'Mepajar' ritual aims to banish bad spirits<\/p>\n
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The dancer knelt down and bent his head backward; the tall Barong
\nLandung puppet atop his head gazing into the sky.<\/p>\n
Then, gradually, chilling verses in ancient Kawi and Balinese
\nflowed from his lips. It was a song of unbearable fear.<\/p>\n
\"Look at the sky in the east, in the south, west and north. A
\nstrange glow of reddish light lights up the sky. O it is so
\nterrifying, O it is so menacing as if foretelling the demise of
\nour kingdom, the end of our lives,\" the dancer sung.<\/p>\n
The glowing light he talked about was the army of darkness,
\nblack magic practitioners, who had answered Dirah's call, flying
\nin fiery rage toward Midarsa's capital.<\/p>\n
Their magic weapons drawn, they were ready to avenge the wrath
\nof their queen, Dirah, who had been banished by the king, a
\nfeeble ruler who was mortified to learn that his second wife had
\npursued the path of black magic.<\/p>\n
In Midarsa, prime minister Sudharsana, his heart trembling in
\nfear, summoned the help of the gods, asking for assistance from
\nevery white magic practitioner in the kingdom.<\/p>\n
The king himself had been confined to his bed by a mysterious
\nillness caused by Dirah's poison.<\/p>\n
\"Those who listen to my anguish, listen clearly, now is the
\ntime for you to show your love for this country. When darkness
\nhas fallen upon the throne of this kingdom, rise up o my fellow
\nsoldiers, be brave and be merciless for we are born for this day,
\nwhen our blood will purify the earth and our soul shall fly to
\nthe sky, let us fight!\" Sudharsana commanded.<\/p>\n
Then, the dancer, who played Sudharsana, let out a battle cry
\nbefore entering into a deep trance and storming onto the main
\nstage trying to attack Dirah.<\/p>\n
The dancer, who played Dirah, also fell into trance and
\nangrily challenged Sudharsana into a decisive battle before
\nviolently running toward the spectators.<\/p>\n
Soon, dozens of traditional security guards, temple priests
\nand the spectators jumped into the arena and chased the witch.<\/p>\n
It was the climax everybody had expected.<\/p>\n
The haunting performance was presented during the Mepajar
\nritual held on Tuesday night at Pekambingan village in downtown
\nDenpasar.<\/p>\n
Bali's renowned dancer and choreographer I Wayan Dibia PhD,
\nwho was sitting cross-legged among the Pekambingan villagers,
\npointed out that the performance was based on Sudharsana, an 18th
\ncentury Balinese version of the Calon Arang story.<\/p>\n
Calon Arang depicts the battle between East Java's King
\nAirlangga against the witch queen Walu Nateng Dirah. Meanwhile,
\nSudharsana portrays the Sudharsana's battle to defend his country
\nagainst Dirah, his king's former second wife, who was also an
\nadept practitioner of black magic.<\/p>\n
\"Mepajar is unique because it both sacred and profane at the
\nsame time,\" Dibia noted.<\/p>\n
The performance is sacred because it involves the sacred
\nproperties of the temple, including the Barong Landung, the tall
\npuppets believed to represent the legendary ancient Balinese King
\nJayakesunu and his Chinese queen, and the mask of the Ratu Ayu,
\nthe powerful feminine deity believed to be the representation of
\nGoddess Durga and the main spiritual protector of the village.<\/p>\n
\"The performance also takes place at the village's main
\ncrossroad, a place believed by the Balinese to possess great
\nsupernatural energy, a gateway to other realms,\" Dibia explained.<\/p>\n
However, during the performance, the Barong Landung played the
\nrole of Sudharsana's trusted yet low-caste aides while Ratu Ayu
\nplayed King Midarsa's evil queen. That fact, along with the high
\ndegree of improvisation, including jokes with sexual innuendoes
\nby the pregina, the male dancers, who animated the sacred puppets
\nand mask, was a clear sign that the performance had its profane
\nside too.<\/p>\n
That night's performance was no different. At one point, the
\ndancers gyrated in an effort to imitate Indonesian dangdut singer
\nInul Daratista.<\/p>\n
\"During Mepajar, the Sesuhunan (gods and deities) perform
\nbefore their subjects to extend their blessings and protection to
\nthe village. It is also a chance for the Sesuhunan to advise the
\nvillagers on various religious and moral matters, including the
\nbasic tenets of Satyam (truth), Siwam (purity) and Sundaram
\n(beauty). In Bali, art is the beauty through which we achieve
\ntruth and purity,\" Hindu scholar I Ketut Wiana explained.<\/p>",
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