Bali, Island of the Gods.
Bali, island of the arts.
In this little paradise on earth, located in Indonesia to the east of the island of Java, art is so much a part of everyday life that no words exist to describe art or artists. In fact, everyone is an artist.
At the end of a long, hard day’s work in the rice fields, the Balinese pick up their brushes and tools and become painters or sculptors. The same goes for dance. It’s part of everyday life, and accompanies every festival.
But Bali is also the island of the gods. And religion is present in every daily act. The gods receive daily offerings of flowers or rice, as well as prayers. And what more beautiful offering can one imagine than such graceful and beautiful dances.
The religion practiced in Bali is Hinduism. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country today, was not always Islamist. Between the 7th and 15th centuries, Indonesia was both Buddhist and Hindu, depending on the region and the era. It was not until the 15th century that Islam became established in Java. Driven back to the island of Bali, the Javanese Hindus settled there, and the small island has retained its original religion to this day.
Although based on the same texts as Indian Hinduism, and sharing several epic tales, such as the Mahabaratha and the Ramayana, the Hinduism practiced in Bali is quite different from that practiced in India. In particular, the caste system does not exist. Balinese dances often recount episodes from Indonesian mythology or history.
The first is the Legong. These dances were reserved for the palaces. Legong dancers wear magnificent gold-embroidered costumes and flower-decorated headdresses. Balinese dances obey extremely precise rules. Dancers always keep their lips closed. Eye movements are extremely important, as are hand and finger movements and positions.
The music that accompanies Balinese dances is also unique to the island. It is performed by an orchestra called gamelan. It consists mainly of percussion instruments, such as gongs and metallophones, and is complemented by flutes. Legong dances are usually performed by very young girls. The precision of Balinese dance movements requires a long and difficult apprenticeship. The highly complex hand and eye movements require perfect coordination.
In addition to beautiful costumes, legong dances feature accessories such as fans and flowers, which the dancers carry in small woven bamboo baskets. Another dance practiced on the island is the baris. The Baris is the Balinese warrior. This dance is performed by young boys. Despite its warlike nature, this dance is also performed in temple precincts during religious festivals.
One of the island’s most famous dances is called the barong or kriss dance. It owes its first name to the mythical animal that appears in the dance, and its second name to an accessory also involved in this dance: the wavy-bladed Balinese dagger, the kriss.
In Balinese mythology, the barong is the symbol of the positive forces of the universe. He is pitted against the witch Rangda. Rangda is able to force the men who fight her alongside the barong to turn their kriss against themselves. It takes all the barong’s magical power to prevent the death of his companions and defeat Rangda.
During this dance, the kriss dancers go into a trance. The Barong is operated by two dancers in a costume: one occupies the front part of the animal, the other the back. The animal’s head is made of a wooden mask, and the dancer snaps his jaw during the dance. Its fur is made of long, silky hair, and the animal is adorned with gold and a beard decorated with flowers. The barong is portrayed as fearful, a little naive, but of immense courage and devotion.
Kecak (pronounced ketchak) is the most recent Balinese dance. It only appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Kecak recounts an episode from the Ramayana, the well-known Hindu epic in which Hannuman‘s monkey army helps Rama free his wife Sita, who is a prisoner of Ravanna, the king of Lanka, who has kidnapped her. A hundred or so dancers sit in a circle around a fire, producing the rhythm of the dance themselves by uttering ‘tchac – tchac – tchac’, imitating the cry of the monkeys and giving the dance its name: the kecak.
A Balinese dancer
A very young gamelan player
Hands are important in dance
Traditional dance in a beautiful, colorful costume
Drum
5 January 2017
Bali, Island of the Gods. Bali, island of the arts. At the end of a long day’s work in the rice fields, the Balinese pick up their brushes and tools and become painters or sculptors. The same goes for dance. It’s part of daily life and accompanies every festival.
