Ancient Bugis odyssey begins its modern adventure<\/p>\n
Carla Bianpoen
\nContributor
\nSingapore<\/p>\n
A white transparent screen with ancient Bugis script, golden rain
\nagainst a cold-blue sky, costumes playing up the beauty of the
\nneckline and the abstraction of the body, skilled lighting and
\nthe music of 12 musicians with 60 instruments.<\/p>\n
All these elements contributed to a sense of the spirit of
\nancient times for the few journalists lucky enough to watch a
\nworkshop of the Galigo troupe at the Singapore Esplanade
\nTheaters-on-the-Bay.<\/p>\n
The group of 70 artists and technicians with their assistants
\nhad just started their third and last workshop before the world
\npremiere of this ancient Bugis epic myth this Friday.<\/p>\n
As I sat watching it for three hours, the only scene to be
\nwitnessed was part of the rehearsal of the Prologue; even so, I
\nfelt drawn into the ancient world, changing our sense of time and
\nour place in the world. As the white transparent screen printed
\nwith the archaic Bugis script started the journey through the
\ntime tunnel, the notion of being part of a much larger continuum
\npersisted.<\/p>\n
Against a green-blue background with dominating hues of blue,
\nand a tip of the rising sun at the far horizon, about 30 actors
\n-- each holding a basket, spear or other objects -- walked in
\nslow procession.<\/p>\n
As they proceeded, the sun spread its light, resulting in a
\ngradual lighter blue of the background. Blue crawling figures on
\nthe ground suggested the flowing of water or the underworld, and
\nflying figures now and then evoked the notion of natural
\nmovements like that of the wind or thunder, breaking the rhythm
\nof slowness and the silence of the world that lies far behind us.<\/p>\n
Wilson's meticulous design was evident in the process of
\ndetermining the lights, colors, the artists' bearing. At times
\nthey had to persevere in standing motionless for 20 minutes or
\nmore. This, I was told, was to allow them to get a perfect sense
\nof where they stand, their position in relation to other artists
\nand the light.<\/p>\n
It also gives Wilson the time to "play" with the color of
\nlighting until he found the right shade for what the scene should
\nexpress.<\/p>\n
The wisdom of Bugis philosophy revealed to him by Puang Matoa
\nSaidi, the head of the bissu transgender shamans, is of major
\nconsideration. Every shade has a meaning, every place its
\nsignificance, said Saidi in a brief interview. Yellow, for
\ninstance, is the color of the Luwuq kingdom and of royalty,
\npurple is for the aristocracy and red is for commoners. Blue
\nstands for clarity, beauty and the environment in which life can
\nprosper.<\/p>\n
Asked why he, a priest of the highest level, should be in the
\ntheater, Saidi answered that it was his task to guard the ancient
\nepic poem of the Sureq Galigo, held sacred by many Bugis people,
\nwhenever and wherever it needs to be guarded.<\/p>\n
This visual work for the stage is inspired by Sureq Galigo,
\nthat has been interpreted to represent the Bugis world at the
\ndawn of their history. Longer than the Mahabharata and comparable
\nto Homer's Odyssey, it recounts the creation and destruction of
\nthe Middle World, the realm of white-blooded descendants of the
\ngods. Here nature is created.<\/p>\n
In the Bugis cosmos, there is an upper, middle and under
\nworld, each of which is open to go in and out of.<\/p>\n
The story of the first seven generations of the white-blooded
\nroyal residents of the earth starts with the decision made by the
\ngods in the upper world and the under world to fill the empty
\nmiddle world by sending their children to live there.<\/p>\n
Encased in bamboo, Batara Guru, son of the ruler of the upper
\nworld, comes down with a thunder clap along a seven-color
\nrainbow, where he creates the flora and fauna before his spouse-
\nto-be Wi Nyiliq Timoq, daughter of the ruler of the under world,
\nemerges with the rumbling of the ocean's foaming waves.<\/p>\n
When they wed, they become the first rulers in Luwuq, the
\ncenter of the Middle World. The core of this heroic poem begins
\nwith the birth of a set of Golden Twins: a male by the name of
\nSawirigading, and a female called Wi Tenriabing, the grand
\nchildren of Batara Guru and Wi Nyiliq Timoq. A prophecy predicts
\nthe twins would commit incest; as this would destroy the whole
\nworld, the Golden Twins are separated at birth.<\/p>\n
But Sawirigading, the main protagonist of this epic,
\neventually hears of his beautiful sister. He uses his magical
\npower to sneak into his sister's chamber at the palace. He falls
\npassionately in love, doesn't care about an eventual destruction
\nof the world and insists on marrying his sister. She, however,
\npersuades him to seek their cousin Wi Cudaiq in faraway "Cina"
\n(pronounced "chee-na"), who is her precise likeness. To provide
\nhim with the means to go there, the largest and most sacred tree
\nis felled, which sinks into the under world, to emerge again as a
\nfleet of ships.<\/p>\n
After many adventures and violent battles, Sawirigading asks
\nfor Wi Cudaiq's hand in marriage. But, due to a case of mistaken
\nidentity (her servants take Sawirigading's ugly servant to be
\nhim) she refuses to marry him. Sawirigading and his men defend
\ntheir honor by waging war on Cina. To save her kingdom, Wi Cudaiq
\nfinally agrees to marry Sawirigading, but on the condition that
\nall her kingdom be restored and all her soldiers brought back to
\nlife, that there is no public wedding and that she never receives
\nSawirigading during the day.<\/p>\n
Sawirigading ultimately succeeds in reaching Wi Cudaiq who had
\nwrapped herself in seven sarongs and seven mosquito nets, locked
\nbehind seven gates. She gives birth to a son, named I La Galigo,
\nwho grows up a rascal, marrying many women and stealing other
\nmen's wives.<\/p>\n
At one time all the Gods' descendants are called to return to
\nLuwuq, as the middle world would be purged and all the royalty
\nmust go back to the upper world and the under world.<\/p>\n
Sawirigading and Wi Cudaiq are sent to rule the under world,
\nand Wi Tenriabing and her husband become the rulers of the upper
\nworld. After seven years of chaos in the middle world, the gods
\nsend Sawirigading's daughter from the under world, and Wi
\nTenriabing's son from the upper world to the middle world.<\/p>\n
After they wed and have a child, the gates that used to
\nconnect the middle world with the upper and the under world are
\nclosed for good, bringing into existence the first human
\nsettlement in the Bugis kingdom of Luwuq at the northern tip of
\nthe Gulf of Bone in South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
As this wondrous pre-Islamic, 14th century epic comes to life
\nwith Robert Wilson's visual work at the Esplanade
\nTheaters-on-the-Bay, I La Galigo calls to world attention the
\nriches of Bugis poetry, signaling a new and major contribution to
\nworld literature.<\/p>\n
A public forum on I La Galigo, co-hosted by the Asia Research
\nInstitute and The Esplanade, will discuss the role of this great
\nepic in Bugis society and its transition to the current
\nproduction.<\/p>\n
It will include three distinguished scholars -- Prof. Leonard
\nAndaya (Hawaii), Ian Caldwell (Leeds) and Roger Tol
\n(Leiden\/Jakarta), as well as Bugis cultural figures, director
\nWilson and artists and organizers involved with the production.<\/p>\n
------------------------------------------------
\ni-box:<\/p>\n
I La Galigo, world premiere 12-13 March
\nCenter Stage, Esplanade Theaters-on-the-Bay
\nSingapore Forum
\n13 March: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Esplanade Recital Studio
\n---------------------------------------<\/p>",
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