GAMELAN DI KEMLAYAN: STUDI SEJARAH KAMPUNG ABDI DALEM NIYAGA DI SURAKARTA

Abstract

Tulisan ini membahas sejarah lahirnya kampung Kemlayan yang menjadi tempat tinggal komunitas abdi dalem seniman di Keraton Kasunanan Surakarta dalam rentang waktu abad XVIII-XX. Pengambilan topik tersebut dilatarbelakangi oleh dua hal pokok, yaitu langkanya studi ilmiah mengenai sejarah kampung di Jawa yang bergerak di bidang kultural pada periode kerajaan sampai republik, dan keberadaan kampung tersebut tidak tertulis dalam panggung sejarah dinasti Mataram Islam. Permasalahan yang diangkat dalam tulisan ini, yaitu lahirnya Kemlayan yang mayoritas dihuni oleh kelompok abdi dalem seniman karawitan, posisi Kemlayan dalam lingkaran kekuasaan istana, serta pandangan masyarakat Surakarta terhadap kampung seniman-priayi tersebut. Guna memperoleh jawaban atas permasalahan utama tersebut dipakai metode sejarah kritis serta penggunaan sumber primer maupun sekunder. Kemlayan muncul pada masa Paku Buwana IV (1788-1821). Faktor penentu terciptanya kampung tersebut adalah raja memiliki ketertarikan pada karawitan, dan kesenian menjadi alat legitimasi politis kerajaan sehingga wajar kelompok seniman karawitan yang setia mengabdi kepada istana diberi keistimewaan berupa daerah untuk ditinggali. Kemlayan merupakan satu-satunya kampung seniman dalam dinasti Mataram Islam. Kemlayan lahir dan tumbuh bukan dilandasi semangat etnisitas, nafas keagamaan maupun orientasi bisnis, melainkan bergerak di bidang kesenian karawitan tradisional Jawa. Aktivitas kebudayaan dilakukan oleh penghuninya secara konsisten membentuk karakteristik ruang yang ditinggalinya. Di lingkungan sosial, Kemlayan dikenal juga sebagai kampungnya priayi. Dengan keahlian menabuh gamelan, seniman-priayi Kemlayan sering tampil dalam acara bergengsi. Dampak positifnya ialah Kemlayan selalu diperhitungkan dalam jagad kesenian tradisional Jawa selama seabad lebih.____________________________________________________________This paper discusses the establishment of a kampong named Kemlayan which becomes the home of Abdi Dalem artists community of Surakarta palace during XVIII-XX century. The discussion is triggered by two major reasons. First, only few academic discourses present topics on the history of cultural village in Java since dynasties period to the establishment of Republic of Indonesia. Second, the existence of the kampong has not been written in the discussion of Islamic Mataram history. This paper discusses three problems, i.e. the establishment of kampong Kemlayan in which most of the residents are Abdi Dalem karawitan artists, the kampong’s position in the power relation with the palace, and the society’s attitude towards the kampong. In discussing those problems, this paper employs critical history method involving both primary and secondary sources. Kemlayan was established during the reign of Paku Buwana IV (1788-1821). The main motives of the establishment are the king’s interests in karawitan and arts, and it became the political excuse to provide loyal groups of karawitan artists some territories to live in. Kemalyan was the only kampong whose residents were artists in Islamic Mataram era. It was not established and developed based on ethnicity, religion, or economic ambitions. It was based on Javanese tradition of karawitan. Further, the constant and consistent cultural activities by the residents of kampong Kemlayan chracterize their living spaces. In social contexts, Kemlayan is well known as the kampong of priyayi. Having the skills of playing gamelan instruments, priyayi artists often performed in prominent events. Positively, this brings a consequence that Kemlayan has been always acknowledged in Javanese traditional arts for more than a century.