C. Brakel-Papenhuyzen Of sastra, pènget and pratélan; The development of Javanese dance notation In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 148 (1992), no: 1, Leiden, 3-21 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 02:01:15PM via free access CLARA BRAKEL-PAPENHUYZEN OF SASTRA, PENGET AND PRATELAN: THE DEVELOPMENT OF JAVANESE DANCE NOTATION The investigation into the development of the theatrical traditions of Java apparently does not suffer from a lack of source material. The beautiful dance scenes on famous temples such as Borobudur and Prambanan, and the frequent mention of theatre and dance in Javanese literary works are sufficient proof of the importance of the performing arts in Javanese culture. However, depictions on temple reliefs or descriptions of dance and the theatre in works of poetry do not usually provide precise information on the reality of artistic practice. This is not surprising, as neither temple reliefs nor works of literature were created for this purpose. However realistic the quality of the dance scenes on temple reliefs may seem, it is not certain how much of their form is bound by architectural convention. Therefore it is very doubtful whether conclusions about the form and style of Javanese dancing at the time of the construction of such temples may be drawn from the depiction of dance scenes on temple reliefs.1 Moreover, a relief in stone is a still picture, presenting static information, the purpose of which was not to give a faithful representation of complex dance motions or musical sounds. Passages on dance practice and theatrical performances in Javanese literature suffer from similar restrictions. Their function is not to provide a detailed description of movement or sound structures, but they serve to evoke a particular atmosphere, or to depict the scene in which the perform- ance takes place. Therefore, such passages tend to give descriptions of costumes, reactions of the audience or remarks about the quality and effects of the dancer or musician, rather than being informative about the choreography or music itself. As an example I quote the following passage from the Middle Javanese Panji Romance Wangbang Wideya, Canto 3:95-97: 1 See the discussion on this topic in Holt 1936 and Sedyawati 1982. CLARA BRAKEL-PAPENHUYZEN, who took her Ph.D. at the University of Leiden, is a researcher affiliated with ILDEP who is specialized in the performing arts of Asia, with special emphasis on Indonesia. Her publications include Seni TariJawa: Tradisi Surakarta dan Peristilahannya, 1991, Jakarta: ILDEP, and The Bedhaya Dances of Central Java, 1992, Leiden: Brill. Dr. Brakel may be contacted at P. Bernhardlaan 133,2274 HW Voorburg, The Netherlands. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 02:01:15PM via free access 4 Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen 'Panji Wireswara was silent and held his peace, replying only with an obeisance. He felt terribly weak and weary; he was left speechless. The king partook of sayub, and it was an exceedingly merry feast. Then they struck up a melody on the gamelan, the gongs boomed, and the nobles danced. Raden Singhamatra danced; his dancing was fine, restrained, and without too much movement (?). He went straight and took a dha- dhap shield and lance. Wangbang Wideya descended and then asked leave to dance. His deft gestures caused one heartache and bewil- dered the watchers, especially when he took the dhadhap shield. Everyone watching his dancing was astounded; he was truly skilled, and it was appropriate indeed that he be feared in battle. The king of Daha was overjoyed and said, "How could this man ever fail to destroy his adversaries?'" (Robson 1971:199.) If we want to investigate the exact form, structure and artistic development of Javanese theatrical traditions, we need authoritative and detailed def- initions and descriptions designed for the use of performers, such as are found in the Sanskrit Bharata Natya Shastra, or the South Indian Abhinaya Darpana. Unfortunately, such texts have not been found in Java so far. The general opinion therefore is that the classical arts of dancing, drama, singing and music basically represent an oral tradition, handed down directly from teacher to student. Yet, in the main artistic centres of Central Java information can be found that proves that by the end of the eighteenth century Javanese artists made use of written texts. In the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a number of handwritten scores were brought together in the manuscript collections of the courts. These were composed by dancing and music masters in the service of the ruler, and contain information necessary to support the regular practice of dancing, singing, acting and music-making at these courts. Nineteenth-century notations The earliest manuscripts of this kind contain texts of songs performed as an accompaniment to the sacred female bedhaya dances of the courts, and are accordingly entitled '(Pejsindhen Bedhaya'. They are dated as early as the second half of the eighteenth century, but the song texts they contain were probably composed before that time. While these texts mainly pro- vide the 'cakepan' or text2 chanted by the choir, they often also contain some indications about the musical setting and the structure of the per- 2 While in Bali the expression cakepan refers to a complete set of lontar leaves with a written text on them, the Javanese use this expression to refer to the words - spoken, or written or printed on paper - of a poem sung by one or more singers. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 02:01:15PM via free access Of Sastra, Penget and Pratelan 5 formance, as well as regarding certain actions of the dancers (Brakel 1988:91ff). The earliest choreographic scores of female court dances which I have found so far are the notations (called 'penget') in a 'notebook' of the Yogyakarta court, entitled 'Kagungan Dalem Buk Beksa Bedhaya utawi Srimpi' (The Royal "book" of Bedhaya and Srimpi dances'), which was written for the ruler Hamengkubuwana VII (1877-1921). While most of these scores are for dances created and performed during the reign of this ruler, the manuscript also contains compositions by previous rulers. Some dances occur several times, no doubt representing different versions of the same dance, presumably performed on different occasions. This manuscript, which apparently was compiled by various persons over a number of years during the last part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, represents one of the earliest examples of Javanese dance notation. The main component is provided by notations of dance patterns and spatial arrangements, which are referred to in Javanese terminology. These are accompanied by indications as to dura- tion (counted in terms of the number of gong beats of the accompanying musical piece) and in some cases also by references to corresponding words in the accompanying song texts. The following transcription is of the beginning of the score for a famous nineteenth-century court dance for five dancers, Srimpi Renggawati, here named Srimpi Mliwis.3 Punika penget lampahipun beksa kagungan dalem Srimpi Mliwis, gendhing Renyep lajeng dhawah Sumyar, salendro. This is the score of the royal dance (named) Srimpi Mliwis, (arranged to) the musical piece (named) Renyep, and followed by (the musical piece named) Sumyar, (in the) slendro (tonal system). Ngandhap punika lampahing beksa pasindhen gong Below is the course of the dance song text gong beats Awit rakit tengah rimong nyembah 2 start in the opening formation in the centre (with the sampur) across the shoulder and perform the gesture of worship . Minger ajeng-ajengan ngadeg iring-iringan 1 Turn to face each other, and stand up side to side Minger ungkur-ungkuran minger miring 2 Turn back to back, and turn sideways 3 The subject of the dance is the romance between King Angling Darma, transformed into a white duck (mliwis), and the young Princess Renggawati. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 02:01:15PM via free access 6 Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen What is remarkable about these early scores is that they refer to dance patterns by means of special terms such as 'rakit tengah' ('opening forma- tion in the centre', i.e. of the dance hall), rimong (sampur) ('draping the dance scarf crosswise over the shoulder'). Some of these terms denote spatial patterns and motions, such as 'minger ajeng-ajengan', while others refer to patterns of movement or to specific poses, such as 'rimong nyem- bah'. Since the duration of the movement indicated in the right-hand column is equivalent to the time elapsing between two (or more) gong beats in a slow and.stately musical piece, we may infer that the terms merely con- stitute a summary indication of the actual choreography. This was suf- ficient, no doubt, as a mnemonic aid for the dancing-masters and musi- cians using this score, but rather lacking in information for people who are not familiar with the composition.4 Thus, the purpose of this score book cannot have been to serve as a means of instruction - we may well assume that in the nineteenth century dances were taught and practised through direct imitation, as in fact still is the custom nowadays. The arrangement of the notation suggests that, rather than being destined for the use of students, these scores served as a 'reminder' not just to the dancing-master, but more especially to the pengeprak, or the person responsible for guiding the dancers and musicians during performances by beating signals on a small wooden slit-drum (keprak). Dance terminology in the Serat Centhini The use of dance terminology in Java did not start with this manuscript, however. It was not restricted to the court of Yogyakarta, either.