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Seblang, a mystical dance to fend off evil
Dance trance: Eleven-year-old Fadia Yulianti performs the Seblang dance while in a supposed trance as part of an annual tradition in Olehsari village, Banyuwangi, East Java, on Sunday
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span class="caption">Dance trance: Eleven-year-old Fadia Yulianti performs the Seblang dance while in a supposed trance as part of an annual tradition in Olehsari village, Banyuwangi, East Java, on Sunday.(JP/ Aman Rocman)
Eleven-year old Fadia Yulianti took the stage and began dancing while in a trance during a Seblang dance performance in Olehsari village, located some 10 kilometers west of Banyuwangi in East Java, on Sunday, the seventh day of the Syawal month in the Javanese calendar.
Starting that day, Fadia will perform the sacred local dance for seven days as part of a purification ceremony to fend off evil from the village, beginning in the afternoon, and lasting for about two-and-a-half hours each day.
This year is her third and last year performing the dance, which has been handed down through the generations in the village inhabited by people from the Osing ethnic group, who mostly comprise of farmers and traders.
To be a Seblang dancer, a girl must share a bloodline with the previous dancer. The girl should also be a virgin in her initial term of menstruation and will be selected by a shaman for a period of three years.
“I’m happy being a Seblang dancer because I’ve gotten so many friends and also fans from doing it,” Fadia said on Sunday after performing the Seblang dance.
The routine before the dancer takes the stage involves an incense-burning ritual by a shaman. The girl, with her eyes covered, is later paraded along the village road toward the stage where the shaman reads mantras to possess her by a spirit.
Gamelan music is also played to invite ancestral spirits to join the ritual.
“I feel nothing when I dance. But, at the end of the performance, I feel happiness inside,” Fadia said.
To mark the end of the ritual, which also attracted tourists, Fadia distributed kanthil (white champaca) flowers, which are believed to bring fortune and safety to the audience.
Legend says the flowers are also a kind of love charm that will attract lovers.
“Other than seeking a blessing, I came here to get the kanthil flowers from the dancer to help me get a partner,” said a 19-year old male, known by his nickname as Yudhi.
Today the Seblang dance is only practiced by Osing people in Olehsari and the neighboring Bakungan village in Banyuwangi regency, however, the dance in Bakungan village is observed later in year.
“The Seblang dance has become an annual tourist attraction for the Banyuwangi regency,” said Olehsari village’s customary leader Ansori.
