Balinese dance performance kicks up a fuss among scholars

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.