JP\/18\/PUTU<\/p>\n
Lamenting the death of a culture<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Denpasar<\/p>\n
For many people, natives and foreigners alike, subak, the
\ntraditional Balinese irrigation system was the glowing
\nmasterpiece of the island's predominant rice-growing culture.<\/p>\n
It represented the magnificent organizational ability of the
\nBalinese, and their communal spirit and ingenuity in transforming
\nagriculture into one of the most influential pillars that had
\nlong supported the island's complex cultural structure.<\/p>\n
For prominent Balinese dramatist Putu Satria Kusuma, however,
\nsubak is blatant evidence of the people's humiliating defeat at
\nthe hands of the onslaught of modernity brought about by large-
\nscale modern industry and development.<\/p>\n
\"The sorry state of our agriculture, the rate of land
\nconversion and the fact that the majority of our farmers are
\nfighting a losing battle against poverty have made me realize
\nthat part of our most important heritage has turned into one of
\nour most poignant signs of defeat,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Haunted by that realization, Putu and his Buleleng-based
\ntheater company, Kampung Seni Banyuning (KSB), worked hard to
\nproduce a stage version of the defeat. Aptly titled Subak it won
\nthunderous applause when it premiered on Friday during the
\nContemporary Arts Festival at Denpasar's Werddhi Budaya Art
\nCenter.<\/p>\n
\"It was a thought-provoking performance. It forced us to
\nacknowledge our hypocrisy; repeatedly stating our commitment to
\nthe preservation of subak, yet, repeatedly failing to protect the
\npaddy fields and the farmers, the very things that determine the
\nsurvival of subak,\" Cokorda Yudistira, a member of the audience
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Putu specifically designed the stage to exploit the hypocrisy
\nand paradoxical nature of contemporary Bali, particularly in
\nrelation to agriculture.<\/p>\n
A wall of corrugated iron sheets, a roofing material of choice
\nin urban shanties, was erected at the back of the stage. The
\nwords \"A housing complex will be constructed here\", \"Bali peace\"
\nand \"Demonstrations are Forbidden\" were painted on the wall.<\/p>\n
The concrete floor in front of the wall was covered with a
\nlarge quantity of sawdust in an effort to depict barren ground.
\nPlastic trash was strewn across the ground.<\/p>\n
\"It was not a picture of a green paddy field in an idyllic
\nsurrounding. It was a harsh picture of a barren, polluted field
\nbesieged by slums and investors,\" another member of the audience,
\nMas Ruscitadewi, noted.<\/p>\n
Several farmers tried in vain to till the barren land. The
\nviolent sound of their hoes hitting the concrete floor provided
\nan eerie background to their cries of desperation.<\/p>\n
\"What are we going to harvest? What are we going to eat?\" they
\nasked in a chorus of frustration.<\/p>\n
The shortage of water had turned the land into infertile
\nground. The complex network of irrigation channels, which for
\ncenturies had sustained the land, had gone dry when most of the
\nfreshwater was tapped by a huge water company and resold to
\nhousing complexes and the tourist industry.<\/p>\n
\"Yeh (water), yeh, yeh,\" they screamed in frenzy.<\/p>\n
Frustration grew to anger when the farmers tried to attack the
\nsymbolic character of the water company, a fat man with a long,
\ngreen hosepipe coiled around his body. It was an unfair fight and
\nsoon the poor farmers could do nothing but bemoan their defeat.<\/p>\n
Unable to control their emotions, the farmers tore off their
\nclothes, exposing their erect genitalia, before bathing
\nthemselves with the sawdust.<\/p>\n
\"Father, father,\" a little girl screamed, trying to calm the
\nfarmers.<\/p>\n
It was of no use since by then, the farmers realized that they
\nwould lose more than just a single harvest, more than just a plot
\nof land. The death of their paddy field signaled the death of
\ntheir way of life, their culture and their spirituality.<\/p>\n
Once again the farmers rose up against the fat hosepipe
\nmonster. This time it was not about water, but about an old lady,
\nwho carried a bamboo offering in one hand and a paddy stalk in
\nthe other hand.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the performance, the lady lay lifelessly on
\nthe ground while the farmers stood silently around her. A little
\ngirl broke into tears when she embraced the motionless body.<\/p>\n
\"Mother, mother,\" she sobbed.<\/p>\n
A man looked at the farmers and asked a simple question.<\/p>\n
\"Does subak still exist?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
The farmers gave various ironic replies, the audience broke
\ninto wary laughter and the topless Putu Satria suddenly appeared
\nbehind the top of the iron wall. Mimicking a man taking a bath,
\nhe hosed his body with a large quantity of water before mocking
\nthe farmer with his song.<\/p>\n
\"I have a dream. Bali Ajeg (culturally and socially intact),\"
\nhe sung.<\/p>\n
The farmers responded by throwing pebbles at the wall,
\nproviding the performance with a noisy end.<\/p>\n
\"It was a performance that was not only entertaining but also
\nrich in deep, metaphorical symbols,\" Balinese scholar Nyoman Sugi
\nKaleran said.<\/p>\n
\"Some people in the audience might have been a bit offended by
\nthe display of male genitalia. However, in Balinese philosophy,
\ngenitalia, male and female alike, are powerful symbols of Purusha
\nand Pradhana,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Putu, according to Kaleran, had made the farmers a symbol of
\nGod's Purusha (masculine, active) side with the lady and the
\npaddy fields representing God's Pradhana (feminine, passive)
\nside. The creation of Life and Universe can only be achieved
\nthrough the union of Purusha and Pradhana.<\/p>\n
From this perspective, Putu Satria tried to warn the Balinese
\nof a possible end of their culture, their macro \"subak\", due to
\ntheir inability to nurture the Purusha and Pradhana aspects of
\ntheir culture.<\/p>\n
\"The Balinese believe that all creatures in this earth were
\nborn out of the fusion of Bapa Akasa (Father Sky) and Ibu Pertiwi
\n(Mother Earth). The farmer is the father and the soil and the old
\nlady is the mother,\" Kaleran said.<\/p>\n
\"We, on the other hand, are either the hosepipe monster or the
\nsobbing little girl,\" he added with a mischievous grin.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp18putu-1447899208",
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