Non-Hindu gamelan players at pura

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.