Padepokan Seni Jugala and the Institutionalization of Jaipongan in Bandung, 1978–2020

Abstract

This article reconstructs the development of Padepokan Seni Jugala in Bandung from 1978 to 2020 by treating the padepokan as a cultural institution rather than merely the setting in which Jaipongan dances were created. Sources include interviews with Jugala family members, administrators, and students; photographs and digital documentation; books; scholarly articles; and academic works. These are examined through heuristics, external and internal criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The sources examined suggest three tendencies, subject to verification of the interview records. First, in its formative phase, Jugala integrated repertoire creation, dance training, karawitan, vocal practice, and performance under Gugum Gumbira and Euis Komariah. Second, the expansion of repertoire, student networks, recordings, and performances transformed Jugala from a creative group into a center for learning Jaipongan. Third, since the early twenty-first century, the institution's orientation has shifted from highly intensive production toward repertoire preservation, regeneration, digital documentation, and preparation for succession. Gugum Gumbira's death on 4 January 2020 ended one period of leadership, but did not end the institution's activities. The article’s proposed contribution lies in shifting the unit of analysis from the maestro's biography or the aesthetics of a single repertoire to the historical process of institutionalizing Jaipongan through creation, transmission, circulation, and regeneration at Jugala.