A pasindhèn () (informally ) is an Indonesian female solo singer who sings with a

gamelan Gamelan (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

. They may perform in dance,

wayang ( , ) is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. The term refers both to the show as a whole and the puppet in particular. Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamel ...

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

gerong ''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 with the gamelan. The chorus or the mel ...

(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 () (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, Benjamin (2008). ''Music in Central Java'', p.157. ...

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

rebab ''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...

and

suling The suling ( Sundanese: ) is a musical instrument of the Sundanese people in Indonesia. It is used in the Degung ensemble. Bamboo ring flute can also be found in Southeast Asia, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sin ...

, 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) () is a sacred, ritualised Javanese dance of Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Along with the srimpi, the bedhaya ep ...

and

serimpi The Srimpi () (also written as Serimpi) is a ritualised Javanese dance, dance of Java (island), Java, Indonesia, associated with the royal palaces of Yogyakarta Sultanate, Yogyakarta and Surakarta Sunanate, Surakarta. The ''srimpi'' dance is on ...

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 () 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 originated in Java, Indonesia. Ronggeng has probably existed in Java since ancient time as the ...

, 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