History - Bali and Lombok - page 11

In the Topeng, which means 'Pressed Against the Face', as with a mask,
the dancers imitate the character represented by the mask. The Topeng Tua
is a classic solo dance where the mask is that of an old man. In other dances
there may be a small troupe who perform various characters. A full collection
of Topeng masks may number 30 or 40. Mask dances require great expertise
because the dancer cannot convey thoughts and meanings through facial
expressions - the dance has to tell all.
Dance in Bali is not a static art form. The Oleg Tambulilingan was
developed in the 1950s, originally as a solo female dance. Later, a male part
was added and the dance now mimics the flirtations of two tambulilingan
(bumblebees).
You may often see the Pendet being danced by women bringing offerings
to a temple. One of the most popular comic dances is the Cupak, which tells
of a greedy coward (Cupak) and his brave but hard-done-by younger brother,
and their adventures while rescuing a beautiful princess.
Drama Gong is based on the same romantic themes as a Balinese soap
opera - long and full of high drama.

The pieces are learned by heart and passed down from father to son - there
is little musical notation, although CDs are widely available. Look in music
shops and department stores in South Bali and Ubud. It's traditionally a
male occupation, although women have been known to play, and there are
more ancient forms, such as the gamelan selunding, still occasionally played
in Bali Aga villages like Tenganan in eastern Bali.
You can see instruments being made (usually to order) in Blahbatuh in
eastern Bali and Sawan in northern Bali. Giant bamboo gamelan, with deep
resonating tones, are made in Jembrana in western Bali.

LOMBOK
The genggong, a performance seen in Lombok , uses a simple set of instru-
ments, which includes a bamboo flute, a rebab and knockers. Seven musicians
accompany their music with dance movements and stylised hand gestures.

Theatre
Music, dance and drama are closely related in Bali. Balinese dance has the
three elements working together, as does the wayang kulit drama perform-
ances, with the sound effects and the puppets' movements an important part
of the show. The arja is a dance-drama, comparable to Western opera.

LOMBOK
Lombok has dances found nowhere else in Indonesia, but they are not widely
marketed. Performances are staged in some luxury hotels and in the village
of Lenek, known for its dance traditions. If you're in Senggigi in July there
are also dance and gendang beleq (big drum) performances (p326).
The Cupak Gerantang is based on one of the Panji stories, an extensive
cycle of written and oral stories originating on Java in the 15th century. It's
often performed at traditional celebrations.
Another version of a Panji story is the Kayak Sando, but here the dancers
wear masks. It is only found in central and eastern Lombok. The Gandrung
follows a theme of love and courtship. It is a social dance, usually performed
outdoors, most commonly in Narmada, Lenek and Praya.
A war dance, the Oncer (also called gendang beleq ), is performed by men
and boys. It is a highly skilled and dramatic performance, with dancers play-
ing a variety of unusual musical instruments for adat (tradition, customs and
manners) festivals, in central and eastern Lombok. The Rudat is danced by
pairs of men in black caps and jackets and black-and-white check sarongs,
backed by singers, tambourines and jidur (large cylindrical drums). The music,
lyrics and costumes reveal both a mixture of Muslim and Sasak cultures.
The Tandak Gerok combines dance with music played on bamboo flutes
and the rebab (a bowed lute), as well as singers imitating the sound of gamelan
instruments. It is usually performed after harvesting or other hard labour.

WAYANG KULIT
Wayang kulit has been Bali's cinema for centuries, but it is primarily a sacred
matter. It has the sacred seriousness of classical Greek drama. (Indeed the
word drama comes from the Greek dromenon, a religious ritual.) The word
wayang means shadow and can refer to the puppets or the show. It may be
derived from hyang, meaning ancestor or gods. Alternatively it may be from
bayan, meaning shadow. Kulit means leather or hide.
Shadow puppet plays are more than entertainment, for the puppets are
believed to have great spiritual power and the dalang (the puppet master
and storyteller) is an almost mystical figure. A person of considerable skill
and even greater endurance, he manipulates the puppets and tells the story
while conducting the gender wayang (small gamelan orchestra) and beating
time with his chanting. Having run out of hands, he does this with a horn
held with his toes!
The dalang 's mystical powers are needed because the wayang kulit, like
so much of Balinese drama, is about the eternal struggle between good and
evil. Endurance is also required because a wayang kulit can last six or more
hours, and the performances always start so late that the drama is only finally
resolved as the sun peeps over the horizon.
The intricate lacy puppets are made of buffalo hide carefully cut with a
sharp, chisel-like stylus and then painted. The figures are completely tradi-
tional - there is no deviation from the standard list of characters and their
standardised appearance, so there's definitely no mistaking who's who.
The dalang sits behind a screen on which the shadows of the puppets are
cast, usually by an oil lamp which gives a romantic flickering light. Tradition-
ally, women and children sit in front of the screen, while the men sit with
the dalang and his assistants.
Goodies are arrayed to the right and baddies to the left. Characters in-
clude nobles, who speak in the high Javanese language Kawi, and common
clowns, who speak in everyday Balinese. The dalang also has to be a linguist!

Perceptions of Paradise:
Images of Bali in the Arts
by Garret Kam is not
only a detailed guide to
Ubud's Neka Art Museum
(p178) but is also a
beautiful primer on
Balinese art in general.

Artists on Bali, by
Ruud Spruit, is a well-
illustrated description
of the work of Nieu-
wenkamp, Bonnet, Spies,
Hofker, Le Mayeur and
Smit who studied and
documented the culture
and natural beauty of
the island.

Music
BALI
Balinese music is based around an ensemble known as a gamelan, also called
a gong . A gong gede (large orchestra) is the traditional form, with 35 to 40
musicians. The gong kebyar is the modern, popular form, and has up to 25
instruments. Although it sounds strange at first with its noisy, jangly percus-
sion, it's exciting, enjoyable, melodic and at times haunting.
The prevalent voice is from the xylophone-like gangsa, which the player
hits with a hammer dampening the sound just after it is struck. The tempo
and nature of the music is controlled by the two kendang drums - one male