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The 'Seblang' dance ritual of Banyuwangi
First step: Fidyah Yuliaty dances while in a trance during her first Seblang dance performance
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First step: Fidyah Yuliaty dances while in a trance during her first Seblang dance performance.
An asphalt road wound up to a village surrounded by paddy fields at the foot of Mount Ijen. The gate of the small road was decorated with young coconut leaves and festoons adorned the way leading to a permanent stage.
In the village of Olehsari, located some 10 kilometers west of Banyuwangi town in East Java, a purification ceremony to ward off evil and bring about peace was underway, in a local tradition known as Seblang. Olehsari is a cultural tourism village inhabited by the Osing ethnic group, mostly comprising farmers and traders.
Handed down through generations, Seblang used to be observed by Osing people in all the villages of Banyuwangi regency. Today it is only practiced in Olehsari and Bakungan villages in a ritual in which the sacred Seblang dance is performed in a trance. Taking place a week after Idul Fitri, it lasts for seven days, starting at 2 p.m. for about two-and-a-half hours each day.
'The dancer is selected supernaturally by a local shaman from among the descendants or relatives of the previous Seblang dancer, for a period of three years,' said Sahwan, 70, an elder and Seblang patron. In 2015, a successor, who should be a virgin in her initial term of menstruation, was chosen. She is Fidyah Yuliaty, 10.
On the ritual day, villagers prepared for the dance by creating an omprok, headwear made from shredded banana leaves that partly covers the dancer's face and has various fresh flowers on top and a small mirror in the middle. 'The hat must be made by the children of omprok makers,' said Malena, 38, one of the hat crafters.
Make-up was put on the dancer at a Seblang elder's house. Incense was then burned, during which time the girl's eyes were covered with a cloth, before she was paraded along the village road toward the stage, in the company of male Seblang dancers and relatives. As they arrived, the shaman read mantras in the dance arena.
Gamelan music welcomed the dancer and her troupe. The instruments played to accompany Seblang consist only of a drum, a small or large gong, two sets of saron (metallophone) plus a violin. To induce the dancer's trance state, 28 gamelan compositions were played to invite ancestral spirits to join the ritual.
The girl's possession by a spirit was proven by the shaman by shoving her body to the left and right. When a tray being held by the dancer fell and she tumbled backward, she was believed to be in a trance. The Seblang virgin danced with monotonous movements and her eyes closed, following the direction of the shaman and the gamelan rhythm, moving around the village.
After about three rounds of dancing, she halted to sit down for a while, only to carry on her performance shortly afterward accompanied by male dancers, who threw rolled-up scarves at spectators. Those hit by the scarves had to join in the dance, otherwise they would be chased until they participated.
As the time reached 4:30 p.m., the ritual committee announced that kanthil (white champaca) flowers would be distributed to members of the audience, marking the end of the ritual. Onlookers began crowding around to get a flower and give contributions to the family members of the dancer.
'I come here every year for the Seblang ritual and a flower with water from the dancers,' said Hartoyo, 24, a visitor.
Kanthil flowers, distributed to typical Banyuwangi gamelan melodies, are believed to bring fortune, marriage partners and safety. Residents and visitors will continue to watch Seblang dance performances for as long as the ritual is preserved by succeeding generations.
Photos by Aman Rochman
