Bali Arts Festival XXI offers moral education
Bali Arts Festival XXI offers moral education
By Putu Wirata
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): This year's Bali Arts Festival XXI, which
lasts from June 26 through July 17, features plays adapted from
the popular Tantri folklore, the local version of 1001 Nights, as
its theme.
The folklore is believed to come from the 13th century
Majapahit kingdom on Java and has been modified to suit the local
culture.
Tantri tells of a king named Aeswaryadala from the Patali
empire. The king had a horrible habit: He would sleep with a
different virgin every night.
However, one night when he ordered his prime minister,
Badiswarya, to find him virgins, he was told there was not a
single virgin left in the whole of Patali but one: Diah Tantri,
the prime minister's daughter.
Tantri was a beautiful and bright girl. To make the story
short, Tantri submitted herself to the king. On the first night,
she was asked to massage the king's feet and tell him tales about
animals. The animals she created were cultured, with human
characteristics.
There were cows who had the qualities of monks, a lion with a
knight's wisdom, a white heron who posed as a monk to deceive
fish, a clever monkey, a stupid goat and so forth.
Tantri told the tales so cleverly that on the 30th night the
ruthless king became aware of his evil deeds. After listening to
her tales for so long, he announced he would take Tantri as his
queen.
Ida Bagus Pangdjaja said the three-week festival would feature
98 folk plays, 94 of which are episodes from the Tantri.
Tantri remains highly popular among the predominantly Hindu
Balinese. It is probably beaten in popularity by only the
Ramayana and Mahabarata epics.
Tantri appears in wayang (puppet) shows, traditional paintings
in Gianyar regency, reliefs at Batuan-Sukawati temple, and in
songs sung in certain Hindu religious rituals.
Tantri herself is portrayed as an intelligent woman who
successfully changed the evil king Aeswaryadala through her
metaphoric tales about animals, which are popular characters in
Balinese folklore alluding to human behavior.
In daily life on Bali, characters in Tantri are often used to
allude to people's conduct. For instance, an unwise monk may be
nicknamed "Pedanda Baka", after the white heron which devoured
fish it "helped" remove from a pond it said would dry up very
soon.
Someone who is bright but dishonest could be called "Kancil"
(mouse deer) or "Lutung" (monkey), the animals who save their own
lives by sacrificing their friends.
Somebody who is physically strong but unintelligent is called
"Macan" (tiger), which was easily deceived by the weaker but
cleverer monkey.
Tantri plays have always been used as a means to criticize the
government, even during the authoritarian rule of Soeharto. The
despot was notorious for repressing freedom of expression.
In last year's festival, the theatrical satires targeted top
government bureaucrats, who were portrayed as corrupt and
nepotistic.
For example a clown in an opera complained that his "village
chief" kept saying "OK, OK" when an investor from Jakarta came to
look for land to open business. The amused audience understood
that the clown referred to Ida Bagus Oka, the then governor of
Bali who was known to easily succumb to the demands of Jakarta's
powerful people for property in Bali. He won the nickname "Mr.
Oke".
Pangdjaja said the choice of Tantri themes was relevant today
to remind leaders and the public alike of the need to live honest
lives.
Nyoman Erawan, a Balinese avant-garde artist, said Balinese
folklore provides a good "mirror" because it contains universal
moral lessons.
"The arts festival also provides moral education for the
public," he said.