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...!"