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The natural world of the Balinese is one held in
balance by two opposing forces: the benign,
beneficial to man, and the malign, inimical to
humanity. The destructive power of sickness and
death is associated with the latter force and the
evil influence of black magic.
If black magic prevails, a village fails into
danger, and extensive purification ceremonies become
necessary to restore a proper equilibrium for the
health of the community. Dramatic art is also a
means of cleansing the village by strengthening its
resistance to harmful forces through offerings,
prayers and acts of exorcism.
Such is the symbolic play of the Barong and Rangda.
Barong, a mystical creature with a curved tail,
represents the affirmative, the protector of
mankind, the glory of the high sun, and the spirits
associated with white magic.
The widow witch Rangda is the complement. She rules
the evil spirits and witches who haunt the
graveyards late at night. Her habitat is darkness,
and she practices black magic.
Both figures possess strong magical prowess.
Somewhere in a mythical past, the Barong was won
over to the side of humanity and, in the play,
fights on behalf of the people against the intruding
death force of Rangda.
Yet the essence of the Barong and Rangda play
remains the eternal conflict of two cosmic forces
symbolized in the two protagonists. Because the play
is charged with sorcery and magic charms, extensive
offerings are made beforehand to protect the players
during the performance. Usually the Barong enters
first, cleverly danced by two men who form the
forelegs and hindlegs, the first man manipulating
the mask. A Barong's appearance varies with the kind
of mask it wears, which may be a stylized version of
a wild boar, a tiger, a lion, or an elephant. The
most holy mask is that of the Barong Keket, "The
Sovereign Lord of the Forest", a beast representing
no known animal. In the extreme coordination of the
lively Barong, one forgets the fantastic creature
isn't acting on its own accord, as it mischievously
sidesteps and whirls around, snapping its jaws at
the gamelan and swishing flies with its tail.
After the Barong's dance, everyone falls silent.
From behind the temple gate appear the splintery
fingernails that foreshadow the dreadful vision of
Rangda. From her mouth hangs a flaming tongue
signifying her consuming fire; around her neck a
necklace of human entrails falls over her pendulous
breasts. She stalks the Barong while waving a white
cloth from which issues her overwhelming magic. They
collide in a desperate clash of witchcraft. In the
protection of the Barong is the community,
represented by men armed with kris daggers.
At one point in the fight, when the victory of the
Barong is threatened, the kris dancers rush to the
Barong's assistance by violently attacking Rangda.
The witch's spell reverses their fury back into
themselves, and they begin to plunge the blades of
their krisses inward against their own bodies. But
the Barong, with its own powerful charm, protects
the crazed men from inflicting self-harm.
At the end of the play, the kris dancers are revived
with water that has been dipped in the beard of the
Barong, which is made of human hair and is
considered to be the most sacred part of the Barong.
A final offering is made to the evil spirits by
spilling the blood of a live chicken.
Just as the Legong is essentially feminine, the
Baris, a traditional war dance, glorifies the
manhood of the triumphant Balinese warrior. The word
baris means 'line' or 'file' and refers to the
warriors who fought for the kings of Bali. There are
numerous kinds of Baris, distinguished by the arms
borne by the dancers.
Originally, the dance was a religious ritual: the
dedication of warriors and their weapons during a
temple feast. From the ritualistic Baris Gede grew
the dramatic Baris, a story prefaced by a series of
exhibition solo dances that show prowess in battle.
It is from these that the present Baris solo takes
its form. A good Baris dancer must undergo rigorous
training to obtain the skill and flexibility that
typifies the chivalrous elegance of the dance.
A Baris dancer must convey fierceness, disdain,
pride, alertness, compassion, and regret -- the
characteristics of a warlike noble. The Baris is
accompanied by gamelan orchestra, and the
relationship between dancer and orchestra is an
intimate one; the gamelan must be entirely attuned
to the changing moods of the warrior's will.
At first, the dancer's movements are studied and
careful, as if he were seeking out foes in an
unfamiliar place. When he reaches the middle of the
stage, however, hesitation gives way to
self-assurance. He rises on his toes to his full
stature, his body motionless with quivering limbs.
In a flash, he whirls on one leg and his face
renders the storm of passions of a quick-tempered
warrior.
The flute begins an eerie tune, and faraway
voices chant a strange song that flows from a loud
melody to a nearly inaudible high pitch. Two girl
singers appear wearing splendid, floral crowns with
multi-coiored spikes. They advance, allowing another
pair to enter, until twelve girls have filed on
stage.
Slowly they kneel opposite each other, cocking their
heads and darting their eyes to accent the rhythm of
the orchestra. As the chanting continues, young men
silently repeat the girls' entrance. In contrast to
feminine delicacy, their movements are deliberate
and strong. All wear painted moustaches.
Suddenly, the male formation breaks into frenzied
activity of twists, jerks and lunges. Instantly, the
shock wave ceases, the men freeze in their
positions, and the lonely flute carries the dance
back to the soft sways and chanting of the girls.
A folk dance introduced to the island in the
thirties, the origin is in the Sanghyang trance
ceremony in which the women chant the Sanghyang song
and the men alternate with the gruff sounds of the
Kecak.
The Kebyar Dance is a male solo dance like the
Baris. There are various forms of Kebyar including
the Kebyar Duduk and Kebyar Trompong.
In Kebyar, the accent is upon the dancer himself,
who interprets every nuance of the music in powerful
facial expressions and movement. The most popular
form of Kebyar in South Bali is Kebyar Duduk, the
"seated" Kebyar, where the dancer sits cross-legged
throughout most of the dance. By de-empasizing the
legs and decreasing the space to a small sphere, the
relation between dancer and gamelan is intensified.
The dance is concentrated in the flexibility of the
wrist and elbow, the magnetic power of the face, and
the suppleness of the torso. The music seems infused
in the dancer's body.
The fingers bend with singular beauty to catch the
light melodies, while the body sways back and forth
to the resounding beat of the gong. As the dance
progresses, the dancer crosses the floor on the
outer edges of his feet and approaches a member of
the orchestra, usually the lead drummer. He woos the
musician with side glances and smiles, but the
drummer is too absorbed in the music to respond.
Insulted, the Kebyar dancer leaves him and sets out
for a new conquest.
The Kebyar is the most strenuous and subtle of
Balinese dances. It is said that no one can become a
great Kebyar dancer unless he can play every
instrument of the orchestra. In Kebyar Trompong, in
fact, the dancer actually joins the orchestra by
playing a long instrument called the trompong while
he continues to dance.
A serpentine stream of bodies coils itself,
circle within circle, around a large, branching
torch. The half-seen multitude waits in silence. A
priest enters with offerings and blessings of holy
water. One piercing voice cracks the suspense; the
circle electrifies. No other dance is so unnerving
as the amazing Kecak: dozens to hundreds of men who,
by a regimented counterplay of sounds, simulate the
orchestration of the gamelan. The now-famous Kecak
dance was created in the early 20th century by the
famous German painter, Walter Spies, who was
resident in Bali at the time. It represents Spies'
reincarnation of the male chorus of the ritual
Sanghyang trance ceremony. Choreography transforms
the ingeniously simple chorus into ecstasy. The
cries, the erratic pulses of sound, and the
sublimated violence of the kecak are perfectly
contained in the precise use of a few basic motions
of heads, arms, and torsos.
Various parts of the dance merge in a startling
continuum of grouped motion and voice. Many words
and gestures have no meaning except as incantations
to drive out evil, as was the original purpose of
the Sanghyang chorus. Kecak includes a play amidst a
periphery of men -- a virtual living theatre.
Accompanied by the bizarre music of human
instruments, the storyteller relates the episode
enacted within the performance. When demon-king
Rawana leaps to the center, for example, the chorus
simulates his flight with a long hissing sound. When
monkey-man Hanuman enters the mystic circle, the men
become an army of chattering monkeys.
In legends, Legong is the heavenly dance of
divine nymphs. Girls from the age of five aspire to
be selected to represent the community as Legong
dancers.
The most popular of Legongs is the Legong Kraton --
'Legong of the Palace'. Formerly, the dance was
patronized by local kings and held in a residence of
the royal family of the village. Dancers were
recruited from the aptest and prettiest children.
Today, the trained dancers are still very young; a
girl of fourteen approaches retirement as a Legong
performer.
The highly stylized Legong Kraton enacts a drama of
a most purified and abstract kind. The story is
performed by three dancers: a female attendant of
the court and two identically dressed legongs who
adopt the roles of royal persons. The suggestive
themes of the magnificent gamelan orchestra and the
minds of the audience conjure up imaginary changes
of scene.
The story derives from the history of East Java in
the 12th and 13th centuries. A king finds the maiden
Rangkesari lost in the forest. He takes her home and
locks her in a house of stone. Rangkesari's brother,
the Prince of Daha, learns of her captivity and
threatens war unless she is set free.
Rangkesari begs her captor to avoid war by giving
her liberty, but the king prefers to fight. On his
way to battle, he is met by a bird of ill omen that
predicts his death. In the fight that ensues he is
killed. The dance dramatizes the farewells of the
King as he departs for the battlefield and his
ominous encounter with the bird.
The tiny dancers glitter and dazzle. Bound from head
to foot in gold brocade, it is a wonder the legongs
can move with such fervent agitation. The dancers
flow from one identity into the next without
disrupting the harmony of the dance. They may enter
as the double image of one character, their
movements marked by tight synchronization. Then they
may split, each enacting a separate role, and come
together again. In a love scene in which they rub
noses, for example, the King takes leave of
Rangkesari. She repels his advances by beating him
with her fan, and he departs in anger, soon to
perish on the battlefield.
Pendet is the presentation of an offering in the
form of a ritual dance. Unlike the exhibition dances
that demand arduous training, Pendet may be danced
by anyone. It is taught simply by imitation.
Younger girls follow the movements of the elder
women, who recognize their responsibility in setting
a good example. Proficiency comes with age. As a
religious dance, Pendet is usually performed during
temple ceremonies.
All dancers carry in their right hand a small
offering of incense, cakes, water vessels, or flower
formations. With these they dance from shrine to
shrine within the temple. Pendet may be performed
intermittently throughout the day and late into the
night during temple feasts.
Ramayana Ballet
Basically, the Ramayana Ballet tells the same story
of Rama and Sita as told in the Kecak (see Kecak
Dance) but without the monkey ensemble and with a
normal gamelan orchestra.
A Topeng Dance is one in which the dancers have
to imitate the characters represented by their
masks. A full collection of Topeng masks may number
30 or 40.
Balinese music is based on the gamelan orchestra,
unique in the world. Gamelan music is almost
completely percussion. Though it sounds strange at
first with its noisy percussion, most listeners find
that it soon becomes exciting and enjoyable. Many
villages throughout Bali have gamelan groups whose
performances can be heard in venues ranging from
village community centers to luxury hotels.
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