New guardian of Balinese sacred arts

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Bangli

A thin layer of mist had begun to shroud the magnificent village temple, producing a coolness that forced hundreds of people, who had crowded into the temple courtyard, to huddle together.

Their gaze fixed on the spacious courtyard, where the soft light of the full moon gently caressed three separate rows of traditional Balinese instruments.

A moment later, dozens of children marched in silence into the courtyard and took their designated positions behind the instruments. Their bashful eyes glowed with restless anticipation.

After a brief ritual in which a Hindu high priest consecrated the stage, the children started the performance.

The haunting melodies of the selonding soon filled the air. These ancient and sacred instruments, which were believed to be the gift of the Divine to the people of Bali, possessed a mystical quality that engulfed the listeners with a sense of melancholic serenity.

Several children entered the stage and assumed various yoga positions in the opening scene of Utpati Krama Rite of Art.

At first glance, the rite appeared to be an aesthetic homage to Wiswakarma, the Cosmic Architect and the guiding deity of the Balinese undagi (traditional architect) and sangging (sculptor and the maker of ritual paraphernalia).

Further examination, however, revealed the rite to be a glowing, living testament of the purest form of Balinese traditional arts. It was the form born out of Balinese artists' devotional longing for the divine.

"Balinese traditional arts, performance or otherwise, were created and sustained to serve one single, noble cause: to serve the Lord in the most beautiful ways possible," rite choreographer Ida Wayan Oka Granoka said.

"In this sense, art is an integral part of spirituality, a way to embrace the loving kindness of the Divine and to nurture it in our own nature," he said.

A versatile artist known for his deep commitment to Balinese traditional arts and spiritual teachings, Granoka has for years trained a small group of children, including his own, in this path of aesthetic spirituality.

Over the years, his "teaching" gradually gained acceptance among Balinese, particularly those who had been sickened by the way modern materialism and capitalism had turned the island's traditional arts into a tourism commodity.

The rite performance on Monday marked the symbolic union between Granoka and the local community of Selat village, which had been pursuing a similar goal for a year.

Assisted by several intellectuals and businessmen, the village established Pesraman Pradesa Bangli, a community-based educational institution aimed at preserving local traditional heritage and educating the village children to become the guardians of that heritage.

Taking its model from the ancient forest hermitage of Pesraman, pilot institutions were established at three separate villages: Peninjoan, Sulahan and Kikian. The teachers were recruited from the ranks of senior artists and performers from the respective villages.

"They know the historical and spiritual context behind the heritage. Naturally, they are the best choices we have," the chairman of the Pesraman, I Dewa Gede Palguna, said.

"The Pesraman are still at an early stage. Currently, we are reconstructing sacred arts endemic to the locality and training village children to perform them," he said.

In Peninjoan and Sulahan the Pesraman resuscitated the sacred Wayang Wong mask dance, while in Kikian it brought to life the sacred dance, Bapangan Barong. The three villages now have dozens of children who have mastered these sacred arts.

In the future, the Pesraman plans to establish similar institutions in all villages in Bangli while simultaneously expanding its curriculum to include traditional literature, medicine, architecture and philosophy.

"Hopefully, by that time the institutions will be managed and run by the respective villages," Palguna said.

The results of the Pesraman one-year reconstruction program were showcased at a three-day religious arts festival, which was opened with Granoka's Utpati Krama Rite of Arts.

Children artists, musicians and dancers from the three villages proudly displayed their aesthetic skills before their peers, mothers and fathers, and, most importantly, before the divine host of gods and deities at the Bale Agung temple.

"Granoka and we share the same belief, that we should preserve the sacred form and function of Balinese arts, and that we can achieve that goal by educating and training our children to love and cherish those arts," Palguna stressed.

The full-moon hovered above the temple's towering split gate when the children musicians brought their gambang instruments to a vivacious crescendo. On stage, two beautiful children swayed rhythmically to the flowing movements of the sacred Telek Pranwa Wayu dance.

"They are the new guardians of our ancient culture," Palguna said.