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rasa musicians from being able to play them successfully.34 Recall that anteb [ J,I] (heavy, substantive) is linked to abot [Ng] (heavy, difficult) through the Indonesian berat.
3. Alus « Kasar, Calm « Lively sereng(?) regu
sedhih
prenès
gecul bérag
figure 3.3. Continuum from alus to kasar, and from calm to lively.
As will be clear by now, closely related to the two previous continua is that between alus (refined) and kasar (coarse, crude) (figure 3.3). It, too, differs from the previous two only in the placement of sereng, which is not as kasar as gecul, but, because it has an element of anger, is more kasar than prenès.35 This ordering also works for the continuum that lies between the poles of tenang [I] (calm) and ramé [ J] (lively), pointing up the element of spiritual development and inner composure in one of the primary meanings of alus (Benamou 2002).
4. Masculine « Feminine sereng
bérag
gecul
sedhih
regu
prenès
figure 3.4. Continuum from masculine to feminine.
Because of the complex distribution of masculinity on the anteb « ènthèng scale, the gender continuum requires a diagram unto itself (figure 3.4). Note that, of my six basic terms, prenès is the only distinctly feminine one. Gamelan music truly is a man’s world—at least as it is conceptualized by male musicians. The gender continuum is discussed at length in the earlier section on binary oppositions (see also Benamou 2002).
34. See Perlman 1994 and Supanggah 1985. It should be mentioned, however, that it is possible to construct a revisionist interpretation that questions these courtly origins to begin with. Indeed, Supanggah now believes that nearly every aspect of palace-style music originated in the villages, since the musicians were largely recruited from outside the palace, and there was a highly developed and far more dynamic musical scene in areas such as Gombang and Purworejo (pers. comm.). 35. Sereng: “tense.” Gecul: “jocular.” Prenès: “coquettish.” The placement of sereng is, in fact, the only thing separating these first three continua. See the section in this chapter on explicit classifications (pp. 79–82) for an explanation of why this might be so.