JP\/18\/BALI<\/p>\n
Devotional performance of the masters<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
He wasn't a sentimental guy, who shed a tear during the Titanic
\nor wept after reading Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n
An Australian-educated banker, Marlowe Makaradhwaja is one of
\nthe few Balinese who could assess the world with cold, rational
\neyes.<\/p>\n
On that Friday night, however, that rational outlook failed
\nhim.<\/p>\n
His eyes, glistening with tears, mirrored the feelings in his
\nheart. Yet, they weren't tears of sadness. They were the silent
\ntears of joy, pride and adoration.<\/p>\n
\"I am very happy. I really love them and watching them dance
\ntogether really moved me. This performance has shown me that they
\nbelong together and, above all, that they belong to this art, to
\nthis stage,\" he said with his gaze fixed on the stage before him.<\/p>\n
Similar emotions were apparently shared by Marlowe's three-
\nyear old daughter Maithila Sasi Kirana. Cuddling her father, her
\nwide, innocent eyes followed every move of the dancers.<\/p>\n
At several points, her tiny arms made spontaneous gestures
\nthat mimicked the performers' movements. Most of the time, she
\nstayed still, her angelic face focused on the stage, enraptured
\nby the performance.<\/p>\n
\"I think she is really proud to watch her grandfather and
\ngrandmother performing together tonight,\" Marlowe said.<\/p>\n
On the stage, Marlowe's mother, NLN Swasthi Widjaja was
\ndancing in a graceful manner befitting of the role she played as
\nPrincess I Gusti Ngurah Kaleran.<\/p>\n
Kaleran's trusted aide, played my Marlowe's aunt Ni Nyoman
\nCandri, was sitting obediently in a corner, singing a melodious
\npoem in praise of the princess' beauty. A few minutes earlier,
\nhis father, Made Bandem, had entranced the spectators with his
\nmajestic interpretation of the ancient Balinese king of Dalem
\nSagening.<\/p>\n
It was a night of bittersweet joy for the Bandem family.<\/p>\n
\"The last time my father and mother danced together was in
\n1997. Their performance tonight means a lot to us, their children
\nand grandchildren. It will be their legacy,\" Marlowe said.<\/p>\n
His sister Warastrasari Dewi nodded in agreement.<\/p>\n
The performance, however, did not only bring joy to the Bandem
\nfamily but also to the performers themselves and the other
\nmembers of the audience, the locals of Kapal village, some 15
\nkilometers west of Denpasar.<\/p>\n
It also provided shining proof of the continuation of the
\nsacred Ngayah tradition among the modern Balinese.<\/p>\n
The ancient tradition<\/p>\n
The performance was held in the outer yard of Purusada Temple,
\nan ancient temple in Badung regency. Historical records mention
\nthe temple as the site where the great sage Nirartha outlined the
\nspecific religious duties of the island's two priestly clans, the
\nBrahmin and the Sengguhu some 500 years ago.<\/p>\n
\"I was informed that the temple would hold the huge ritual of
\nManca Bali Krama in October. I immediately remembered that in my
\nyounger days I frequently performed Ngayah in this temple. At
\nthat moment, I suddenly felt the urge to perform Ngayah during
\nthe ritual,\" the 60-year-old I Made Bandem said.<\/p>\n
The term Ngayah has been generally translated as either social
\ndut or voluntary service the Balinese are required to do during
\ntemple festivals and traditional community events.<\/p>\n
For the Balinese artists, however, the term represents the
\nsacred, aesthetic bond between them and the divine protectors of
\nthe island's art.<\/p>\n
The Balinese honor this bond by presenting offerings or
\norganizing rituals. Balinese artists do so by performing their
\nbest works.<\/p>\n
\"In Bali, arts are sacred in nature. Aesthetic beauty
\n(Sundaram) is one of the three main characteristic of the Divine.
\nThe other two are Truth (Satyam) and Transcendent (Siwam).
\nThat's why an offering of arts, of beauty, is an integral part of
\nour ritual,\" Balinese scholar Sugi Kaleran said.<\/p>\n
The important position of the arts has been revealed in
\nvarious ancient treatise, from Prakempa to Bhuwana Kosa. The
\nuniverse was created by Siwa through his cosmic dance of Siwa
\nNataraja. To save the earth from a catastrophic plague, the Hindu
\nTrinity descended into the world and performed the dances of Jauk
\n(Brahma), Telek (Wisnu) and Barong (Siwa).<\/p>\n
\"To prevent Kala from devouring the world, Wisnu acted as a
\ndalang (puppet master) and performed the sacred Wayang Sapu Leger
\nshadow puppet,\" Kaleran added.<\/p>\n
Unlike ordinary performances, the performance in Ngayah
\nbestows the artists with a heightened sense of emotional
\nsatisfaction.<\/p>\n
\"It was simply ecstatic, a performance without limit. We are
\nno longer aware of the time or even the audience. We are
\nexperiencing Ketakson, being transformed from the dancer into the
\ndance itself, from the devotee into the devotion,\" Bandem
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n
\"There was a time when we fell into a state of conscious
\ntrance, where we are fully aware of ourselves but at the same
\ntime had lost any sensation of gravity or exhaustion. It's like
\nflying,\" he added.<\/p>\n
This ecstatic state, the Ketakson, which could last for
\ndays, was considered as the sign of aesthetic excellence by the
\nBalinese artists. In this respect, Ngayah was not only an
\nopportunity to present an aesthetic offering to the Divine, but
\nalso a sacred communion with the source of the aesthetic energy
\nitself.<\/p>\n
\"We are recharging our inner aesthetic power and realization,
\nour Taksu, by Ngayah, by immersing ourselves in the greatest
\nTaksu of all, the Taksu of the Almighty. That's Ketakson,\" Bandem
\nstressed.<\/p>\n
That's why Balinese artists have always treated Ngayah with
\nrespect, conducting various spiritual disciplines and rituals
\nprior to the performance. And, using the best costumes, headgear
\nand masks.<\/p>\n
\"The mask I wore was carved by the last king of Bangli, a
\ndancer par excellence himself. It was bequeathed to my late
\nfather and then to me. It is an invaluable heirloom,\" Bandem
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The belief of the sacred nature of arts and the importance of
\nNgayah has been passed down from generation to generation of
\nBalinese artists. Interestingly, this belief is not limited to
\nthis camp of Balinese artists, but also to the more modern ones.<\/p>\n
Bandem's troupe is obvious evidence of the persistence and
\nall-encompassing influence of that belief. It comprised an
\namalgamation of western-educated scholars cum performers with the
\nBalinese-educated traditional dancers.<\/p>\n
Bandem, who is presently the rector of the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta, and Nyoman Catra both
\nearned their Ph.D in the US.<\/p>\n
Bandem's wife Swasthi Widjaja was a Ph.D candidate. Meanwhile,
\nCandri, Ketut Kodi and I Ketut Suweca were all Mpu, the
\ntraditional masters.<\/p>\n
\"Well, sure my father has a Ph.D, but deep in his heart he is
\na dancer from Singapadu village, the proud descendant of a long
\nline of Balinese traditional dancers,\" Marlowe said.<\/p>\n
The provocateurs<\/p>\n
Just because the performance was religious in nature it does
\nnot mean that the performers do not go all out to entertain or
\nenlighten the audience.<\/p>\n
And that was definitely the case with the Bandem's troupe on
\nthat night. The troupe performed the masked dance drama of Topeng
\nPanca. The story revolved around the historical military
\nexpedition sent by Dalem Sagening to crush the rebellious and
\ndemonic king Dalem Dukut on the neighboring island of Nusa
\nPenida.<\/p>\n
The roles of the provocateurs fell into the hands Kodi and
\nSuweca, who acted as Penasar, the comical aides of Jelantik
\nBogol, Sagening's military commander.<\/p>\n
They played the roles in a gleeful manner, lambasting the
\nprevailing hypocrisy of the Balinese, including the most
\nsensitive issue; their spiritual banality.<\/p>\n
\"Just because you present an expensive offering, organize a
\ngigantic ritual, visit the temple regularly and pray at the top
\nof your lungs does not mean you can claim to be a religious
\nperson. No way, my brother. not spirituality. It's an exhibition
\nof your shallow pride and vanity,\" Penasar mocked the spectators.<\/p>\n
He then reminded the spectators that there were four temples
\nthat the Balinese must visit in they wish to call themselves true
\nHindu followers.<\/p>\n
\"And I don't mean the temples of Besakih, Batur, Batukaru and
\nLempuyang,\" he stressed.<\/p>\n
\"The four temples are Compassion, Benevolence, Generosity and
\nTolerance. It's no good organizing a splendorous ritual when your
\nneighbors are consumed by abject poverty,\" he shouted.<\/p>\n
Kodi and Suweca are true masters in the art of eliciting a
\nlaugh before shocking the audience into a new realization.<\/p>\n
\"And that's the true objective of Balinese arts, to serve the
\nDivine and to educate the public. That's why here in Bali an
\nartist is called guru loka, teacher of the world,\" Bandem said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18bali-1447899208",
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