When accompanying the social dance which is popular among “Menak” (priyayi), Abah Kayat is recognized for his expertise by Dalem Bandung.
The art of dance in the land of Sunda, which is now known as West Java, like dance in other parts of the world, has its roots in a long history. Its age may be almost as long as the history of society itself.
Claire Holt in her book Art in Indonesia; Continuities and Change (1967), noted several types of art that exist in the ancient manuscripts of the Song of Sunda. This manuscript is thought to date from 1550 AD, a copy of which was published by a Dutch researcher, CC Berg, in 1927.
Song of Sunda records various forms of art that existed in the Majapahit era. As part of the “titiwanira” death rite ceremony, the kingdom presents various performances. Among them, “men-men” (drama), “igel” (beautiful dance), “babarisan” (war dance/beksa), “ronggeng” (social dance), “pawayangan” (shadow puppets), and “patapelan”. (mask/mask).
When compared with today, almost everything mentioned in the ancient manuscripts is in the land of Sunda. Starting from Tarling, Jaipong, Rampak Silat, Ronggeng Dance, Wayang Kulit, to Mask Dance. All of that can even be found in one area of Indramayu Regency only. This is part of the heritage of tradition.
But in the Indonesian context, Sundanese dance as a cultural product that can be learned by many people, has experienced a period of revival since the era of ethical politics. Henry Spiller, a researcher on Sundanese culture from the University of California, wrote about the history of Abah Kayat, a dance artist from Cimahi, who laid the foundation for learning Sundanese dance.
Following Sukarno’s direction, the first President of Indonesia, Abah Kayat together with Raden Rusdi Somantri alias Tjetje Somantri in the 1950s, joined an organization called the Indonesian Arts Agency (BKI). These two maestros have changed many things that have raised Sundanese art to become part of the world’s cultural heritage today.
Abah Kayat’s journey
Abah Kayat comes from a family of nayaga or gamelan musicians from Bandung. When he was twelve years old, he was fascinated by the appearance of a Dalang Topeng named Koncar who came from Cirebon. When the group of masked “bebarang” returned, Kayat went to Palimanan, where they came from. There he studied for several years.
When he returned to Bandung, Kayat was known as a good dancer of Tayuban. Tayuban dance requires high improvisation skills. When accompanying the social dance which is popular among “Menak” (priyayi), Abah Kayat is recognized for his expertise by Dalem Bandung.
Some time later, Abah Kayat moved to Cimindi, Cimahi. She joined a group of puppet people led by a mastermind whom she called “Mother”. During the independence of the puppet group, these people had to be “anything” in order to survive from village to village. After independence, some of these groups joined with Abah Kayat who settled in Babakan Tarogong.
Collaboration with Tjetje Somantri
While in Tarogong, Abah Kayat met Raden Tjetje Somantri, the son of the Purwakarta wedana who had also studied Masks in Palimanan. Because they have the same education, they are easy to collaborate. Tjetje Somantri acted as choreographer, while Kayat acted as accompanist.
This collaboration between the two of them is then taught to the dancers who are involved in the goodwill mission of the Republic of Indonesia to various countries. From this collaboration, big names such as Irawati Durban to Endo Suwanda were born.