Aesthetic Authority and the Shaping of the Bedhaya Dance Genre in the Mangkunegaran Principality: A Historical and Aesthetic Narrative

Abstract

Aims: This study examines how aesthetic authority was exercised by the rulers of the Mangkunegaran Principality, particularly from Mangkunegara VII to Mangkunegara IX, in sustaining, reactualising, and developing the bedhaya dance genre as a representation of cultural identity and political legitimacy. Study Design: This study employed a qualitative research design with an ethnochoreological approach to examine dance as a cultural practice within its historical, social, and aesthetic contexts. Place and Duration of Study: The research was conducted at the Mangkunegaran Principality over an eight-month period through a literature-based study and interpretive analysis of historical sources. Methodology: This literature study analysed manuscripts, archival records, historical documents, previous research, and scholarly publications related to the bedhaya dance and the Mangkunegaran Principality. Documentary evidence was critically interpreted and enriched by the researcher's embodied knowledge acquired through more than a decade of experience as a court dancer at the Mangkunegaran Principality, providing deeper insight into the tradition, performance practices, and aesthetic construction of the bedhaya dance. Results: The findings demonstrate that aesthetic authority was exercised through three interrelated strategies: sustaining, reactualising, and developing the bedhaya dance genre. This authority was expressed through the rulers' decisions to absorb selected artistic traditions, reactualise hereditary repertoires based on historical interpretation, and create new repertoires reflecting the aesthetic priorities of each reign. Although court artists translated these ideas into performance, the final authority over aesthetic decisions remained with the Mangkunegara as the highest cultural authority. Conclusion: The development of the bedhaya dance genre in the Mangkunegaran Principality resulted from the deliberate exercise of aesthetic authority rather than passive cultural transmission. The bedhaya dance therefore functioned not only as an artistic expression but also as a medium for institutional identity, political and cultural legitimacy, and the continuity of the Javanese monarchical tradition through inheritance, reactualisation, and repertoire creation.