SUNDANESE DANCE
Like
Javanese dancing, Sundanese dancing has also passed through tile
following periods of development explained in previous chapters,
viz.: the Period of Primitive Society, Feudal Society, and Modern
Society.
was
also referred to by the terms atapukan, sori-tekes and patapelan.
Raket from the period of Majapahit was a masked dance-drama performance
presenting a Panji story. Raket in the court of Banten was also
a masked dance-drama performance with a Panji story, which shows
that East-javanese dancing had already influenced dancing in West
Java during the period of Majapahit. The raket performance was very
popular in Banten in the 17th century.
The
wayang wong or wayang orang in the court of Cirebon was also a masked
dance-drama, it was also called topeng dalang because there was
a narrator called the dalang. The accompanying musical instruments
are the gamelan slendro, which has only five tones. The wayang wong
or topeng dalang in Cirebon is different from the Javanese and Banten
masked dance-drama in that it more often presents stories from the
epic Mahabharata. The dialogues consists of tembangs or songs, The
masks worn by the dancers are not tied at the bead but held between
the teeth from the inside, and when the dancer sings, the mask is
lifted up a little from the face. The topeng dalang, which the king
of Cirebon found so pleasing, gradually spread,out and made its
way to the homes of the nobility. It also developed in the homes
of the regents of West Java.
Besides
the wayang wong or lopeng dalang in the court of Cirebon there was
also a masked dance-drama among the common people, naturally on
a lower cultural level than the dance-drama of the court or the
houses of the nobility in Cirebon. The people's dance-drama was
called lopeng babakan. Topeng means mask and babakan comes from
the word babak, meaning a part of a gamelan melody. The topeng babakan
was a masked dance-drama performance on a small scale, performed
by only two or three dancers, accompanied by an incomplete gamelan
orchestra.
The
topeng babakan is entertainment for the people, held in the streets
and markets for payment. The two or three dancers play a number
of roles. The topeng babakan group usually bring five masks with
them: the Panji mask, which is usually also used for Damarwulan,
Rahwana mask, the vizier or tumenggungan mask, the Samba mask, and
the Pentul or clown mask. The story presented is a Panji story or
the story of Damarwulan. Accompanying the dance is an incomplete
gamelan orchestra consisting of one kenong, one gong, one rebab
and one kendang. A curious feature of the topeng babakan performance
is that at that time the people of West Java mixed Rahwana, who
is really an important character from the epic Ramayana, and Samba,
who is an important character from the epic Mahabharata, with the
characters of the Panji story and the story of Damarwulan.
The
dancers of the lopeng babakan consist of only two or three persons,
one woman and one or two men. Panji and Damarwulan are always played
by the woman dancer, while the other characters are danced by the
man. A commercial woman dancer is called ronggeng in West Java.
Before independence ronggeng was a term used in a general sense
to denote a commercial woman dancer.
BEDAYA
Besides
the masked dance-drama or wayang wong or topeng dalang there was
in the court of Cirebon, also women's dance called bedaya. The word
bedaya is used in Central Java (Surakarta and Yogyakarta) to refer
to a women's dance in the court, consisting of nine women (sometimes
seven) describing important events in court-life (see Bedaya Ketawang).
Dr. Buddingh, in his notes in the Het Tijdscbrift voor Nederlands-Indie
in 1842, mentions a bedaya performance in the Kanoman palace of
Cirebon danced by a number of women. This bedaya tells a Menak jayengrana
story.
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