Then and now in classical Javanese dance

Then and now in classical Javanese dance

By Ong Hok Ham

JAKARTA (JP): The rich royal traditions of the palaces of
Central Java, now all but a distant memory, were brought back to
life in a recent performance of Javanese classical dances at the
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.

The event was organized by Panecwara, a dance group led by
renowned classical dancers including Maruti, Sentot, Sulestyo and
Trisapto.

The four dances, all from the Surakarta palace, were the
Bedaya Duradasih (a sacred dance of nine female dancers); Perang-
Tanding (a classical dance based on a duel); Gambyong (a solo
performance by a female dancer) and a warrior dance of palace
guards. The first two dances originated from the court of the
kraton (palace), the third was a popular entertainment
arrangement and the final one was a new composition.

The dances once served a particular function within court
life, but this has inevitably been altered by the passage of time
and the passing of the glorious palace era. The dances are now
performed by descendants of the former palace dance troupes, who
were forced to leave the kraton in search of a living after
Indonesia's independence.

Sacred palace dances, such as the famed Bedaya, were
considered magical sources of royal power and were also performed
during battles in ancient times.

When battles were later replaced by diplomatic negotiations
with representatives of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) or the
Dutch governor of the Netherlands Indies, the ruler of Surakarta,
known as the susuhunan, brought along his troupe of Bedaya
dancers and a gamelan orchestra to perform at the place of
negotiation. As the performance ensued, the ruler was able to
focus his thoughts and preserve his strength for the negotiating
table.

The performance, accompanied by a choir of female singers
chanting Javanese texts of history and other pusaka manuscripts,
had the ulterior purpose of distracting the Dutch representative
from his original strategy.

The most sacred of the Bedaya dances is the Bedaya Ketawang.
The dance is performed once a year, on a date determined by the
Javanese calendar, to commemorate the coronation of the
Susuhunan. The dance symbolizes the union of Javanese kings to
the Goddess of the South Sea, who is believed to be the protector
of Javanese royalty and the spiritual consort.

For the Bedaya Ketawang, the nine female palace dancers
rehearse every Tuesday, the sacred kliwon on the Javanese
calendar. The Surakarta palace still maintains this tradition
although there are no longer the courtiers, or abdi dalem, to
perform the dance. This is left today to the princesses of the
palace itself.

The second highest ranking Bedaya dance is the Angling
Mendung, performed to commemorate the dynasty founder's marriage
to a princess of Madiun, a union which legitimized the kingdom of
Senapati's rule over Mataram in Java. The Bedaya Duradasih, which
was performed at Gedung Kesenian, is third in rank of sacred
dances and takes inspiration from the Serat Centini.

The classical dances were integral in the ceremonies of the
Javanese monarchy and a budget was allocated for dances and the
arts.

Other performances were held if there were special palace
guests or festivities such as to mark the new year, Idul Fitri
and royal weddings.

The last great ruler of Surakarta was Paku Buwono X (l893-
l939), the longest reigning monarch of the Mataram dynasty. There
were 200 male and female dancers during his court's heyday.

He had 80 children, hundreds of grandchildren and numerous
great grandchildren in his lifetime. He was a cultural hero of
his time for many Javanese and is often called Raja-Panutup (the
last great king of Java).

In the post colonial era, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX (1921-39)
of Yogyakarta became a hero for many conservative Javanese, as he
legitimized the transition from a royal-colonial past to modern
Indonesia.

The great days of royal culture effectively ended with the
next ruler, Paku Buwono XI (l939-1944). His jealous consort, Ratu
Paku Buwono, dismissed the 200 dancers. She was probably the most
forceful woman in modern Javanese royal history.

The kraton civilization came to an end because everything
revolved around personalities within the claustrophobic palace
walls, and the focus was the queen.

One of the few vestiges of the traditions remaining today are
the dances.

Palace grounds

Performances of palace dances were restricted to within its
grounds for most of history. This changed when Sultan Hamengku
Buwono VIII allowed Prince Tejakusuma to hold dances at his
residence outside the palace in the 1930s.

Indonesia's independence and the sweeping societal upheaval
that followed brought further relaxation of the rules on
performances of the dances. The palace was beset by financial
problems as subsidies did not keep pace with inflationary times.
Many palace occupants suffered material losses during World War
II and the ensuing fight for revolution, and were forced to look
for a living outside in the offices of Jakarta and elsewhere. The
diaspora of palace nobility to other cities led to the emergence
of active and very talented Javanese classical dance groups.

The function of the dances has changed. During the palace
era, the dances were part of state ceremonies and the audience
paid little attention to the performance. They chatted and
laughed, viewing it as a social occasion.

There have been adaptations for modern audiences, including
shortening of the duration. The Bedaya Darudasih originally
spanned from one to two hours, but was curtailed to just half an
hour in the recent performance.

Probably the biggest change is in the audience members, who
are no longer the leisure class of palace nobles. Viewers today
are dance and art lovers from the urban middle class who revere
the aesthetic value of the performances.