'Tabuh Rah', a celebration by the god Siwa

'Tabuh Rah', a celebration by the god Siwa

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR (JP): In the yard of a pura (temple) two armed
roosters -- each equipped with taji (metal spurs)
on their feet -- were fighting. They ferociously clawed at each
other until one collapsed. The session continued with the next
pair of roosters. Bets were made, a Hindu priest presented
offerings while chanting magic formulas, blood gushed and then
the Tabuh Rah ceremony ended.

The Tabuh Rah (blood sacrifice to maintain the balance between
the macrocosms and the microcosms) dates back to prehistoric
times. It is believed that the ceremony previously required human
blood. The use of human blood was considered inhuman, so chicken
blood was introduced as it is believed that the characteristics
of a chicken resemble that of man. The ceremony of Perang Pandan
(fighting with thorny pandanus) in Tenganan village or Gebug (to
fight with a whip which can wound the opponent) in Seraya
village, both in the Karangasem district, may originate from the
Tabuh Rah, a magical ceremony presented in the form of martial
arts.

The first written account of the Tabuh Rah ceremony is from
the 9th century. It is recorded in a number of Balinese
inscriptions from 883, 896 and 911 A.D. All the inscriptions
mention blin darah (blood buyer), which is translated as an
offering to replace blood. The Serai inscription -- made during
the reign of Queen Sri Gunapriya Dharmapatni and Udayana
Warmadewa -- dated Nov. 26, 993 even mentions that after a
citizen built a sanggah (a family worship place), he was allowed
to organize a cockfight. The Batur Pura Abang inscription of the
year 1011 mentions something similar, saying that only tigang
seet (three pairs) were allowed in the cockfight. The Batuan
inscription of 1022, during the reign of King Dharmawangsa
Wardhana Marakata Pangkajasthanotunggadewa, also refers to
cockfights of tigang seet (three pairs). The figure of three is
perhaps a metaphysical symbol of the Tri Kona concept; the life
cycle of utpeti (birth), sthiti (growth) and pralina (death or
destruction).

When and how did the tabuh rah ritual become a cockfight with
a unique betting system? How did the betting system become so
popular in Bali?

In the 1960s and the 1970s -- before the government banned
gambling -- cockfights were a very effective way to collect
funds. The cockfight at the big meeting hall in Penebel village,
for example, was attended by thousands of seasoned gamblers
coming from various districts. From the entrance fees and a
percentage of the takings, the village could build a pura, a
balai banjar (meeting hall) and a road.

The oldest historic record on the tajen can be traced back to
Dalem Ketut Ngulesir, the first king of the Gelgel period in
Klungkung, who reigned from 1380 to 1400. According to
chronicles, Dalem Ketut Ngulesir was forced to become king by
chief minister Arya Kubon Tubuh -- to replace Dalem Ile who was
not good at governing -- when he was absorbed in a cockfight pit.
Ngulesir is even thought to originate from a word which means "to
like to go out for days." The chroniclers relate that on account
of the people's desire to gamble -- even going to faraway places
such as Pandak village in Tabanan district, 80 km from Gelgel --
this valiant king understood his people's aspirations very well.
He was described as a wise ruler. His successor Dalem Batur
Enggong (Waturenggong) brought Klungkung to its peak. Apparently,
betting on cockfights was a Balinese tradition by the 14th
century.

King Dalem Batur Enggong had no difficulties getting the
community to accept the tradition. In a theocracy, where the king
represented the supernatural powers of the universe -- he was the
reincarnation of the gods -- it was not hard to find legitimation
for cockfights.

The Siwa Tattwa Purana manuscript says that in the Tilem
Kesanga (the month of death, the ninth month in the Balinese
calendar), the Betara Siwa (God in the manifestation of the
return to the Beginning) organized yoga at siwaloka (the abode of
the god Siwa). He obliged the people on earth to make offerings,
organize cockfights and observe Nyepi Day (a day of silence)
while presenting offerings to Sang Kala Dasa Bumi. Otherwise,
disaster would befall all men.

It was perhaps to complement this legitimation that the brains
behind the gambling created the manuscript Dharma Bebotoh
(Gamblers' Ethics). It says, "If you have a cockfight, obey the
rules, know your fighting cocks because all kinds of gambling
belong to the Betara Guru (master of the universe). It is he who
organizes cockfights. He invites the Gandarwa (angels), the gods
Nawa Sanga (the gods in the nine wind directions), Sapta Resi and
Bhuta Kala." In the perspective of the present time, the
manuscript was probably engineered to legitimize gambling on
cockfights.

Gambling

Cockfight gambling reached its peak when a guide called
Pengayam-ayaman was circulated. It is extremely complex for the
non-initiated. It has several sections: Keturanggan Sawung (the
secret of the superiority of roosters) specifying 37
characteristics and nine queer traits, the good and bad days to
start breeding roosters and the method of breeding, the search
for their opponents, also the finding of gamblers. Fighting
roosters were not allowed to do certain things and similar
prohibitions applied to the gamblers. The guide specifies 90
types of fighting roosters, classified according to the color and
shape of the feathers, and where the colors are located.

There were indeed criticisms leveled against cockfighting in
former times, mainly through folk tales. The storyteller, through
parodies, invited his listeners to reflect on the effects of
cockfights: drunkenness, irrationality and even savagery. And
perhaps because the gamblers were looking for legitimation of
godly strength from Betara Guru or Betara Siwa, the storyteller
did not forget to include the names of these gods in his stories.

The first story tells about I Bagus Diarsa and his wife Ni
Sudadnyana. The happy couple had a son Wiracita. Diarsa got
carried away in cockfights. He spent all his money on cockfights,
thus neglecting his family. One day, when Diarsa was having a
meal in a foodstall -- he had some money left after losing his
bets at a cockfight -- a beggar in rags came to him. The beggar
asked for Diarsa's leftovers. Diarsa thought it was not good to
give him the leftover and ordered some food for the beggar. After
the meal, Diarsa invited the old man to his house. The next day
the old man asked for Wiracita's help to accompany him home where
it was discovered that the man was not a beggar but a
manifestation of Betara Siwa, who was testing Diarsa's
good-heartedness. Wiracita followed Betara Siwa to Siwaloka.
Diarsa followed Wiracita. Upon arrival at Siwaloka, Diarsa
immediately went to see Betara Siwa. Apart from looking for his
son, he asked for a fighting rooster from Betara Siwa, but was
obliged to produce a fighting rooster for a party for the king.
Diarsa had no roosters, but he had no option. If he failed to
produce a fighting rooster, he would be expelled from the royal
territory. Betara Siwa got angry when he learned about Bagus
Diarsa's difficult situation. He presented Diarsa with an
powerful rooster. This rooster would not only win in the arena,
but it would also attack and kill the owner of the other rooster.
It was this rooster that was brought to the tajen. The rooster
was now confronted with another one owned by the king. The king
challenged the penniless Diarsa into a bet whereby the latter
would have to wager his own life. Without any difficulty Diarsa's
prizefighter beat the other rooster and killed the king. In
short, after the king's death, Bagus Diarsa ascended to the
throne and bore the title Gusti Agung Niti Yukti.

The other folktale is Ni Tuwung Kuning. It's about a cockfight
expert named I Pudak who had scores of fighting roosters. He
often traveled far to satisfy his lust for gambling. One day when
he was about to embark on a long journey, he told his wife Men
Pudak, who was going to give birth, "If the baby is a boy, take
good care of him. If it is a girl, chop her up and give the meat
to the chickens."

While Pudak was busy with the cockfights away from home, the
baby was born. It is was girl. Pudak's wife wanted to disobey her
husband but she did not dare to do so. As a way out, Men Pudak
only cut the baby's umbilical cord. She brought the baby named
Tuwung Kuning to her grandmother in the woods. After a few years
I Pudak returned home. His wife told him that the baby was a girl
and that she had chopped her up for chicken feed. Unfortunately
the chickens did not want to tell a lie. They shouted to Pudak
that Men Pudak had only given them small pieces of the umbilical
cord.

Thereupon I Pudak exploded with anger. He went to his parent-
in-laws' house, fetched the grown-up Ni Tuwung Kuning and slay
her. He gave the meat to his fighting roosters. However, I Pudak
was startled to see all his chickens die after being fed with
Tuwung Kuning's meat. He regretted his savagery and went to the
place where he chopped up Ni Tuwung Kuning. He cried continuously
and gradually lost weight. One day Ni Tuwung Kuning descended
from the sky. She embraced her confused father. Apparently, at
the time Pudak was about to kill Tuwung Kuning, Betara Siwa in
heaven took away the girl and replaced her body with a banana
tree which had been transformed to resemble her.

It is regrettable that the two critical stories in the
manuscripts Siwa Tattwa Purana and Dharma Bebotoh are not
popular. The Hindu community in Bali is more familiar with the
Tabuh Rah. The government has indeed a new legitimation, the
criminal code and the regulations that prohibit gambling. And
upon closer study, Hindu teachings also forbid gambling. However,
Bali's uniqueness possibly lies herein: the mixture of
legitimation and counter-legitimation. It is not surprising, for
example, that while a ritual ceremony is taking place in the
Jeroan Pura (inner temple), people are playing dice in the Jaba
(outside temple).