JP\/18\/HIVAIDS<\/p>\n
Traditional art highlights HIV\/AIDS campaign<\/p>\n
Luh De Suriyani
\nContributor\/Karangsem<\/p>\n
It was a full moon on Saturday night in Budakeling village,
\nKarangasem district.<\/p>\n
A 10-year-old boy had just performed the baris dance to a
\ngamelan orchestra accompaniment played on a small tape recorder.
\nFor a moment, it was silent.<\/p>\n
Then, 11 bare-chested men appeared onstage, six of whom were
\nmore than 60 years old. Two people brought musical instruments: a
\nbamboo flute and a kind of fiddle known as genggong.<\/p>\n
The men were performing cakepung, a popular Karangasem art
\nform.<\/p>\n
Cakepung, which is similar to genjek, another traditional
\nmusical performance, is usually presented by a group of men who
\nsing not only to the accompaniment of a musical instrument, but
\nalso to a vocal rendition of a gamelan. They improvise their own
\nsongs according to the occasion, such as a wedding party or a
\nvillage folk party.<\/p>\n
The cakepung that was held on Oct. 2 at the bale banjar, or
\nvillage hall, however, was the highlight of an HIV\/AIDS campaign
\nheld by Institut Dian\/Interfidei, Gedong Gandhi Asram, Yayasan
\nCitra Usadha Indonesia and Yayasan Uluangkep to improve public
\nawareness about people living with AIDS (PLWA).<\/p>\n
It also marked the end of a four-day workshop that took place
\nin Gedung Gandhi Asram, Karangasem.<\/p>\n
The performance attracted a huge crowd, and local residents,
\nespecially the elderly, immediately recognized some of the
\nmusicians.<\/p>\n
Among them was Ida Nyoman Mintra, 71, a famous flutist from
\nthe village. As everyone else took their positions, he opened the
\nshow on his flute, while other performers joined in, vocally
\nreproducing the sound of a gamelan orchestra.<\/p>\n
After about 30 minutes, they began a comical musical drama
\nwhile seated. At first, two men moved to the center of the group
\nand mimed different actions, such as being drunk, injecting their
\narm or cock-fighting.<\/p>\n
In the midst of the performance, one became sad and quiet,
\ndesperately isolated because others shunned him.<\/p>\n
During the show, the packed audience applauded the performers,
\nbecoming more animated when the elderly dramatists demonstrated
\ntheir skills at comedy.<\/p>\n
The show drew people from different ethnicities and religious
\nbackgrounds, but the audience did not seem to have any problem in
\ngrasping its messages.<\/p>\n
Despite their advanced age, the performers were amazing --
\nenergetic and demonstrating great endurance as they continued to
\nsing, play music and deliver an acappella gamelan: \"Cak, pung,
\npung.\"<\/p>\n
Later, they performed soft and slow tunes as five artists
\nrepresenting the five different official religions -- Hinduism,
\nBuddhism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism -- prayed
\ntogether. Like the Muslim who kowtowed in prayer, or the Hindu
\nwho upraised his arms, the three others also observed ritual
\nmovements appropriate to their roles and closed the show, leaving
\nthe audience startled.<\/p>\n
The performers may have been criticizing us: When a great many
\npeople were in trouble, we laughed at them instead of helping and
\nsupporting them. Such people, like PLWAs and drug users, need
\nhelp from religious leaders, public figures and also the rest of
\nus to relieve their suffering.<\/p>\n
Dewi (not her real name) could identify with the experience:
\nShe was five months pregnant when she tested HIV-positive in
\n1995. Dewi had contracted the virus from her husband, who had the
\nvirus that destroyed his immune system.<\/p>\n
For years, Dewi had to struggle not only against the virus,
\nbut also against the discrimination she faced from relatives and
\nneighbors.<\/p>\n
\"I was not even allowed to pray in the temple,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Many still discriminate against Dewi and other people with
\nHIV\/AIDS, indicating the great need to improve public awareness
\non the disease, as Ida Nyoman Mintra and his performance troupe
\nattempted through music and drama.<\/p>\n
As the performance ended, the audience who had been held rapt
\nby the three-hour show, gave a long applause, some even cheering.<\/p>\n
Mintra smiled and placed his hands together in front of his
\nchest in a farewell before leaving the stage.<\/p>\n
\"I am happy,\" he said briefly, in response to the audience.<\/p>\n
I Nyoman Sadra, coordinator of Gedong Gandhi Asram, believes
\nthat using traditional art as the medium of an HIV\/AIDS awareness
\ncampaign is effective, as art can reach out and educate the
\npublic without being preachy.<\/p>\n
\"Discrimination against PLWA could be eliminated if people
\nwere more knowledgeable about the disease. Traditional societies
\nshould know about the disease and how to deal with it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dr. Tuty Parwati, who discovered the first AIDS case on the
\nisland in 1987, concurred.<\/p>\n
\"Anyone might be infected by HIV\/AIDS. People should know how
\nthey can get infected and how to prevent it. What's most
\nimportant is the behavior of society to prevent the infection,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Tuty said HIV\/AIDS campaigns in villages was often hampered by
\nmisperceptions and myths about the disease, one of which was that
\nHIV\/AIDS was a disease of Western tourists and that the Balinese
\nwould not be infected by it.<\/p>\n
\"Some also believe that the immune system is weakened because
\nit is eaten by amah leak (evil spirits), so they isolate people
\nwho carry the virus,\" added Ida Pandita Acarya Arthadaksa, a
\nHindu leader from Denpasar.<\/p>\n
HIV\/AIDS campaigns through traditional art performances like
\ncakepung are indeed effective in improving the awareness of the
\npeople, especially if it is held at the bale banjar.<\/p>\n
The bale banjar is a public domain that belongs to a village
\ncommunity and thus, in a way, it brings villagers together for
\nspecial occasions like a performing arts show for entertainment,
\na wedding reception or a traditional ceremony.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18hivaids-1447899208",
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