Japanese Dance and Music Performance at the Paris Exposition of 1889

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  • 1889年パリ万国博覧会におけるジャワの舞踊と音楽について
  • 1889ネン パリ バンコク ハクランカイ ニ オケル ジャワ ノ ブヨウ ト オンガク ニ ツイテ

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At the 1889 Paris Exposition many people from the colonies lived in “l'esplanade des Invalides.” They built houses for themselves and showed their customs, entertainments or arts. “l'esplanade des Invalides” was the most popular spot in the Expo. About 60 Javanese who had been brought from the Netherlands East Indies by the committee of Holland constructed a “kampong javanais (Javanese village).” The Kampong was always crowded and visitors had to wait for many hours to enter the “pendoppo.” where performances of Javanese dance and music were held. <br>  Four dancing girls named Wakiem. Sariem. Soekia. Taminah were very famous among Parisians. They had been sent with the most beautiful crown, jewelry and clothes by the prince of Mangk-Negaran in Surakarta, a large city in central Java. Most sources say the four girls were members of the prince's family, but others tell they were not. What is certain is that the committee had to ask prince twice or more to send the girls. It is strange that the gamelan set and gamelan players who accompanied the dancing girls did not come from the same court. The gamelan set was provided by G. Mundt, the owner of a tea plantation at Parakan Salak near Sukabumi. The players also probably came from west Java. Even today it is prohibited for court dancers to perform with a gamelan that does not belong to their own court. We assume that the four girls were not court dancers and that the dance they performed at the Expo was in mixed or modified style. The music, too, was probably far from the authentic style. In Java, the style of dance and music differed greatly from one district to another. Dancers and players were obliged to create a new style for the Exposition.

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