`Bondres' shows help Balinese deal with the pain

Kadek Suartaya, Contributor, Denpasar, Bali

A man with a mask covering his face walks onto the stage, his legs injured. In a husky voice, he tells the packed audience at the Art Center in downtown Denpasar that Amrozy and his friends -- prime suspects in the Oct. 12 Bali bombings -- ruined his life.

"My legs were seriously injured and I was almost crippled," says the performer while showing his legs with comical gestures and movements.

"I warn you people not to hate them (the suspects). Instead we must increase our spiritual well-being and hope that the Almighty will protect us and our land from calamity," says the man said during a performance at a local Bondres competition organized by the Bali Post.

Bondres refers to a clown who functions as a mediator between noble characters in court-style art performances. In other words, Bondres is a court jester.

Originally recognized as a traditional Balinese performing art, usually performed during religious events or temple festivals, Bondres is now transforming itself into an independent art form.

Most of the Balinese performing arts have court or noble origins, in which all of the performers speak high and intricate ancient Balinese. Bondres performers would translate the noble characters' speeches for the lower-class members of the audience, explaining to them what was happening in simple and language.

For years, Bondres characters enlivened and entertained the audiences by poking fun at their faults, physical disabilities and the current situation.

In the course of its development, Bondres has recently been transformed into a more profane and entertaining art form, especially for the middle and lower-class groups of society. It has become a healing instrument for the Balinese people suffering from a series of tragedies, including the Oct. 12 bombings, the Iraq war and the recent outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which badly affected the Balinese tourist industry.

A few weeks ago, the Bali Post arranged Bondres competitions in an effort to encourage more young artists to take up the art form. It is encouraging to realize that Balinese cultural activities continue to grow and flourish amid the flood of Western-influenced entertainments.

The public response has been amazingly encouraging. Dozens of emerging Bondres groups from Bali's eight regencies took part in the first Bondres competition.

Each of the groups worked extremely hard to capture the hearts of the audience and the members of the jury.

Unlike other classical Balinese performing arts, which usually take their themes and stories, as well as their musical and dance styles from legends and stories from the Majapahit Hindu court and Javanese classical dance, Bondres touches upon topical issues.

Bondres performances also are used to voice political opinions or to communicate the local government's development messages.

During the competition, many participants touched on topical themes such as the Bali bombings and the phenomena of dangdut singer Inul Darastista.

A Bondres female character appeared on stage, dancing in imitation of Inul, while crying: "My face was crocked because of the bomb. I am Inul, the victim of the Bali bombing."

As community entertainment, Bondres performances serve as a tool for the people, especially those in the lower and middle classes, to express themselves and talk about their lives.

In entertaining the audience, these Bondres comedians cleverly combine classical dance movements, mask expressions and humorous flairs. These elements could become standard measurements for judging which groups are successful in attracting the audience to their shows.

A Bondres group usually consists of between four and five characters. Each character represents a certain figure. They all wear intricate costumes with half or full masks. A competent Bondres performer must master the stage and the audience, as well as the stories the group wants to convey to the viewers. Other important factors are their ability to cut the distance between the performers and the audience with their communication and dance skills.

However, during this last competition, not all of the Bondres groups were able to live up to these measurements. Many of them failed to arouse the minds of the audience and the jurors alike. But some groups were worth seeing. Among them were the Sanggar Gita Bondres group from Batu Bulan, Gianyar regency, Praba Budaya Lumintang from Denpasar and Gita Ulangun.

Nevertheless, the competition would become a starting point for local Bondres group to improve their stage skills and, more importantly, to encourage young performers to preserve one of the island's rich cultural heritages.

The writer is a lecturer at the Denpasar Arts Institute.