The Politics of Popular Art: Tayuban Dance and Culture Change in East Java

In terms of our often chimerical image of priyayi culture, tayuhan dance can at first sight appear bewilderingly un-Javanese. Contrary to most Indonesian dance styles, tayuhan involves men dancing directly with women,l in a fashion which on occasion may be flirtatious or even intimate. The female dancers are paid professionals known as tledhek or tandhak.2 When it is a man's turn to "receive the dance scarf," these women come to sit at his side, sing him a song, and, at its end, offer him a glass of alcohol, which he dashes down boldly, then taking to the dance floor. Although the practice is generally discouraged today, sometimes women may sit on the male dancer's lap, and on a few occasions actually kiss him. Such sexual behavior by tedhetk has contributed to the widespread perception of them as prostitutes, and, together with the dance's drinking and economic expense, has also caused Muslim reformists and some government officials in recent years to call for the dance's abolition. Whatever notoriety tayuban has gained, however, it still enjoys considerable popularity in areas of East and (to a perhaps lesser degree) Central Java. In many communities, moreover, it is not only a popular form of entertainment, but an integral part of spirit shrine ritual associated with annual betuihk desa festivity. Without the dance, one is told, crops might fail, people would fall ill, and the land might turn barren. This identification of tayubhan with fertility rites has only served to reinforce reformist Muslim opposition to the dance tradition. From an analytic perspective, the fertility theme raises larger questions on the origins of the dance and its relation to other regional dance traditions.