'Cakepung' dance reflects folk traditions

By Putu Wirata

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of viewers were mesmerized watching the Cakepung group from Budakeling village singing while performing spontaneous and expressive dance at the Tirtagangga stage. Their dance was entertaining, while their song was filled with humor.

The group was taking part in the Milleniart Cultural Festival and the Nusantara Cultural Festival's opening ceremony last Thursday. The festival will be held until Oct. 19 in different places. In Bali it ended on Sept. 14, while in Jakarta, it will start on Oct. 12.

Cakepung Budakeling is one of many Cakepung groups that still exist today, many of them in northeastern Bali.

If one has a chance to travel around villages in these parts of Bali, one can see groups of young men singing while under the influence of tuak, a local alcoholic beverage. According to them, the alcohol makes them more expressive in their dancing and singing.

Cakepung is a cultural form that has gained much popularity recently. There are Cakepung groups, which comprise trained masters of Balinese songs, are there are also more casual groups made up of amateurs.

It is hard to determine the origins of Cakepung.

Ida Wayan Jelantik, a cultural observer from Budakeling, said that according to folk stories, Cakepung emerged in the early 1900s.

Based on the story, soldiers of the Karangasem kingdom, resting after beating the Sasak-Lombok kingdom army, were served with tuak. Soon the soldiers were under its influence, making them spontaneously jump and yell "Cak kepung Cak kepung", meaning "Go after, go after".

When the soldiers returned to Karangasem, they introduced the dance and named it Cakepung. Through its development, it was used as a means to spread educational and ethical values.

Some Cakepung songs are based on folk stories and stories about their ancestors, such as Tutur Monyeh, which told about famous Islamic figures. But Tutur Monyeh popularity diminished when Balinese learned more about Balinese songs that they knew better. This folk tale is hard to prove, however.

Another version holds that Cakepung is a small form of the popular Cak dance, which was said to have been developed by Walter Spies and Wayan Limbak in the 1930s with its foundations in ritual dances, such as Sang Hyang.

But it's interesting to learn that the Cakepung story, like Tutur Monyet, has Islamic influences. Maybe it reflected strong connections between Hindu and Muslim communities in Budakeling, by which they were tied as brothers. The Hindu community is the oldest brother while the Muslim community the younger brother. So, whenever the Hindu community performed religious rituals, the Muslim community would help. Cakepung was used as a means to strengthen the ties between the two communities. It was staged in various rituals and the songs were arranged according to the specific event.

And because Cakepung songs are simple and entertaining, it is not only popular in northeastern parts of Bali, but also in big cities like Denpasar. In villages in Denpasar, where most of the residents are originally from Karangasem and Buleleng, one can see a group of young men chatting and drinking while singing and dancing.