Jathilan
 
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Indonesia Update 2017
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© 2017 John Holstein
 
 

To see a jathilan in action, click on this link to "Jathilan Kemesu." Kemesu is a small village 40 miles west of Yogyakarta that I visited a couple years ago.
 
 
 
 
"Pojok Hamlet? Sure. Go about twenty minutes, turn right, then in about 5 minutes you turn left, then another left, keep going till you turn right, and there you are. Can't miss it."
 
 
 
 
 
A tent is put up in a village far outside of Yogyakarta.
 
 
 
 
 
The first performers (boys or girls) prepare their makeup and costumes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The show was supposed to start at 12:00, but it's already 1:00 and they haven't begun. Life in Small Village Indonesia.
 
 
 
 
 
Vendors follow the jathilan performances. This one is selling fesh coconut ice drink.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Five or six musicians play the traditional gamelang instruments . . .
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
. . . and traditional drums . . .
 
 
 
 
 
. . . joined by a set of modern drums.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here comes one of the two singers, most likely a former dancer.
 
 
 
 
 
The entire village, from very young to very old and everybody in between, attend a jathilan.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The first part of most jathilans that I have seen is the one in which girls or boys do a cycle of simple steps over and over again, and the accompanying music is also repetitive. This monotony has a purpose: It is supposed to mesmerize the dancers into a state in which they can assume the various spirits of the village. This can go on for an hour or so. Apparently there is more than I can see in their dancing, because the audience stays and watches.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After an hour or so they are getting exhausted but enthralled.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The girls and boys finally manage to conjure the spirits, who burst into the ring in a dazzling display of ferocious masks and bells and menacing moves.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It's thrilling to watch and hear the power that this part exudes when done right.
 
 
 
 
 
This is the first time I've seen women dancing this physically demanding role. These two lacked the essential vigor and stamina.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Soon the dancers are going off into their trances.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Okay, break time. A jathilan usually consists of three parts, an hour or more each.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Okay, back to work. After 30 minutes or so of dancing, the dancers--and one or two of the audience--get waylaid completely by the spirits and get weird.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
But the group's masters are in control and the village is safe from the evil spirits.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And we get on our bikes and head for home.
 
Indonesia Update 2017
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