Sulukan
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Sulukan normally refers to mood setting songs by a puppeteer (dhalang) in Javanese wayang ("puppet") performances in Indonesia. The term can also refer to the pathetan pieces played before and after gamelan pieces in a non-wayang context,[1] and to mystical poetry relating to the doctrinal meaning of the term sulook.[2]
The etymology of the term is unclear. Arps relates it to the gamelan practice of cêluk ("calling out"), an introduction to a piece with a sung phrase, rather than an instrumental introduction.[3] It is also possible that the word derives from the Sanskrit term sloka, a verse form consisting of octosyllabic couplets. This is plausible considering that the metrical structure of sulukan verses does indeed generally conform to the pattern of octosyllabic couplets, the etymology may have passed into Javanese lore from the work of 19th century Dutch scholars. This verse form is in sharp contrast to the normal metres of Javanese poetry.
Sulukan which follow the normal Javanese metres are specified as such in their titles, e.g. Kawin Sekar Sinom,[4] which follows the sekar (macapat verse form) named sinom. If no specification is made, the text will be in octosyllabic couplets - either wêtah (a number of complete couplets), jugag (in couplets but with a truncated final line) or cêkak (a single complete couplet).
Forms
The Yogyakarta and Surakarta traditions of wayang each have their own repertory of sulukan. The standard Yogyakarta listing is contained in Mudjanattistomo's Pedhalangan Ngayogyakarta (1977), and divides the repertory into the following categories: lagon, (equivalent to pathetan in the Surakarta style), kawin, sendhon, suluk, bawaswara and ada-ada. Lagon, kawin and suluk are used to introduce whole scenes, while sendhon and ada-ada are used to introduce particular types of action within a scene, and bawaswara are used as introductions to specific gamelan pieces. The Surakarta tradition is covered by Nojowirongko's Serat tuntunan padalangan (1954), which also forms the foundation of the account of sulukan in English given by Brandon. In the Surakarta tradition, only pathetan, sendhon and ada-ada are recognised as forms. A further distinction between types is between those accompanied by a small group an instruments including gendér, gambang, rebab and suling (such as lagon and suluk), and those accompanied by gender alone or with the addition of kempuls and gongs (such as kawin, sendhon and ada-ada).
Naming conventions
All sulukan have a specific pathet designation relating both to the mode of the gamelan and the act of the wayang performance, many also have a functional specification relating to their role in the drama, which either specifies the scene in which they are used or their particular occasion. For example: Lagon Sl 9 wêtah tumrap badhe gara-gara - in this title Lagon is the type, Sl 9 specifies the mode as being slendro sanga, wêtah indicates the metre, and tumrap badhe gara-gara indicates its use at the opening of the gara-gara section which introduces the clowns (punokawan).