This is a story about the subversion nature of lengger artists towards the conventions of the New Order. The artists refused to surrendered to the norms imposed by the regime. It’s manifested through the erotic performances of lengger dancers, which indirectly reject the standardization of performing art.

This was an era when “order” was imposed as the moral code of Indonesian society. The arts, too, had to be orderly in line with the moral ideals of the New Order. A convention that emphasized noble values. Consequently, performing arts, such as lengger, often found in rural areas, gradually lost their identity.

Rene T. A. Lysloff, in “Rural Javanese Tradition and Erotic Subversion: Female Dance Performance in Banyumas, Central Java” (2001-02), vividly recounts this story. Lysloff explains that the birth of lengger subversiveness was triggered by the standardization of what so-called “national culture.” More specifically, a contradiction between ‘orderly’ performing arts and the ‘chaotic’ one.

The erotic performances of the lengger dancers are considered the root of the disorder. The performances are steeped in the artists’ desire to flaunt their beautiful faces, flirtatious humor, and hip swaying. The predominantly male audience enthusiastically indulges in them. This combination of the dancers’ eroticism and the audience’s enthusiastic has led to accusations of immorality in lengger performances.

Riots and fights between audience often break out amidst the excitement of the performances. Spectators compete for the dancers’ attention. In this situation, the lengger artists are often considered the instigators, as their erotic performances are often accused to inciting fight among the predominantly male audience.

Most people scorn lengger dancers, even labeling them prostitutes. However, many also admire them, both as cultural preservers and as subjects of spirituality. This view is influenced by folklore, e.g. Ahmad Tohari’s depiction of ronggeng, which suggests that in the past, female dancers such as ronggeng, taledhek, and lengger held sacred and prestigious positions in society.

To this day, some consider the lengger tradition to be rooted in history and noble values. This is something worth to be preserved. Anderson Sutton, a Javanese ethnomusicologist, also emphasizes that the singer-dancer tradition (lengger, taledhek, sindhen) is rooted in the legend of Juru I Angin (Sutton, 1984), a figure believed by the Javanese as the incarnation of the Goddess of Fertility (Suharto, 1999).

Lysloff then described the ancient formation of the lengger performance, which initially involved a man acting as a female dancer, accompanied by an angklung as the musical accompaniment. Furthermore, when this group of artists toured villages for performances, the clowns also took a part. This is similar to the portrayal of the Juru I Angin performance as depicted in Kakawin Nagarakertagama.

However, since the 20th century, the angklung accompaniment in these performances has been replaced by small gamelan instruments, ringgeng, and mondreng. Furthermore, male dancers have disappeared from lengger performances. In the 1970s and 1980s, lengger performances reached their peak of popularity. This was due to the dancers’ directness in creating an erotic atmosphere, seemingly a magnet for attraction in every performance.

However, lengger’s popularity was short-lived. Lengger was denigrated as crude and primitive performing arts. This was because the artist’s erotic dances were deemed to be performed solely to arouse lust. It was seen as primitive because it contradicted national cultural moral standards. These standards idealized the aristocratic style (bedhaya) as an image of refined, polite feminine (Hughes-Freeland, 2015). Conversely, the stigmatization of lengger deepened, with its dancers being labeled banal and crude. This is why the label of immorality stuck to them.

Certainly, these accusations of immorality are not interpreted in a moral sense, but rather are judged by the regime of order. In fact, some lengger dancers have engaged in promiscuous practices. However, in Java, for a very long time, prostitution was never prohibited; rather, the chaos and disorder that characterized it were condemned. Similarly, when lengger dancers openly consent to promiscuity on stage, they are viewed as lowly, savage, and uncivilized (Hughes-Freeland, 1993).

There were seeds of society’s views that aligned with the New Order’s sense of order. In this context, the New Order did not hesitate to exert strict control over artists. They were required to have performance permits, which were obtained after attending Pancasila training. Furthermore, artists involved in deviant behavior or political involvement faced difficulties in obtaining permits and were even banned from performing.

Likewise, lengger artists were not immune to the scrutiny of the New Order. Their performances, which often caused unrest, were attempted to be tamed. The artists’ expressions were aligned with national cultural moral standards. Incongruous old lengger styles were reformed, even eliminated when necessary, especially the erotic nuances of the dancers.

As a result, the authentic elements of lengger are slowly fading. The sensations inherent in the eroticism of the dancers and the enthusiastic exuberance of the audience are becoming increasingly rare. In the past, these characteristics reflected the public’s enthusiasm for aesthetic appreciation. This excitement emerged when aesthetic aspects combined with eroticism, as S. O. Robson once noted, “in Java, there is no distinction between aesthetic and erotic pleasure” (Robson, 1979).

In the sense of lengger, eroticism is an inseparable part of its existence. When the New Order attempted to eliminate any vestiges of eroticism from its performances, it’s effectively destroyed the performing art.

This was the cultural politics of the New Order. Artists were forced to adhere towards moral standards, with effective control, extending even in remote villages. Artists who acted subversively were marginalized. Conversely, when artists submitted, lengger lost its authenticity and aesthetic dimension. In fact, lengger continued to resist. And that’s why this performing art was consistently portrayed as primitive. The New Order, as Lysloff said, equated lengger with “the erotic theater.” []