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The bedhaya (also written as bedoyo, beḍaya and various other transliterations) () is a sacred, ritualised
Javanese dance Javanese dance (; ) is the dances and art forms that were created and influenced by Javanese culture in Indonesia. Javanese dance movement is controlled, deliberate, and refined. Javanese art often displays finesse, and, at the same time, a ser ...
of
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, associated with the royal palaces of
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
and
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
. Along with the
srimpi The Srimpi () (also written as Serimpi) is a ritualised dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The ''srimpi'' dance is one of the classical dances of Central Java. Along with the '' bedhaya'', ' ...
, the bedhaya epitomized the elegant () character of the royal court and became an important symbol of the ruler's power. The bedhaya has different forms in the two court cities, the ''bedhaya Ketawang'' in Surakarta (Solo) and the ''bedhaya Semang'' in Yogyakarta, the latter of which has not been performed for more than 20 years. The Solonese dance continues to be performed once per year on the second day of the Javanese month of Ruwah (May), to commemorate the ascension of the current
Susuhunan Susuhunan, or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the monarchs of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. Additionally in Bali and Surakarta, so-called " Kings of kings" reigned with this title, while their k ...
(prince) of Surakarta. Nine females, relatives or wives of the Susuhunan, perform the dance before a private audience. An invitation to anyone outside of the inner circle of the court is a considerable honor.Becker, 143.


History

Some kind of female dance known as ''bedhaya'' existed on Java at least as early as the
Majapahit Empire Majapahit (; (eastern and central dialect) or (western dialect)), also known as Wilwatikta (; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia). At its greatest ...
. Indeed, some of the steps of the modern dance are said to be as old as the third century. However, the modern form is traditionally dated to the court of
Sultan Agung of Mataram Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Anyakrakusuma (; 1593 – 1654), commonly known as Sultan Agung, was the third Sultan of Mataram in Central Java ruling from 1613 to 1645. He was a skilled soldier who conquered neighbouring states and expanded and cons ...
(reigned 1613–1645). Unfortunately, there is almost no historical evidence to back up the claims made about the advances in the arts in Sultan Agung's courts, and the existence of the dance was not clearly documented until the late 18th century. There are many
myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
which explain the origin of the dance, which generally have either an account of a meeting with an Indic deity (
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
,
Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
,
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
,
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
, or Lord Buddha), or the meeting of Kangjeng Ratu Kidul, the Goddess of the South Sea, with a founder of the Mataram dynasty, either Sultan Ageng or his grandfather,
Senapati Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", ''Pati (title), pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of general (military), General. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha Empire. During wartime, a ''Sar ...
. In the former, the nine dancers were the creation of a deity who was brought to life and offered the dance to their maker in gratitude. In the latter, the dance was created when Kangjeng Ratu Kidul fell in love with the sultan and danced the bedhaya for him; the nine dancers in the modern dance represent the spirit of the goddess. Since the decline in the power of the royal courts, other, more accessible forms of bedhaya have become popular, not as religious ritual, but as artistic performance. These do not require the royal presence, and may be performed on stage for an admission fee. They frequently recount stories used in
wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...
.


Dance

The dance is held in a ''
pendhapa A pendhapa or pandhapa ( Javanese: ꦥꦼꦤ꧀ꦝꦥ or ꦥꦤ꧀ꦝꦥ, Indonesian spelling: pendapa, nonstandard spelling: pendopo or pěndåpå) is a fundamental element of Javanese architecture unique in the southern central part of Java; a ...
'', a pillared audience hall with a peaked roof, with the Susuhunan on a throne in the middle of the room. The dance is performed in three large sections. In each section, the dancers emerge from a room behind the audience hall, approach the throne single file, dance in front of the throne, and then retreat, again single file. They approach and retreat on opposite sides of the throne, thus
circumambulating Circumambulation (from Latin ''circum'' around and ''ambulātus ''to walk) is the act of moving around a sacred object or idol. Circumambulation of temples or deity images is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practice (known in ...
the throne in a
clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...
direction, the appropriate direction for veneration in
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and Shaivist traditions. A name and number is given to each of the nine dancers, which designate a specific position in the changing choreographic pattern. There are slight variations between different sources in the names and numbers of the dancers, but there is consensus on the general forms. They are: a human being, representing
taṇhā (from Pāli; ) is an important concept in Buddhism, referring to "thirst, desire, longing, greed", either physical or mental. It is typically translated as craving, and is of three types: ''kāma-taṇhā'' (craving for sensual pleasures), ' ...
(the word for desire or craving in Buddhism), four
chakra A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...
s (the top three of which are used as note names; see
slendro Slendro () is one of the essential tuning systems used in gamelan instruments that have pentatonic scale (music), scale. Based on Javanese people, Javanese mythology, the Slendro Gamelan tuning system is older than the ''pélog'' tuning system. ...
), and the four limbs: # , "desire", "constant/fixed desire", "attachment" # ', "head", "mind" # ', "neck" # ', "chest" # ', "tail", "genitals", "lower end of spinal column" # ', "right arm", "right flank", "front flank" # ', "left arm", "rear flank" # ', "right leg", "emergent desire", "front emergent desire", "outside desire" # ', "left leg", "quiet flank", "rear emergent desire" The first two sections of the dance each have three positions, with slight variations, while the last adds a final, fourth position. The first position is in the shape of a human being, with the first five dancers in a line down the middle, and those representing the right and left sides in front and behind (from the perspective of the Susuhunan), respectively. In the second position, the dancers divide into two facing groups, the arms and desire to one side, and the chakras and legs on the other. In the third section of the dance, there is an added section of an encounter between the desire and head dancers in the second position, while the other dancers squat. The third position places the dancers either in a row (Surakarta) or with the arms to one side (Yogyakarta), with desire in the middle. The final position is in a 3x3 grid (''rakit tiga-tiga''), with the three upper chakra centers in the middle column.


Music and text

The dance is accompanied with the singing of men and women together. The style is known as ''sindhenan lampah sekar''. Formerly only women sang; however since at least the 1940s men have also sung these parts. In Surakarta, instead of a full
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
, the only instruments used are the colotomic instruments (
kethuk The kempyang and ketuk are two instruments in the gamelan ensemble of Indonesia, generally played by the same player, and sometimes played by the same player as the kenong. They are important beat-keepers in the colotomic structure of the gamel ...
,
kenong The Kenong is a musical instrument of Indonesia used in the gamelan. It is a kind of gong and is placed on its side. It has the same length and width. Thus, it is similar to the bonang, kempyang, and ketuk, which are also cradled gongs. Kenongs ...
, and
gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...
), the
kemanak Kemanak () is a banana-shaped idiophone used in Javanese gamelan, made of bronze. They are actually metal slit drums. It is struck with a padded stick and then allowed to resonate. It has a specific pitch, which can be varied by covering the sli ...
, and drums (
kendhang A ''kendang'' or ''gendang'' (, , , Tausug/ Bajau/ Maranao: ''gandang'', Bugis: ''gendrang'' and Makassar: ''gandrang'' or ''ganrang'') is a two-headed drum used by people from the Indonesian Archipelago. The kendang is one of the primary in ...
ketipung and gendhing); there are no
balungan The ''balungan'' () is sometimes called the "core melody" or, "skeletal melodic outline," of a Javanese gamelan composition. This corresponds to the view that gamelan music is heterophonic: the ''balungan'' is then the melody which is being ela ...
instruments and only sometimes other melodic instruments (such as gambang and gendér). In the Yogyakarta kraton, where the dance is no longer performed as ritual, the complete
gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...
was used as accompaniment, sometimes even featuring
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
s. The pieces used to accompany the dances are traditionally
gendhing ''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
with long structures (originally designated at least '; see
gendhing ''Colotomy'' is an Indonesian description of the rhythmic and metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythmic time into such nested cycles. I ...
for an explanation); however, shorter gendhings were also used later (such as ' or '). The most ancient and sacred song is the ''Bedhaya Ketawang''. When the bedhaya dancers appear on stage, in Yogyakarta it was accompanied by an
ayak-ayakan ''Colotomy'' is an Music of Indonesia, Indonesian description of the rhythmic and meter (music), metric patterns of gamelan music. It refers to the use of specific instruments to mark off nested time intervals, or the process of dividing rhythm ...
; in Surakarta, it is only accompanied by a known as ', which has lost much of the rhythmic freedom associated with s to fit better the stride of the dancers. The literary renaissance of Java in the 18th and 19th centuries, which greatly changed Javanese music, had as one of its first effects the creation of genres of gendhing to accompany bedhaya and serimpi, known as ' and '. The former were based on a newly composed choral melody, while the latter fitted a new choral part into a pre-existing gendhing melody played by the gamelan. Hundreds of stanzas of text were written for these parts, and a particular gendhing uses at least a dozen. The texts are mainly in the form of a ' (poetic riddle), and deal with a wide variety of subjects. Much of the text is erotic love poetry, describing the attraction of Kangjeng Ratu Kidul to Sultan Agung.


Taboos

There are many
taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
s regarding the performance and rehearsal of the ', both the song and the dance associated with it. It is only allowed to be rehearsed every 35 days (when Thursday of the seven-day week coincides with Kliwon, the fifth day of the five-day week of the
Javanese calendar The Javanese calendar () is the calendar of the Javanese people. It is used concurrently with two other calendars, the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the official calendar of the Republic of Indonesia and c ...
), and performed on the anniversaries of the
Susuhunan Susuhunan, or in short version Sunan, is a title used by the monarchs of Mataram and then by the hereditary rulers of Surakarta, Indonesia. Additionally in Bali and Surakarta, so-called " Kings of kings" reigned with this title, while their k ...
's accession to the throne. All rehearsals, and especially the performance, must be accompanied by offerings (many of which correspond to those specified in the Gandavyuha Sutra). The dancers must fast and undergo ritual purification, they must be in bridal dress and cover the upper part of their bodies in
turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
(''borèh''). When the text is copied, a few intentional mistakes are inserted to avoid copying a sacred text literally. This is all because during any performance or rehearsal, the deputies of
Ratu Kidul ''Nyi Roro Kidul'' (or ''Nyai Rara Kidul'') is a supernatural being in Folklore of Indonesia, Indonesian folklore. She is the Queen of the Indian Ocean, Southern Sea in Sundanese people#Religion, Sundanese and Javanese mythology. In Javanese myt ...
are said to be present.


Interpretation

The dance can be interpreted in a number of ways, including as an abstract sequence of positions, and a reenactment of the love between the goddess and a royal ancestor. Another common interpretation is that they symbolize
military formation Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarc ...
s, which may explain why the dancers are given names of flanks. Furthermore, the dancers were brought onto battlefields with the Yogyakartan ruler. Some of the choreographic positions are vaguely similar to those that were believed to have been used in the
Kurukshetra war The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...
, the war in the
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, and some of the texts tell of military victories. Judith Becker provides a tantric interpretation. The first position shows desire plus the body; the second shows opposition between desire and the chakras (there is some evidence that the legs were considered a fifth chakra), and in the final section, interaction between the head and desire. Afterwards, desire is absorbed into the body, and then the dancers are arranged in the same arrangement as offerings in the Majapahit palace. Three is a number rich in
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
symbolism, like the three
pramana ''Pramana'' (; IAST: Pramāṇa) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".
s, the Trilokya or the
Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...
, so a threefold set of three symbolizes completion and perfection. In the 19th century, dancers held and fired pistols in the performance of the bedhaya.
Sumarsam Sumarsam (born 27 July 1944) is a Javanese musician and scholar of the gamelan. Life Sumarsam was born in Dander, Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia. He first performed gamelan at the age of seven. He began his formal gamelan education in 1961 ...
considered the meaning of the use of pistols an aristocratic attempt to adopt a foreign element to show enhance royal power, or the secularization and informalization of the court ritual when in the presence of European guests.Sumarsam, 78. During some period in the 19th century, the dancers in Yogyakarta were young men dressed as women. The combination of characteristics of both sexes was thought to have a special spiritual power.


See also

*
Srimpi The Srimpi () (also written as Serimpi) is a ritualised dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The ''srimpi'' dance is one of the classical dances of Central Java. Along with the '' bedhaya'', ' ...
*
Javanese culture Javanese culture () is the culture of the Javanese people. Javanese culture is centered in the provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java in Indonesia. Due to various migrations, it can also be found in other parts of the world, such as ...
*
Kejawèn ''Kejawèn'' () or Javanism, also called Kebatinan, ''Agama Jawa'', and '' Kepercayaan'', is a Javanese cultural tradition, consisting of an amalgam of animistic, Buddhist, Islamic and Hindu aspects. It is rooted in Javanese history and relig ...
*
Nyai Roro Kidul ''Nyi Roro Kidul'' (or ''Nyai Rara Kidul'') is a supernatural being in Indonesian folklore. She is the Queen of the Southern Sea in Sundanese and Javanese mythology. In Javanese mythology, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul is a creation of Dewa Kaping Telu, ...


Notes


References

* Becker, Judith. ''Gamelan Stories: Tantrism, Islam, and Aesthetics in Central Java''. Arizona State University Program for Southeast Asian Studies, 1993. * Knutsson, Gunilla K.
The Wedding of Solo's King
" ''The New York Times'', September 11, 1983, accessed on June 30, 2006 * Kunst, Jaap. ''Music in Java''. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1949 *
Sumarsam Sumarsam (born 27 July 1944) is a Javanese musician and scholar of the gamelan. Life Sumarsam was born in Dander, Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia. He first performed gamelan at the age of seven. He began his formal gamelan education in 1961 ...
. ''Gamelan: Cultural Interaction and Musical Development in Central Java''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.


Further reading

* Clara Brakel-Papenhuijzen. ''The bedhaya court dances of Central Java''. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1992.


External links


The Badhaya Katawang: A Translation of the Song of Kangjeng Ratu Kidul
by Nancy Florida

{{Dance of Indonesia Dances of Java Javanese culture Sultan Agung