Contexts - The Rough Guide to Bali and Lombok - page 478

The torchlit screen represents the world in microcosm: the puppets are the humans that in-
habit it, the torch represents the sun, and the dalang acts as god. Puppets representing good
characters always appear to the right of the dalang ; evil ones appear on his left. A leaf-shaped
fan-like puppet, symbolizing the tree of life, marks centre stage and is used to indicate the
end of a scene as well as to represent clouds, spirits and magical forces.
Lombok music and dance
Lombok has a rich heritage of music and dance. The indigenous Sasak traditions have been
subject to many influences, both Hindu and Islamic, direct from Bali and Java, and through
Buginese and Makassarese traders. The resulting melange of puppetry, poetry, song and
dance is varied, but largely inaccessible to tourists. Cultural shows are all but nonexistent,
except for during the annual Senggigi Festival , but you may stumble across a wedding or
other celebration.
Lombok's gamelan music
Lombok's traditional gamelan music is similar to Bali's, though some of the orchestras are
different. The gamelan gong Sasak resembles the gamelan gong , but may be combined with
the bamboo xylophones of the gamelan grantang . The gamelan oncer is also widely used,
and accompanies the Gendang Beleq dance.
Gamelan tawa-tawa and barong tengkok are used in processions at weddings and circum-
cision ceremonies. The usual gongs and drums are accompanied by eight sets of cymbals at-
tached to decorated lances. The gamelan barong tengkok from central Lombok actually has
gongs suspended within a Barong figure. Gamelan rebana consists of up to twenty different
drums, which mimic the traditional sound of gamelan music, but without the use of bronze
instruments. More unusual is the gamelan klentang , made up entirely of iron instruments.
Other musical ensembles that are seen on the island include kecimol and cilokaq , consisting
of an oboe ( preret ), flutes, lutes, violins and drums, and are often played to accompany Sasak
poetry.
Lombok's performance and martial arts
In contrast to the huge academic interest in Balinese performing arts, Sasak dances have been
studied far less.
Of the various public dances , the Gendang Beleq was traditionally used to send off sol-
diers heading into battle and to welcome them home again. It is performed to the distinctive
rhythm of huge drums ( gendang ) and is these days staged to welcome VIPs. The Batek Bar-
is , which is performed in Lingsar and elsewhere, has dancers wearing costumes mimicking
Dutch army uniforms and carrying wooden rifles while they lead a procession to the sacred
springs. At the Nyale Festival near Kuta the Putri Mandalika legend is re-enacted to large
crowds; the popular Kemidi Rudat retells the Thousand and One Nights stories, complete