'Gandangan' a fine example of sacred dance

'Gandangan' a fine example of sacred dance

I Wayan Juniartha and Mas Ruscitadewi, The Jakarta Post,
Denpasar, Bali

The Balinese traditional dance of joged is known for the joyful
atmosphere it creates, the sensual movements of its female
dancers and the heavy erotic tone that highlights the brief
encounter between the dancers and their pengibing (male partners)
picked out of the audience.

In short, joged is a popular, crowd-luring, entertaining
dance.

Interestingly, another kind of joged, a sacred version, still
exists, and is performed in several villages in Bali. A fine
example of one sacred dance, the Joged Gandangan Pingit of the
Alas Angker village in Klungkung regency, was featured recently
at the 24th Bali Art Festival.

The head of the traditional village of Jungut, of which the
Alas Angker village belongs, Nengah Sumerta, disclosed that the
Joged Gandangan Pingit was first choreographed in 1896, after the
pemangku (temple priest) of the Griya Sakti Alas Angker temple
fell into a deep trance. During this state, he instructed the
villagers to create a special dance, which would be regularly
performed at the temple's festival.

"The pemangku also specifically asked that the joged have a
storyline based upon the legend of Calon Arang," Sumerta said.

Calon Arang depicts a conflict between East Java's King
Airlangga and a widowed sorceress, Walu Nateng Dirah, which later
turns into a bloody battle, during which Dirah casts a powerful
spell that unleashes a deadly plague all over the kingdom. Only
after laborious efforts by another powerful figure, a Hindu high-
priest by the name of Mpu Bharadah, does the plague come under
control and the sorceress is finally defeated.

The Joged Gandangan Pingit is the only dance that employs the
storyline.

The dancers are carefully selected from the village's teenaged
girls. The girls must be virgins, and remain chaste during their
tenure as dancers, which usually is for eight years. The girls
must also refrain from eating beef and pork, or participating in
any burial ceremonies.

They also are required to undergo the pawintenan (purification
ceremony) before learning how to dance the sacred dance for the
first time.

The villagers believe that those who deliberately breach the
age-old conventions are severely punished by the gods.

"Ni Nyoman Jani married secretly while she was still a Joged
Gandangan Pingit dancer. She went blind after that, and that was
her punishment," an 80-year-old dancer, Wayan Toen, said.

Jani was the woman who taught Toen how to perform the sacred
joged.

"My teacher should have resigned from her role as a dancer
before she got married instead of breaking the rules," she said.

Another rule binding the sacred dance is the one on male dance
partners. Unlike the common joged, in which dancers try their
best to lure the male members of the audience into actively
participating, Joged Gandangan Pingit strictly prohibits this
kind of interaction.

"The spirit of the dance does not approve of this type of
participation. Bad things happen when a male member of the
audience forces his way onto the stage," said a local, Anak Agung
Gde Putra.

When a man jumped onto the stage during the Bali Art Festival
in 1997, and joined in the Joged Gandangan Pingit, the dancer
instantly fell to the floor, and lied there unconscious for some
time. It was a strong sign of disapproval for the unfortunate
man.

On another occasion, the dancer did not fall down or lose
consciousness. Instead, it was the man that was paralyzed, and he
was unable to move any part of his body by the spirit. All he
could manage to do was stand on the stage, motionless, and hear
laughter from the audience, while the dancer continued her
beautiful sweeping movements just a few meters away.

Yet during a recent performance on the Angsoka stage in
Denpasar's Werddhi Budaya Art Center compound, a man, dressed in
a white traditional costume, managed to get onstage and dance
with a Joged Gandangan Pingitan dancer.

Surprisingly, the dancer did not fall down, and the man was
not paralyzed. Has the spirit mellowed after all these years?

"Of course nothing happened to him or her, since the man is,
in fact, none other than the pemangku of the Griya Sakti Alas
Angker temple, the home temple of this sacred joged," another man
in the audience pointed out.

This explained his white costume, elegant movements and polite
attitude toward the dancer.

As in other forms of the sacred dance, a small ritual, in
which the dancers and musicians present an offering and pray, was
held prior to the performance. Another similar ritual was held
after the performance.

The offering and the prayer were directed to Ida Benari and
Ida Benari Lingsir -- two celestial beings believed to be the
spiritual patrons of the dance.

A bem (bamboo instrument) is believed to be the physical
manifestation of Ida Bedari Lingsir, while the flowery and
intricate headgear worn by the dancers is believed to be the
throne of Ida Bedari. That's the reason why the whole troupe
treats the bem and headgear with a deep sense of respect.

Unlike the common joged, which is characterized by swift and
sometimes seductive movements, the Joged Gandangan Pingit's
movements are gentle and refined. It invokes a sense of solemn
adoration among the audience, instead of a burning excitement
triggered by the common joged.

"It is a dance, a performance to glorify the gods, and not to
entertain the mortals. Period," one member of an audience
concluded.

The Joged Gandangan Pingit dance is performed only twice a
year during the festival held every six months at the Griya Sakti
Alas Angker temple.