by Chi Jiang (Tim Jiang)
When we arrived Cudamani today, the usual set of the gamelan was removed. Some instructors were away, too. We were going to do small group breakouts to practice different instruments. Dewa, Pasta, and Yande gave us a demo on the set of intriguing iron instruments (I forgot the name unfortunately). There is no Ketuk or Gong, but the melody flows in harmony with interlocking rhythmic patterns. The resonance makes the music sound from ancient times. Legend says Bali aga (the original Bali) invented the instrument set and was the original gamelan. The most sacred set was kept in a temple at a sacred place and never shown to the people again. All descendants were playing copies of the original set.
We were then split into two main groups (Rolice and Tom studied Kendang for the song we learnt). First, I was in the group playing the iron instruments. I enjoyed the soothing sounds, peacefulness and cyclic rhythmic patterns of the song Mangde and Pasta taught us (the same song at the beginning). I was on a small instrument playing a part similar to the role of reyong. The larger instruments sound more soothing and they are hit by a special, light wooden piece. We managed to cycle through the piece a couple of times successfully in the end.
Then, we swapped with the other main group and went to another place to learn Gender Wayang, the main instruments used in shadow plays. I have learnt a little bit Gender Wayang during the breakout sessions back in Swarthmore, but it is still much more difficult than the other gamelan instruments in my opinion. The way to hold the mallets makes it hard to play, not to mention the damping techniques and the left-right coordination. Still, it sounds really beautiful when it is well-played.
It was noon. The air was humid and heated. We welcomed the priest Mangku Gina. He was in white from top to bottom and sat in the middle quietly. The priest who started using insulin last week looked much healthier according to Judy. Dewa sat next to him and listened carefully and helped with translation. The priest unfolded a small sheet of paper and gave his short speech and thanks. He briefly explained Siwa Ratri, the night of meditation and cleansing.
He shared a story about a hunter with us. The hunter killed a lot of animals every day. Suddenly one day, there was no animal. So he waited until night and happened to find a place in the sacred tree. The animals were wild and he hid in the tree, where he dropped leaves into the water, where Shiva happened to be in the water and thought it was his offerings. The hunter later went back to his home and found his family killed. He later had a disease and was dead. Shiva and Brahma discussed about whether his spirit should go to heaven and hell. Brahma argued it should go to the hell because he had done a lot of evil killings. However, Shiva insisted that it should go to the heaven, partly because he happened to make offerings to Shiva. He also explained that the hunter already payed his debt and the evil and negative side of human nature should be preserved and expressed. In the end, the spirit of the hunter went to the heaven. This story furthered our understanding of the religion of holy water in Bali and Siwa Ratri.
We then asked a couple of questions to the priest. The priest clarified some of our doubts and explained the process of the prayer, which has three key components. The priest also thought nowadays people care too much for money instead of religion and joy. They no longer go to temple. If they do, it’s mostly for their own personal gains instead of for the true spirits. The priest expressed disappointment. These thoughts of him align with Dalang Wayan Wija’s. Dewa also shared some stories about tourists being disrespectful at the temple, and how being disrespectful could destroy the harmony between deities, spirits and human and cause real-life consequences.
Earlier, Judy reintroduced Mangde and his youth gamelan organization at the south side of the village. Youth means 17 years old until married. Dance competitions were held as well as drawing competitions at the other side of the village. The plan was that we would meet the youth group of Mangde’s. Some of them and the locals would walk around the village until next morning.
After briefly discussing plans for the tour day and the free day, we were dismissed. I went back to Kobot for a brief rest. Lying on the deckchair beside the pool is extremely relaxing except for the bug bites.
At 6pm, we went to Cudamani again and walked past by Bale Banjar.
After some wait of one and a half hours, we received Dalang Wayn Widja and his ensemble. Widja gave a brief background introduction and plot recap about the story of the thief and the king. When Judy asked if the ensemble knows about the plot of the story or what was gonna happen tonight, Widja said no. While we waited, ironically, Widja refused to eat as he explained it might not do well to his stomach and therefore ruin the performance. His assistants and ensemble ate the dinner. We then followed suit.
We migrated to Bale Banjar, where Widja’s group would perform. A huge television set was there to give us real-time English contexts about what was happening on stage. We were at the backstage watching the back scene of the weyang initially.
The Weyang started with amazing gamelan music openings, where the players showed off their techniques and set the beginning of the story.
As the kekayonan appears, I moved to the front stage and started to watch what was happening. I could feel the excitement in the air. Gerrad gave us contexts about the weyang in detail and his comments- the role of the kekayonan, the Balinese word play and sex jokes (the priest bell one was particularly funny), comments on Widja’s voice and techniques.
The puppets we saw the other day became alive almost like magic. More children and villagers came as the show went on. There was laughter from the audience from time to time. I was very impressed by Widja doing chak for three monkeys on his own and the mouths of the animals moved accordingly. The animal battle scenes were vivid and exciting. Widja commented on the egos of professors, doctors and engineers and mocked a lot of social problems through his clown figures. The wayang reminds me of the role of an emcee in hip-hop, who does freestyles, uses jokes and word play in rap to tell the story with some morality, and at the same time comments on the dancers, singers and DJs. It also makes me wonder what made Balinese wayang so unique to other puppet shows. I was very impressed by Gerrad too. The show lasted for three and a half hours. While many of us were falling asleep, he transcribed the gist of the scenes and communicated his feelings and his love of wayang with us in English and through translation throughout the show.
I was reluctant to leave after the show. It was already midnight. A lot of villagers dressed in white and wandered. We stopped by a temple and saw the priest again. He was smiling to us and waving to us, asking us if we want to do a prayer. Most of us were too tired, or unsure. We bowed with our hands at our front. I went back to my room.
I could hear party music from afield, but I did not see the youths.
Leave a Reply