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      Fig. 38 Detail of Fig. 39 (overleaf).

      One of the most interesting scenes from the Malat shows Panji’s cousin, Rangkesari’s elder brother, returning from abroad in his new guise as the young king of the kingdom of Malayu⁴⁶ (Fig. 37). King Malayu and his two chief wives appear in the large ship in the bottom left-hand scene, landing at Tuban, the ancient royal port on the north coast of Java.

      In the two main scenes that dominate the central part of the painting, they are greeted by the local official (adipati). Different versions of this story show either indigenous-style boats and ships or Chinese and European ships and crews. Since this scene is concerned with the meeting of different ethnic groups, elaborate ceremonies and celebrations, in this case worship at a temple (top left) and feasting (bottom right), are shown.

      When Panji and Malayu are both in the court of the king of Gegelang, they are faced with an army led by four kings who are brothers: Mataram, Mataun, Camara and Lasem. Unbeknown to Panji and Malayu, the lost princess Rangkesari has been taken by the king of Lasem, although he has yet to consummate their marriage. Only after this battle does Malayu discover his sister’s identity.

      The painting of the Great Battle above is by the master of Kamasan art from the end of the nineteenth century, Kaki Rambug, and displays complex composition and dense narrative (Fig. 39). The work shows the culmination of the military confrontation between Prince Panji’s allies and their enemies, led by King Mataram. Panji and his allies, who include his cousin Malayu and their uncle, King Gegelang, are shown on the left-hand side, facing to the right. King Mataram and his brothers Lasem, Mataun and Camara, are shown coming from the right side, facing left.

      The front section of this complex battle scene shows various warriors from both sides, with Panji’s companions, the rangga (aide-de-camp) and kadehan, highlighted, such as in the scene where one of Panji’s kadehan kills the demang or chancellor of the enemy (Fig. 38).

      King Mataram appears in the bottom part of the painting, riding his red horse, soon to become Panji’s. Mataram is then shown in a sequence of killings in the top row. In the top right, Panji’s cowardly elder brother, Prabangsa, flees the fight, while Panji challenges and then kills Mataram. Panji then kills Matuan in the middle of the top sequence, while Malayu kills Lasem. Magical signs appear at Lasem’s death, a flaming head (lightning), the sun shining, and a symbol surrounded by an aureole. On the bottom right, Camara, who has come late to the battle, is persuaded to surrender after his brother’s death. Above this scene, Panji accepts Camara’s surrender. In other paintings, this great victory is followed by the suicide of the wives of the king of Lasem, who stab themselves with ceremonial daggers.

      Fig. 39 Kaki Rambug, Kamasan, Great Battle from the Malat, end 19th C, traditional paint on Balinese cloth, 77 x 268 cm, langse, from a temple in Sidemen, private collection (photo Gustra).

      Brayut

      In contrast to the sublime doings of the princes in the Malat, the story of the Brayut family presents peasant life (Fig. 40). Given that the artists of Kamasan were peasant farmers, there is great care in presenting the story of the impoverished and over-fertile Pan (father) and Men (mother) Brayut. Reversing gender roles, Pan Brayut does the cooking and other housework, looking after the eighteen children, while his wife lazes in bed.

      The story is an excuse for artists to depict their temple festivals and making of offerings. A significant scene in the story comes later when Brayut’s son, Ketut Subaya, gets married in a parody of courtly heroics. The artists tended to go to town with depictions of the wedding, and of course of its consummation, with the pockmarked Ketut shown in bed with his demure new wife. Pan Brayut himself seeks the life of a hermit, meditating in a graveyard and resisting the assault of the ghosts and spirits sent by Durga. Eventually, he becomes a priest (Fig. 41).

      Fig. 40 Kumpi Mesira, Kamasan, Brayut, c. 1910, traditional paint on Balinese cloth, 23 x 380 cm, ider-ider, from a temple in Takmung, Forge Collection, Australian Museum, E74195 (photo Emma Furno).

      Calendars

      Another way in which daily life and the greater cosmic scheme of things come together in Balinese paintings is in calendars. Bali has many complex calendrical systems, based mainly on discerning the quality of time, so that people can plan for ceremonies or other important events. Balinese do not necessarily celebrate birthdays according to annual calendars, but days of birth, as in other astrological systems, help to determine an individual’s character or nature, and it is important to know the correct offerings related to one’s day of birth.⁴⁷

      Star Calendars (Palelintangan)

      Balinese calendars recognize many forms of weeks, from a one-day week to a seven-day week. A ‘month’ in Bali consists of the combination of a five-day and seven-day week, producing a thirty-five day cycle. These thirty-five day cycles are displayed in the frequently produced star calendars, or palelintangan. There calendars, as well as dealing with cosmic principles of the relationship between the divine and humanity, also serve as references, and thus usually have long explanatory texts in Balinese. Through calendars such as these, Balinese are able to know the nature of days of the month as they align with star signs. Knowing this, people can know whether days are auspicious or inauspicious.

      The seven-day week starting Sunday (redite, soma, anggara, buda, wrespati, sukra, saniscara) is depicted in the top and bottom rows, each day governed by a deity with different attributes: a tree, bird, companion figure. The grid is formed by the five-day cycle shown from top to bottom (umanis, paing, pom, wage, kliwon), so that the first day of the ‘month’ is redite-umanis, governed by the star sign kala sungsang or upside-down demon. Redite is governed by the god Indra, whose companion figure (and also a wayang figure) is Panji or a minister, its tree the kayu putih, and its bird a siung or parrot, all of which are shown in the top left-hand panel of the painting. The other governing influences are shown in the bottom row and these consist, for redite, of a Garuda bird and an elephant-headed demon (Fig. 43).

      Fig. 41 Kamasan, Brayut, 19th C, traditional paint on cloth, 72 x 213 cm, langse, Gunarsa Museum, USA (photo Gustra).

      Earthquake Calendars (Palindon)

      A different type of calendar depicts the character of months in which earthquakes occur. The first month, according to the Indian-based lunar calendar used in this system, is July. Each month is governed by a deity, and if earthquakes occur in that month, then other events will follow. Thus, if there is an earthquake in the first month (top right panel), Pertiwi, the Goddess of the Earth, is meditating, which means that the world will be prosperous, all the trees will bear fruit, and everything will be cheap, a situation that will continue for years.

      The Balinese concept of causality displayed here is complicated. Deities do not directly cause the events predicted by each month’s earthquakes. Rather, the divine power or sakti of each deity’s meditation has sets of indirect consequences, including the earthquakes caused by the act of meditation. Events, good and bad, are indirect manifestations of divine power working in the world, and are not related to intentions (Fig. 42).

      Fig. 42 I Nyoman Dogol, Kamasan, Palindon, 1930s, natural colours and lamp black on cloth, 172 x 216 cm, purchased 1989, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

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