The sacred temple dance Bedhaya Ketawang at the Sasana Sewaka

The grand pendopo within the kraton complex of the Kasunanan...

The view from the eastern veranda

The assembled senior nobles known as the sentana seated within the inner canopy

The nine maidens performing the sacred temple dance and it is interesting to note the two seated emban servants seated on the left whose duty is to ensure the apparel of the dancers do not slip and to sometimes wipe the prespiration from the dancers who stick to a strict 90 minute duration of dance, which was shortened from the original 3 hours... Tedious but beautiful...

A view of a traditional dalem in-situ

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a cultural dance performance put up at the nDalem Prangwedanan which is the preparatory house of the appointed prince who would later become the Mangkunegara, a title roughly measuring to that of a duke, in the old city of Surakarta. A prince from this hereditary line would first have to be appointed the Prangwedono before he replaces the vacant seat of the Mangkunegoro in the future.

A view of the dalem of the Prangwedanan and it is interesting to note the contemporary loro blonyo statutes which are in the folk medium of terracotta and somewhat aberrant to the normal styles for the nobility.

The close-up of the krobongan which are draped over with ceremonial cloths and the interior with pillows and bolsters in modern cinde type material, but they are not piled up in the traditional fashion and somewhat lacking in quantity. This is probably beacuse this dalem was contemporaneously refurbished from a state of earlier disrepair. The highlight is the cinde boards at the back which probably date to the same period as the building which is circa 19th century.

The view from the pringgitan