Kidang Talun
Kidang talun,
Mangan kacang talun
Mil kethemil, mil kethemil
Si kidang mangan lembayung
As a person who lives in Java, Sahabat Javanologi surely is familiar with this one particular play song. Almost every child in Java is familiar with this music or this traditional play song. This song that recalls our childhood as Javanese people is incredibly popular, with audiences ranging from children to teenagers. ‘Kidang Talun’ is a Javanese traditional play song which originated from Yogyakarta
Written by R.C. Hardjasoebrata, a karawitan composer, Kidang talun is not only played as our childhood entertainment but also has a cultural education, especially Javanese culture in it.
As we know from the title ‘Kidang Talun’, this traditional play song introduces kids about the names and the characteristics of animals. The first verse of this song tells us about ‘kijang‘ or deer. In the second verse, it talks about mice. In the last verse, the song shows us about the characteristics of an elephant.
If Sahabat Javanologi is aware, the lyrics Mil kethemil, mil kethemil in the first verse is describing good table manners in Java ‘mangan saka sethithik’ or ‘eat a little by little’. In addition to that, this javanese play song also contains a portrayal that every child will share the same values and characteristics with their parents. This can be seen in the lyrics of the second verse ‘tikus pithi duwe anak pithi’ which means ‘a mouse gives birth to a mouse’.
Author: David Aria Wijaya
