Tembang Macapat in Central Java

Author(s): Sri Hastanto

Source: Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 110 (1983 - 1984), pp. 118-127
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Royal Musical Association
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 Tembang Macapat in CentralJava
SRI HASTANTO

ONE of the most important poetic forms in Java is inseparably connected

with melody: the formknown as tembang.Tembang have always been sung,
never spoken. The word 'tembang' itselfis used in two senses: it refersboth
to a broad category of verse-formsand to the various melodies associated
with them. There are very many differenttypes of versificationwhich come
under the general heading 'tembang', but the three most important are
tembanggede, tembangmacapatand tembangtengahan.
In termsof poetic structuretembang gede are clearly influencedby Indian
poems. Even some names of the poems are similar, forinstance Sardulawikri-
dita (Javanese) 9ardulawikridita(Sanskrit), Hastakuswala (Javanese) Hasta-
kopala(Sanskrit) and so on. There is no doubt that poems such as these were
derived from the great Indian epics, the Mahabharataand the Ramayana.Not
all tembang, however, are derived from Indian verse-forms.Among the
purely indigenous tembang forms,the most important is tembang macapat.
For a long time the tembang macapat was believed to be the newest form,
but it is now generally thoughtto be in fact the oldest type ofJavanese vocal
music, one which existed even beforeHinduism became a major influencein
Java during the seventh century.
The essential features of the tembang macapat can most readily be
understood ifit is compared with the tembang gede. The two tembang forms
are differentin their arrangements of the words. Stanzas of tembang gede
always consist of four lines, each a complete sentence. In any one poem the
number of syllables in the line remains fixed,as does the way in which they
are punctuated, but the number of syllables varies fromone poem to another.
Sentences of about 9 to 24 are the most common, but they can be as long as
30 syllables. The following text is an example of a verse with sentences of 9
syllables punctuated into groups of 4 and 5:

Gebyaringkang, teja hangrayung

Lir sirna yen, dinuking liring
Baya sira, tedhaking Ratih
Pindha sekar, gadhung anggagar

(Tembanggede Madayanti.' The verse describes a beautiful woman.)

The Javanese term used to describe the number of syllables in a line or
sentence in tembang gede is lampah,and the way of punctuating them is
called pedotan.Thus the verse above is described as 'lampah 9, pedotan 4, 5'.

1 T.S. Suparno, Bawa gawan Gendhing(Surakarta: Proyek Pengembangan IKI Sug. Bag.
Proyek ASKI Surakarta, 1980/1981), 35.

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TEMBANG MACAPAT IN CENTRAL JAVA 119
There are hundreds of quatrains such as this, distinguished by the structure
of lampah and pedotan, forexample lampah12pedotan3, 4, 5; lampah19pedotan
6, 6, 7.
In tembang macapat the sentence still coincides with the poetic line.
However, the stanzas may include more than 4 lines, and the number of
syllables in the lines varies. The structure of the stanza is repeated
throughout the entire poem. Typical examples of the way in which stanzas
may be constructed are:

(a) 4, 8, 6, 8, 12.
(b) 10,6, 10, 10,6, 6.
As will be explained later, there are eleven standard patterns such as these.
Each pattern is furthercharacterized by an individual rhymingscheme, and
this rhymingscheme depends not only upon the placing of rhymesat the end
of particular lines, but also upon the particular vowels used. One such
scheme is:
u
u
a

Verses using this particular formula are described as tembang

macapatPucung,
or just Pucung. The following is an example:

Sigra mabur
Ing ngawiyat nyamut-nyamut
Eram kang tumingal
Wis rupamu kaya anjing
Patih Dayak bisa ngambah jumantara

(A puzzle: A creature looks like a dog but it has wings and is able to fly).
A similar verse-formula is the tembangmacapatMijil or Mijil:
i
0
e

It is represented by the following verse:

Lamun sira madek Narapati
Yayi wekas ingong
Apan ana ing prabu ugere
Sastra ceta wulatana yayi
Omahna den pasti
Wulange sastreku
(Guide-lines for a king)

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 120 SRI HASTANTO
In spite of the strictnessof the poetic forms,the melodies are always sung
in a freerhythm.Tembang macapat are sung almost withoutornamentation.
Tembang gede, on the other hand, are sung with considerable decoration at
particular places.
The third type of tembang, tembang tengahan, has a poetic structure
similar to that of tembang macapat, but is sung in a highlyornamented style
like that of the tembang gede. This is thereforea mixed style,with elements
of both the tembang macapat and the tembang gede: in fact tengahanmeans
'in between'.
The word 'macapat' itselfhas a curious derivation. Writingin the middle
of the nineteenthcentury,the celebrated Javanese pujangga' Ranggawarsita
referredto an earlier source consistingof fourvolumes (or possibly chapters)
concerning tembang. Unfortunately,the source itselfhas disappeared, and
no information is available concerning the date at which it was written.
Nevertheless, Ranggawarsita described it in considerable detail, and it may
be assumed to be an accurate guide to earlier practice. According to
Ranggawarsita, the firsttwo volumes described the way of singing tembang
gede, the third dealt with the way of singing tembang tengahan, and the
fourthdiscussed tembang macapat. The volumes were called in order, Maca
sa lagu, Maca ro lagu, Maca trilagu and Maca pat lagu. 'Maca' literallymeans
'reading', but in this context implies a writtenexplanation of verse-forms.It
also implies an explanation of the way in -which verse-formsgovern the
singer's performanceof the melody. Lagu means 'melody', and sa, ro,triand
pat mean 'first','second', 'third' and 'fourth'. The titleof the fourthvolume
which Ranggawarsita described, therefore,can be roughly translated as
'Verse-forms and how to sing them: Volume 4'. Eventually, the types of
verse-formand the singing style dealt with in Volume 4 became known
simply as 'macapat'.
In her important study Matjapat Song in Centraland WestJava,3 Margaret
Kartomi unfortunatelynever correctly established the significance of the
word 'macapat' itself. She drew her information from various Javanese
informantswho told her that it meant 'reading in fours', implying that one
should make a break aftereach fourthsyllable of a line. This indeed is widely
believed in Java, but is nevertheless very unlikely since the words in a
phrase-line frequently cannot be punctuated into fours, and even if they
could the result would be a distortion of the sense, or even gibberish.

2 Jaap Kunst, Music inJava (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1973), 15. He translated the word pujangga
(pujongga) as 'official chroniclers and maintainers of the adat in the Solonese kraton, at the
same time poets and linguists'. A 'kraton' is a royal court; 'adat' are court ceremonies and
rituals.
3 Margaret Kartomi, Matjapat Song in Centraland WestJava (Canberra: Australian National
University Press, 1973), 43-5. She also included two other meanings of the word macapat
but they are not generally known or accepted among the Javanese.

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 TEMBANG MACAPAT IN CENTRAL JAVA 121
THE CULTURAL CONTEXT, ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION OF MACAPAT

Until about the end of the nineteenth century, tembang macapat were
restrictedto certain social purposes. They were used as a means of preserving
and transmittingtraditional legends and historical events, theywere used for
particular formal letters (e.g. in connection with a bethrothal), but most of
all they were used in various religious ceremonies.
It was commonly believed - and frequentlystill is - that Friday is the day
of evil spirits. According to traditional ideas, the spirits start their activities
very early. Thus it was necessary to remain awake all nighton Thursday in
order to avoid being attacked by them. To ward off sleepiness, people
sometimes sat togetherand sang tembang macapat in turnsuntil dawn. The
texts which were used were usually prayers to ask God's blessing. Macapat
were sung in much the same way at other religious ceremonies, such as those
which took place on the night before a marriage (the midadareni),or in the
seventh month of pregnancy (the mitoni),or when a baby was five days old
(the sepasaran bayi). Religious occasions such as these are rarely found
nowadays. However, tembang macapat have survived, and indeed have
developed. From about the middle of the nineteenthcenturytheybegan to be
sung on other, purely secular occasions. Simultaneously, new textsin the old
formswere composed, and new singing styles began to be applied to the old
macapat melodies. Three of these new singing styles developed into entirely
new musical formsin the 1920s. These are: gendingsekar,palaran and bawa.
The gending sekar is still sung in free rhythm, but the instrumental
accompaniment is in strict metrical rhythmwith a fixed number of beats,
namely multiples of sixteen. The singer, therefore,has to adjust not only his
or her tempo and rhythm but also the timing of the entries in order to
accommodate the accompaniment. The number of instrumentsis fromthree
up to the complete gamelan orchestra: usually, in fact, the complete
gamelan.
The palaran also combines the free rhythmof tembang macapat with a
strictlyrhythmical gamelan accompaniment. It differsfromgending sekar,
however, in two respects. First, it is accompanied by only a small ensemble;
secondly, the relationship between the voice-part and the instrumental
accompaniment is somewhat different.In the palaran, the vocal melody,
although in free rhythm, is now the dominant partner, and the fixed
instrumental music which accompanies it is conditioned by particular
featuresof the verses and theirassociated melodies. Consequently, multiples
of numbers other than sixteen beats may be used. Nevertheless, in palaran
(as of course in gending sekar) the process of combining the vocal melody
and instrumental accompaniment often necessitates the lengthening of
melodic phrases at various points, usually at or toward the ends of lines. A
lengthened note without ornamentation would be dull, and to avoid this
ornamentation is used.
In the bawa, macapat words are sung as introductionsto various gamelan

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 122 SRIHASTANTO
pieceswhichemploysingersas wellas instruments. It is accompanied by
onlyoneinstrument: thegender. Likethegending sekarand thepalaran,the
bawa is sungin freerhythm, butunlikethemitsaccompaniment is in free
rhythm too.
The methodsofornamentation employed in thesethreenewforms have
influencedmodernsingersin theirpresentation of theoriginaltembang
macapatsongsfrom whichtheywerederived. Thisdoesnotmeanthatwhat
theJavanesethemselves call the'old' (kuno)stylehas beenentirely super-
seded:on thecontrary, it maystilloccasionally be encountered in religious
ceremonies such as themidadarenietc. However,thenew singingstyle
whichbegantoemergein the1920sis nowmuchmorepopularand widely
used,particularlyin dramaticcontexts and also forconcert performances.
The following examples illustrate the differencebetweenthe two styles.
(ModernJavanesenotation is a ciphernotation- i.e. thedegrees ofthescale
are indicatedbyfigures.A dotabovea noteindicates theupperoctaveand
one belowa noteindicatestheloweroctave.Rhythm can be notatedwith
some precision,but thisis something whichcan be disregarded in these
free-rhythmpieces.)
TembangmacapatPangkur in theold melodicstyle:

3 55 55 5 3 3
Purwakanireng
pangripta

3556 1 1
11 1 11
Ginupitasupeketkangden esti

5 6ii 1 1 ii 2
Ing bawana amrihhayu

i 65 5 5 45
Leburingdur hangkara

3 5 56 6 1 1 1 2 3 3
JroningcritanatengDyah Samodra Kidul

5 61 1 1 1 1 1
Ginarebeging pra wadya
1 2 3 1 2 321 1
Yun amangsahingajurid

and in the new melodicstyle:

3 555 5 5 5653 3
Purwakanireng pa - ngrip - ta

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TEMBANG MACAPAT IN CENTRAL JAVA 123
35 5 6 1 1 1 1 1 2165 6.. 1
kangdenes- ti
Ginupitasupeket
i i i i 1.23 2.121
5 6.561
Ing ba - wana amrih ha - yu

i 65 5 5 4 4.56565
durhangkara
Leburing

3 5 566 6 1 1 1 1 212 3 3
natengDyanhSamodra Kidul
Jroning.crita
5 611 1 1 12 1
ingprawa-dya
Ginarebeg
1 2 3 1 2 3 653 2.121
inga-ju - rid
Yunamangsah

(The verse describes a battle between the Queen of the South Sea and the
King of Mataram.)
Tembang macapat in the new singing style and also gending sekar and
palaran are widely used in fourtypes of theatrical presentation: wayangwong,
ketoprak,langendriyan and langenmandrawanara.
Wayang wong ('wayang', in this context means 'play', and 'wong' means
'human being') is a form of dance-drama dating from the middle of the
eighteenth century. These dance-dramas are based on episodes from the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana.They always involve the use of dialogue as
well as dance. Originally this dialogue was in the formKospoken prose only,
but since the 1930s tembang verses (and singing) have been added.
The derivation of the work 'ketoprak' is not clear, but it refersto a formof
drama, occasionally including dance, whose stories are based on historical
events and folklore. It uses both prose and tembang dialogue.
'Langendriyan' is a word derived from langenmeaning 'heart' and driya
meaning 'entertainment'. It is a kind of dance-opera which uses tembang
dialogue exclusively. It dates fromtowards the end of the nineteenthcentury,
but its stories are based on a historical event which took place in the
fourteenthcenturyin theJavanese kingdom of Majapahit. The langendriyan
used to be danced by female dancers only but nowadays is performedby
male and female dancers together.
The last form, langen madrawanara, originated a few years after the
langendriyan. It is also a dance-opera using tembang dialogue. However, it
differsfrom the langendriyan in two respects. First, its stories are based on
the Ramayana: indeed it is the importance of monkey characters in the
Ramayanawhich accounts forthe name of this particular dramatic form,since
mandrawanara means 'many monkeys'. Secondly, it uses male dancers only.
In these dramatic contexts, the tembang macapat, gending sekar and

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 124 SRI HASTANTO

palaran are used as dialogues and monologues in which the narrative is

carried forward.Thus the meaning of the words is of prime importance,just
as it was in the original uses of tembang macapat.

THE MACAPATVERSE FORMS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED MELODIES

There are eleven distinct types of macapat verse : Maskumambang, Pucung

Gambuh,Mijil, Kinanti, Durma, Megatruh,Pangkur,Asmarandana,Sinom and
Dandanggula.Each type has a differentpattern as regards the number of lines
in the verse, the number of syllables in each line, and the last vowel of each
line.
The Maskumambang consists of four lines. The firstline contains twelve
syllables and the last vowel of the line is 'i'. The second line has six syllables
and the last vowel is 'a'. The thirdand fourthlines both have eight syllables,
with 'i' as the last vowel of the thirdline and 'a' as the last vowel of the fourth
line. The pattern of syllables and vowels in the lines is conventionallywritten
as a formula: 12-i; 6-a; 8-i; 8-a. With the other verse-typessimilarly repre-
sented, the complete list is as follows:

Maskumambang : 12-i; 6-a; 8-i; 8-a

Pucung 4-u; 8-u; 6-a; 8-i; 12-a
Gambuh : 7-u; 10-u; 12-i; 8-u; 8-o
Kinanti 8-u; 8-i; 8-a; 8-i; 8-a; 8-i
Megatruh : 12-u; 8-i; 8-u; 8-i; 8-o
Mijil 10-i; 6-o; 10-e; 10-i; 6-i; 6-u
Asmarandana : 8-i; 8-a; 8-o or e; 8-a; 7-a; 8-u; 8-a
Durma : 12-a; 7-i; 6-a; 7-a; 8-i; 5-a; 7-i
Pangkur 8-a; 11-i; 8-u; 7-a; 12-u; 8-a; 8-i
Sinom : 8-a; 8-i; 8-a; 8-i; 7-i; 8-u; 7-a; 8--i; 12-a
Dandanggula : 10-i; 10-a; 8-e; 7-u; 9-i; 7-a; 6-u; 8-a; 12-i; 7-a

Each of these verse-typesis associated with one particular melody, and in

its simplest version this melody is described as wantah(= simple). Therefore
Maskumambangwantah,for instance, implies the melody used for verses in
Maskumambang form,sung in the simplest version, although this could be
either the old or a more modern style.
The various verse-types with their respective wantah melodies are each
associated with a particular mood. For example, Maskumambang wantah is
sad, Pucung wantah is humorous, Mijil wantah and Kinanti wantah are
cheerful, and Dandanggula wantah is serious. Thus when one expresses a
sad story in tembang macapat form one will use Maskumambang, and of
course never Pucung.
Each of the melodies belonging to the differentpoetic formsmay, however,
be sung with various modifications.Melodies are thereforeclassified not only

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TEMBANG MACAPAT IN CENTRAL JAVA 125
accordingto theway in whichtheyare sung. Mijil miring, forexample,refers
to themelodyused forMijil verseswhenit is sungwithcertainnotesslightly
inflectedin pitch.Mijilpanglilih
is used to describethesame melodywhenit
is sung with a certain type of elaborationat various points,and so on.
Modificationssuch as thesemay suggesta mood otherthanthatassociated
withthe wantah formof the melodybut withoutentirelydestroying it. As
illustrationsof thevariationsin melodicstyle,twoversionsof Mijil melody
may be quoted:

Melody of tembangmacapal Majil in wantah version:

3 6 iii 2 3333
Lamun sira madekNarapati

i 1i 1 166
Yayi wekas ingong

6 1 i 26 3 3 3 21 1
Apan ana ing prabu uger- e

1 2 13 2 1 1 11 1
Sastra ceta wulatanayayi

3 3 3 3 35 3
Omahna den pas-ti

21 6
12,116-
Wulange sastre ku

Melody of lembangmacapal Mijil in miringversion:

3 6 ii 1i 1
,1madekNarapati
Lamun sira

ii i1 1 166
Yayi wekas ingong

6 1 1 6 3 3 3"4 1
Apan ana ing prabu uger- e
I X 1 3 '2.1 11 1 1
Sastra ceta wulatanayayi

3 3 3 3 35, 3
Omahna den pas-ti

"1 1 l 6
,16
Wulange sastre - ku

(A diagonal strokethrougha figureindicatesa slightflattening.)

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 126 SRIHASTANTO
Someofthesemelodieshaveverymanydifferent versions
suchas these.
The melodybelongingto theDandanggulaform, is foundin
forinstance,
apartfromDandanggulawantah:Dandanggula
morethan30 versions tlutur,
maskentar,
Dandanggula temanten
padasih,Dandanggula
Dandanggula anyar,etc.
Moreover, each of these versions suggests subtle differencesof mood or
feeling. All of these melodies - both in their simple and their various
elaborated versions - can also be used in singing gending sekar and palaran.
In langendriyan and langen mandra wanara, both the melodies and the texts
of the tembang are fixed. But in ketoprak and wayang wong, the singers are
required to invent tembang texts on the spot: indeed, the extempore
composition of tembang verses in a dialogue can be something of duel
between two characters and is greatly appreciated by audiences. In these
situations, the performermust firstdecide upon the verse-formappropriate
to the mood of the situation. Then he has to choose words with the required
number of syllables and the associated final vowels, rememberingalways to
sing them in the melodic version which fits the mood.

DISTRIBUTION AND VARIANTS

Although this paper has concentrated upon macapat in Central Java,

macapat verse-formsare to a large extentcommon throughoutJava and also
Bali. Broadly speaking, three main categories of melodic style can be
distinguished: Javanese (meaning in fact Central and East Java), Sudanese
(West Java), and Balinese. Each of these can be furthersubdivided into an
enormous number of local styles, differingfromeach other in small details.
Similarly, the method of performancevaries fromone region to another, and
even from one performerto another.
In spite of the differentlanguages used, the special characteristics of
various macapat verse-formsremain unchanged, whether they come from
Bali, Sunda or Central Java. The melodies, however, are entirelydifferent.
Thus aJavanese person, forexample, who hears a macapat fromBali will not
recognize the melody; indeed, he will be unable to recognize it as a tembang
macapat at all unless, ofcourse, he counts the syllables and also notes the last
vowel of each line.
In Bali and Sunda the social functionof macapat has gradually widened
over the years, as it has in Java. In both regions the use of tembang macapat
has extended into various types of theatrical entertainmentand into straight-
forward concert presentation, as it has in Java again. Similarly, the way of
singing the melodies has gradually become more ornate in all regions. But
neither in Bali nor in Sunda have new melodies been created, and in neither
region has macapat evolved into new musical forms comparable to those
which have developed in Java: there are no Balinese or Sundanese equiva-
lents of gending sekar, palaran and bawa.
Nevertheless, in Bali and in Sunda as well as in Java, the tembang
macapat are becoming increasingly popular, and new texts are being added

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TEMBANG MACAPAT IN CENTRAL JAVA 127
to therepertory. At thesame time,theuse oftembangmacapatas a medium
forstoriesand lettersis now regardedeverywhereas old-fashioned.The
contemporary stateoftembangmacapat maybe summarizedbysayingthat
it is stilllively,stilldeveloping- mostof all in CentralJava - but thatit is
tendingto discard certainfeatures.Foremostamong thesefeaturesare its
mysticalassociationsand othercharacteristics whichare feltto be no longer
relevantto modernlifeand particularlyto the changingsocial patternin
Indonesia since its independence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Kartomi, M. Matjapat Song in Centraland WestJava, Canberra: Australian
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