Salam,
as it comes to music in Pencak Silat, please allow me to join some information I received during my research in West and Central Java, West Sumatra, and Bali. The focus of my research was and still is Sunda (West Java) and Minangabau (West Sumatra), the research was started in 1990 and still runs today - so I will try to shortcut things the best I can:
Hi Eric
Thank you, for taking the time to post your views, to be honest I'm not an expert on these things, so I find it very helpful to know these things. Sorry about the video clip not being of high quality, was interested to know it wasn't the right music on both clips, its one of the problems we in West have, maybe doing silat to the wrong music, which isnt showing respect to the Indonesian culture and its silly innocent mistakes like this, which can lead to scorn and enless rows.
If you (or anyone else )can tell or add anything more, I would be most grateful.
Optimus
West Java:
There are several traditions of music accompaniment within the "
Ibing Penca / Penca Kembangan", namely:
Gendang/Kendang Penca(k),
Gendang Patingtung,
Genjring Dogdog,
Terbangan,
Gembyung,
Rampak Bedug / Adu Bedug.
I will focus here on the best known and by far most spread ensemble type, which is called
Gendang Penca (this term is used in the ex Betawi (today JaBoTaBek) territories), respectively
Kendang Pencak (especially Parahyangan area territories).
The ensemble is built by four players (
nayaga): One player uses the
gendang/kendang indung, one uses the
gendang/kendang anak. Both ot them use two additional small barrel drums
kulanter each. The
gendang/kendang indung provides the
tepak or rhythmic form. This serves for giving the
pesilat a framework for his/her movement. The
gendang/kendang anak provides the accents, this intrument directly relates to the
pesilats actions and interpunctuates them. The next instrument is the
tarompet. The player of this instrument relates to the character of the
pesilat and gives it a programmatic suite of a decent strong or soft, fast or slow character, corresponding to that of the
pesilat. Finally comes the
goong Penca (or
bende), who closes the
tepak with a stroke and initiates the next
jurus.
As can be seen from this depiction, the music both provides a sound continuum and a dynamic underlining for the
pesilat, it provides both action and reaction.
There are several
tepak which are used in a suite-like form sequence during a performance of traditional
Ibingan Penca / Penca Kembangan. The following sequences of
tepak are most common:
#
tepak paleredan ("The tepak from Plered") -
tepak tilu ("tepak No. III") -
tepak padungdung gancang ("fast tepak for the fighting"): This sequence is the basic performance suite, it provides the tightest rhythm (
irama) and therefore is best suited for young and not yet very experienced students.
#
tepak dua ("tepak No. II") -
tepak tilu -
tepak padungdung gancang: Similar to the first, but as the tepak dua provides a more open irama, this sequence demands more abilities from behalf of the pesilat to do it properly. Some traditional pesilat interconnect this sequence with a style sequence, the start with
jurus Penca Cimande within the tp. II, then
jurus Penca Cikalong within the tp. III, then free application of both styles mixed within the padungdung gancang.
#
tepak dua -
tepak tilu -
tepak padungdung anca ("slow tepak for the fighting"): This sequence provides a seemingly strange inversion of dynamics. As for the tempo raises (
naék) from tp. II to tp. III and then goes down again in the padungdung anca, it demands the most profiency from the pesilat to not break the tension of the performance. It is usually only played for a master of the art, and it can be a breathtaking experience for the audience. I had the luck seeing this sequence performed by several masters during the years, and it always gave me a skin when watching.
Some (nowadays) less common sequence of forms are:
#
tepak dua ("tepak No. II") -
tepak golempang -
tepak padungdung gancang: The "
golempang" is a special form in which the pesilat enters the area while searching/inviting an opponent for a (friendly) match. The inviting persilat does not show how 'strong' he is, but just the opposite of that. I.e. he plays being an old man, holding his back with a pain struck face, just as he hardly can move any longer. He makes some jokes out of his staging, to the very amusement of the audience. You will hear bursts of laughter from the children in the
kampung, grasping for air while laughing. But someone should not take this played behavior for granted - you can bet anyone starting a
golempang can be expected to be a full master of the art. Unfortunately this beautiful social performance mode of the
Penca has come somewhat out of use during the last years.
#
tepak salancar Cimande / tepak hiji ("plain tepak from Cimande / tepak No. I") -
tepak padungdung gancang: As the name of the first
tepak suggests, this sequence to my knowledge is only done in the traditional performance of the "
Ibing Tepak Salancar Cimande", the very form from which the "
Ibing Penca" grew.
A video sample of this wonderful old "
Ibing Tepak Salancar Cimande" - and some more of the music accompaniments discussed - you will find here:
http://www.ethnomedia.de/media/mediaLib01.htmrespectively here:
http://www.ethnomedia.de/projects/index.htm#s03_001The recording was done on 30th of October 1994 in Tari Kolot, Cimande.
West Sumatra:
Here you will find the following genres of music within traditional "
Silek Minang": The flutes
bansi and
saluang, and the double reed aerophone
sarunai, often combined with the drum
gandang.
A video sample of a "
langkah limo" from "
Silek Tuo" with a "
saluang darek" you will find here:
http://www.ethnomedia.de/media/mediaLib04.htmThe recording was done on 26th of March 1995 in Bukittinggi.
Further, within a special traditional performance mode of
silek, called "
Luambek", you will find a style of singing, called "
dampeang".
A video sample of a "
Luambek" with corresponding "
dampeang" singing you can find here:
http://www.ethnomedia.de/media/mediaLib03.htmThe recording was done on 31st of March 1995 in Nagari Sicincin.
Though it can be read here and there, I never happened to meet a
talempong gong chime within a "
silek" performance. This instrument is common for the "
tari Silek" (i.e.
tari Pasambahan / Galombang, tari Piriang), but not for the actual "
silek".
Music accompaniment in "
silek Minang" is always additional, never mandatory. The one big exception is the "
Luambek", which always has to be guided (in a close sense) by the "
dampeang" singing.
Central Java:
There have been applications of
gamelan until about the 1920ies, and those have been revived during the 1980-90ies. I did some research at the Kraton Hadiningrat in Yogya in 1995 when the revival was still going on. A most impressive and beautiful sample of the application of this new 'old' performance practice could be observed during the Pencak Silat World Championship in Jakarta 1992 (there is a commercial video of this event available from ABANICO Prod.), when the Indonesian National team used it within a (strongly
Tapak Suci influenced) "
Jurus Regu" presentation which saved them a gold medal then. Current status of the performance practice is - again - uncertain.
Bali:
Several smaller
gamelan ensemble types are used within traditional Balinese Pencak Silat. The oldest evidence in literature on Balinese
gamelan within Pencak Silat can be found within a book named "
Dance and Drama in Bali" which was written by the German-Russian painter/artist Walter Spies together with the British choreographer Beryl de Zoete in the early 1930ies.
For those who are interested in further details on music in Pencak Silat performance I suggest to have an eye on this websites:
http://www.ethnomedia.de/area/linklibs/projlink.htmYou will find several books and texts which the writer of these lines has published during the recent years. Further requests are of course welcome, don't hesitate to contact me with a PM. You're always welcome!
Salam hormat
Ilmu Padi
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