Abstract
Jathilan is one of the names of the traditional Javanese trance dance that combines elements of ritual and entertainment. Its performers are believed to become possessed by spirits and demonstrate various feats of physical invulnerability, like touching hot coals or eating shattered glass. Despite its most likely pre-Islamic origins, jathilan was not obliterated by Islamization or modernization and presently enjoys remarkable popularity among the villagers and lower-class urbanites. The tradition's significance can be seen in its spread, following the routes of Javanese migration to other Indonesian islands, neighboring countries (Singapore and Malaysia) and other former Dutch colonies (Suriname). In all the respective localities, performing arts communities are facing their own challenges and finding their own ways to overcome them. Jathilan has not undergone processes of heritagization or museumification, rather, it keeps being (re-)produced and consumed at the local grassroots level. While serving as a performance for both human and unseen (spirit) audiences, it also manifests a locally-specific communal identity (e.g., majority or minority, Javanese or Malay). This dissertation intends to provide both a description and an analysis of jathilan as a socio-cultural phenomenon, with particular attention paid to its resilience and adaptability. One of the key factors pointing to the flexibility of the tradition is the wide use of social media by the performing collectives to advertise their shows and propagate the art form itself. Besides paying attention to the online presence of the tradition, in my research I heavily rely on the visual component – my own photography documentation of the performances which also played a role as a form of participant observation and the means of communication with the practitioners.
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