Wayang Wong Priangan: Dance Drama of West Java

Wayang Wong Priangan: Dance Drama of West Java

by: Yus Ruslaiana

Translated, edited, and augmented by Kathy Foley

                                                                      

The relationship between human performance and puppetry in Indonesia is strong. If wayang wong jawa (Javanese dance drama) is a reflection of wayang kulit , the leather shadow puppetry of Central Java, which uses humans as actors (Soedarsono, 1997:1), then wayang wong Priangan, the dance drama of Priangan—the mountainous highland area of West Java— can be spoken of as a personification of wayang golek, the wooden three-dimensional puppetry of the Sundanese speakers who live in this highland area of West Java.

Performances borrow from the repertoire of this important puppet theatre in which stories of the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Arjuna Sasra Bahu and Menak cycles are performed. As in wayang golek a dalang (puppet master) delivers narration and mood songs. The musical repertoire of wayang golek’s gamelan is used the performance structure adopts pupptry’s patterns. Differences are that in wayang wong (called wayang orang in Indonesian) the choreography performed by individual dancers is more complex than that executed by the wayang golek dolls; the dialogue is usually delivered by each dancer representing his or her character rather than by a solo narrator/puppeteer; and the performance is more streamlined, lasting a mere two to four hours rather than the seven or eight of a puppet play.

Wayang wong Priangan developed in the late nineteenth century, peaked in the regencies of Bandung, Sumedang, Garut and Sukabumi in the period before World War II, and receded by the late l960s as audiences waned. This article will introduce wayang wong Priangan, detailing its history and aspects of performance practice and repertoire.

History

Wayang in Kawi (Old Javanese) means “shadow” and wang means “human.” Wayang wang was a performance in the style of wayang kulit, the shadow theatre of Central Java wherein actors and actresses took the puppets roles. The first written reference to the form is on the stone inscription Wimalarama from East Java dated 930A.D. (Soedarsono, l997: 4-6) The genre is currently done in masked and unmasked variations in Central Java, Bali, and Cirebon (a city on the north coast of West Java), as well as in Sunda (West Java).1  Since Cirebon’s wayang wong is the direct antecedent of wayang wong Priangan, understanding Cirebonese practice is important to the discussion.

Wayang Wong in Cirebon

Cirebon has two styles of wayang wong. The first is a village version in which the performers are masked. 2  The second is a palace variant where the performers dance unmasked. Cirebonese wayang wong developed in the beginning of the nineteenth Century and fed into the wayang wong Priangan by the end of that century. From 1811 to 1816 the English were a colonial presence in Cirebon. When they left, they were replaced by the Dutch. In this period the palaces of the Kanoman and Kasepuhan were centers of cultural conservation and artistic development.3  These kraton (palaces) encouraged the artistic practice of the village performers as well as supporting presentations by artists who were of noble descent. For example, the Kanoman Palace records note a performance in 1842 of a badaya (female court dance) done by six performers which drew on the Menak cycle, a legend that tells the history of Amir Hamzah uncle of the Prophet Mohammed (Soedarsono l972: 115-6). Later, during the reign of Sultan Raja Zukarmaen (l873-1934) and Sultan Anom Nurbuat (l934-5), attention to the arts continued at the Kanoman. Palace choreographies included a badaya rimbe (a female group dance performed by the Sultan’s female daughters), which was last performed in l966 at a Kanoman circumcision. Wayang wong, presenting tales from the Amir Hamzah repertoire. Kanoman dancers performed wayang wong without masks andcharacters spoke their own dialogue while the dalang delivered only the mood songs (kakawen/ suluk), and narration (nyandra). Performers were generally village artist who were given rights to work lands and considered abdi dalam, retainers of the ruler. Some artists, especially dalang, were given the title Nata Prawa. Palace performances were open to the public by l925, but as the patronage of the palace faltered with independence and economic dearth, wayang wong ceased by l966 due to lack of funds.

The wayang wong which was favored at the Kasepuhan palace was different. There a village troupe which would be invited into the palace to perform for Islamic holy days, for life-cycle celebrations, and for exorcistic ceremonies (ruwatan). In the period of Sultan Raja Atmaja (1880-1899) the troupe of Dalang Resmi was most noted. There were many artists especially from the surrounding villages of Mayung, Gegesik, Palimanan, Slangit, and Suranenggala. These performers were allowed to work royal land and might be given titles. For example, Dalang Kandeg, one of the most noted Cirebonese artists of the last generation, was given the title Patmadjawinata, while Dalang Dirja received the title of Ngabehi. Such individuals also were given the honorific title Ki or Kyai . These two dalangs and their troupe were frequent performers in the palace performance halls, Pringgondani and Srimati, between l939-l942. Their performances included well known wayang stories such Pergiwa-Pergiwati, Jabang Tutukla, Gandamanah, Brajamusti—stories named after their featured character—The Forest of Alas Amer, Somantri Breaks his Vow, Partakrama (Arjuna’s Wedding), Campang Curiga, Prabu Kuliti Kunmbang Ali-Ali (Mintaraga/Arjuna’s Meditation), and, for the exorcism, Batara Kala (The God/Demon Kala). Costumes and masks for these performances followed the iconography of the wayang kulit shadow theatre of Cirebon. (Pigaud, l938: 120). The batik cloth in which dancers would wrapped themselves was painted with the traditional designs of Cirebon. In the Kasepuhan performances the dalang delivered all the dialogue as well as the mood songs and narration, as he would in a puppet performance. Movement was in the style of Cirebon topeng (mask dance). Palace performance used both the slendro prawa and pelog orchestras. Performances outside the palace, by contrast, were more modest would use only one set of instruments tuned to either the slendro or pelog  scales.

The Kanoman Palace developed an aristocratic, unmasked variant of wayang wong where performers were nobles or their retainers. The masked Kasepuhan Palace model was dominated by villagers and these performances were more suffused with a village aesthetic. The former style needed many trained palace performers, but the latter style was the purview of professionals/semi-professionals. This second group would in the late nineteenth century carry the art to the Piangan highlands, travelling for parts of the year as itinerant troupes.

Wayang wong in the Priangan area

According to Pak Kandeg, the most authoritative Cirebonese wayang wong dalang of the last generation, a dalang by the name of Ki Kempung was the first to tour the genre outside the palace and to Priangan while the second was Nagbehi Natawigunan (Maman Suriaatmaja 1970: 236). Performances could be of two types: firstly, that hired for a set fee by a family or group holding a ceremony or celebrating a festive occasion, or, secondly, paid for by viewers who purchased individual tickets. The latter type of presentation was called bebarangan or ngamen (itinerant performance). As these groups traveled, wayang wong spread to major cites of the Sundanese area such as Sumedang, Garut, Sukabumi, and Bandung.

The dalangs of this time who were best known were Wentar and Koncar. Wentar’s given name was Kundung, but he received the nickname Wentar (kawentar, “famous”) from R. A. A. Martanegara, the regent of Bandung at the turn of the twentieth century. Wentar was patronized by the aristocracy and was known for teaching topeng-style mask dance of Cirebon to highland nobles. Meanwhile Koncar who was closer to the commoners, focused on performing wayang wong with his troupe for his lower class audience. Originally the dialogue used by such troupes was in the Cirebonese dialect of Javanese, but soon the local Sundanese language, which could be understood by the viewers, was employed. According to Dalang Kandeg, the real name of Koncar was Ki Konya. The moniker Koncar comes from kakoncara, meaning “well-known.” Wentar helped lay the groundwork for what would become known as wayang wong priyayi (literally, “civil servant” [i.e., upper class] wayang wong) as he trained members of the aristocracy in dance performance. Koncar whose work was later continued by Dalang Kamsi, popularized the genre among the hoi poloi. Due to this pair and their followers, by the end of the nineteenth century we find wayang wong Priangan developing in the highlands of West Java as an indigenous performance.

On January 1, 1871 the Dutch colonial administration implemented re-organization of the Priangan area by assigning a Dutch resident officer to oversee several regents, called bupati. It was in cities overseen by these bupati, that wayang wong later flowered. Let us consider some of the developments looking at the cites closer to Cirebon first.

Sumedang is the gateway to Priangan from Cirebon on the north coast. Prince Suria Kusumah Adinata (l836-l882), the bupati of Sumedang was a wayang aficionado and ordered palace dancers to be trained in wayang wong. He determined that the female dancers would wear masks while headdresses for his troupe were made of copper or tin (Pigeaud 1938,121). In 1893 it was similar headdresses that the next Bupati of Sumedang sent to the Colombia Exposition in Chicago along with the gamelan set called Sari Oneng Parakan Salak, a set of nineteenth century instruments (Abdullah Kartabrata l996: 9, 41).4

Garut is also close to Cirebon. This was where Wentar and Koncar had found audiences at the end of the l9th century. The dance training given by Wentar contributed to the development of wayang wong among the upper classes in that city. During the time of Bupati R.A.A. Suryakartalegawa (l915-1931) there was a group of wayang wong priayayi. In the l920s it was sponsored by the kabupaten, the government of the area, and all performers were civil servants, who were the elite of that time. Mahabharata stories were performed on major holidays. No masks were used and dancers spoke their own lines. No clown roles were included, perhaps because it was difficult to find priyayi who were the right types and/or willing to play the comic roles. Also in Garut, Dalang Bintang (“Star”) from Tarogong began to perform wayang wong Priangan after he married a daughter of Dalang Koncar, who was his teacher. Dalang Bintang performed with his wayang golek apprentices. The group used masks. All the dialogue was initially delivered by the dalang. But, in time, the group discarded masks and performers began to present their own dialogue. Mahabharata, Arjuna Sasra Bahu and some sempalan stories were in their repertoire.5

Bandung, the present capital of West Java, is further from Cirebon and the coastal influences arrived here a bit later. Here the arts were supported by Bupati R .A. .A. Martanegara who ruled l893-1918. A building in the official complex of the kabupaten as called the Hall of Priangan Culture. Here dance, music, and theatre were practiced. The arts were linked to status and class. By the l920s, Bupati R. A. A. Wiranatakusumah V, known as Dalam Haji, (1920-31 and l935-42) led the regency (Nina H. Lubis, l998: 315). Under Wiranatkusumah’s leadership priyayi presented maskless Mahabharata episodes with the dialogue spoken by the dancers. Costumes followed wayang golek iconography and the group performed for congresses and major holidays. R. Sambas Wirakusumah excelled as the knight Laraskonda and R. Tjetje Somantri as Baladewa (R. Tjetje Somantri 1948: 4). These two individuals were to become the most noted dance masters of the twentieth century and their legacies in Sundanese dance and theatre remain profound. While the bulk of performers at the kabupaten in Bandung were priyayi, musicians and female performers were drawn from the lower class.

Outside the kabupaten, these priyayi artists sometimes developed their own ensembles, as did R. Sambas Wirakusumah when he became headman (lurah) of Rancaekek near Bandung. In the l930s in Cimindi to the east of Banding, another group was established by Ibuk, who himself was a pupil of Dalang Oneng from the city of Sukabumi. This troupe was known for its cross-gender casting. Women presented refined knights and men played female comic roles. In l938 in Babakan Tarogong Kotapraja Bandung, another troupe, wayang wong Kayat, led by Pak Kayat was established. This group was often hired to provide entertainment for family ceremonies. It also staged ticketed performances. Dancers presented their own dialogue with the dalang providing only mood songs and narration. The performance, as with other troupes, followed wayang golek’s model.

After independence the pendapa, the open air pavilion, of the Bandung kabupaten was no longer used as a performance or training space, and wayang wong’s future was fully in the hands of the common people. Many of the great artists of the period participated in the genre. R. Sambas Wirakusumah continued to be active. In l957 he gave a performance which included music by the noted artist R. Nugraha Sudireja, narration by Dalang Iding Martawisastra, and direction by Enoch Atmadibarata (a major choreographer and scholar of the present) in a performance of the Birth of Gatotkaca. (Yuli Sunarya, l997:99) This performance was more structured than those of an earlier period. The dialogue was based on a set text rather than improvised in performance as earlier was the norm. The choreography and positions on the stage were predetermined rather than left to the discretion of the performers, and the transitions were worked out. In such performances the fluidity of the past with its reliance on the choices of the trained individual artist was being replaced by a more unified and predetermined aesthetic. In the post World War II period, Kayat revived his group and it became a training ground for many artists of the present. But by the late 1960s there was little demand for performances of this genre. By l968 Wayang wong Kayat found annual independence day celebrations the only call for its artistry. Unneeded, artist retreated to wayang golek or migrated to other genres such as sandiwara (improvised drama where dance is deemphasized and the repertoire is not confined to the wayang tales) and sendratari, which forgoes dialogue in favor of mimed action.

The Troupe

A troupe of wayang wong Priangan would include dancer-actors (penari), a dalang to narrate, musicians (wiyaga or nayaga) to play the gamelan, and a female singer (pasinden or juru kawih) whose lyrics complemented the show and filled in during the scene transitions. Dancers were usually assigned roles by the troupe leader, often the dalang, who in casting took into consideration the performers ability in dance and speaking. Seasoned performers usually had a character that was considered their specialty (kostim). All roles were not equally demanding and performers fell into three groups. Primary players (wayang utama) played the core roles in the story presented. The dancer who played a heroic roles was apt to become the idols of the viewers. The antagonist was equally necessary for the conduct of the story and would portrayed the villain. Secondary characters (wayang pamanggul) supported the hero or villain. Supporting characters (wayang pangeuyeub) took minor roles such as rank and file ogres.

The dalang was usually not responsible for the dialogue, but provided the mood songs and narration. Additionally this performer cued the gamelan with the wooden hammer (cempala) and metal plates (kecrek) which he used to accent the movement of the dancers and to make sound effects which enlivened the energy of the scene. Unlike wayang golek which since the l960s has allowed female dalang, the dalang of wayang wong was always male. There were about ten musicians who played the gamelan instruments which consisted of a bowed lute (rebab), drums (kendang and kulanter), metalophones (saron I, saron II, the deeper-voiced panerus), the horizontal gongchimes (bonang, rincik), a xylophone (gambang) and set of large hanging gongs (goong, kempul). One female singer who was called pasinden or juru kawih was customary. Among the musicians, the drummer had a preeminent role as he set the rhythm and provided percussive accent for the movements of the dancers.

Chart A: Character Types

The following chart details the character types that would be found in wayang wong Priangan with examples of well-known characters that fall into that type and notes on their movement and vocal practice. (Characters from the Mahabharata are designated by an M, Ramayana with an R and Arjuna Sasra Bahu by ASB.)

Type	Characteristics, Dance Steps, Voice	Characters
Putri Lungguh	Refined female who moves in slow sustained  tyle. Names of signature movements include adeg-adeg lontang nutpup (stance with closed arms), jankung ilo reundeuk (low approaching movement), keupat anca (refined walking). She speaks in suara biasa or regular voice.	Subadra (M), Drapadi. (M), Sita (R), Citrawati (ASB)
Putri Ladak	Semi-refined female who moves more quickly, but is still refined. Signature movements are adeg-adeg lontang buka (stance with open arms), jankung ilo batarubuh (approaching movement with shoulder movement), and keupat salancar (medium walking). She speaks in suara bengek or high voice.	Srikandi (M), Mustakaweni (M), Rarasati (M), Trijata (R)
Satria Lungguh	Refined knight who moves in a sustained, slow way but has a wider stance than the putri lungguh. Movements include keupat anca (refined walk), adeg adeg baplang (stance to the baplang rhythm), and tincak tilu (stepping in threes). He speaks in suara biasa or regular voice.	Arjuna (M), Abimanyu (M), Yudistira (M), Batara Guru (M), Rama (R), Arjuna Sasra Bahu (ASB)
Satria Ladak	Refined knight who moves in a medium tempo but more directly and energetically than the refined character. ovements included keupat satria (knight walk), ecek, santana (side stepping), and adeg-adeg sembada (semi-refined stance). He speaks in suara bengek or high voice.	Kresna (M), Karna (M), Somantri (ASB)
Monggawa Lungguh	Refined warrior who stands in a wide stance, his head low but his tempo even but rather fast. Movements include adeg-adeg capang (stance fixing armbands), jankung ilo cikalong (strong approach), gedut (striding), gedig anca (small stepping with weight transfer). He speaks in suara gangsa or deep voice created by tightening vocal cords.	Gatotkaca (M), Antareja (M), Hanoman (R)
Monggawa Dangah	Proud warrior who is aggressive and uses dynamic movement. Signature steps include adeg adeg capang sonteng (stance fixing armbands dynamically), pak blang (stepping forward and back to the pak blang drum pattern), and gedig salancar (wide stepping with weight transfer.) ). He speaks in suara gangsa or deep voice created by  tightening vocal cords but using a quick and somewhat forced tone.	Baladewa (M), Jayadrata (M), Suyudana (M), Inrajit (R)
Danawa Patih	Ogre minister who has a wide stance but whose head is down a bit, and moves in a steady and rather quick tempo, gazing straightforward. Movement include adeg adeg japang ngalaga (stance fixing armbands for battle), sirig and jankung ilo batarubuh (approach with shoulder tapping). ). He speaks in suara gangsa with a deep voice created by tightening vocal cords.	Sakipu (M), Brajamusti (M)
Danaw Raja	Ogre king who has straight wide leg stance, energetic and fast rhythm, and straightforward and high gaze. Movements include adeg-adeg kiprahan (preening stance), banrongsayan, pak blang gancang (fast stepping forward and back to pak blang rhythm), gedig barungbang (strong stepping with weight shift). ). He speaks in suara gangsa or deep voice created by tightening vocal cords, but voice can swoop up and down and the breath is forced.	Naga Percona (M), Niwata Kawaca (M), Rawana (R)
Pawongan	Clown servant with comical and exaggerated movements. Specific voices are prescribed for each of the clowns. They appear in all the story cycles whether Mahabharata, Ramayana or Arjuna Sasra Bahu.	Semar, Cepot, Dawala, Gareng

Performance Practice

Dance is especially important to depict battles, and these dance confrontations are of three types. Solo Battles called perang tanding (battle duel), which will be discussed at greater length below. Perang rempugan is when a hero or heroine fights 2-3 opponents simultaneously as when Abimanyu is slain by the Kurawa in the Mahabharata. Perang balad (battle of the rank and file soldiers) pits groups of low class characters against one another, as when the rank and file of the Kurawa army face the foot soldiers of the Pandawa in the Mahabharata. 

Perang tanding is a pair battle that can take many variations. It may be a dance battle between nobles in which case it is called perang tanding satria. Two knights one refined (lungguh) and the second semi-refined (ladak) confront each other with the refined one winning, as when the refined Pandawa hero Arjuna fights his semi-refined half-brother Karna on opposing sides in the Bharata Yudha. Another example is when the semi-refined Ekalaya, an uninvited student, is defeated by the refined Arjuna at the order of their teacher Dorna. A final example is the refined Raja Arjuna Sasra Bahu in the epic cycle named after him, who is an incarnation of the god Wisnu (Vishnu) and defeats the semi-refined Somantri who will later become his minister. In each of these instances, the refined defeats the semi-refined. This loss supports the ideological order of the wayang universe. In wayang, the most refined always wins, in spirit if not always in fact.

It is not customary for knights of the same character type to battle. A lungguh character will not oppose another lungguh figure. Perhaps this is because the redundancy would contradict the ideology behind. A truly refined character is never the attacker, hence, there can be no challenge to battle when two lungguh characters meet.

While not strictly perang tanding, another pairs battle pits two females against one another. The martial wife of Arjuna, Srikandi, often stars in these scenes—in one story she fights Mustakawi, in another story Rarasati. Such episodes are confined to the semi-refined (ladak) females. The refined (lungguh) females, by contrast, abstain from battle and are ideologically more valued by virtue of their non-violent nature.

Perang gagah (strong battle) is the term when a strong monggawa warrior fights another warrior, an ogre minister, or an ogre king. Examples would be Gatotkaca (monggawa lungguh) either fighting his demonic uncle Brajamusti (danawa patih) or, as a child, slaying the serpent King Naga Persona (danawa raja). 

Perang Pancalan is the term used to refer to a battle between a knight (lungguh or ladak) and a strong figure (monggawa or danawa). For example the fight between the Pandawa hero Arjuna (lungguh) and the ogre king Niwata Kawaca (danawa raja) for the hand of the heavenly goddess Supraba would fall into this group as would the fight of Abimanyu (a lungguh young son of Arjuna) with the proud warrior (monggawa danggah) Jayadrata who slays him. Semi-refined knights might be Karna in his successful battle against the Pandawa hero Gatotkaca (monggawa lungguh) or Somantri, when minister of Raja Arjuna Sasra Bahu, against the demonic king, Rawana (denawa raja).

While the more refined character is not always the winner in these encounters it may be significant that the most important battles are between characters of different types rather than of the same category. This may result from the emphasis this form puts in showing us, through movement and interaction, a heirarchy that ranges from demonic to refined. All things being equal , the demonic always looses. When this order is violated, as in the death of Abhimanya at the hands of a boastful knight, the world is dark indeed. Aesthetically, however, the refined has still triumphed. The flowing movement of the refined opponent mesmerizes and the young Prince dies beautifully while the survivor mentality displayed by his coarse opponent is part of a universe that no member of the Sundanese audience would chose to inhabit. Refined is always where movement, plot, and the spectator’s eye find their aim. Other dance scenes are tresnan (emotional scenes of love or sorrow). Arimbi’s anguish at the death of her son Gatotkaca by the hand of Karna in the story Jaya Perbangsa is an example. Another peak scene of emotion would be Jayadrata’s heartless jubilation on defeating Abimanyu as he dances gloatingly above the bleeding body.

In wayang wong dances the essence of certain situations or characters was distilled and, over time, these moments sans story were from the twentieth century presented as solo or duo dances to be savored before the longer episode of an evening with its full narrative. These dances have remained very influential as a source for further development in Sundanese dance. While choreographers of the last generations have expanded and refined the movement repertoire, they have often chosen to do so by portraying some of these specialty dances that emerged from the wayang wong Priangan. Solo wayang wong dances take a name of the particular character, while duets bear the name of both characters. The following table gives the major dances. Those versed in Sundanese dance will realize that these themes persist in the Sundanese dance repertoire to the present. Dances from the Mahabharata (M) predominate, but two Ramayana (R) episodes make the list, and one from the cycle concerning Wong Aging Menak (WAM) is included. There are additionally two group dances which are not tied to any particular epic cycle.

Chart B: Specialty Dances

Name of Character Dance	Character Type	Explanation
Solo Dances
Subadra (M)	Putri Lungguh	refined wife of Arjuna
Jayengrana (WAM)	Satria Lungguh	refined Uncle of Mohammed and hero of Islam
Gototkaca (M)	Mongawa Lungguh	a warrior in love protecting the nation
Sencaki (M) also called Bima Kuntet (“Little Bima)	Monggawa Dangah	proud nephew of Kresna (Wisnu”)
Anterja (M)	Monggawa Lungguh	a warrior son of the Pandawa Hero Bima
Baladewa (M)	Monggawa Dangah	the proud strong King of Madura who supports the Kurawa
Rahwana (R)	Danawa Raja	the demon king of Alengka who kidnaps Rama’s wife
Duet Dances
Jabang Tutuka Sakipu (M)	Monggawa Lungguh and Danawa Patih	young Gototkaca defeats the minister of the serpent king
Srikandi Mustakaweni (M)	Putri Ladak (2)	Arjuna’s wife Srikandi fights Mustakaweni
Nakula Sadewa (M)	Satria Ladak (2)	the twin Pandawa heroes
Pergiwa Pergiwati (M)	Putri Ladak (2)	twin ladies representing perfect harmony who catch the heart of Gototkaca and friend
Sugiwa Subali (R)	Monggawa Dangah (2)	battling monkey brothers in the Ramayana
Group Dances
Badaya	Putri Lungguh	court ladies entertaining the ruler
Perang Monggawa	Monggawa (Lungguh/Dangah)	warriors training for battle

Major dances might be included in a court scene in which case the dance would be called tari jejer kembangan (Court ornamentation dance) or might precede a battle in which case the dance would be called tari ngalaga (battle dance). These dances, even when divorced from the narrative context continue to carry an implicit message about character. In the world of wayang, a large body, a loud commanding voice, wide, fast, and large, wide, quick movement do not symbolize the character is sakti, endowed with the spiritual force which in Sundanese thought has real world impact. The small stature, modulated voice, and smooth movement is featured. Power is not grasped from the outside with eye or ear, power resides within as is exemplified by the internal focus of the lungguh character, be he Raja Arjuna in Arjuna Sasra Bahu, Rama in the Ramayana, or Arjuna in the Mahabharata. 

Dialogue

Antawacana or dialogue was improvsed according to the parameters derived from wayang golek. It is considered to fall into three categories: guneman, nangtang and tresnan. An short example of each is provided:

Guneman is ordinary dialogue between characters as in this example from Jayan Tigasan (Death of Abimanyu) between Abimanyu and his second wife Utari.

Abimanyu: My beautiful wives, Sondari and Utari, the chief reason I meet with you, is nothing more than to report that I have been named by the Pandawa elders to serve as general-in-chief and lead the Pandawa soldiers in the Bharata Yudha as we enter the thirteenth day.

Utari: What is it I hear, you want to fight?  

Abimanyu: That is right my beautiful wife. 

 Utari: Alas, like lighting striking midday… 

Nangtang is challenging an opponent. Take this example spoken by Jayadrata on defeating the Pandawa.

Jayadrata: Pandawa! If you really need this kingdom, then overthrow first my right and left arms. You’ll first have to step over the corpse of this Kurawa. 

Tresnan gives an insight into the heart of the speaker. Consider this example spoken by the serpent king Naga Persona in love with the goddess Supraba. 

Naga Persona: Supraba, Supraba! my adored, where you are is beauty, . . .golden beauty. Don’t tease me, I am confused. Don’t’ weep, my beauty! You make me worried, rather let us two make love as sugar is one with sweetness, as salt is one with sourness.

Arrangement of Presentation

The material presented was dependent on the function of the performance, ranging from manggung biasa (ordinary performance for purposes of entertainment) to those for specific needs such as an exorcism (manggung ruwatan). An ordinary performance could be of two types: a short format lasting between thirty minutes and two hours, and a long format which would last three to four hours. In the long form, comic action and set dances unconnected with the content of the story would fill out the additional time. These dances were then called tari lepas (literally, “dances free [from the story]”). Examples are those given in chart B above, and these remain the part of the repertiore that has persisted to the present.

The structure of the performance would be as follows. The presentation would begin with the tatalu (the opening), the instrumental overture called karawitan gending or gendingan. The first song would be Jipang Wayang followed by other dynamic compositions which came from the part of the musical repertoire called “small songs,” (sekar alit) in which the gong pattern is compact and gongs come quickly creating a lively impression. This overture served to gather an audience together.

The second part called bubuka carita (opening of the story) is marked by the percussive playing of the cempala and the kecrek by the dalang. The cempala hammer is held in the left hand and rapped against the puppet box in wayang golek. The kecrek is a set of metal plates, normally attached to the side of the puppet box. In wayang wong, there is no puppetbox and the dalang may instead use a slit drum, small wooden box or wooden stage as a resonator for these two instruments. Both are played in complex patterns to cue the orchestra, to start, stop, accelerate, create sound effects and add to the musical mix of the orchestra. The cempala cues the tune Karatagan which is followed by the song Kawitan or another song appropriate for the opening narration of the dalang which begins with the singing of the traditional opening mood song, the kekawen murwa, and ends with the opening narration (nyandra murwa), spoken rather than sung. The words and style of these pieces are taken directly from the puppet theatre where they have a semi-ritual function.

The third part is the actual show with its story; this part is called ngalalakon, “to present a story.” Here we first see the skill of the dancers as they adapt themselves to the needs of the story which is presented. The story is generally be divided into four to seven scenes, called bedrip [a term borrow from the Dutch word for scene] or the indigenous terms pembabakan [cutting], or penadegan [scenes]. The performance can be roughly divided into three sections as it moves from its introduction, to complication, and climax. The last part of the presentation is the bubaran (scattering), which is an purely instrumental piece played by the gamelan using the song known a Jiro or Kebo Jiro [“Crazy Water Buffalo”]. This song accompanies the exit of the audience from the place of the performance. 

Ornamentation

Mamanis, “sweetening,” is the term for the ornamentation of this essential structure. Important for this elaboration is the role of the clown, Semar and his sons—Cepot, Dawala, and Gareng. They are called panakawan (literally, “those who accompany” [the hero]) or pawongan, “the people”. The are servants to the aristocrats who will triumph over the evil that besets them and the world. Additionally the clowns help clarify the story or scene by dialogue either between themselves or together with the gamelan players with whom they converse in a comic style. Their comedy may come either from their humorous dialogue or from the exaggerated, distorted movement of their dance. There are other types of mamanis activity which can be included, for example after the musical overture, a group female dance called a badaya might be presented.7  This interpolation is similar to what we find in the dance drama style of Surakarta, wayang wong panggung, where after the overture a female dance called a gambyong is presented (Murgiyanto and Bandam, l983: 88). Also, in a three to four hour performance we would also find more sekar gending or songs of the female singer inserted during the transitions from scene to scene.

Exorcism as a Special Case

The presentation of the performance is somewhat different for a manggung ruwatan, an exorcistic performance which follows the traditions of this ceremony in Sundanese culture. It is stated in Traditional Customs of the Sundanese [Adat Istiadat Orang Sunda}, that a ruwatan or exorcistic ceremony is undertaken as a way of tricking fate and preventing danger in all sorts of cases, for example for only child, for a new house, etc. (R.H Hasan Mustapa: 112.). One kind of an exorcisic performance is only performed when a boy who is an only child is circumcised. This practice was frequent in Kabupatan Garut in the past. To accomplish the ceremony with a wayang wong Priangan, certain stipulations had to be prepared by the troupe. First, tutuwuhan (Th Pigeaud: 113) must be gathered. These are fruits of the earth such as sugar cane, sweet potatoes, cassava, rice, banana, coconut, peanuts, and vegetables tied to the roof around the stage. Secondly, offerings (sasajen) are prepared along with an incense burner. Additionally, a sheet of white cloth about one and a half by three meters is found. 

The offerings to accomplish the ceremony are the same as are required for a performance of the wayang golek when, under the title Dalang Kandabuwana the dalang subdues the demon, Batara Kala.8  As in a wayang golek ruwatan there is holy water for washing in which are placed flowers of seven colors. In the same way, the body of the person for whom the ceremony is held must be covered with the white cloth. Thirdly, the ceremony requires saehu (ritual specialist) to conduct it. This role is usually filled by the leader of the wayang wong troupe who, in turn, is accompanied by assistants (catrik) who carry the white cloth. The fourth necessity is the special story which must be performed, namely, Jaya Perbangsa (The Death of Gatotkaca), an episode from the epic story of the Bharata Yudha, the great war which is the culmination of the Mahabharata. It is at the end of the performance that the ceremony is conducted as follows.

After the death of Gatotkaca, Arimbi his mother gets permission from the Pandawa heroes to make a funeral pyre. As he is placed on it the following progression ensues 

Chart C: Ruwatan Progression

Material Presented	Explanation
The body of Gatotkaca is onstage with his mother Arimbi in the bowed position, called calik deku, near him.
Sanduk-sanduk (Prayer asking God’s permission to execute the ceremony.)		Accompanied by the tune Kidung, the person who will execute the  ceremony (saehu) enters carrying the offerings and the incense burner, while one or two assistants come behind bearing the white cloth. As he enters, the saehu recites the mantra agnisita paramarta (“that which can defeat passion is the greatest victory”) and repeats the mantra over and over until he stops in a standing position facing the viewers behind the figures of Gatotkaca and Arimbi. One or two additional assistants guide the child for whom the ceremony is being enacted onto the stage. They position him in front of the two wayang characters with his back to the audience. These assistants then join the other helpers behind the saehu.
Titiwah or Nyirnakeun raga nyapurnakeun sajatining rasa (“Annihilate the body and sanctify the spirit”)		To the tune Kidung, the saehu sits cross-legged with the offerings to his left and the incense burner in front of him. Then all the assistants spread the white cloth in a rectangle suspending it above the heads of the two wayang characters and the child. The saehu begins to burn incense and as the smoke billows, he says the mantra “Amaragati Arimbi putra, Arimbi putra adisura. Amaragati Hidimbi, Hadimbi prawerti apsari.” (Arimbi’s child has reached his goal, Arimbi’s child has become a hero true. Hidimbi (Arimbi) has reached her goal, Hidimbi smelling sweet like a heavenly goddess.”)The mantra which follows is “Titiwah sioloka subagiakarma, titiwah siloka sadyawirat, titiwah siloka mahasudra.” (“A spirit that is pure is a symbol of happiness, a spirit that is pure is the symbol for which we aim. A spirit that is pure is the symbol of self-strengthening.”) Then, the assistants drop the white cloth, covering the two wayang characters. The assistants sit cross-legged on the stage. Meanwhile the child continues to stand facing the two figures now covered with the white cloth.
Nyinglareun Kala (Banishing misfortune		The tune Kidung stops and the saehu says another mantra: “Nirwana naya nugraha (“May you be received at the place of the greatest holiness.”) Finally the saehu says the du’a salamet (the prayer of safeguarding) which is taken from the Koran and the response comes from the entire audience with an overwhelming, “Amen,” which resounds at the end of the prayer. Only the two wayang characters covered by the white cloth are silent. With this prayer of safeguarding, the exorcism is complete.
Scattering of the Audience		The tune Jiro plays as the audience leaves.

A mangung ruwatan arises from the traditional belief system. As is noted by Koentjaraningrat, the ruwatan ceremony is conducted to prevent calamities which are said to threaten a person. People still believe that these dangers forebode as long as the ceremony has not occurred (1985: 109). The local audiences who watch the performance of the mangung ruwatan to its finish believe they will be blessed. On the other hand, if a viewer leaves before the ceremony is complete, it is believed they experience misfortune. Before they arrive home, it is said, they will encounter an apparition, malakalmaut (mala,” evil,, maut, “death”) which is really the ceremony’s white cloth. The cloth will then transform into a kain kafan (a shroud).

Repertoire

The story presented in a performance of wayang is called a lakon (play). The story presented in wayang wong Priangan can be a root story (called pakem or galur) from the Mahabharata including the Bharata Yudha or from the Arjuna Sasra Bahu Cycle, and corresponds to the stories of wayang golek. The majority of stories are from the trunk part of the repertoire (pakem/galur), but there are also some stories that come from the carnage or branch episodes. The sempalan or twig stories have not played a significant part in the repertoire.

The performance does not try to represent all of the events of the epic. This is different from the Javanese performance of wayang wong in the palace of Yogyakarta where the story Mintaraga (Arjuna’s Meditation) was presented in l926 and l937, requiring two days and two nights to present (Soedarsono, l997: 217). Wayang wong Priangan uses four to seven scenes, and usually only shows the highlights of the story. Scenes which are chosen usually are those which are best presented through the rich medium of dance, and the rest of the story is delivered through dialogue. The stories included are usually only fragments of larger epics. The repertoire in the middle of the last century was represented by two stories from the Arjuna Sasrabahu cycle, one from the Ramayana, and ten from the Mahabharata, with six of these derived from the Bharata Yudha, the great war that is the climax of this epic. The following chart gives a brief idea of this repertoire.

Chart D: Repertoire

Epic and Title	Content
Arjuna Sasra Bahu
1. Arjuna Wijaya (Arjuna Sasra Bahu’s Triumph)	The story of how King Arjuna Sasra Bahu, an incarnation of Wisnu (Vishnu) defeats the demon Rawana winning the hand of Citrawati, an incarnation of the rice goddess, Sri.
2. Patih Suwanda (Minister Suwanda)	Somantri, the cousin of Arjuna Sasra Bahu with the new title of Patih Suwanda becomes the prime minister of Maespati under the title Minister Suwanda, but is killed by Rawana ‘s arrow which contains the spirit of a sibling that Somantri killed in his youth.
Ramayana
Anoman Pebancasuta	Anoman the white monkey and son of a god blocks the sun.
Mahabharata
Jabang Tutuka (Birth of Gatotkaca)	The infant Gataokaca, son of the Pandawa hero Bima, rescues Suralaya, the abode of the gods, from King Naga Persona, a serpent king.
Brajamusti	The death of Brajamusti, an uncle of Gatotkaca at the hand of this nephew. Gatotkaca receives supernatural strength from this encounter.
Srikandi-Rarasati	Lady Srikandi, spouse of the Pandawa hero Arjuna, learns archery from him and battles the princess Rarasati.
Srikandi-Mustakaweni	The Pandawa’s powerful heirloom the Layung Jamus Kalimasada has vanished and Srikandi helps get it back.
Mahabharata/Bharata Yudha
Jaya Renyuan (Death of Abimanyu)	Abimanyu is attacked by the Kurawa and killed by Jayadrata.
Jaya Tigasan (Death of Jayadrata)	Arjuna slays the murderer of his son Abhimanyu.
Jaya Perbangsa (Death of Gatotkaca)	Gatotkaca is killed by his Uncle Karna.
Jaya Jambakan (Death of Dursasana)	Death of Dursasana, second eldest of the Kurawa at the hands of his cousin Bima, the Pandawa hero.
Karna Tanding (Death of Karna)	Death of lord Karna at the hand of his half brother Arjuna.
Jaya Pupuhan (Death of Suyudana)	Death of the Kurawa king at the hands of his Pandawa cousins.

Most of these stories concern the struggle between the Kurawa and the Pandawa in the Mahabharata. All of the stories address major themes of heroism and moral instruction. The repertoire is narrower than that of wayang golek which serves as its antecedent. Wayang wong is more focused on pakem, canonical stories. The additional human resources which it takes to mount a dance performance with the numerous dancers required, may make the repertoire more conservative than that of the wayang golek, where, by virtue of a single performer executing the show,  nvention of new repertoire is facilitated. In wayang wong, a large group must agree on the course of the narrative (without necessarily having numerous rehearsals to work out the agreements). Actors dialogue carries much of the storytelling. Older, set stories may work better in this situation of shared narration keeping everyone figuratively on the same page. Class may also have contributed to the conservative repertoire. The association of the genre with the elite priyayi who found deep resonance in the older lakon may have contributed. The period in which the form developed may also explain the static repertoire. Wayang wong Priangan is a genre of the 19th  and 20th  century, not an active form at present. Dalang report the wayang golek of the pre- independence period laid more emphasis on traditional stories than does present practice. Wayang wong’s canonical repertoire responded to the constraints of its performance, the influence of class, and the preferences of the time.

These are stories which, because of their portrayal of important moments in the lives of iconic characters, remain “abot” (“heavy,” i.e., laden with meaning) for the Sundanese. For example the birth and coming of age of Gatotkaca are associated with his transformation from an ordinary child. First is boiled in the crater Candradimuka to make him strong enough to defeat the serpent Naga Persona as is detailed in The Birth of Gatotkaca (Jabang Tutuka). Then the Brajamusti episode comes as Gatotkaca is educated by facing the enormous powers of his demonic uncle, Brajamusti. After defeating Brajamusti and drawing his demonic power into Gatotkaca’s own body, this young hero is ready to serve justice and truth. Shamanic images of transformation abound as Gatotkaca’s ordinary sinews are replaced by innards of iron and steel, he returns again and again from death, and he gains the power to fly and see and hear through the multiple layers of heaven and earth. Such stories contain powerful symbols of magical transformation and hint about the reappropriation of chthonic power in service of the social order.

The Death of Gatotkaca may have been chosen for the ruwatan due to his lowly heritage and personal history of transformation. Gatotkaca is born of a noble but rather coarse father, Bhima the third Pandawa brother. His mother is a demoness who began life among ogres, but, through personal initiative, raised herself, experienced a ruwatan (exorcism) transforming her into a human form. These are heroes who are not born but made. Both Gatotkaca and his mother Arimbi are like normal human beings coming from below, driven by the senses. Each is reborn though transformative forces , whether love (Arimbi) or the struggle for righteousness (Gatotkaca). The mantra: “Arimbi’s child has reached his goal, Arimbi’s child has become a hero true. Adimbi has reached her goal, Adimbi smelling sweet like a heavenly goddess,” may provide a clue as to why this lakon is borrowed for the ruwatan ceremony. As the white shroud descends on the characters (Gatotkaca and Arimbi) mounted on a funeral pyre, the symbolic death and rebirth of the child experiencing the ceremony and viewers is signaled. Those who watch the wayang learn to let all that is demonic, rough, low and of this earth fall away from the body-mind-heart. Engulfed in the smoking swirl of incense, the self- seeking and transitory burn away along with the body of the hero on the funeral pyre. Though it is the characters who are covered with the white “shroud” and they who “burn” in the story, it is the viewer who contemplates the meaning of death and knows transubstantition. Via narrative, ceremony, symbol, and mantra, we arrive where we have been heading all our life, we reached our goal—death. Having lived though it in the nexus of art we are finally ready to dance with refinement to the music that plays for the world that is seen and that which is unseen.

Wayang wong Priangan is a rich genre for understanding the nature and history of Sundanese arts. Though it first came to Sunda from the Cirebon area, it was reworked in the highlands and became an important indigenous theatre. It is hoped that now, while the last generation of wayang wong Priangan artists in still alive, research and reconstruction can take place so this exemplary art may survive.

 

Notes

1. For discussion of Balinese variants see Holt l967: 124. Javanese wayang wong is discussed in Sediawati 1981 and Soedarsono l997.

2. Cirebonese wayang wong is sometimes called wayang topeng (masked wayang). The masks used in Java generally are held by the performer biting on a piece of leather attached to the inside of the mask’s lip. Since a closed mouth is required to hold the mask in place, it is rare for the dancer to speak his/her own dialogue in this form. The dalang speaks for all the actors with the exception of the clowns who wear half masks and speak for themselves.

3. Cirebon has four palaces: the Kasepuhan , Kanoman, Kaprabonan and Kacirebonan. All these houses trace their lineage back to Sunun Gunung Jati, the Muslim saint (wali) and founder of the Sultanate who is said to have used wayang, music, and dance to spread Islam in the 16th  century. Village artists in many Cirebonese genres consider themselves to be the descendants of the wali, the nine Islamic saints who converted the island.

4. The headdresses and the gamelan which were used at the Javanese village at the Columbia Exposition can be seen in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and are similar to the performing objects available for inspection in the collection of the Museum Pangeran Guesan Ulun in Sumedang.

5. The repertoire of wayang is customarily divided into pakem/galur (trunk), carangan (branch) , and sempalan (twig) stories. The trunk stories related the given events of the epic. The branch episodes show those characters in new stories that expand out from those circumstances. Twig stories are one step further from the core events, and can be whimsical developments with tangential relation to the epic. For example, if we were to apply these terms to the western cannon, Shakespeare’s Hamlet would be pakem/galur, Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern would be carangan, and an actors comical invention on the life of the gravedigger which might in passing show a scene of the child Hamlet riding piggy back on Yorick would be sempalan.

6. For discussion of dialogue in wayang golek style see Foley l979. Other sources are Atik Soepandi and M. A. Salmun.

7. The Sundanese badaya, like the badhaya in Central Java, is a refined female dance but the number of performers, choreography, costume, and other features differ from the models of the Javanese courts.

8. See Foley 2001 for a script of a wayang golek ruwatan.

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