As we gathered at 9AM in the morning today, we broke out into small groups to learn different instruments, and I continued to work with Dewa on the kendang.
Dewa is very vigorous and joyous when he plays the drums. He continued to teach me about the philosophies of a kendang drummer and how we should approach the music. After a while, all of us came back to the main theater of Cudamani to rehearse the pieces of Gengongan and Legong.
We rehearsed under the kind gaze of Barong. I played alongside Pasta on the kendang and observed how he played for Legong. Pasta has a very relaxed and peaceful style. Different drummers have different personalities and they show in the different ways the music is being conveyed.
Pasta was very patient to show me the long sequence of different sounds played slowly during a section of Legong.
At 12, we had lunch. Ayu, the woman who cooked our lunch, stood next to the table of the buffet and greeted us. I felt extremely lucky and grateful to meet the person who cooked our food and I think it is precious to be able to see the person behind the labor and acknowledge their work. Ayu cooks extraordinarily delicious cuisines that make my heart feel so full after each meal. Whenever I meet her, she always has a friendly smile on her face. I wish I was able to speak Indonesian and get to know her stories more.
Cudamani is performing for the funeral today, and after lunch, our teachers quickly went to prepare for the performance in the house of the person who passed away. We had a few-hour break before we walked to the house where the funeral was taking place.
This was a lively but solemn occasion. We were told that as attendees of the funeral, we should bring a cheerful spirit to the place as this will support both the soul of the deceased and the family to better bid farewell to each other. Cudamani played many different genres of gamelan, some were slow-paced while some were intense. The music intertwined closely with the dance that was taking place. The solo dancer enacted a sequence of different characters by putting on different masks, clothings, and performing different ways of movement.
I left at 5:30 while the last performance was going on and encountered this view on my way back to Puri Kobot:
This was a magnificent scene and there was something ineffably beautiful in this moment.
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