rhythm of the dance
Occasionally, we hear word that a local village is hosting a Jatilan.
The Jatilan is the traditional horse trance-dance of Central Java. These animistic rituals are far removed from the refined aristocratic dances of the Sultan’s Kraton. They are a side of Java that very few Westerners experience and can be both disturbing and revealing. This dance dates back to the 15th century. Its form is influenced by the history of Java’s ancient kingdoms, and by the worship of ancestral spirits.
The dance is based on the folklore of Boyolali, a small village in the Kingdom of Pajang. Five centuries ago, the Pajang dynasty was faced with the rising power of Islam that threatened its kingdom. Many of its citizens had begun to adopt the new religion and the resulting conflict was Civil War. Father took up arms against son, brother battled against brother. In the guise of the masks worn in the battle, they were able to break the binding ties of family, and to follow their beliefs to the ultimate sacrifice of death. These warriors summoned the spirits of legendary heroes, fabled horses, god-like monkeys and tigers to enter their masks and to provide them with supernatural protection. In memory of those past times the Jatilan dancers, wearing masks or riding plaited bamboo hobbyhorses, move to the rhythm of the drums and gamelan, and by evoking the battles of the past, beg the spirits to enter their bodies and souls. A Dukun, or Holy Man, controls the ritual. He chants the spells that beseech the spirits to possess the dancers. These often become as frenzied and as wild as the animals that occupy their bodies. The Dukun is able to master the spirits, and later drive them out of the bodies of those in trance, often using the very masks by which they entered.
The Jatilan has now virtually disappeared from Java, and can only be found in remote villages. Amanjiwo, as a cultural resort, believes that trance still has a vital role to play in Kampung life and does all it can to ensure its continued existence.