Kuda Lemping (Lumping) Dance
on the island of Java, Indonesia.

Among the traditional dances of Java are a number of trance dances. Kuda Lemping (or Lémpéng but often misspelled Lumping so non-Indonesians will know how to pronounce it) is one of these trance dances, in which masks for spirit characters and flat woven bamboo horses are the main props. The dance is about the battle of good and evil, with the horse riding characters going into a trance where they behave like horses. The name Kuda Lemping literally means "flat horses." This particular performance took place in Desa Bawuk Mina Mortani, Ngaglik, Sleman, the kampung where our household staff live north of Yogyakarta. We were their guests, and the only outsiders present. In the opening speeches by the MC and a political leader we were welcomed. This dance is an annual event there, always during the last week of the year, and our staffer Pak Kris used to be one of the dancers.

The event takes place in a bamboo corral and is accompanied by a gamelan orchestra augmented by a drum trap set, huge loudspeakers, and a singer who tells the story in Javanese. The neighbors stand outside the corral to watch. There are three two-hour performances, all done by men. Pre-teens are first at 9:00 P.M. followed by teenagers then adults. The more experienced dancers are more aggressive and the dance is more complex. These photos are mostly from the youngest group. Click on the thumbnail photo for a larger version.

	The dance begins with the bamboo horses leaning together in a row in the corral. The dancers enter and posture around them.
	The masked characters also enter and move around the horse riders.
	These three goblins were particularly cute.
	No, we didn't get it all, and haven't been able to find the whole story written down. The spirits battle with the horse riders who fall into trances one by one.
	I was struck by the dancers' use of makeup. That's not something I expected to see on these boys. The horse riders also carry swords and battle with them. There are an equal number of white and black horses, and their riders are the combatants with the spirits roaming around the melee.
	The singer and one of the musicians. Their stamina was astounding. The orchestra was dressed this way, rather than in costume. Bob Marley T-shirts were popular.
	The temperature was quite comfortable, but as this dancer's shiny back attests, they were sweating hard.
	The fellow with his head bowed had the role of cracking the whip lying in front of him to work the dancers into a frenzy, and also the role of the dragon Barongan.
	The dragon has a major role, being the character who pulls the dancers out of their trance. One by one they fling themselves on the ground in front of him and are helped out of the corral.
	This dancer has just thrown himself to the dragon. There are always helpers in the corral, dressed in street clothes and smoking, who help the dancers when they drop something or need help with props or their trance.
	The dragon man uses the horse to trap the entranced dancer and lead him to the dragon.
	The older man in the white mask seemed to be in charge of the whole thing. He began to dance with the mask on toward the end. Kris says this is the role he used to play, but that his mask was black. The man on the right is one of the helpers.
	This is the next group getting started.
	This group had much more sophisticated movements.
	A sweaty dancer throwing himself in the dirt as part of his trance looks like this afterwards.
	The teenagers got young coconuts as props. One fellow pulled all the green outer husk off with his teeth. They also brought out a bucket of water and some of the entranced 'horses' drank from it. We called it a night around midnight, but the event was just getting started. There was food prepared for everyone and people would go and eat when they were ready. It was quite a social event.