THE JÔGET
ance, and for Western spectators it is immeasur- ably dull.
In one of the Malay States, however, Pǎhang, it has for years been the custom for the ruler and one or two of his near relatives to keep trained dancing girls, who perform what is called the “Jôget”—a real dance with an accompaniment of something like real music, though the orchestral instruments are very rude indeed.
The dancers, bûdak jôget, belong to the Raja’s household, they may even be attached to him by a closer tie ; they perform seldom, only for the amuse- ment of their lord and his friends, and the public are not admitted. Years ago I saw such a dance, and though peculiar to Pǎhang as far as the Malay States are concerned, it is probable that it came originally from Java; the instruments used by the orchestra and the airs played are certainly far more common in Java and Sumatra than in the Peninsula.
I had gone to Pǎhang on a political mission acompanied by a friend, and we were vainly courting sleep in a miserable lodging, when at 1 A.M. a message came from the Sultan inviting us to witness a jôget. We accepted with alacrity, and at once made our way to the astâna, a
picturesque, well-built and commodious house on
45
