According to Wikipedia, "the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia [reˈpublik ɪndoˈnesia]), is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles), the 14th largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area.[ With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.'
Prior to the advent of Islam in the 13th Century, the predominant relgions were Hinduism, Buddhism (both spread by commercial contact with India), as well as traditional practices of animism, shamanism, etc. The folklore, mythology, and performing arts of the islands reflect a fusion of all these elements.
Rama and Sita surrounded by men chanting as monkeys (kecak) in a Balinese dance from the ancient Hindu epic the Ramayana.
Rangda is the demon queen of the Leyaks in Bali, according to traditional Balinese mythology. Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good — Barong. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in a Barong dance which represents the eternal battle between good and evil. Rangda is a term in old Javanese that means "widow".Wikipedia
Gamelan (/ˈɡæməlæn/) is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat. Also the kemanak, a banana shaped idiophone and gangsa, another metallaphone are amongst the commonly used gamelan instruments. Other instruments include xylophones, bamboo flutes, a bowed instrument called a rebab, and even vocalists named sindhen.
Although the popularity of gamelan has declined since the introduction of pop music, gamelan is still commonly played on formal occasions and in many traditional Indonesian ceremonies. For most Indonesians, gamelan is an integral part of Indonesian culture. [Wikipedia]
The tuning of gamelan instruments varies dramatically from Western scales and uses two main scale types: slendro, which is used primarily in Java and pelog which predominates in Bali. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ku9iH2pU9g
A good overview of gamelan is given in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsPdTNGnr44
A gamelan is a multi-timbre ensemble consisting of metallophones, xylophones, flutes, gongs, voices, as well as bowed and plucked strings. The hand-played drum called kendhang controls the tempo and rhythm of pieces as well as transitions from one section to another, while one instrument gives melodic cues to indicate treatment or sections of a piece. Some of the instruments that make up a gamelan in present-day Central Java are shown in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5nGXComn0
The pieces are both traditional composed pieces and more modern pieces in the same style. Until the 19th century they wer transmitted orally, after which several notation systems were developed. The instruments are forged from bronze, and placed in elaborately carved stands. Such expensive sets of instruments were the property of royal or aristocratic courts, temples, or community houses in villages. The music involves interlocking layers of repetition known as ostinato, over which a melody is played and/or sung. The following video shows how the parts are put together in a Javanese gamelan.
The population of the island of Java is primarily Muslim (Sunni and Sufi), but retains a rich heritage of pre-Islamic legend, religion, literature, and performing arts. None of
this is viewed by the majority as being contradictory.
This dance drama is base on the Panji legends of Eastern Java. Wikipedia 2 gives a summary.
The tale of Chandra Kirana (sometimes called the tales of Dewi Anggraeni) is a tragic love story, the prequel to the main Panji story. The story begins with the arranged marriage of Prince Panji Asmoro Bangun to Princess Chandra Kirana from the twin neighboring kingdoms of Kediri and Janggala. The dynastic marriage was meant as a means of a peace agreement to reunite the two warring factions of the once great kingdom under one dynasty again. During his youth, the prince of Jenggala loved to travel the country, visit ashrams and hermitages and learn from various wise Brahmins and rishis across the kingdom. During his stay in one of the remote hermitages, the prince fell in love with a beautiful commoner girl, Dewi Anggraeni. The prince married Anggraeni and took her home to the palace in the capital city of Jenggala. The marriage of a prince with the commoner girl caused an uproar in the royal courts of both Jenggala and Kediri. The angered Kediri envoys pushed the royalty of Jenggala to keep their promise of the arranged dynastic marriage, and they threatened to wage war if the marriage to Dewi Anggraeni was not annulled. However, the love-struck Prince did not want to fulfill his royal duty and refused to marry Kirana. To avoid war, the elders of royal house plotted the assassination of Dewi Anggraeni.
Panji and Anggraeni were separated and tricked by being told to meet each other in different places. Actually Anggraeni was led by the royal troops deep into a forest to be murdered. After she learned that their action was meant to avoid war and bloodshed between two kingdoms, the poor girl willingly sacrificed herself and gave up her life. After Panji learned about the death of Anggraeni, the prince went amok, fell unconscious, and finally lost his mind. The insane prince suffered from amnesia and wreaked havoc across both kingdoms, attacking villages authorities, lords, and bandits alike. Meanwhile, in Kediri Princess Kirana has learned about fate of her future husband, and has decided to go out from the palace to find and help him. Princess Kirana, disguised as a man, is later involved in a battle with Panji and finally manages to cure the Prince from insanity. Surprisingly Princess Kirana looks exactly like the late Anggraeni, as actually they both were incarnated from the same spirit, that of Kamaratih, the goddess of love. Panji and Kirana are then united in marriage and live happily ever after.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6IW8M-h_3I
Dance and music were often used to honor royalty. This example from a performance at the Asia Society in New York was in conjunction with a visit by Hamengkubuwono X, the Sultan of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, the musicians and dancers of the court perform traditional dances at Asia Society New York. In the second half of the program, nine female dancers performed bedhaya, the classical dance replete with Javanese symbols and philosophies. Bedhaya Sang Amurwabhumi, performed here, is a dance that expresses the will of a king. The creation of Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Bedhaya Sang Amurwabhumi marks the arrival of a new king and commemorates the legacy of his father, the previous Sultan Hamengkuwubono IX. Dancers: Tri Indriastuti; Satwika Rahapsar; GKR. Mangkubumi; GKR. Hayu; Raras Lukitaningrum; Keshari Adiarastri Piloessulka; Nyi RW. Artyandariretnamataya; Nyi MJ. Rahmayanilalitamataya; Nyi RJ. Widyadinghyaumataya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgElG4NojV0
Here is a dance drama depicting a battle between man and demon from the Hindu epic the Ramayana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOcK5e9qEcA
The Wayang Kulit shadow puppet theater mixes together all these elements
Bali is the one Hindu island amidst the Muslim majority. Much of the mythology is shared with Java, but with deep connections based in both Indian-derived Hinduism and local shamanism and nature worship. Wikipedia gives a good summary of Balinese religion and ceremonies.
Celebrations are held for many occasions such as a tooth-filing (coming-of-age ritual), cremation or odalan (temple festival). One of the most important concepts that Balinese ceremonies have in common is that of désa kala patra, which refers to how ritual performances must be appropriate in both the specific and general social context.[116] Many of the ceremonial art forms such as wayang kulit and topeng are highly improvisatory, providing flexibility for the performer to adapt the performance to the current situation.[117] Many celebrations call for a loud, boisterous atmosphere with much activity and the resulting aesthetic, ramé, is distinctively Balinese. Often two or more gamelan ensembles will be performing well within earshot, and sometimes compete with each other to be heard. Likewise, the audience members talk amongst themselves, get up and walk around, or even cheer on the performance, which adds to the many layers of activity and the liveliness typical of ramé.[118]
Kaja and kelod are the Balinese equivalents of North and South, which refer to one's orientation between the island's largest mountain Gunung Agung (kaja), and the sea (kelod). In addition to spatial orientation, kaja and kelod have the connotation of good and evil; gods and ancestors are believed to live on the mountain whereas demons live in the sea. Buildings such as temples and residential homes are spatially oriented by having the most sacred spaces closest to the mountain and the unclean places nearest to the sea.[116][119]
Most temples have an inner courtyard and an outer courtyard which are arranged with the inner courtyard furthest kaja. These spaces serve as performance venues since most Balinese rituals are accompanied by any combination of music, dance and drama. The performances that take place in the inner courtyard are classified as wali, the most sacred rituals which are offerings exclusively for the gods, while the outer courtyard is where bebali ceremonies are held, which are intended for gods and people. Lastly, performances meant solely for the entertainment of humans take place outside the walls of the temple and are called bali-balihan. This three-tiered system of classification was standardised in 1971 by a committee of Balinese officials and artists to better protect the sanctity of the oldest and most sacred Balinese rituals from being performed for a paying audience.[120]
Balinese gamelan differs from the Javanese in not using the rebab fiddle, but does use end-blown flutes instead. As with Javanese gamelan, the compositional basis is layers of interlocking ostinato under a melody. Here is an example of a modern style Balinese style called gong kebyar. which is fast moving, moving from one section to the next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nc56SMRKaI. This faster style was developed in the early 20th century in response to the tourist trade.
Here is another example of gong kebyar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldPMifPbngc
Similarly, a vocal version of gamelan call kecak was in part repackaged for tourist while maintaining it ceremonial character. It is accompanied by dances from the Ramayana often focusing on the monkey king, Hanuman, and his battles to gain his throne in order help King Rama rescue his wife Sita from the demon king of Sri Lanka, Ravanna. The dances and chants depict the monkey battles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odvMJLGoCo
A related, small ensemble is the Belanganjur, used to accompany cremation processions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR-5zfHCBw0
Examples of Balinese dance