Secred Rhythm to revitalize spirit of dialog

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The Samuan Tiga Temple in Pejeng, Gianyar was considered the most suitable venue for the recent International Festival on Percussion, the Sacred Rhythm, held from Dec.31, l999 through Jan 3, 2000.

The event, involving local and international percussionists, was aimed at bridging cultural differences among people from different cultures.

Roni Sianturi, one of the committee members, explained percussion instruments were musical instruments which function as devices for art expression, communication and ritual apparatus.

"Percussion instruments exist in almost all cultures in the world. Through this instrument, it is expected that we can find similarity and create a sincere cultural dialog," said Roni.

Hundreds of years ago, the Samuan Tiga Temple was a place of reconciliation among leaders and followers of various religious sects in Bali.

According to legend, during the reign of King Udayana Warmadewa and Queen Gunaprya Dharmapatni between 988 and 1011, religious life on the island of Bali was in disharmony. Each religious sect fought to gain power and domination over the other.

There were several Hindu sects such as Indra, Bayu, Bhrama, Vishnu, Shiva and Shambu. This severe religious tension affected the political, social and cultural lives on the island.

To ease friction, King Warmadewa summoned the Panca Pandita (five high Hindu priests) from Java. The priests included Mpu Semeru from the Shiva sect, Mpu Ghana from Ghanapatya, Mpu Kuturan, a Buddhist priest, and Mpu Gnijaya from the Brahma sect. Mpu Bharadah, a member of the Panca Pandita, decided to stay in Java.

Mpu Kuturan proposed a meeting called the Samuan Tiga meeting, involving all the warring sect leaders in the Batanaanyar area, now the site of the famous Samuan Tiga Temple.

The meeting yielded an agreement to fuse the teachings of Shiva and Buddha into one, known as Tri Murti (a teaching that praised three gods, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva).

The Samuan Tiga Temple witnessed a reconciliation among the conflicting priests through a dialog and understanding.

The choice of Samuan Tiga temple as a site for the Sacred Rhythm festival was aimed at revitalizing the spirit of dialog and understanding through a series of multicultural musical performances.

The opening of the festival, organized jointly by the Sacred Bridge Foundation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), on New Year's Eve, reflected the organizer's intention to build a bridge of cultures.

The opening ceremony was opened by a procession of hundreds of youth from the Pejeng traditional village in Gianyar. The procession displayed Ogoh-Ogoh (giant dolls) and barong (dragon- like mask dance).

Thousands of local communities and visitors watched the procession from Penataran Sasih Temple to Samuan Tiga Temple.

The procession was held to imitate the Ngurupuk ritual where a procession precedes the Hindu Day of Silence ceremony.

The procession was aimed at eliminating evil spirits from the lives of people and the earth.

Five minutes before midnight, Noriko Atkawa, UNESCO's representative from Paris, walked to the stage and officially declared the year 2000 as the International Year for Culture and Peace.

The festival presented a number of respected virtuoso, such as Jin Hi Kim and Choi Jong Sil from South Korea, Stomu Yamashita from Japan, Mor Thiam and Zakarya Diouf from Senegal, Farafina from Burkina Faso and Vikku Vinayakram from India.

Indonesian musicians included Djaduk Ferianto, Rahayu Supanggah, Wayan Sadra, Arek Oseng Group, Suar Agung, Talago Bumi group and several others.

A lack of professionalism and coordination among the committee members had more or less affected the festival's activities.

Many artists were confused about their unfixed schedules, and a shortage of information about the performers created difficulties among the media to thoroughly cover the events.

Thankfulness was given to the marvelous presentations of local and international musicians who offered the local audience with a rare experience to taste quality music.

One of the most fantastic performances during the festival was a jam session involving Indonesian and foreign artists on the night of Jan. 3, 2000, the closing day of the festival.

The collaborative performance was led by Jin Hi Kim, a female virtuoso from South Korea. It also involved Balinese percussionist I Wayan Sadra, Senegalese Mor Thiam and Indian musician Vikku Vinayakram.

"All of the compositions were the result of improvisations of each artist. We never rehearsed for this performance," said the low-profile Jin Hi Kim.

The musicians performed Jin Hi Kim's composition Golden Dragon Bond Rites.

Mor Thiam appeared with his energetic skills in playing jembe(a big drum from Senegal), while Indian master Vikku Vinayakram elegantly played his ghatam (a drum made of earthenware), which produces mystical sounds.

Korean drummer Choi Jong Sil perfectly hit the changgo (a Korean drum), and the kwenggati (a Korean gong), while Sadra performed his Balinese drum to follow the tunes of other percussionists.

"If you perform together, you cannot force other members to adopt one musical style, such as the Korean style. It is a mistaken method," Jin Hi Kim explained after the performance.

On the other hand, she said, musicians must eliminate their egos and let their hearts flourish into a melodious sound.

"We have to respect differences and try to find similarities to create understanding, " added Jin Hi Kim.

To close the jam session, Jin Hi Kim united all the melodies and sounds into a solid music composition that deserved a standing ovation from all of the audience.

"That was something beyond life," exclaimed Jin Hi Kim.

"Beautiful, beautiful," called Vanayakram.

But Mor Thiam had beautiful words to describe this collaborative work that involved musicians with different musical skills, social, cultural and religious backgrounds.

"It was like going to the most beautiful ocean at 6 a.m.," Mor Thiam said.

The festival could probably arouse a sense of brotherhood, solidarity and peace among people on earth.