Gamelan

Almost every where in Yogya, Solo, Semarang and other cities in Central Java, in Karatons, in the market, in the villages, in the hotel's lobby, you should hear the magical melodious percussion music - the gamelan Javanese orchestra.
In his book 'music of Java' Jaap Kunst says, "Gamelan is comparable to only two things, moonlight and flowing water. ...mysterious like moonlight and always changing like flowing water ...".
Gamelan music is an integral part of all cultural activities in Java such as wayang kulit (leather puppets) performance, court dance, uyon-uyon (symphony orchestra performance), etc. There are two kinds of laras (tuning) in gamelan, namely slendro (comparable to minor key in Western music) and Pelog (major key). A complete set of gamelan consist of two sets of different instruments of Slendro and Pelog, such as:
Kendang (double ended drum beaten by hands)It is a leading instrument. The pengendang (drumer) is the conductor of the gamelan orchestra. There are five (5) different sizes of kendang from 20 cm to 45 cm.
SaronA glockenspiel with bronze bar struck with wooden mallet. There are three kinds; Saron Barung, Saron Peking, Saron Demung.

Bonang BarungA double row of bronze kettles resting on a horizontal frame, played with two long stick bound with red cord at the striking end.
Bonang Penerus

SlentemThin bronze bars suspended over bamboo resonating chambers, struck with a padded disc on the end of a stick.
GenderSimilar to slentem with more bronze keys and smaller bamboo chamber, struck with two disc-shaped hammers.

GambangWooden bars laid over a wooden frame struck with two sticks of supple buffalo horn, ending with a small, round, padded disc.
GongEach slendro and pelog set had three gongs. Two big gongs (Gong Ageng) and one gong Suwukan about 90 cm, made from bronze, suspended on a wooden frame. It marks the end of the largest phrase of the melody.

Kempul Smaller gongs, marks a smaller phrase. In each slendro and pelog set, there are 6 (six) or 10 (ten) kempuls.
Kenong Smaller gongs lay horizontally on crossed cord, inside a wooden frame. A complete set of kenong in each slendro and pelog consist of 10 (ten) kenongs.

KetugThe kenong player also plays it smaller kenong, marks subdivisions of phrases.
ClempungA string instrument, each slendro and pelog set needs one clempung.
SiterSmaller cemplung, each slendro and pelog set needs one siter

SulingIt is a flute, each slendro and pelog set, needs one suling.
RebabA two stringed viol, the same as slendro and pelog.
Keprak and KepyakNeeded for gamelan to accompany dances.
BedugIt is a very big drum.

The bars of the gamelan instruments can be made either from iron, copper or bronze. The bronze bars are the best choice. All the gamelan players are sitting cross-legged on a mat during a performance.
In a gamelan music concert or karawitan performance, the Kendang player or pengendang conducts the Tempo, while the melody is led by the bonang player
The gamelan orchestra includes some singers (Pesinden), female as well as male. There are some very famous Pesindens, their names are almost known by everybody in this region.
Some believe that in the ancient time, the first set of gamelan, by the name of Lokananta was created by gods and played in Mount Lawu, Eastward of Solo.
In short the history of gamelan was as follow:The first gamelan was the three-toned Munggang, then the five-toned slendro gamelan and the last: the seven-toned pelog gamelan.
PatetIn the laras slendro, there are:
Slendro patet nem
Slendro patet sanga
Slendro patet manyura In the laras pelog, there are:
Pelog patet lima
Pelog patet nem
Pelog patet barong
Patet is a place to lay the gending or to establish the gending. In the wayang kulit (shadow puppet) whole night show, the gamelan plays,Slendro patet nem from 9.00-12.00 p.m.Slendro patet sanga from 00.00-03.00 a.m.Slendro patet manyura from 03.00-06.00 a.m.
For an experienced gamelan player it should not difficult to determine the patet of a particular gamelan music. Or it can be said that patet is used to create mood, with the gamelan accompaniment. It is already known that various gamelan tunes are played to create different atmosphere of the situation or feeling such as joy, sorrow, anger etc

Bedhaya Ketawang dance

HISTORY

Some kind of female dance known as bedhaya existed on Java at least as early as the Majapahit empire. 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 (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 is not clearly documented until the late 18th century.
There are many myths which explain the origin of the dance, which generally have either an account of a meeting with an Indic dieity (Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, or the Buddha), or the meeting of Kangjeng Ratu Kidul, the Goddess of the South Sea, meeting with a founder of the Mataram dynasty, either Sultan Ageng or his grandfather, Senapati. In the former, the nine dancers were the creation of a deity, who were 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.

DANCE

The dance is held in a pendhapa, 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 the throne in a clockwise direction, the appropriate direction for veneration in Buddhist 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 tanha (the word for desire or craving in Buddhism), four chakras (the top three of which are used as note names; see slendro), and the four limbs:
èndhèl/èndhèl ajeg, "desire", "constant/fixed desire", "attachment"
pembatak/batak, "head", "mind"
gulu/jangga, "neck"
dhadha, "chest"
buncit/bunthil, "tail", "genitals", "lower end of spinal column"
apit ngajeng/apit ngarep, "right arm", "right flank", "front flank"
apit wingking/apit mburi, "left arm", "rear flank"
èndhèl weton/èndhèl wedalan ngajeng/èndhèl jawi, "right leg", "emergent desire", "front emergent desire", "outside desire"
apit meneng/èndhèl wedalan wingking, "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.

Batik - The Haute Couture of Indonesia

The arts of batik is an ancient technology almost as old as the arts of textile itself. From centuries ago, batik in Indonesia, especially on the Javanese plains, has developed into a form expression, deeply rooted in mythology, philosophy, and a world of symbols revolving around the circle of life.
Indonesian batik is the product of a series of global influences; Chinese and Indian (through Hinduism and Buddhism), Arabian and Persian (through Islam). Traces of these influences can be seen on the various batik motifs along the north coastal cities of Java, as well as in the two centres of Javanese aristocracy: Yogayakarta and Surakarta. "Batik is a masterpiece of crafts, shaped by the journey of time and environmental changes, "concludes H.Santosa Doellah, founder of Batik Danar Hadi and a keen ancient batik collector with a range of collection depicting the history of Indonesian Batik.
As the result of interaction with time and historical environment, batik falls into a number of categories, each distinguished by its pattern, motif, style and colour. Batik Kraton (Kraton Batik) blends in Hindu influence that have found its way through Javanese Kraton (palace compound) in the 5th century, along with Islamic culture shortly after. The Hindu influences takes forms in ornaments of eagle, dragon, lotus and the tree of life; while Islam contributes to ornament symbolizations. Batik Kraton consist of those developed in the sultanates of Surakarta and Yogyakarta as well as in the regency of Pakualaman and Mangkunegaran.
Batik Belanda (Dutch Batik) started to flourish in 1840 and reach its peak between 1890-1910. This category of batik was pioneered by the Dutch and European entrepreneurs living in north coastal cities of Java. Its distinct colour and motif type have made Batik Belanda uniquely significant. Next came Batik Cina (Chinese Batik), rich in oriental ornaments that come in the form of snakes, lions, dragons and phoenixes. Using both bright and pastel colours, Batik Cina can be found in the production centres of Pekalongan, Cirebon, Kudus and Demak. But especially for the Surakarta and Yogyakarta market, Batik Cina comes in the Batik Dua Negri and Batik Tiga Negri formats.
The Japanese colonization bore Batik Jawa Hokokai. Its motif and colour strongly reflect the Japanese influence such as brighthued flore spead over the traditional parang or lereng motifs. Batik Indonesia market the post independence era with a distinct trademark of traditional motif combined with modified isen and finished in the Batik Pesisiran technique. This particular technique uses myriad of colours besides the classic soga (brownish) tone and a number of new motifs, which would later be known as Batik Modern.
Batik Sudagaran appeared in the end of the 19th century, especially in Surakarta and Yogyakarta. Its trademark is in ornaments derived from the classic kraton batik that had been modified to the liking of batikmerchants of that era. To name a few are the modification of tambal with kotak-kotak (squares) motif and the parang with keong ornament filled with nitik motif.