and was centered in Ponorogo,
which exempted the warok from working in road and irrigation
projects. The entry of Islam into Java also led to an Arabicized
variation on the name, waro'i, meaning leader.

The king of Wengkar, Sri Garasakan, was naturally the first
person freed from the responsibilities of work. As a follower of
Tantrist Buddhism, he believed that the ideal of perfect life
must include the search for supernatural powers.

Anthropologist Soehardi from Gadjah Mada University,
Yogyakarta, confirmed that those with spiritual powers would
often refrain from sexual relations with women to prevent any
weakening of their strength.

Sri Garasakan never married but took a handsome young man as a
surrogate wife, who became known as the gemblak. The king did
once try to win the hand of a princess from the Kediri kingdom,
Dewi Sanggramawijaya. The story of this failed courtship is part
of the performance of Reog Ponorogo.

There is another less appealing version of how the tradition
derived. It is said that warok were actually a band of criminals
who often created disorder, but were happy to show their skills
with weaponry at public gatherings.

They, so the tale goes, would not have sex with women to
maintain their strength. "They usually took care of boys in their
teens," said Arief Asyari, a renowned warok in Ponorogo.

The presence of the adolescent boys was to limit the men's
sexual intimacy with their wives and the resulting loss of sperm,
according to Ahmad Tobroni.

"People using their powers should not associate with women,"
said the 60-year-old, who was a gemblak in his youth. He said a
warok would often spend more time with the young man than with
his wife.

But Ahmad said this relationship was chaste because sex would
only lead to depletion of the spiritual strength which took years
to acquire through disciplined learning.

"Association with women will cause brittle bones, a soft
stomach and loss of spiritual powers for the warok," he said.
The relationship with the young man, he added, was limited to
sleeping in the same bed together, hugging and kissing.

Others, such as warok Kasni Gunopati, disagreed. He said only
one or two of the medicine men from a sampling of 10 could truly
be classified as chaste.

"But if a warok has a sexual relationship with a gemblak, he
runs the risk of one day being murdered," said the man who
admitted to having relationships with 16 gemblak.

Due to the proscription on relations with women, many warok
marry in their later years when their powers are fully mature.

The Reog dance group always includes the Jatil dance about a
horse soldier. Traditionally, because it was believed relations
could develop between the warok and female dancers, they were
replaced with good-looking young men.

These dancers were the star attractions in drawing an
audience, and their importance contributed to their close
relationships with the warok as leaders of the group.

The latter would usually choose young men aged from 12 years
to 20 years as companions. All of the man's living expenses --
schooling, food, clothing -- were assumed by the warok, and every
year he was obligated to present a cow to his partner's family.
Not surprisingly, a young man would sometimes have a herd of
seven or eight cows by the time the relationship ended.

The warok are famous for spoiling their partners. The young
man's clothes cannot be the same as his peers, and often come
from a famous designer. This is even though the boy's role is to
serve the older man.

The young men are usually from the poor farming villages
around Ponorogo. In hopes of overcoming their poverty, many
families are only too happy to have their sons become a gemblak.

"I had no choice but to become a gemblak," said Parno, 33. "My
parents were poor farmers with five children to feed."

He has only good memories of his past. "I wanted so much to be
a gemblak because my every need would be taken care of," said the
sweet-faced man. The father of one added that the intimacy of his
relationship with the warok never went beyond a good night hug
and kiss.

The fixation for the young men sometimes leads to conflicts
among warok, which have been known to end in fatalities.

The medicine men gain prestige through the size of their harem
of young men. At a traditional wedding party, for instance, a
warok must be accompanied by a group of at least 10 young men.
The event is an opportunity to display the man's "collection".

But values are changing. While the closet door may be opening
wider for homosexuals living in major cities, the practices of
the warok are being driven underground.

Soehardi attributed this to a shift in moral standards in the
local community because "the public no longer considers a same-
sex relationship to be normal".

Approval of more open heterosexual relationships is now
apparent. In the early 1980s, a man and woman riding together on
a motorcycle would be subject to catcalls, but now, this sight no
longer invites comment.

Politics is also fueling these changes. "The local government
is taking part in controlling this through socializing the
perception that gemblakan is a negative cultural phenomenon,"
said Soehardi.

In a shocking departure from tradition but in deference to
these altered values, women are becoming Jatil dancers.

"Using women as the dancers goes against the traditions and
regulations of the Reog tradition," said Kasni Gunopati. "But
what else can we do?"