Tradition of palm-wine drinking prevails among Balinese

Tradition of palm-wine drinking prevails among Balinese

By Putu Wirata

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): "Being tipsy from palm wine is not going
to hurt the state. But, being 'drunk' with greed for wealth
certainly would!" exclaimed Ketut Kelim, 49, the leader of a
genjek (local group of traditional artists).

The group, established in 1973 by 34 traditional artists in
Buleleng, about 120 kilometers north of here, is called Santi
Yuda Dharma Kerti. It is merely one of the dozens of genjek
operating in the town.

The group's members often gather in the afternoon at the
village meeting house, where they seat themselves around a pail
brimming with homemade palm wine, called tuak, and drink it while
singing Balinese songs.

One member of the group would fill a glass with palm wine,
while Men Kenem, another member, recites a verse and Nang Siyut
translates it. The other members would be playing instruments,
such as drums, cymbals and gongs.

Any member who is served the glass of palm wine as a token of
honor must drink it up while dancing around, then, refill it with
palm wine and give it to another member. This affair goes on and
on. After the dance session, palm wine is gulped in generous
amounts, bringing them to a euphoric state. Without realizing it,
a couple of hours have gone by.

"We never get drunk, honestly," Kelim said after drinking
several glasses of palm wine recently. But despite its mild
alcohol content, less than 10 percent, Kelim's eyes were red and
his emotions seemed uncontrolled.

About a year ago, when the government conducted a crackdown on
alcoholic drinks, Balinese homemade palm wine escaped their
notice.

"We are relieved because we don't drink palm wine to get
drunk. We do it just to warm our bodies," explained Kelim. His
friends -- probably influenced by alcohol -- attested to this in
a dance while trying to support Kelim's explanation.

Genjek and tuak, said Kelim, have long been around. "We do not
really know their history. But I knew that tuak was a family
drink from the day I was born."

"We drink tuak just to chase the chill out of the body. It is
very cold here, you see, especially from August to October," he
added.

The drink is freely available. Nearly every family owns a
field planted with sugar palms. Sap is collected from the
blossoms of the palms and then fermented. This is tuak.

Tuak is also sold very cheaply at small shops. "It costs only
Rp 100 (4.2 U.S. cents) per liter," said Kelim, whose brothers
are also members of his group.

Besides singing, reciting and tuak drinking, the group also
claims to have a noble objective: "We aim to spread Hindu
ethics," said Kelim.

He quoted right away a verse from Sucita, a book of moral
teachings, whose rough translation would be: Maybe palm wine
makes one high but this does not concern the world. But if one is
drunk because of material wealth, that would harm the world.

Made Suwija, 56, a composer and onetime director of Gedong
Kirtya Library in Singaraja, Bali, is of the opinion that genjek
evolved naturally due to environmental demands. The cold climate
in the highlands forced the mountain people to drink to keep the
cold away. The singing and reciting exercises are usually held in
the evenings after work in the fields.

In Tunju, each family stores at least 10 liters of tuak
because it is not only a family drink but also a drink to be
served to visitors.

According to Suwija, genjek groups seemed to have been formed
at gatherings of village artists, with the purpose of reciting or
singing traditional poems and verses and to join in the local
customs. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Santi Yuda
Dharma Kerti is often invited to village festivities, such as
wedding ceremonies, tooth filing events, exorcism rituals for
children and funerals.

And because the group is a nonprofit organization, no payment
is incurred. "The host just offers water or tuak. In most cases,
there would be food, too," said Kelim.

Due to invitations from numerous villages, the group had to
add to their collection of poems and verses. Besides verses from
Sucita, Japatuan, Sanpek Ingtai and Tamtam Books of Moral
Teachings, they also collect verses related to the Ramayana and
Mahabaratha stories.

Group members pay a Rp 100 monthly fee to the organization's
treasury. They do not hesitate to take on any kind of work,
including wood cutting, rice harvesting and coffee picking. Part
of their wages are deposited in the organization's treasury.

"In 1978, we made as much as Rp 1 million (US$418)," said
Kelim. In 1980, the group, whose members are in their 40s,
enjoyed the fruits of their labor, which took the form of a zoo
excursion to Surabaya, East Java.

"It was not bad, to see Surabaya close up," said Kelim
laughing aloud.

Similar groups

Besides Buleleng, the tradition of tuak drinking can also be
observed in Karangasem, also in Bali. In former times, Buleleng
and Karangasem were ruled by two brothers. However, it is not
clear if the current drinking tradition is related to the rule of
these kings.

In Karangasem, people call their tuak drinking tradition
cakepung. It very much resembles genjek from Buleleng.

Cakepung comprises a group of people -- old and young -- who
gather for the purpose of tuak drinking. The tradition is mostly
observed in Karangasem's coastal regions, such as Kubu, Tulamben
and Tianjar. In these regions lontar palms grow in abundance,
from which sap is tapped and fermented into tuak.

Unlike the organized members of genjek in Buleleng, cakepung
followers in Karangasem are not organized.

"We usually come together after field work. Anyone may join,"
said Gede Loka, 28, a youth from Kubu, who is also a graduate of
Warmadewa University, Denpasar.

Because of its spontaneous nature, a cakepung group is rarely
equipped with literary poems. The verses sprout spontaneously.
"Because the participants are mostly young people, the themes
often revolve around love," said Loka, roaring with laughter.

He said that every party in Karangasem has to have a tuak
drinking session.

Megibung, a gathering symbolizing equality, is an example.
This is a feast where four or five people eat from the same plate
and tuak is a must on such an occasion.

Such a gathering tradition has even been conducted by elite
bureaucrats, who often substitute tuak with bottled tea, mineral
water or beer.

Another tradition is nawur utang banten tengoloan, an offering
of food shaped like a five-meter tower in Karangsari. This is an
even more exciting event. From its owner's residence, this tall
tower is carried by 50 men to the village temple. The carriers
are first vitalized with many jugs of tuak.

Ida Wayan Jelantik, 57, an all-round traditional artist from
Budakeling, estimated that the drinking tradition started in the
1800s.

In the 1800s, he said, people in the Sasak region, Lombok, had
a tradition called sesakan, in which they sang and drank tuak
together.

At that time, the king of Karangasem conquered Sasak to expand
his territory. Karangasem soldiers then adopted the Sasak custom,
drinking tuak to express their merriment.

But because the soldiers did not understand the Sasak dialect,
they adapted the expressions with yells, like cak kepung (the
shout of a soldier in pursuing an enemy).

"It makes sense," said Jelantik, "since in the classical
Karangasem version of cakepung, other shouts like dor, sriit, cik
kicik (simulating sounds of: a canon, a kris taken out of its
sheath, and the thrusting sound of a spear) can be heard besides
the melodious "cak pung, cak pung."

They brought the sesakan tradition home from Lombok. "Once, we
held cakepung in the Sasak language," said Jelanti. But since
the number of Sasak speaking people is dwindling in Bali, verses
in the Balinese language are appearing.

At a recent art festival in Bali, genjek groups from Buleleng
and cakepung groups from Karangasem competed in the art of
hospitality.

The groups, clad in Balinese clothing, sang, danced and poured
tuak from bamboo containers while they hopped around, shouting
"cak pung, cak pung, sreet...!"