A pasindhèn ( jv, ꦥꦱꦶꦤ꧀ꦝꦺꦤ꧀, translit=pasindhèn, pesindhèn) (informally ) is an

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n female solo singer who sings with a gamelan. They may perform in dance,

wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...

or ''klenèngan'' (pure music or "concert") performances. The ''pesindhèn'' may sing together with a

gerong ''Gerong'' ( jv, ꦒꦼꦫꦺꦴꦁ, translit=gerong) is the Javanese verb meaning "to sing in a chorus." ''Penggerong'' is the proper name of a member of the chorus, but often the word gerong is used to refer to the unison male chorus that sings ...

(male chorus), but their styles and words will be different. The part of the ''sindhèn'' is largely improvised within strict parameters (similar to instrumental

cengkok Céngkok ( jv, ꦕꦺꦁꦏꦺꦴꦏ꧀, translit=Céngkok) (old orthography: ''tjengkok'') are patterns played by the elaborating instruments used in Indonesian Javanese gamelan. They are melodic formula that lead to a '' sèlèh'',Brinner, Benja ...

). The ''sindhèn'' is also allowed a much freer rhythm, similar to the

rebab The ''rebab'' ( ar, ربابة, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via I ...

and suling, instead of the strict rhythm of the gerong. Sindhen can also refer to the choir of male and female singers used to accompany the

bedhaya The bedhaya (also written as bedoyo, beḍaya and various other transliterations) ( jv, ꦧꦼꦝꦪ, translit=Bedhaya) is a sacred, ritualised Javanese dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Along ...

and

serimpi The Srimpi ( jv, ꦱꦿꦶꦩ꧀ꦥꦶ, translit=Srimpi) (also written as Serimpi) is a ritualised dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. The ''srimpi'' dance is one of the classical dances of C ...

court dances. In this usage, ''pesindhen'' refers to the individual members of the choir.

History

The original term for ''pasindhèn'' was ''waranggana'', and the women were exclusively background singers for ''wayang'' and ''klenèngan'' performances. This word was derived from

ronggeng Ronggeng ( jv, ꦫꦺꦴꦁꦒꦺꦁ, translit=ronggèng) is a type of Javanese dance in which couples exchange poetic verses as they dance to the music of a rebab or violin and a gong. Ronggeng might have originated from Java in Indonesia. Rong ...

, which had undertones of lasciviousness, so in 1948 the most prominent gerong managers gathered and agreed to change it to ''pasindhèn''. Along with this shift in terminology, the women took on more prominent roles in the troupes, and started to sing alone. The stage names of ''pasindhèn'' also changed, from pseudonymous birds' names to the women's actual names. ''Pesindhèn'' can now be highly paid, with star status, and the presence of a large number of ''pesindhèn'' in a wayang performance is a status symbol.

History

See also

References

Further reading