Non-Hindu gamelan players at pura

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (JP): It may be the first time in Hindu history that worshipers of Pura Natarsari in the Apuan village, Tambanan district, consisted of non-Hindu gamelan players, who volunteered their services. The piodalan (holy day) ceremony of Pura Natarsari on July 16 was not only enlivened by more than 40 barong (mythological dragon) and Rangda (mythological wicked widow), but also by thousands of members of the Hindu community, who came to pray, and by the sounds of gamelan lelambatan (soft beating sound accompanying praying rituals), as well as Balinese classical dances. This was a contribution from the Sekarjaya, a gamelan group founded 16 years ago, and whose members are Americans.

It is quite astonishing indeed for a non-Hindu gamelan group, from a secular country such as the United States, to be received and accepted at Pura Natarsari. Here, the group dressed in traditional Balinese costume (a piece of cloth, long-sleeved shirt and headdress), their appearance at once reserved but friendly. They shared meals from one dulang (rice container), in groups of four or five people. The 45-member gamelan group also followed the prayer, following the panca sembah (five prayers) system of the Hindu Bali community, and they drank Pura Natarsari nunas tirta (holy water), all to the utter amazement of some in the Hindu community.

"I am quite moved by your respect for religion and Balinese culture," a priest said, sprinkling holy water on the Sekarjaya gamelan group.

Before volunteering their services, the Sekarjaya group performed at the 17th Cultural Festival of Bali in Denpasar. They also demonstrated their expertise in drum beating at the Museum of Classic Art Painting of Nyoman Gunarsa in Klungkung. In the Bungkulan village, they held a fund-raising drum beating session to build temples and places of worship.

"It has nothing to do with religion. We see it from a cultural point of view," Wayne Vitale, 38, the leader of Sekarjaya, said, elaborating on the readiness of his colleagues to pray in Pura Natarsari. He only smiled when asked about the religion of his members.

I Made Wianta, a painter born in the Apuan village, brought the group in contact with the management of Pura Natarsari.

"This should be seen as a cultural phenomenon. To pray in the Pura, they don't need to be Hindu. Every religion proclaims that God is everywhere. It is a matter of knowing and because the Almighty is there, it needn't become an issue," Wianta said.

Wianta refused to go deeper into the matter. "I don't know anything about Hindu laws. But, to me, painting is like a divine worship. Drum beating, if done on a voluntary basis, is also worship. And as you can see, the people here don't mind at all. They are, instead, pleased. A tourist beating the drum," he said, laughing hilariously.

Wianta drew attention to the importance of the Hindu ritual at the Pura from a cultural point of view. While at the upper most part of the Pura, called jeroan (inner), services of worship were being conducted, festivities were held in the farthest corner of the Pura grounds, called jaba (outer). As well as street vendors and groups of people chatting and sipping coffee, there were also gamblers playing dice games, and people playing chess and ball games.

"They (the worshipers) were not disturbed when other people entered the Pura. But, if you ask me if the Hindu religion allows or forbids this, I won't be able to answer you," Wianta said, still laughing.

Ketut Wiana, deputy secretary general of Parisadha Hindu Dharma in Indonesia, said on a separate occasion, "If they were not forced to do so, the Hindu community would not mind it. The Almighty is everywhere and they would certainly pray according to their beliefs," he said lightly.

The Hindu worshipers of Pura Natarsari became upset when they listened to the Sekarjaya gamelan group play.

"They won't be able to become one with Balinese gamelan, but they are very good," Nyoman Hartanta, a gamelan player from the village Jelantik, who witnessed the group's performance, said.

"Tourists playing gamelan, eh? I am touched," he said in wonder.

The audience also applauded, something that would not have happened if the players had been from Bali.

"We are embarrassed if you exaggerate the story. What we are doing here is just a small offering," Wayne said in the local dialect. Then, whether he was saying it out of courtesy, or maybe not, he added, "We are trying to imitate Bali's banjar (neighborhood organization), which is based on cooperation. It is not easy because in America we live far apart and we have different jobs," Wayne said.

Putu Suasta, a young intellectual from Bali who follows Sekarjaya's process as a creative group, admitted: "They are trying to apply the banjar system in a strict capitalist culture. That's extraordinary. They live a long way from the practice center, it takes at least one hour for them to get there, and that's what they do," he said.

The Sekarjaya members have various professions, from employees of business firms, to lecturers and students.

"We established a Balinese gamelan group because we love Balinese culture," Wayne said, smiling.