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?"