The Distant Sounds of Tayub
There was a time when tayub, a dance in which men are invited from the audience to join professional female dancers, was very popular in Central and East Java. Drunken male guests would vie with one another to become pengibing, a name given to those dancing with the ledek, pretty hip-swinging dancing girls. As soon as they had a girls shawlan invitation to climb onto the stagethey would dig deep into their pockets to give generous cash prizes to the girls. All parties, ranging from circumcisions, weddings and offerings made to the earth, were highlighted with this tayub dance. Today, tayub has lost its luster in more places than not. It is rare now to hear the festive sound of a tayub dance emanating from remote villages. In Blora and Pati, however, tayub is as popular as ever, although the rules have now changed for ledek. The dancers must be adaptable to modern flavors: campur sari, traditional Javanese songs with a popular flair, and dangdut, a blend of Malay and Indian tunes.
July 8, 2003
DESPITE the burning hot day, typical of the dry season in Kemiri Village, Jepon, Central Java, some 500 villagers flocked to the village hall several weeks ago. They crammed into the sweltering hall to observe a rite in which offerings were given to the earth as tokens of gratitude for this years successful harvest. The noisy sound of the audience and vendors mixed with the music of the gamelan, making the village come alive.
The rite, filled wit
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