Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
with colourful characters and clowns; the
Telek
is based on the tale of a princess who falls
in love with a humble man; and the
Kayak Sando
(with masks) dramatizes the Panji stor-
ies from Java in which a prince undergoes numerous adventures while searching for his lost
bride.
Local, village-based dances include the
Gandrung
of central Lombok, a demonstration of
love performed by a solo female dancer who selects a man to join her, and the
Tandak Ger-
oq
, staged in east Lombok to celebrate the end of the harvest. There are also
trance dances
such as the
Suling Dewa
, accompanied by flutes and song, which is particular to north Lom-
bok and used to induce spirits to enter the local shaman and bless the village. The
Pepakon
,
from east Lombok, causes the sick to become possessed so that their illness can be removed
from them.
More a martial art than a performing art, but still a massive spectator draw,
peresean
, or
stickfighting
, involves two men attacking each other with long rattan canes, with only a
goatskin shield to defend themselves. The aim is to draw blood from the head - and it's all
for real, as the injuries show. Every schoolboy learns the art of
peresean
and contests are
staged between village teams. The best time to see a stickfight is on August 18, the day after
Independence Day: Narmada, east of Mataram, and Kotaraja near Tetebatu are both famous
centres. You can also see
peresean
at the
Senggigi Festival
.
