This is a blog post I have been anticipating writing for some time, as my initial interest in Indonesian culture was through the traditional gamelan music of Bali and Java. Because of Indonesia's existence as an archipelago of thousands of islands, many styles and regional variations of ensemble music have developed, and there is huge variation as far as the instruments used, the socio-cultural context of performance, its relation to local dance styles, and the overall mood evoked by the pieces. As these styles of music have often been developing for centuries prior to the standardization and nationalization of the Indonesian language, the vocabulary related to performance - and, if applicable, the language used for singing - is often the regional/island language, such as Balinese, Javanese, etc.
In Javanese gamelan, the lyrics recited by the pesindhen (female singer) and the gerong (male chorus) are usually sung in Kawi, a standardized form of Old Javanese with a considerable amount of Sanskrit loan words. The Javanese language is hierarchical in nature, meaning that there are essentially three distinct languages within one - the lowest form is meant for speaking to a person of a lower social status, the middle form for speaking to someone of an equal class, and the highest form being reserved to speaking to priests or royalty. Kawi is considered the pinnacle language of this hierarchical structure. This language is largely esoteric in modern Java, so most Javanese listeners do not understand the lyrics being sung; rather, the music is meant to promote a pensive, meditative state for those who do not understand.
Through my participation in the gamelan ensemble throughout most of my time at UR and my education with Indonesian music teachers, I have been immersed in the introductory language used to describe Balinese and Javanese music. For pretty much every note or sound played by the gamelan, there is a vocal representation for it, especially for the drum patterns and the cyclical "landmark" instruments, like the gong, kenong and kempul. I plan to research Javanese sung poetry at some point in the future, but I consider it most important at this point to study Indonesian, as this is likely the language that will be shared between myself and music teachers. In my learning plan, I have included learning more gerong texts and popular songs in Bahasa Indonesia.
Comments
It's amazing the incredibly diverse and vast array of regional languages and therefore,regional music, across Indonesia. It was only recently that I realized how big Indonesia is when I found one of my family friends who was visiting family in Jakarta was unaffected by one of the recent earthquakes. I can understand a little of the hierarchical structure of Kawi since Korean is also very hierarchical when speaking to those younger, equal or older than you. I find it so interesting that the music rather than to really be understood it is more of meditative setting for those who can't understand. Would you say Kawi is a dying language in how it is not being understood by more and more people? I hope to hear some of Javanese music in your presentation.