Balinese Dance, Drama & Music - I Wayan Dibia

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in semicircular lines around the face for clowns, demons and antagonistic kings. Princes sport huge mustaches and bushy eyebrows. Demonic females have fangs painted on. Monkeys have furry eyebrows and a jutting jaw piece.

      Good Hair Days

      For female offering dances, the hair is twirled leaving the end dangling in back. In most other dances, the hair is tucked up inside the gelungan (headdress). Women playing male roles tuck their hair up and under in a page-boy. As demons and witches, female performers let their hair flow loosely. Men often wear wigs or hair extensions for strong characters. Refined roles sport headdresses partially covering the dancer's head. Flowers are tucked behind the ears.

      Backstage at Pura Dalem Tebesaya, Peliatan. Most dancers can dress themselves, and they can do it in a flash. Sometimes, however, a professional "dresser" will be called upon, especially to tighten the torso cloths so that a smoother line can be achieved.

      Ida Bagus Nyoman Mas as the demon Rawana. Demons often sport red faces, exaggerated eyebrows and mustaches and have the requisite fangs.

      Ni Komang Suharriati in Taruna Jaya make-up and headdress. The typical make-up for tari lepas (non-dramatic dances) comprises accentuated eye make-up with a layer of blue on the lids and red and gold just under the brows. The thick line of white on the bridge of the nose is to make it appear more aquiline. A headcloth folded in the dara kepek ("slain pigeon") style is particular to this dance.

      I Nyoman Budiartha, a strong male dancer of the ancient Gambuh dance, wears modern style make-up. All facial hair is exaggerated and his eyes sport the now traditional blue, red or gold eyeshadow.

      The Body as Something To Be Wrapped

      Both males and females wrap themselves in many layers of costumes to restrict movement as well as to have a beautiful, sleek line. For refined female roles, a 2.25-or 2.5-meter kain (fabric) is wrapped around the hips to the ankles. The front flap falls center. This cloth has silk-screened designs in prada (gold leaf).

      Princesses and maidservants, such as the Condong in Arja and the female dancer in Oleg Tambulilingan, may wear an additional piece of material at the bottom of the kain as a train. Tucked between the dancer's feet, she flips the fabric out of her way as she steps. In refined male roles, the kain, pleated and draped on the left hip, is wrapped from hip to knee, freeing the legs to move easily. Women and refined male dancers often wear white, long-sleeved shirts.

      For strong male roles, white trousers are worn with setewel (beaded leggings). A 2-3 meter-long white cloth is draped around the chest with a kancut (long pleated "tail") hanging in front. A gold-patterned saput (cape) of prada worn from the chest to the knees and left open in the center is covered by a short velvet coat with long sleeves. The badong (beaded circular collar) and keris (dagger) tucked into a belt above and behind the shoulder blades complete the costume.

      For all female and refined male roles, a plain 8-meter-long sabuk (sash) is wrapped as tightly as the dancer can stand, then covered in an equally long gold-leafed sabuk. Various leather or cloth accessories, such as belts, arm-and wristbands, collars and lamak or awiran (hanging cloth panels), are held in place by elastic bands and safety pins.

      Crowning Glory

      Headdresses and masks are the holiest parts of the costume. Because the head itself is considered holy, the headgear is often consecrated by a priest and kept in the village or family temple, or in the highest place in a dancer's home. The headdress demarcates the character of the dance, drama and puppets, indicating if the character is alus or keras. Headdresses are given offerings on auspicious days and before being used in a performance. Incense is stuck in the headdresses as part of the blessing. Even dancers performing at tourist venues pray for a successful performance and bless their headdresses and masks.

      In dance-dramas, the headdresses often have pandanus leaves sticking out above the ears and girang ("happy") leaves hanging down in front. Both of these plants have mystical protective powers. The girang leaves are are said to help the dancer be calm and confident during the performance.

      Most headdresses are topped with flowers, some with only a few red hibiscus or white frangipani, others with a field of flowers. Refined royal male figures and female roles such as Legong have bancangan ("wire trees") filled with tiers of frangipani flowers to symbolize a mountain, the seat of the gods, which quiver at every head movement. Balinese pray with flowers, and dance is indeed a type of prayer.

      What is Gamelan?

      Gamelan is the set of instruments which make up an ensemble. This could be as few as two gender (metallophones) or as many as sixty different percussive instruments. The way the instruments are played and tuned, and the cacophony of sound produced-clashing cymbals, booming gongs and clanging keys, all with a complex drum beat holding it together-give gamelan its unique flavor. There are over thirty different types of gamelan ensembles in Bali.

      The late I Made Lebah, a famous drummer from Peliatan, plays the drum for the Gamelan Pelegongan. The drum is the dynamic leader in a Balinese ensemble.

      The grantang, a bamboo xylophone of the Joged Bumbung ensemble, is played using a pair of sticks with round rubber tips. The left hand plays the melody, while the right hand provides the elaboration.

      The History of Gamelan

      The first written evidence of gamelan is found in the Sukawana and Bebetin prasasti (metal inscriptions) from the ninth century. The terms parapadaha (drummers) and pamukul (percussionists) from the Sukawana prasasti, and pabunjing (angklung player) and pabangsi (rebab player) from the Bebetin manuscript indicate gamelan activities existed during the Bali Kuno (ancient Bali) period.

      According to a noted musician, the late I Nyoman Rembang, gamelan can be divided into three categories. Ensembles in the tua category (old or ancient, prior to the fifteenth century) are seven-tone pelog, which are found mostly in Bali Aga villages of North and East Bali. These do not use drums and the melodies are eerily haunting. Madya ensembles (middle or sixteenth to nineteenth century) developed in the courts with drums and knobbed gongs. The baru (modern or twentieth century to the present) feature drumming and complex interlocking parts.

      Most gamelan originally came from the courts of Java. During the Majapahit kingdom (some call it the Golden Age of Hindu-Buddhist civilization), from 1343 to 1511, art flourished under the patronage of the royal families. Bali was a vassal state of Majapahit at this time. When Islam took hold in Java, many members of royalty and their courtiers moved to Bali, bringing with them their belief system and their arts.

      The Dutch, who had colonized Java since the 1700s, had only limited control in parts of North and West Bali from 1849 until the turn of the century. In 1906, they invaded South and East Bali, eventually gaining control over the entire island. With both administrative and military power in their hands, the influence of the palaces declined, along with their patronage of the arts. Another phenomenon occurred during this time: the birth of the Gamelan Gong Kebyar. Villagers in North Bali, where this started, melted down the keys on their old gamelan to transform them into new Kebyar orchestras (see p. 25).

      Metallophones

      A metallophone is an instrument where metal is struck to produce a sound. There are two kinds of metallophones in gamelan: gangsa, which are hit with one mallet, and gender, which are struck with two mallets. The keys are suspended over bamboo resonators cased

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