by admin | Jan 20, 2010 | Artikel, Berita, pengumuman
By: I Made Marjaya
Art is one of seven culture elements that show the identity of a nation because it has special characteristic which is bringing an unique experience that improve by its own and stay save inside the artist that create it (Soedarso, 1990:63)
An art is also the ancestor’s idea, sense and intention results which are inherited from generation to generation since the human civilization exist. Balinese art that inspired by Hindu always improves in accordance to the development of the society that supports it. An art is created to keep the balance of live based on Hindu, and also convinced has power to attract every one to enjoy it. The basic power in conducting art thing is beauty or known as ethics. Every creation of art is always base on ethics (act value), logic (truth value), and aesthetics (beauty value). Also in creating an art thing must fulfill three elements which are satwam (truth), siwam (greatness) and sundaram (beauty).
Art is the expression of human soul which implemented in art form which are classified into four main groups which are art of performing, fine art, art of media recording and art of literature. The art of performing has meaning an art that the expression conducted by performing acts because the art moves on space and time. That is way it called only temporary art, an art that is not durable and gone when the art has already been performed. An art of performing covers art of dancing, art of music, martial art and art of drama. Fine art has meaning an art that the expression fall into two or three dimensions, and the art form has a visualization and static characteristic. Fine art included art of painting, sculpture, art of graphic, artistic skill, advertisement art, architecture art and decoration art. Art of media recording is audio-visual art and the realization is the existence of recording art. Media recording art covered film, video and audio computer art. Art of literature is writing work, if compared to other writing work, has various characteristics of superiority like authenticity, artistic, transferred in contents and the expression. Art of literature covers novel, short story, epic, lyrics and also recitation art (Bandem, 1996:1)
An art also has wide and limited meaning. In wide meaning it is an art that related to the human skill such as writing a poem, making shoes, or predict the incoming of sun eclipse. Further more the art in limited meaning is used in a special class of skill includes the product called the fine arts such as art of painting, art of music, art of dancing, shadow play puppetry art, architecture art etc (Marajaya, 2004:11)
For Balinese society, performing an art is a tribute (yadnya), which can be offered to the God (Ida Sanghyang Widi), and for the physical needs, so that through an art a person can be prosperous. Therefore wherever they are and whatever they do, the balance of live concept will always become the main basic. According to the philosophy and logical in prakempa manuscript, the human balance of live concept can be materialized into several dimensions such are:
(1) The human balance of live in single dimension, is the balance of live based on mokshartam jagaddhitaya ca iti dharma philosophy; (2) The human balance of live in dualistic dimension, which is believe of two massive powers like bad and good, night and noon, man and woman, north and south, real and illusion etc; (3) The human balance of live in third dimension, which is believe to the existence of three elements of life such as tri murti, tri loka, tri aksara, tri sakti etc; (4) The human balance of live in fourth dimension, which is believes to the four powers of life such as catur lokapala, catur asrama, catur purusa arta etc; (5) The human balance of live in fifth dimension, which is believes to the existence of five powers of life, panca mahabhuta, panca sradha, panca yadnya etc; (6) The human balance of live in sixth dimension such as sadripu, sad rasa etc; (7) The human balance of live in seventh dimension, which is the human balance of live that believed to the seven conceptions, such as sapta wara, sapta loka etc; (8) The human balance of live in eighth dimension, which is the human’s believe to the eight powers such as asta iswarya; (9) The human balance of live in ninth dimension, is that human must believe with the existence of nine elements in balance such as dewata nawa sanga; (10) The human balance of live in tenth dimension, which is believe to the existence of ten elements in balance such as dasa aksara (Bandem, 1986:11).
Tri Hita Karana A Conception In Conducting Balinese Arts, download.
by admin | Jan 20, 2010 | Artikel
By I Nyoman Windha
The origins of Balinese gamelan are somewhat mysteries as there are few written records existing regarding very early forms of gamelan. From temple reliefs and existing ancient bronze drums, we can see strong early influences from China, mainland Southeast Asia and, in particular, India. In the first century A.D., Hinduism came to Java from India, along with Buddhism. These were the predominant religions in Java up to the fifteenth century, when Islam spread inland from the north coast, having traveled from Sumatra, where it had established its first strongest presence, dating back to the twelfth century A.D. To this day, Indonesian Islamic culture, particularly music, is strongest in Sumatra, particularly in the northernmost province of Aceh.
In Java persisting evidence of the path of adoption of Islam can be found in the fact that the strongest Muslim cultural layer of Central Java remains on the north coast. One popular musical genre there is the gambusan, in which four or more veiled girls sing Muslim songs, mostly in Arabic, accompanied traditionally by four tambourines, a flute (suling), and a small drum. Larger modern forms of this ensemble my additionally include four violins, a clarinet, an accordion and a gambus, which is a pear-shaped plucked lute said to have been brought long ago from the Persian-Arabic area to Pekalongan on the north coast, and to other strongly Muslim areas such as Minangkabau.
In Java, the Islamic influence on gamelan can be found in Gamelan Sekaten, the largest and loudest in Java. This ancient gamelan form is played once a year in an important ceremony. The gamelan is said to have been created by Java’s first Muslim prince in the early sixteenth century. He had built two enormous gamelan in the hope of attracting the largely Hindu population to the new Islamic faith. He ordered this large gamelan to play continuously for a week in his newly built court mosque, during the celebration of Mohammed’s birth, the Sekaten Festival. This festival still takes place every year with the gamelans at the great mosques of Surakarta and Yoygakarta.
Another important performing arts tradition descending from Arabic culture is the Qasidah. Qasidah is a classical Arabic word for epic religious poetry, traditionally performed by a storyteller-singer, accompanied by percussion and chanting. In Indonesia, Muslims practice their own versions of this by improvising lyrics in local languages that address contemporary moral issues and concerns. A modern version of Qasidah is popular. It is a pop-song form using modern western instruments, and rhythms and melodies from the popular Dangdut form which in turn borrows them from Arabic pop songs.
Current Balinese culture traces origins back through Java to India. In Java, the last great Hindu kingdom, called Majapahit, fell to Muslim rulers around 1500. Today, nearly ninety percent of Java’s population is Muslim, but the traditional arts of gamelan, dance, and theatre all have their roots in the older Hindu-Buddhist culture. In the late fifteenth century the Hindu Javanese Majapahit Empire fell to Muslim rulers. At this time, many of the Javanese princes fled eastwards across the narrow strait to Bali, taking with them their priests, dancers and musicians. To this day the Balinese religion is a unique blend of Hinduism and traditional Balinese beliefs.
In both Java and Bali gamelan music is inseparable from the arts of poetry, dance and drama. A gamelan player will be familiar with dance movements and poetry and many dancers are quite at home sitting in the gamelan. There is a very strong interrelation among different art forms, as exemplified by a tight interweaving with musical gesture and dance movement. This high degree of interrelation is signified further by the large amount of crossover for artists between different art forms. Beyond the fact that dancers and musicians can often perform competently, and even virtuosically, in either realm, musicians are often painters and wood carvers and the reverse is true also. The gamelan is rarely played on its own without accompanying dance or puppetry. Like many other Southeast Asian ensembles, it is closely linked to the theatre.
One of the most popular forms of theater in Java and Bali is wayang kulit. The wayang was originally associated with ancestor worship in the pre-Hindu era, but later adopted the Hindu stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which have formed the basis of Javanese and Balinese dance and theatre for over a thousand years.
by admin | Jan 20, 2010 | Artikel
By Antonia Indrawati, translated by I Nyoman Suteja
Within intra-ethnic group in Indonesia the function of traditional dances is still well preserved, eventhough dance art creations are developing and becoming more and more in their quantity from time to time. Its educative, religious, recreative, and economic functions seem to be interrelated in variative configuration (Sedyawati, 1995/1996:22). This fact shows that traditional dances still function properly within the supporting community.
The performance of traditional dances is mostly used as a medium for the teaching and/or introducing the cultural values of the local community to the target audience, while giving entertainment in celebrating special events. Therefore, this kind of dances is not merely used for showing the artistic expression of the supporting artists but also as a reflection of the community as a whole.
Talking about the performance of traditional dances, specifically those of Adonara in East Nusa Tenggara, one prominent dance of this category is Tenarere dance. Tenarere is one of the various traditional dances found in the areas of East Nusa Tenggara beside those of Hedung dance, Roja dance, Moras dance, Semogo dance, Liang Namang dance, Namang Ula dance, Namang Neron dance, Nogo Oe dance, Soka Palang dance, Lili dance, Sole Oha dance, and Hegong dance, Commonly those dances have something to do with similar function, that is as an expression of thankfulness to the Almighty and their Great Anchestors for their blessing so that the community can achieve a successful harvest, a successful building of new rumah adat, and/ or others.
In general, almost all of the above mentioned traditional dances have a similar function for moral teaching related to those of adat, social life, history and recreation. However, there are some dances only function to reflect the daily life of the community, such as Buhu Lelu dance (expressing the art of the process of separating cotton from its seeds toi be ready for tenun ikat weaving)., Pute Ture dance (expressing the art of the process of weaving local tenun ikat by women group)., Neket Tane dance (expressing the art of producing local tenun ikat, starting from the process of growing cotton up to that of tenun ikat weaving)., and Tenun dance (expressing the art of making ‘ikat’).
Spesificaly speaking, the Tenarere cultural art tradition is considered to be a ritual dance which is rich in philosophical values. This dance has all the need as what Koentjaraningrat (1997: 171) says that art as one component of culture appears because of human need to fulfill their instinct need for aesthetic value. Above all, Tenarere dance is also presented to fulfill the feeling of religiosity of participating group members.
At a glimpse, this dance seems to be monotonous since from beginning up to the end it only performs repetition of the similar movements. This kind of presentation makes us difficult to understand the synopsis of the dance. To understand it, we should listen to its accompanying song. It is this song that tells us the underlying story of the dance as a whole. However, in order to have a complete understanding on the cultural art tradition related to its role for strengthening brotherhood unity of thnic group of Adonara, it is necessary that one make a holistic interpretation on all its aspects.
by admin | Jan 20, 2010 | Artikel
By : I Nyoman Murtana
Leather puppet performance in Bali considerably so classical, either the figure of wayang (puppet) or the performance. The impression shows deeply that people has given a big appreciation in deed toward tradition culture. It is due to that tradition give a guarantee in regulation and quality such as awareness, belief, norm, and has been effectively used to inform and transmit all of values used today which come from the ideas and the thing in the past to build future. The big influence of tradition culture make them neglect to have an idea to change extremely, because tradition culture is supposed to have a power to obligate them in preserving the highly valued of Balinese culture to select many kinds of global influence. The global influence is impossible to avoided, but it has been creatively responded by art performance community, included here is a leather puppet, which make them able to keep “local wisdom” and “ local genius” which is taken from local culture. The dalang (puppet player) who come from academic institution or non-academic one, they are born from dalang inherited, or the mixture of both of tem, have been a big effort to make a reproduction of values and express them in contemporary and fresh puppet performance, but never leave Balinese logic, ethics and aesthetics. It seems that mentality of puppet performance doer and art performance keeper, have been in condition to keep taste of Bali as a strong foundation to make self expression. It is not too far if puppet performance to be one of manifestation as Balinese culture border.
The Recent Situation Of Puppet Performance In Bali, Download
