Humor abounds in 'Bondres Masks' dance

Humor abounds in 'Bondres Masks' dance

By Yusuf Susilo Hartono

JAKARTA (JP): The Balinese traditional mask dance is far from
extinction, on the contrary, it is very much alive and on the
rise.

Despite the onslaught of popular art through various channels
of culture, especially via communications and audio-visual media,
the Balinese people are still able to preserve and even further
develop one of their own cultural properties: the hundreds-of
years-old mask dance.

Arts observer Wayan Dibia, also director of the Indonesian
Arts Institute (STSI) in Denpasar, recorded that in the past 10
years, he had seen the emergence of a new genre in the Balinese
traditional mask dance, called Topeng Bondres (Bondres Mask) by
the locals.

It has acquired this appropriate name due to the rich content
of humor and jokes.

In comparison, the other three mask dances -- Topeng Prajekan,
Topeng Arja and Topeng Prembon, which are deeply rooted in
Balinese culture and society -- do not feature humor and jokes as
major elements.

In Topeng Bondres, humor and jokes play a foremost role, or in
other words are not used as mere interludes, but as "the main
product sold in the business".

It is interesting to observe that the rise of Topeng Bondres
is in line with and in the same era of the growth of comedy
programs broadcast by television stations throughout Indonesia.

The question is, whether these comedy programs, like Srimulat,
the late Lenong Rumpi and the latest Ketoprak Humor have
triggered and spurred Topeng Bondres or whether each has
flourished simultaneously but in different places.

Dibia tends to emphasize the latter.

"In parallel with the growth and development of Bondres, we
can see the increasing quantity of television programs that
contain comedy and humor. I think there is a certain correlation
with the public need for such entertainment, as today's trend
indicates the public's greater interest and preference for
anything with humor and jokes," he commented, during the recent
performance of Topeng Prembon Bon Bali at the Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta.

In one of the program's dance numbers, he performed Topeng
Dalem with refined and deeply touching movements.

The past 10 years have witnessed a befuddled and unsettling
situation in the nation, with members of society experiencing
heavy stress and needing an outlet. Probably the performing arts
and entertainment, heavily loaded with humor, can act as the
release valve for the stresses of everyday living, albeit
momentarily.

Dibia cited another example of a traditional performing art,
which is highly entertaining for the relevant locals: Mamanda
from East Kalimantan. Just like Topeng Bondres to the Balinese,
or Srimulat and Ketoprak Humor to Jakartans and the Javanese,
Mamanda is filled with ripples of laughter from end to end.

However, if we have not come across popular comedians from
Bali or East Kalimantan -- aside from Si Yon, a Manadonese, that
is another matter.

Present facts show that current kings of comedy are still
dominated by Javanese, for example Asmuni, who is from Jombang,
and Tarzan, Gogon, Bagito, Jojon up to Topan and Leysus. The
rising popularity of Topeng Bondres in Bali has not hampered the
blossoming of previous traditional mask dances.

According to Dibia's observations, the other three mask dances
also indicate significant developments made possible by the
involvement of new and young dance arrangers. Another triggering
factor in the lively increase of mask dances is the activities
related to religious rituals, at temples or at homes, as well as
tourism. In the case of Topeng Bondres, which is currently
enjoying the highest peak of popularity, it is performed almost
everywhere.

"Today, a program at most homes, however small, includes
Topeng Bondres," was Dibia's comment on today's reality in Bali.

Up to now, however, no specific, detailed data has been
collected in relation to the total number of performances of
Topeng Bondres or its audience. But, according to Dibia, one can
very well imagine how the Balinese are having the laughter of
their life amid the political squabbles of the elite in Jakarta.

The flexible Prembon

While Topeng Bondres relies heavily on humor, the mainstay of
Topeng Prembon is in its flexibility in blending the ancient
Balinese traditions - hundreds of years old and imbedded in
Balinese local culture.

Topeng Prembon is described as flexible due to its mixture of
Arja and mask dance and that is why its wide range of flexibility
encompasses almost anything. Thus, a character is not a primary
factor, but rather the synchronization of available players
renders it more flexible. As one could see from the performance
of Topeng Prembon Bon Bali at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, male
dancers, Topeng dancers and Legong dancers were all wrapped into
one whole Prembon performance, still incorporating humorous
segments.

The word bon (borrow) has been added, hence the term Topeng
Prembon Bon Bali, as most of the cast has been borrowed from
various sources and included names like I Gusti Ngurah Windia
(from Topeng Tugek Carangsari), Ida Bagus Gede Mambal, I Wayan
Gerja, I Nyoman Wija, Jero Ratna, Jero Murniasih and Ni Wayan
Tirta, as well as guest-starring Balinese dance maestros I Wayan
Dibia and I Made Jimat.

The main drama Kraton Penatih was preceded by the enchanting
performance of I Nyoman Dibia in his dance number Tarian Topeng
Dalem, followed by a Puspi Wresti dance, and a Gesuri dance
brought by Sekehe Gong Bon Jakarta under the coordination of IGB
Adi Perbawa, head of sub-directorate in the Department of Culture
and Tourism.

"The inclusion of humor in Topeng Prembon is highly possible,
just like when we do so in Indonesian theatrical performances in
general. It is all right to use jokes from the 21st century in a
drama set in the 16th century.

"To me, dramas set in the past can always be relived in now-
and-today's actualities, and not looked upon as ancient relics
but very much alive, although only their reflections," Dibia
asserted.

So what we see is not a story of the past, but today's stories
set against the previous age or period. The flow might be of the
past, but the content and its expressions are connected to today,
he asserted. Viewed from the Western theatrical concept, this
might be regarded as a shortcoming, because of the lack of time
and space.

But let Eastern and Western concepts each live on their own
merits, just as the Eastern theatrical concept stands on its own
unique principle, like having no rigid classification or
grouping, which thus makes it non-linear.

Finally, the rising popularity of Topeng Bondres with its
outright humor and the enduring Topeng Prembon, due to its
flexibility, make us fully conscious that traditions are really
never static. It is inherent in the traditions that the ongoing
renovation efforts are in tune with the latest and newest
challenges of the current era.