Reog Ponorogo

Reog is the signature performance of Ponorogo and its central object is extraordinary: the dhadak merak, a mask combining a tiger or lion head with a fan of real peacock feathers rising above it, weighing something in the order of fifty kilograms, which the warok - the lead performer - carries clamped in his teeth alone while dancing, with no strap or support. Around him are jathil horse dancers, the bujang ganong masked clown and the king Klono Sewandono, performing a story drawn from a legendary courtship between Ponorogo and Kediri. The tradition also carries a difficult social history around the warok and the young male gemblak attendants attached to them, which has been publicly debated in Indonesia. The Grebeg Suro festival at Javanese new year is the main occasion.

What you actually see

• A fifty-kilogram mask in the teeth - the tiger head and peacock fan carried unsupported.
• Jathil horse dancers - the flat woven horses ridden in the accompanying dance.
• Masked clown and king - the bujang ganong and Klono Sewandono figures.
• Grebeg Suro - the Javanese new year festival with the largest performances.

When to go

Javanese new year for Grebeg Suro; performances also at other times. An evening.

Honest expectations

Regular public performances are irregular outside the festival - check locally. Ponorogo has limited accommodation. The tradition's social history around warok and gemblak is genuinely contested.

Nearby

Madiun is north; Pacitan and the south coast are south.