Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-284) and index.

Preliminary Material / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER I The horse dance (jaranan) / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER II The horse dance under the Orde Baru / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER III Samboyo Putro and other genres of horse dance groups / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER IV Performances by horse dance groups / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER V Rituals surrounding horse dance performances / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER VI The trance / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER VII The significance of the horse dance legend / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER VIII Pak Dhalang’s verbal contribution in Pulihrejo / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER IX The character of the opening dances in Pulihrejo / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER X The element of play in the performance in Pulihrejo / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- CHAPTER XI Conclusion / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- Appendix: Transcription of the CD recording / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- Bibliography / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael -- Index / Victoria M. Clara van Groenendael.

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The dramatic genre of the horse dance ( jaranan ) is part of an age-old Javanese tradition displaying wide local and regional variations. A striking feature of the performances of the majority of horse dance groups is the appearance of trance dancers. These are used as a means of establishing contact with the spirits of the ancestors, who continue to play an important part in the lives of their descendants as moral beacons in the solution of problems and the fulfillment of wishes. As a consequence of the modernization of society in almost every aspect of life, vigorously propagated as it was by the Suharto regime in the period 1966-1998, the trance in horse dancing has been strongly discouraged as an anachronism. This has prompted a search for new ways of preserving this dramatic genre for future generations. The way the administration of Kediri and a number of local horse dance companies set about solving this problem constitutes a dominant theme of this book. To bring the phenomenon of the horse dance in Java into sharper focus, a brief account is given of its history, as well as a description of the great variety of horse dance groups of and a range of aspects of this genre.

English with some Javanese; translated from the original Dutch.