International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 2 | Page 22

International Journal of Indonesian Studies

Autumn 2015

number of key social and cultural ceremonies. But, mostly, they do it now only for the sake
of tourism (Boelstroff, 2005, p. 39).
Besides Bissu, the banality of homosexuality in Indonesia can also be seen in the
traditional relation between Warok and Gemblakan17 in the performance art Reog Ponorogo
in East Java. This narrative below indicates how that relationship is related to
homosexuality, in particular in the concept of pederasty:
Ini bukan acara khitanan. Seorang remaja laki-laki sekitar 12 tahun, bersarung kain
batik, tangan kirinya berarloji, sandalnya tertutup – bukan sandal jepit murahan. Ia
bergigi emas.
Wajahnya bersih, jalan dan suaranya agak keperempuan-perempuanan. Di saku
bajunya selalu ada rokok. Kadang-kadang ia berkacamata hitam pula. Satu atau
beberapa laki-laki berotot mengawalnya. Itulah pemandangan yang hanya bisa
dilihat kaitannya dengan khitanan, meski ada hubungannya dengan seksualitas.
Adapun para pengawal, itulah warok. Kehadiran gemblak dan warok bermula pada
pantangan: jangan menyentuh wanita, bila kamu ingin sakti. Maka, untuk
meneduhkan gairah birahinya, selagi memantapkan ilmu, warok Ponorogo
mengangkat pacar remaja laki-laki . Dari situ muncullah tradisi gemblakan, atau
homoseksualitas…Boleh jadi di Ponorogolah, gemblakan atau homoseksualitas bukan
saja tidak dikutuk, tapi malah jadi simbol status utama.18
(This is not a circumcision ceremony. There was a teenage boy about 12 years old,
wearing batik, in his left hand wearing a watch, and he wore expensive sandals. His
face was clean and his gesture is like a woman. In his pocket is always a cigarette.
Sometimes he wears sunglasses. One or more muscular males escort him. Those
guards called Warok. The existence of Warok and Gemblak began on abstinence: do
not touch a woman, if you want having a magic power. Thus Warok has a Gemblak
(those teenage boys). It may be in Ponorogo, gemblakan or homosexuality is not
condemned, but became a symbol of social status)
In the history of Warok, it is possible to establish a definition of Warok. Budiman
explained that authentic Warok was derived from the word “Wewarah” or people who are
able to advise others about the ‘good life’ (Budiman, 2012, p. 574). Warok is a mediator
between the superior and the inferior in terms of cosmology. Warok are stereotyped by
wearing “kolor ijo” and black dress (Budiman, 2012, p. 574). Some mythologies have
suggested that Warok‘s character is that of a rebel.
Gemblakan is a teenage boy aged between 12 to 15 years old. Gemblak is always
having a love relationship with Warok. For the Ponorogo peoples, that relation is normal

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The term Gemblak and Gemblakan basically have a same meaning. The term Gemblak refers to person who
acts as a Gemblak – a teenage boy aged between 12 to 15 years, meanwhile the term Gemblakan refers to
system of the activity.
18
Dari Mata Turun ke Hati. Retrieved from
http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1987/10/10/PRK/mbm.19871010.PRK32396.id.html on
Wednesday, 18 December 2013

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