Balinese dance performance kicks up a fuss among scholars

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, BALI (JP): A number of dancers delicately performed the Rejang Dewa sacred dance on the stage at Candi Prambanan Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta in a tawur kesanga (purification) ritual to welcome the Caka New Year (Nyepi) early this month.

Sitting in the front row were VIP guests including President Abdurrahman Wahid and First Lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, members of the Cabinet, Hindu leaders, scholars, foreign dignitaries and hundreds of other guests.

In the reform era, like other religious followers, the Hindu community feels an urgent need to hold the ritual outside of Bali and to invite high-ranking government officials to witness one of the most important rituals.

Organized by famous Balinese artist and scholar I Made Bandem, now rector of the ISI Yogyakarta Arts Institute, the ritual was highlighted with the sacred Rejang Dewa dance.

A dozen dancers, mostly students of ISI Yogyakarta, were clad in white costumes and wore head crowns made of coconut leaves. The dance was accompanied by a gamelan orchestra also played by ISI students.

The dance begun a few minutes before sunset. The atmosphere could never be as sacred as in an inner-temple in a Balinese village.

The huge crowd and the celebratory mood at the ritual diminished the sanctity of the Rejang Dewa dance.

Rejang Dewa dance is one of several inner-temple dances performed to delight and entertain visiting spirits.

The dance consists of a slow procession and graceful and delicate movements. The dancers wear traditional temple costumes (white or yellow) and elaborate headdresses of gold and fresh flower decorations.

A number of scholars and legislators such as Ngurah Bagus, Ida Bagus Yuda Triguna and Putu Alit Bagiasna expressed concern over Bandem's effort to stage the sacred dance, saying they considered it sacrilegious.

Bandem dismissed the criticism, saying the dance had not been dedicated to the President or other guests. The tawur kesanga ritual was held on April 2 from dawn until afternoon. In the morning, thousands of Hindu devotees attended the ritual.

"The government officials were invited to attend the afternoon session including the performance of the Rejang Dewa dance," Bandem explained.

The dance, he said, was not performed to entertain these officials. "It was part of the ritual and it was especially performed to honor gods and holy spirits," he added.

Staging a national-level ceremony at Candi Prambanan complex would certainly attract people from different religious and cultural backgrounds, Bandem said.

"The guests were multiethnic. Be it in Bali or other provinces, any big religious event is attended by government officials," he said.

Controversy over the performance of ritual and secular dance continues among Balinese scholars and religious leaders.

In previous years, many protests were lodged with the organizers of the annual Bali Arts Festival for performing sacred dances like Janger Api, Sang Hyang, Baris Gede and Gong Sloding from Tenganan.

According to Bandem, Balinese dances are divided into three categories. The first category is tari wali (sacred dance) such as Rejang, Sanghyang, Baris and Gabor dances, mostly performed in the inner temple.

The second category is tari babali (ceremonial dance), a dance performed to open a religious ritual performed in a temple yard such as Gambuh dance, mask dance.

The last category is secular dances performed as entertainment such as Arja traditional drama, kebyar, Barong, legong and cak.

"Some secular dances like barong and cak were previously ritual dances. They became entertainment dances to meet tourists' demands," Bandem pointed out.

But why are Balinese scholars enraged when an artist performs a duplicate of the sacred dances in public?

Many believe it is oversensitivity on the part of the Balinese community and religious leaders in facing the dynamic changes in the arts and in society.

It would be an exaggeration to say Balinese artists perform sacred dances to delight government officials. But, with the changing times, the whole Balinese Hindu community must again contemplate and reinterpret the existing dance categories.

It is important to preserve sacred dance for ritual purposes as well as to encourage young artists to be more mindful and creative in recomposing traditional Balinese dances into artistic contemporary works.