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.