27/11/2025
Jaranan is a traditional Javanese dance. It is a cultural performance with spiritual and ritual significance, often involving trance states and possession by ancestral spirits.
The dancers perform various attractions, such as eating flowers or broken glass, while in a trance, facilitated and guided by spiritual leaders or shamans known as “dukun”.
The performance is accompanied by live music, which helps induce the trance state and guides the dancers’ movements. Jaranan is regarded as both entertainment and a ritual tribute to ancestors, with a strong mystical and spiritual aspect deeply rooted in Javanese culture, especially in East Java.
