a Guide to Bali
|
| November 24, 2007 |
| Balinese Wedding |
 Bali is all about tradition, religion and ceremony, governed under a system known as adat. For a Balinese person there are important annual and family ceremonies, plus a set of ‘life ceremonies‘ (oton on the person’s 1st birthday, maketus when their milk teeth fall out, manggah daa / manggah teruna when they hit puberty, mapandes the tooth filing ceremony and pawiwahan / nganten at marriage). The biggest one being marriage. When a Balinese couple get married it usually means the girl is pregnant, then gets married to her pacar (boyfriend). In fact many Balinese men will not marry a girl until she proves he can get pregnant. It simply means the girl is capable of having kids and that she and her husband will be locked into the Balinese family cycle of making kids and attending ceremonies. The family are actually happy about it. Covarrubias writes that the Balinese are naturally promiscuous (something that might be stretched to cover other parts of Indonesia also ) and pre-marital sex is not a taboo, as long as it is discreet.
When a Balinese person gets married (pawiwahan or nganten ) it must be done the ‘proper way’ which means in front of the whole village. If a man is living in his own place it will be at his house, if not at the home of his parents, the new wife moving in immediately.
The lowest thing in Balinese society is a janda which is an unmarried mother. There are times when a person or a groups of people are ‘ritually unclean’ or ‘sebel‘. For example after a married woman gives birth she is sebel and cannot visit the temple. A janda is unclean and cannot attend any big ceremonies therefore cutting her off from a large part of her culture. A Balinese man will likely not want a janda for a wife, so its bad news all round. One solution for a girl who was a janda might be to marry a foreigner for the intention of being ‘married’, him living in another country altogether.
For a westerner finding himself in the situation of having a pregnant Balinese partner there are 3 options. Marriage, fleeing the island for good, or await the anger of her male relatives. Its a big deal.
Not all young Balinese people can afford the elaborate preparations that an upacara (wedding) requires. There is a back door approach, which mirrors the old English tactic of running off to Scotland and getting hitched. The great thing about this is the degree of pretense it requires. An elopement (ngerorod or malaib) pretends to be a kidnapping. “Where’s Made this evening?” a mother might ask. “Wayan has kidnapped her” might be the response. The girls parents pretend to be outraged and insist the man must marry their daughter. They may even organize a search party to look for the missing girl, all the while knowing she’s with her boyfriend. The ‘kidnapping’ doesn’t last longer than a day or 2. When the couple arrive back at his parent’s house, a small wedding ceremony called a ‘makala-kalaan‘ is performed without the girls parents who are pretending to still be outraged.
Three days later another ceremony called a ‘ketipat bantal‘ is performed with both sides attending. Every body eats and is happy again. The funny thing about all this is everyone wants the same thing, for the couple to marry and have kids and everyone knows how things will plays out. They go this long route, everyone playing a part so that no one’s honor will be lost. One might ask why they don’t just say “Okay, we want to get married but don’t have the cash, instead of all the pretending lets have a feast here and save the time, maybe afterwards go catch a flick?” Of course that’s not the Balinese way.
Regarding gay people as ritually unfulfilled for not getting married, is something of a grey area. Some of the high priests are flamboyantly gay, because they are supposed to be able to communicate with the male and female Gods.
Finally there is another twist to the Balinese marriage structure. As previously mentioned, the girl will move in with the boy’s parents, if he does not yet own his house. If the girl’s family do not have any sons of their own, he must move in with the girl’s parents, under a situation called nyentana. The parents of the boy must consent to this as they are losing a son, so that the other family can continue their line.
All the above types of marriage are complicated and have variations. Ask a Balinese person to explain them in detail for you.Labels: Culture |
posted by Admin @ 6:18 PM  |
|
|
|
| October 30, 2007 |
| Balinese Caste Structure |
 Bali is truly unique, in that it is the only Hindu island in Indonesia, a country dominated by Islam. Hinduism is a religion that developed out of the way of life of the people living on the banks of the Indus river in India and Hinduism came to Indonesia many centuries ago. The earliest written records in Bali, metal inscriptions called prasasti (Prasasti Blanjong is an example), speak of Buddhist and Hindu influences and date back to the 9th century AD. The caves, statues and bronzes of Goa Gajah and Gunung Kawi indicate this too.
As far as Bali is concerned the 3 big events that pushed Hinduism to the fore were the marriage of the Balinese king Udayana to Princess Mahendra from East Java, at the end of the 10th century thus bringing the 2 areas together. This was followed in 1343 by the conquest of Bali by the Majapahit empire of Gajah Mada, prime minister of that kingdom in East Java. Finally in 1515 the Majapahit empire in Java fell to the increasingly powerful Muslim Mataram empire. This created an exodus of priests, crafts people and noblemen and helped to make Bali the unique center of art that it is.
As many people will tell you the version of Hinduism (Agama Hindu ) that is practiced in Bali differs from that practiced in India. One of the most obvious differences is the quantity of offerings given in Bali, which is usually to either ward off evil spirits or to satisfy the Gods, a relic of the Balinese animist beliefs to which Hinduism has been melded.
The 4 main castes in Bali are Brahmana, Ksatria, Wesia and Sudra. Here is a list of Balinese names according to caste.
•Brahmana (priest) caste
Ida Bagus or Bagus (good one) for a male
Ida Ayu or Dayu (beautiful one) for a female.
•Ksatria (rulers, warriors) caste
Anak Agung, Agung, Dewa for a male.
Anak Agung, Agung, Dewi, Dewayu for a female
Cokorda, Dewa Agung for members of the kingdom ruling clan.
Ksatria caste often have the following middle names.
Raka - older sister / brother
Oka - child
Rai - younger sister / brother
Anom - young woman
Ngurah - an indication of authority
•Wesia (merchants and officials ) caste
Gusti - (lord) for men and women
Dewa for a man
Desak for a woman
•Sudra (rice growers ) caste
Wayan, Putu, Gede for 1st born male child
Wayan, Putu, Iluh for 1st born female child
Made, Kadek for 2nd born male child
Made, Kadek, Nengah for 2nd born female child.
Nyoman, Komang for 3rd born male and female children
Ketut for 4th born male or female children.
The 5th born reverts back to the list for 1st born children. Last names are also given names.
There are a tremendous amount of Wayans and Mades in Bali. If someone tells you their name is Nengah Susantini, you know they are Balinese female from the lowest caste, who has at least one older brother or sister. Many Balinese will use a middle name to differentiate from other with the same name. Others will change their name slightly (Yumi for Yuni, Koming for Komang) or use their last name for a form of address.
Long before the caste system came to Bali the local people already had their own form of hierarchy and adapted the caste system to fit over this, just like the Hindu religion blended with their animist beliefs. In the Bali Aga villages of Tenganen and Trunyan up in the mountains the new Hindu religion did not penetrate and the locals practice religion in their own ways today.
Nowadays the language the Balinese pedandas (high priests) use during temple ceremonies is Kawi, old Javanese which is largely composed of Sanskrit. Bahasa Bali (the Balinese language ) has different levels and caste comes into play when speaking. I have asked many young people what languages they speak at work and they say Indonesian, even if the whole staff is Balinese. Back in the village it will all be Bahasa Bali.
Bahasa Bali used to have multiple levels but in the last century it seems to have thinned down to 3 (common Balinese, middle Balinese and high Balinese). Village life is more traditional of course than the free-style living in Kuta and people will be watched more closely as people know who they are. Paying attention to the levels of respect are more important here and super important involving religious activities.
When a Balinese person meets a stranger in the village he will start by using the Middle language and might ask “Antuh lingge?” meaning Where is your place?, as far as caste. The stranger will tell his caste and that will dictate what level of Balinese is used. If one man is high caste and the other low the high caste man will talk in the common language to the other and the man of low caste will reply using high Balinese. Its all about respect.
Using the words (tjai, nyai, nani) which all mean You, are too familiar and impolite, so the word jero is used. Jero is the name given by some Balinese to a child of a nobleman and a commoner and maybe this is a way of saying, I can see you carrying wood in the village but I give you the credit that you came from a nobleman.
Covarrubias writes is 1937 that he finds the levels of Bahasa Bali totally unrelated, not just different dialects or variations of the same language. Common Balinese originates from Malayo-Polynesian dialects of the aboriginal population of the region. Middle Balinese is an adaptation to fill the void when caste becomes an issue and High Balinese is from Sanskrit-Javanese.
In older times the caste system had more power than is does today. It is somewhat taboo for a Balinese woman of high caste to marry a man of lower caste. In such a case she drops to his level. The reverse is true if it were a man.
Interesting cross-overs from the Indian caste-system to the Balinese. The Sanskrit word for color, varna is almost the same as the Indonesian word, warna. I think the Balinese people have a natural easy going mentality and still for the most part live close to the village. Maybe this is why the hardcore caste discrimination did not take hold here.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 2:56 PM |
|
|
|
| October 15, 2007 |
| Bali People |
 LIKE A CONTINUAL UNDER-SEA BALLET, the pulse of life in Bali moves with a measured rhythm reminiscent of the sway of marine plants and the flowing motion of octopus and jellyfish under the sweep of a submarine current. There is a similar correlation of the elegant and decorative people with the clear-cut, extravagant vegetation; of their simple and sensitive temperament with the fertile land.
No other race gives the impression of living in such close touch with nature, creates such a complete feeling of harmony between the people and the surroundings. The slender Balinese bodies are as much a part of the landscape as the palms and the breadfruit trees, and their smooth skins have the same tone as the earth and as the brown rivers where they bathe; a general colour scheme of greens, grays, and ocher's, relieved here and there by bright-coloured sashes and tropical flowers. The Balinese belong in their environment in the same way that a bumming-bird or an orchid belongs in a Central American jungle, or a steel-worker belongs in the grime of Pittsburgh. It was depressing to watch our Balinese friends transplanted to the Paris Fair. They were cold and miserable there in the middle of the summer, shivering in heavy overcoats or wrapped in blankets like red Indians, but they were transformed into normal, beautiful Balinese as soon as they returned from their unhappy experience.
Today the beauty of the Balinese has been exploited to exhaustion in travelogues and by tourist agencies, but as far back as 1619 records mention that Balinese women were in great demand in the slave markets of Bourbon (Reunion), where " they brought as much as 150 florins." The traffic in Balinese slaves continued until 1830, and today there is a colony of Balinese in Batavia, the descendants of former slaves. Their reputation for beauty is well justified: the majority of the population are handsome, with splendid physique and with a dignified elegance of bearing, in both men and women of all ages. From childhood the women walk for miles carrying-heavy loads on their heads; this gives them a great co-ordination of movement, a poised walk and bodily fitness. Old women retain their strength and do not become bent hags. We were astonished at times to discover that the slender, straight silhouette we bad admired from a distance belonged to an old lady with gray hair, walking with ease under forty or fifty pounds of fruit or pottery. Unless physically disabled, elderly people never admit that they are too old or too weak for activity; to " give up " would be dangerous to physical and spiritual health and would render a person vulnerable to attacks of a supernatural character.
Ordinarily free of excessive clothing, the Balinese have small but well-developed bodies, with a peculiar anatomical structure of simple, solid masses reminiscent of Egyptian and Mycenaean sculptures: wide shoulders tapering down in unbroken lines to flexible waists and narrow hips; strong backs, small heads, and firm full breasts. Their slender arms and long legs end in delicate hands and feet, kept skilful and alive by functional use and dance training. Their faces have well-balanced - features, expressive The Beach in Sanur eyes, small noses, and full mouths, and their hair is thick and glossy. Because they are tanned by the sun, their golden-brown skin appears generally darker than it really is, and when seen at a distance, people bathing are considerably whiter around their middles, where the skin is usually covered by clothes, giving the impression that they wear light-coloured pants. Watching a crowd of semi-nude Balinese of all ages, one cannot help wondering what the comparison would be should men and women of our cities suddenly appear in the streets nude above the waist.
Their character is easy, courteous, and gentle, but they can be intense and can show strong temper if aroused. They are gay and witty; there is nothing that a Balinese loves more than a good joke, especially. if it is off-colour, and even children make ribald puns that are applauded by grown-ups. It is perhaps in their mad sense of humour, the spirit of Rabelaisian fun with which they handle even such forbidding subjects as religion and death, that lies the key to their character. The adjective " childish " or 11 childlike," so often misapplied to primitive peoples, does not suit the Balinese, because even the children show a sophistication often lacking in more civilized grown-ups. They are resourceful and intelligent, with acute senses and quick minds. Once, when I mentioned the goodness of a very short friend, the immediate reply was: " How could he be otherwise, be is so small! " One day Spies's monkey got loose and ran all over the house upsetting and breaking things.
All the Balinese boys chased the monkey, but it let them come to within a few feet of it and then leaped out of reach onto the roof or a tree. The only one who did not join in the chase was Rapung, our teacher of Balinese, because he was a newcomer to the household and the monkey snarled and sprung at him every time Rapung passed near where it was tied: they bated each other. When it became plain that the monkey could not be captured so easily, one of the boys had the bright idea of having everybody pretend to attack Rapung, imitating the monkey, making faces, and squealing at him. Soon the monkey forgot that be himself was persecuted and joined in the attack, but when he was most aggressive someone grabbed him.
The pride of the Balinese has not permitted the development of one of the great professions of the East: there are no beggars in Bali. But tourists who lure boys and girls with dimes to take their pictures now threaten this unique distinction, and lately, in places frequented by tourists, people are beginning to ask for money as a return for a service. Ordinarily even a child would be scolded and shamed by anyone who heard him ask something from a stranger. A gift must be reciprocated and we were often embarrassed by the return presents of our poor neighbors. We gave Ketut Adi, a little dancer of eight, a scarf of no great value; one day soon after she came to us with a basket of rice, some eggs, and a live chicken, carried by her mother because the load was too great for her. Children of the neighborhood that Rose had treated for infected wounds always came back with presents of fruit, cakes, or rice which they handed casually to our house-boy, never mentioning them to us, as if they wanted to avoid making a demonstration of their generosity. Even children have a strong sense of pride.
The aristocracy is despotic and arrogant, but the ordinary people, although used to acknowledging the superiority of their masters, are simple and natural in an unservile and unsubmissive way. By the threat of passive disobedience and boycott they kept the princes from overstepping their bounds. Europeans complain that the Balinese make bad servants; they are too free, too frank, and do not respond to the insolent manner that the white man has adopted as " the only way to deal with natives." Their moral code consists in maintaining their traditional behavior, observing their duties towards their fellow villagers and paying due respect to the local feudal princes. Among themselves they are kind and just, avoiding unnecessary quarrels and solving their disputes by the simplest and most direct methods. .1 The villages are organized into compact boards or councils, independent of other villages. Every married man - that is, every grown man - is a member of the council and is morally and physically obliged to co-operate for the welfare of the community.
A man is assisted by his neighbors in every task he cannot perform alone; they help him willingly and as a matter of duty, not expecting any reward other than the knowledge that, were they in his case, he would help in the same manner. In this way paid labors and the relation of boss to coolie are reduced to a minimum in Bali. Since the world of a Balinese is his community, be is anxious to prove his worth, for his own welfare is in direct relation to his social behaviors and his communal standing. Moral sanctions are regarded 2S stronger than physical punishment, and no one will risk the dreaded punishment of exile, from the village, when a man is publicly declared " dead " to his community. Once " thrown away," he cannot be admitted into another of the co-operative villages, so no misfortune could be greater to the Balinese than public disgrace. This makes of every village a closely unified organism in which the communal policy is harmony and co-operation - a system that works to every body's advantage.
By their ingenuity and constant activity they have raised their main occupation, the cultivation of rice, to levels unsurpassed by other rice-growing nations. Being essentially agriculturists, they are not interested in navigation and trade; living the easy life of the tropics, they are satisfied and well fed. The majority works the land for themselves, so they have not yet become wage earners and have enough freedom and leisure left to dedicate to spiritual relaxation. They are extraordinarily fond of music, poetry, and dancing, which have produced a remarkable theatre. Their culture, unlike that of their cultural ancestors, the Javanese, is not yet in frank declin6. Even the common people are better agriculturists, better craftsmen and artists than the average Javanese. The Balinese are by no means a primitive people.
Moreover, unlike the natives of the South Seas and similar races under white domination, the Balinese are not a dying people; far from that, in the last ten years a constant increase in the birth rate has been recorded. The 1930 census gave the population of Bali as 1,148,000 people, or about 500 to the square mile, an enormous figure when compared with the 41 per square mile of the United States. This includes the foreign population: 7,1935 Chinese, 1,544 Arabs and other Mohammedans, and 411 Europeans, of which only a small percentage are of pure European stock, the rest being Eurasians and certain Balinese, Javanese, Chinese, and Japanese who are given equal standing with Europeans by a decree making them " Staatsblad European."
For those interested in knowing something of the racial origins of the Balinese, it may be added that they are by no means a pure race, but a complicated mixture of the native aborigines, with superimposed layers of higher cultures of various types.' The Balinese are descendants of a pure " Indonesian " race mixed with the Hindus of Central and East Java, who were them selves Indonesians of Hindu culture, with Indian and Chinese blood. To these mixtures are further added traces of the Polynesian and Melanesian, the result being a picturesque variety of types among the Balinese: from the noble Hindu and Northern Chinese, to the Malay-Javanese, Polynesian, and even Papuan. While some have sleek hair, high nose bridges, and cream-yellow skins, some are dark and curly haired like South Sea Islanders. Some have large almond eyes, often with the " Mongoloid fold, convex noses, and. fine mouths; others have the concave, flat, broad
Noses, the squinty eyes, bulging foreheads, and prognathic. Jaws of the more primitive Indonesians. Thus the Balinese of today are the same people as the Hindu-Javanese of pre-Mohammedan Java, in the sense that they both underwent the same racial and Cultural influences.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 12:09 AM |
|
|
|
| October 14, 2007 |
| Bali Temple |
# A Sacred Space for God and Man
Above all, the Balinese temple is a sacred space in which the deities are honored with rituals and offerings. Whether a simple enclosure with only one or two tiny shrines, or an elaborate complex with scores of sacred structures, the basic function of each temple is the same - to serve as a site where the Balinese pay reverence to the spiritual powers that play such a large role in their lives.
Temple types
 There are literally tens of thousands of temples in Bali, and new ones are being constructed all the time. Throughout much of the year they lie eerily deserted, but on the date of their anniversary festival they come to life in a brief but glorious burst of activity, as the congregation adorns the temple with beautiful ornaments and arrives bearing elaborate gifts, dressed in their finest apparel.
We just have one word for temple, but the Balinese distinguish two important types. A sanggah (merajan in the refined language) refers to private or family temples, generally translated as "house temples." Each family compound has one, containing shrines to the family's deified ancestors (sanggah kamulan). Thus there are several hundred thousand house temples in Bali.
The other word for temple in Balinese is Pura, originally a Sanskrit term referring to town or palace. In Bali, the word Pura ha come to refer to a temple in the public d main, generally located on public land. These cannot always be neatly classified, but there are generally three types associated with the three most important foci of social organization on Bali - locale, irrigation cooperative (subak) and descent group.
Within the group based on locality are temples of the local village, as well as temple of greater regional and island-wide significance. Irrigation cooperative temples ca belong to a single subak or to a whole group of subaks. And within the group of temple based on descent are temples supported "clans" of greater or lesser degrees of ancestral depth, variously known as Pura dadi Pura kawitan and Pura padharman. Altogether there are at least 10,000 temples on B belonging to these various types.
 Three village temples of special significance are the kahyangan tiga ("three sanctuaries") the Pura Puseh ("temple of origin"), at the upper end of the village, the Pura desa ("village temple") or Pura bale agung ("great meeting hall temple") in the village center, and the Pura dalem (death temple or "temple of the mighty one") lying near the cemeter and cremation grounds at the lower or seaward end of the village. These temples are linked with the gods of the Hindu Trinity: the Pura Puseh with Brahma the Creator, the Pura desa with Vishnu the Preserver, and the Pura dalem with Siwa the Destroyer.
The famous temple sites that tourists visit are regional or island-wide temples. These include the "Mother Temple" of Besakih, high up on the slopes of Mt. Agung, as well as the major temples of Ulun Danu (Batur), Lempuyang, Gua Lawah, Ulu Watu, Batukau, Pusering Jagat (Pejeng), Andakasa and Pucak Mangu. These are nearly all mountain or sea temples, marking the primary poles of the sacred landscape in Bali.
 Lesser regional temples, numbering in the hundreds, are sometimes called Pura dang kahyangan or "temples of the Sacred Ones" because they are associated with legendary Priests who brought Hinduism to Bali from Java. Their supporting congregations are drawn from a wide area, and in the past such temples were often supported by local Princely houses. Nowadays regional governments have taken on the same role. Important regional temples include Pura Sakenan, Pura Tanah Lot, Pura Kehen, Pura Taman Ayun and many others.
Shrines and pavilions
 A temple may contain just one or two shrines within a small courtyard, or it may contain dozens of shrines and other structures within two, or often three courtyards.
The innermost courtyard is the most sacred. Shrines are usually located here in two rows - one lining the mountain (kaja) side and the other lining the eastern (kangin) side. Toward the center of the courtyard is a large structure where the gods gather during rituals. Open pavilions for various purposes complete the arrangement.
Among the shrines lining the mountain ward side one often finds a pair of small closed shrines (gedong) - one with an earthenware dish on its roof, the other with a pointed roof. These honor protective deities of the greatest importance: Dewi Sri, goddess of rice and prosperity, and her consort Rambut Sedana, god of wealth. A small shrine with a deer's head is called menjangan saluwang and honors the legendary priest Mpu Kuturan, or a deity called Bhatara Maospahit.
A particularly striking structure is the meru or Balinese pagoda, which has an odd number of roofs, up to a maximum of eleven. A meru honors a god or a deified ancestor, depending on what kind of temple it is. It was probably introduced from Java during the 14th century.
In the mountain ward-eastward corner, between the rows of shrines, there is often an open seat-type shrine. In its fully developed form, adorned with cosmic turtle and serpents, this is called a padmasana ("lotus throne") and honors the high god Sanghyang Widhi in his manifestation as Siwa Raditya, the sun god. Modern Balinese Hinduism stresses its monotheistic aspect, and the padmasana has recently become more prominent.
Temple festivals are held according to one of two calendrical systems. When it appears on the 210-day wuku calendar, a festival is called an odalan; when it follows the lunar calendar, it is often referred to as an usaba. Various factors, such as local tradition and the size of the ritual, determine whether a festival is officiated by the temple's own priest (Pemangku) or by a brahmana high priest (Pedanda).Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 11:44 PM |
|
|
|
| September 29, 2007 |
| Bali's Dance |
 Dance & Drama
Dance is the main art form of Balinese culture and is performed at main temple festivals and ceremonies, especially for the cycle of life and death. Taught and kept in secrecy in villages, halls and palaces, the dances that tourists witness in hotels and specially constructed stages are merely a fraction of the dance scene, although most of the dancers come from village groups.
The Kecak Dance
Its name is derived from the sound "cak", pronounced "chok", which is chanted in complex interlocking patterns that are like the rhythmic patterns played on the gamelan. The modern form of kecak originated from Gianyar village of Bedulu in the 1930s as a result commissioned by the German expatriate artist, Walter Spies. He wished to create a performance that could be enjoyed by a small coterie of expatriate artists like himself, as well as friends and guests to the island.
The modern performance of Kecak is a sensational sight to behold. Hundreds of barechested men sit in a circle with a flickering single oil lamp in the middle. "Cak - Cak - Cak", the chant begins and the men start dancing and swaying to the rhythmic reverberation of their own voices. Hands raised to the sky, bodies shaking in unison, the chorus performs the highly structured piece of vocal music for about an hour. This unique dance holds the title of being the most popular dance in Bali.
The Barong Dance
"Lord of the forest" and magical protector of Balinese villages, the Barong is a mythical, shaggy half-dog, half-lion creature, with a long mane, fantastic fangs, and bulging eyes. It is propelled by two men who maneuver the costume with whimsical and mischievous movements to express its fun-loving nature. The Barong's opponent is Rangda, the evil witch who rules over the spirits of Darkness. The Barong dance epitomizes the eternal struggle between good and evil. The fight of Barong and Rangda is also a topic of traditional narratives performed in temples and takes various forms. The Barong will snap its jaws at the gamelan, prance around a bit, and enjoy the acclaim of its supporters - a group of kris-wielding men. Then ferocious Rangda will then appear lolling her long tongue, baring her threatening fangs, her neck draped with human entrails...not a pretty sight.
The duel begins. Each opponent tries to overcome the other with magical powers but when things do not look too good for the Barong, supporters will lunge at Rangda with krises to weaken or stall her. In retaliation, Rangda would put them all into a trance with her mystical powers and make them stab themselves with their weapons. Fortunately, the Barong possesses magic that is strong enough to cast a spell on the krises from harming the men. This part would be the highlight of the dance; the gamelan rings madly and intensely as the men rush back and forth waving their krises in a frenzy, sometimes even rolling on the ground in a desperate attempt to stab themselves. Often, there seems to be a plot to terrify the audience in the front row! Eventually, Rangda will retire, defeated. And once again, good will reign over evil.
Legong Keraton
The most graceful of Balinese dances, this is the epitome of classical Balinese female dancing. A legong, as the dancer is known, is often a young girl of eight or nine years, rarely older than her early teens. It was first created in the 18th Century and is usually the first dance to be taught to beginners. There are many forms of Legong, the most frequently performed dance being the Legong Keraton or Legong of the Palace.
The story of the Legong is very stylized and symbolic and one should know the story before actually watching the performance. The Legong involves three dancers - two legongs and their 'attendant', the condong. The legongs are identically costumed in gold brocade, which is bound so tightly that it is a mystery such agitated and rapid moves could be made. With elaborately made-up faces, plucked eyebrows that are boldly repainted, and hair decorated with frangipanis, the dancers relate the story with captivating movements.
A king takes the maiden Rangkesari captive. When her brother comes to release her, Rangkesari begs the king to free her rather than go to war. The king refuses and chances upon a bird carrying ill omens on his way to battle. However, he ignores the bird, meets Rangkesari's brother, and was thus killed in the fight.
The roles of the dancers may change according to the narration. However, the dance usually begins with the king's preparations for battle and ends with the bird's appearance.
Baris
A male equivalent of the Legong, Baris is a warrior's dance. Executed with energetic and warlike martial spirit, the Baris dancer has to convey the thoughts and emotions of a warrior preparing for action as well as confronting an enemy in battle. This dance is performed solo and requires great energy, spirit and skill. The warrior's changing moods have to be displayed through facial expressions and movements; he should be able to depict chivalry, pride, anger, prowess, and a little regret. Baris is said to be one of the most complex of all Balinese dances.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 3:58 AM |
|
|
|
|
| Bali Music/Gamelan |
 The music of Bali is extremely complex and vibrant. The original purpose of music here again is to serve religious beliefs, accompanying dances or wayang theaters. The traditional Balinese orchestra, known as gamelan, is composed of various forms of percussions, with notes overlapping and criss crossing among the various kinds. There is a number of string and woodwind instruments, but most of the players, which can range from a few to several dozen, sit behind various kinds of metallophones, gongs, and xylophones. Each gamelan has its own tuning, preventing instruments from being interchanged from one gamelan to another.
The music of Bali has inspired well known composers from all around the world. Bela Bartok titled his No.109 piece "From the island of Bali." It is also said that Debussy, after having met a Balinese musician and seen a Balinese orchestra performed in Europe, is very impressed and affected, and that much of his later works contain distinct colors of Balinese music.
But Colin McPhee (1900-1964), a Montreal-born author and musician, was probably the one most affected as well as most influential in Balinese music. Story has it that his life-changing moment happened in New York, when he first encounter a vinyl of Balinese gamelan. He set sail, so to speak, to Bali, and immersed himself in learning about and contributing to Balinese music. His compendium of Balinese music is an extremely well-researched collection of the various aspects of Balinese music. His Tabuh-tabuhan: toccata for orchestra won him the coveted Pulitzer Prize.
Tabuh-tabuhan is a collective noun that literally translates into a collection of percussion instrument - the Balinese gamelan. It consists of three movements: Ostinatos, Nocturne, and Finale. McPhee's nuclear gamelan consists of two pianos, celesta, xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel, with special Balinese gongs and cymbals added for certain sounds. Premiered in Mexico in 1936, this piece fuses Balinese motifs, melodies, and rhythms into a symphonic work. The signature of a Balinese flute melody inspires the Nocturne, unmistakably similar to what you can hear as you walk by the village temple today. The syncopated finale is kindred to the tapestry formed by the village orchestra accompanying a popular dance.Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 3:22 AM |
|
|
|
| September 22, 2007 |
| Ngaben |
Ngaben is always translated into “cremation ceremony” in English, but unfortunately not all cremation ceremonies in Bali can be categorized as ngaben. There are two types of cremation ceremonies in Bali, Ngaben and Mekingsan ring Geni (buried or left in the fire) with the main differences lie on the offerings and paraphernalias which are used and the function of the ceremony.
A Ngaben ceremony can be done in a modest to extravagant way, a modest ngaben needs a few basic offerings and preparations; while the extravagant ngaben will involve massive offerings, cremation tower, cow sarcophagi (befitting the caste of the deceased), gamelan orchestra and hundreds of manpower; while Mekingsan ring Geni (buried in the fire) is always a simple affair regardless the caste of the deceased, with only a few offerings, few manpower and little preparations.
A ngaben ceremony functions as final send off of the deceased body (not the soul), in this ceremony the body of the deceased is returned to five basic elements of nature (panca mahabhuta, which are pertiwi = earth, apah = water, teja = light or fire, bayu = wind, akasa = ether, space, void). In Balinese cosmology, the human body is a representation of the universe, and built with same elements as universe, in ngaben ceremony all these elements is returned to their respective source. A Mekingsan ring Geni ceremony is not a final send off; it functions to buy time until the proper Ngaben ceremony can be held for the deceased.
In the old days, the most common way to buy time is by burying the body of the deceased in the cemetery and unearthing it when the time for ngaben ceremony is come. But a problem arose in relation with this practice in 1963. The great centennial purification of the world ceremony (Eka Dasa Rudra) was held in 1963 (end up with eruption of Mount Agung and considered as a failure, re-enacted successfully in 1979). During the official preparations and execution of this grand ceremony (around 3 months), all cemeteries in Bali had to be emptied and no cremation ceremony was allowed.
All the buried corpses were unearthed and given ngaben ceremonies before the official preparations of ceremony were started. “But if there is someone who dies during the preparations and execution of ceremony, what can we do?” This was a serious question since the burial and ngaben could not be done during the preparations and execution of the ceremony and the corpse could not left to rot in the house compound, a way out had to be found. The high priests of Bali held a meeting and the problem was solved with mekingsan ring geni (since it is forbidden to bury a corpse in the ground and to hold ngaben during the ceremony, then let the corpse be buried in the fire).
Though the practice of “mekingsan ring geni” is “invented” to cope with the delicate situation in the past many Balinese nowadays continue to bury their deceased family member in the fire in order to avoid unearthing the remnants of the deceased in the future.
Labels: Culture |
| posted by Admin @ 11:03 PM |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
