Javanese poetry
Encyclopedia
Javanese poetry is traditionally recited in song form. The standard forms are divided into three types, sekar ageng, sekar madya, and tembang macapat. All three types follow strict rules of poetic construction. These forms are highly influential in Javanese gamelan
.
believed that the indigenous forms represented an older tradition. The ancient forms of these, known as kakawin
, use meters from Indian poetry
, specifying the number of syllable
s in each line, their vowel length
, and the location of caesura
e. Exactly how this ancient form sounded when sung is hard to know, as the modern form has been influenced by gamelan
structures. It may have resembled modern Indian or Bali
nese chant
.
The modern form of sekar ageng are always in stanzas of four lines, and the number of syllables in each (lampah) is fixed and divided into parts (pedhotan) by caesurae. (Vowel length is no longer distinguished.) These indications are ordinarily indicated with the form; for example, sekar ageng Bongsa patra, lampah 17, pedhotan 4,6,7. According to Padmasasustra, there are 44 types of sekar ageng used in Surakarta
.
A sekar ageng is sometimes used as a type of buka
(song introduction) known as a bawa. It is sung solo, or may be supported by the gendér
. Only the first line is used in the introduction, and the rest may follow in the actual gendhing
. Martopangrawit believes that this began only in the late 19th century, at the time of Paku Buwana IX (r. 1861-93).
, as consonants that follow, if any, do not have to match). The pattern of the length of lines is known as guru wilangan, guru pètungan, or guru wichalan, while the pattern of vowels is known as dhongdhing or guru lagu. In the schemes below, the number represents the guru wilangan, while the letter is the guru lagu of the corresponding line.
In addition to these formal structures, each of these forms has a specific mood. The typical use is indicated after the form for many of the structures below.
Padmasoesastra listed 11 types of sekar madya forms used in Surakarta. Many of them, however, are no longer used. The ones in modern use are:
Two meters were classified as macapat forms in the past, but are now considered sekar madya:
The common macapat forms are:
As an example, consider the following Kinanthi verse, a stanza from the Serat Centhini:
These forms are the basis of kidung
poetry.
The text for these songs is frequently used in works for the gamelan, frequently sung by the gerong
. Indeed, many modern gendhing share common macapat texts, especially Kinanthi, fit into their individual melodic pattern. Sumarsam
believes that the singing of these forms led to the development of the early gendhing gerong, in the mid-19th century. Wayang performances make use of the Mahabharata
and Ramayana
in macapat form, created in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
.
Sekar ageng
The most sacred are the sekar ageng (Low Javanese: tembang gedhé; "great songs"). These were traditionally held to be the most ancient of the forms, but Jaap KunstJaap Kunst
Jaap Kunst was a Dutch ethnomusicologist, particularly associated with the study of gamelan music of Indonesia...
believed that the indigenous forms represented an older tradition. The ancient forms of these, known as kakawin
Kakawin
Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese, also called "Kawi", written in verse form with rhythms and metres derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language, rather than the vernacular...
, use meters from Indian poetry
Sanskrit literature
Literature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD...
, specifying the number of syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s in each line, their vowel length
Vowel length
In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. Often the chroneme, or the "longness", acts like a consonant, and may etymologically be one, such as in Australian English. While not distinctive in most dialects of English, vowel length is an important phonemic factor in...
, and the location of caesura
Caesura
thumb|100px|An example of a caesura in modern western music notation.In meter, a caesura is a complete pause in a line of poetry or in a musical composition. The plural form of caesura is caesuras or caesurae...
e. Exactly how this ancient form sounded when sung is hard to know, as the modern form has been influenced by gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
structures. It may have resembled modern Indian or Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
.
The modern form of sekar ageng are always in stanzas of four lines, and the number of syllables in each (lampah) is fixed and divided into parts (pedhotan) by caesurae. (Vowel length is no longer distinguished.) These indications are ordinarily indicated with the form; for example, sekar ageng Bongsa patra, lampah 17, pedhotan 4,6,7. According to Padmasasustra, there are 44 types of sekar ageng used in Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
.
A sekar ageng is sometimes used as a type of buka
Buka (music)
The buka is the short introduction to pieces of gamelan. It is also called the bubuka or bubuka opaq-opaq....
(song introduction) known as a bawa. It is sung solo, or may be supported by the gendér
Gendér
A gendér is a type of metallophone used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan music. It consists of 10 to 14 tuned metal bars suspended over a tuned resonator of bamboo or metal, which are tapped with a mallet made of wooden disks or a padded wooden disk . Each key is a note of a different pitch, often...
. Only the first line is used in the introduction, and the rest may follow in the actual gendhing
Gendhing
The gendhing is a class of gendhing structures used in Javanese gamelan music. Gendhing can also be used to refer to gamelan compositions in general....
. Martopangrawit believes that this began only in the late 19th century, at the time of Paku Buwana IX (r. 1861-93).
Sekar madya and tembang macapat
Sekar madya (Low Javanese: Tembang tengahan; "middle songs") are supposed to lie between the other two genres, but there is no agreement about which genres are considered sekar madya and which are tembang macapat (old orthography: machapat). Both of these, in contrast to sekar ageng, use varying number of lines of varying length, but always in a specific form. Furthermore, the vowel sound of the final syllable must match a specific pattern (note that this is different from syllable rimeSyllable rime
In the study of phonology in linguistics, the rime or rhyme of a syllable consists of a nucleus and an optional coda. It is the part of the syllable used in poetic rhyme, and the part that is lengthened or stressed when a person elongates or stresses a word in speech.The rime is usually the...
, as consonants that follow, if any, do not have to match). The pattern of the length of lines is known as guru wilangan, guru pètungan, or guru wichalan, while the pattern of vowels is known as dhongdhing or guru lagu. In the schemes below, the number represents the guru wilangan, while the letter is the guru lagu of the corresponding line.
In addition to these formal structures, each of these forms has a specific mood. The typical use is indicated after the form for many of the structures below.
Padmasoesastra listed 11 types of sekar madya forms used in Surakarta. Many of them, however, are no longer used. The ones in modern use are:
- Juru demung: 8A, 8U, 8U, 8A, 8U, 8A, 8U
- Wirangrong: 8I, 8O, 10U, 6I, 7A, 8A
- Balabah: 12A, 3É, 12A, 3Á, 12A, 3Á
Two meters were classified as macapat forms in the past, but are now considered sekar madya:
- Megatruh (or Duduk wuluh): 12U, 8I, 8U, 8I, 8O
- Gambuh: 7U, 10U, 12I, 8U, 8O (there are a number of variants of this form)
The common macapat forms are:
- Dhangdhang gula: 10I, 10A, 8É(O), 7U, 9I, 7A, 6U, 8A, 12I, 7A; neutral character, used especially for introducing another poem
- Sinom: 8A, 8I, 8A, 8I, 7I, 8U, 7A, 8I, 12A; didactic poems
- Asmarandana: 8I, 8A, 8O(É), 8A, 7A, 8U, 8A; love poems
- Kinanthi: 8U, 8I, 8A, 8I, 8A, 8I; love poems
- Pangkur: 8A, 11I, 8U, 7A, 12U, 8A, 8I; violent passions or fighting
- Durma: 12A, 7I, 6A, 7A, 8I, 5A, 7I; violent passions or fighting
- Mijil: 10I, 6O, 10É, 10I, 6I, 6U; love poems
- Mas kumambang: 12I, 6A, 8I, 8A; longing or homesickness
- Puchung: 12U, 6A, 8I, 12A; neutral character, used for riddles
As an example, consider the following Kinanthi verse, a stanza from the Serat Centhini:
- Ki Jayèngraga agupuh
- anggamel rebab respati
- rebabé langkung prayoga
- watangan pinonthang gadhing
- kosok pinatra pinrada
- batok jamangan balenggin
These forms are the basis of kidung
Kidung
Kidung is a form of Old Javanese poetry. They differ from kakawin in that they use Javanese meters instead of imported Sanskrit ones, and mostly appeared later. The subject matter is based on historical events. Like kakawin, they later became an important source of inspiration for pictorial art...
poetry.
The text for these songs is frequently used in works for the gamelan, frequently sung by the gerong
Gerong
Gerong is the Javanese verb meaning "to sing in a chorus." Penggerong is the proper name of a member of the chorus, but often the word gerong is used to refer to the unison male chorus that sings with the gamelan. The chorus or the melody may also be called the gerongan.The gerong generally sings...
. Indeed, many modern gendhing share common macapat texts, especially Kinanthi, fit into their individual melodic pattern. Sumarsam
Sumarsam
Sumarsam is a Javanese musician and scholar of the gamelan.-Life:Sumarsam was born in Dander, Bojonegoro, East Java, Indonesia. He first performed gamelan at the age of seven. He began his formal gamelan education in 1961 at the Konservatori Karawitan Indonesia in Surakarta...
believes that the singing of these forms led to the development of the early gendhing gerong, in the mid-19th century. Wayang performances make use of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
in macapat form, created in the 18th and 19th centuries.