Mlesed and Nggandhul in the Musical Accompaniment of Shadow Puppet Theater: A Case Study of Gendhing Ayak-Ayak

The aim of this research is to describe the ethnography of gamelan music of shadow puppet theatre as cultural phenomena and as a social practice. I draw upon Piere Bourdieu’s notions of habitus, physical capital, and cultural capital. The main focus of this research is examining threefold distinction between individual habitus, institutional habitus, and ethnomusicological habitus. Memory is embodied through repeated gesture. The disciplined and rehearsed body of the gamelan musician is one of the most significant resources in the conduct of gamelan music. In this paper I explore some of these issues to make sense of embodied work of gamelan music performance, drawing on my ethnography of the shadow puppet theatre.