Kecak, round two (and Robbie's double...)

Last night I went to another Kecak Ramayana and Fire performance, this time performed by Taman Kaja at Pura Dalem in Ubud.


This one was staged outside, in the newly refurbished temple, which was quite beautiful (candlelit, without the walks on the beach feeling). Unlike the last show, the audience were placed quite far away from the action, so the chanting was a lot softer. The storyteller didn't have a billowing voice as the last, but it was still melodic and carried over the the sound of the monkey chatter. I still got a excited sit-on-the-edge-of-me-chair feeling when the chorus spilled onto the stage...


Before I continue, I managed to spot Robbie Magasiva in the crowd. In fact, he was chanting, front row...


Nah, just jokes. But FYI, his doppelganger actually lives in Bali.


The dancing was the best part of this performance. Both Rama and Sita were played by women (Rama's a pretty girly boy anyways)...

And baddies with funny laughs (played by men though, disappointingly). At one stage one of them pulled a head out of a cloth bag. I can't remember where that came in the story, but it was a pretty sweet moment (you can just make him out in the background)...


Favorite character alert: Hanoman. Great monkey moves, he would squat down (like a grand plié in second position) and then jump up, popping his torso from side to side. There was also Sugriva, the red monkey king, in the show. As you can imagine, I'm happy with any monkey in a show, so two of them and I was in monkey heaven.



And of course, the part we were all waiting for: The Trance. I've probably failed to mention that last week a few people here managed to catch a trance ceremony at a temple (not a public performances) which included young men stabbing themselves repetitively with a kris. We're talking frenzy/people being carried out of the temple here. Needless to say, that didn't happen tonight. Anyway, here are the flaming coconuts...

As is tradition, the horse rider came out, enticed by the kecak, and then everytime the second part of the chorus sung this dinky little song he would run at the pile of flaming husks. He did this with his eyes closed.


Unlike the last guy, they made a real spectacle out of 'catching' the horseman and calming him down, and he sat in a relatively meditative state after the show, head bowed, on the concrete (the other guy flashed some peace signs for the paparazzi and rode through the crowds on his wee 150cc motorbike post show).

Many people gave him money/offerings as well, including many children from the Banjar, and some tourists.

Tonight I am going to watch Ibu Ayu perform with her group at a show just out of Ubud, I am looking forward to the refined, feminine, strong moves of the Legong dance.

Nyoman the Wise...

So, I guess an update on my mask is in order.

First, this fella, I've put some calcium treatment on the upper gum and eyes, I just have to finish him off with the bamboo (kinda like a sandpaper jobbie)...


Now, here is Nyoman demonstrating some stretching to ease the pain in your legs (sitting on a hard floor for a few hours straight can have devastating effects on non-Balinese-groins). I'm sure he'd be flattered to know I put these up...


Nyoman is about finished carving my special mask. He has modelled the bottom half (chin, mouth and cheeks) off my own face, and the top is like a laughing Buddah. In so many ways, it looks like my mum- the more I look at it, the more he refines it, the more it looks like Mum. It's uncanny.



He had originally wanted a photo of me so he had a reference point, but when I forgot to email it to him he said he prefered only working on it when I was visiting anyway. So I've been a little model for my teacher over the last few days.

P.s. No I won't put up pictures till it's finished. He was sandpapering today so it's nearly done.

Last week a mask hippy did a lecture at Melati Cottage, and he had these beautifully carved wooden clown noses (these were made by Pak Gusto's uncle, who is another great carver). So we asked Nyoman about it, and he made some mock ups over a nights work, and came up with these (they are so cool)...



This one is spectacular, and I'm getting him to make me one (as I type, infact)...


I'd order a hundred if I could fit them in my suitcase, they're great.

And now, the gradual development of my new mask...



I've only got a handful of sessions left with Nyoman, I can't quite believe I've been carving for this long. How time flies when your working hard and yet hardly working...

Cremation ceremony...

Ibu Ayu, the teacher for the women's dance Legong informed us that someone from her family/Banjar had passed and was having the cremation ceremony on Wednesday. So before we went to class we decided to stop in Ubud to check it out.

Turns out, the gentleman had been deceased for two months, and the family were waiting for an auspicious day to have the body cremated. He was a high priest, a very high status and widely respected man, and so the ceremony was a pretty big deal (it is customary to cremate the body in Bali).

I wasn't sure how I felt about going along, but when I got there I realised witnessing the spectacle seemed to be a part of paying my respects. The main street in Ubud was closed off- both tourists and locals filled the streets. Everyone had their phones and cameras out. I only took a few, it felt strange to be snapping away at, well, a funeral.

The procession down the street (note all the women in the white kebaya)...


And the men in their matching sarongs (the black and white symbols of good and evil)...


A high priest was in this float, which also held the body.


It looks like he's giving the crowd a wave, but he was sprinkling holy water and rice.


The music they were making was tremendous, unlike anything I'de heard in Bali. It was loud, percussive, aggressive, almost like the accompanying soundtrack for a Chinese Lion Dance. There were two opposing groups, crashing and banging at each other.

The parade stopped at the temple, where the body was transfered to the tower (where it would be burned) and offerings where made. I asked Nyoman about the procession later on, he said that the white cow was a very esteemed figure to be carried in, the 'vehicle', so to speak.


It was such a hot day, there were dragonflies encircling the pyre, hawkers where out in their dozens trying to sell sarongs, trinkets, beverages and ice creams. We didn't manage to stay to watch it go up, but on our way home a thick smoke covered most of Ubud (all the way to my room in Melati Cottages in Penestanan). It was such a strange turn of events. A huge theatrical event, like a festival parade or a scene from a medieval play on a pageant wagon.

I guess what I found unbearable were the tourists, many of them would have had no idea it was a cremation, it was so surreal seeing them running along following the commotion, iPads out filming the entire thing, ready to upload it on facebook to show all their friends.

Which, I guess, is what I've done just now. Off my high horse I get.

The noseless mask...

So, Pak Gusto brought in some more of his masks to class yesterday, including some rubber Commedia half masks.



I came across a design I can't quite get me head around: The Noseless Mask.


It looks so bizarre, I will have to get inside one and put up some pictures. This one, which has quite striking eyebrows, looked a little like a Persian cat woman when worn (it makes your nostrils quite prominent).


I have no idea where the tradition comes from, whether from Bali or Italy, it seems so strange to have a half mask with cheeks but no nose. If you have any resources about them, please let me know.

Mardika's for dinner...

Last night Mardika, the Dalang (puppet master) from Sukiwati invited us over for dinner. Traditional Balinese family dinner. It was so warm, fun, and full of laughter. The highlight of the evening was singing kareoke with the family, including some classic Balinese pop songs, Bollywood hits, and Celine Dion (the Canadian's amongst us sweld with pride).

The table of food...

Here are his puppets all hanging up...


These ones are unfinished (note the beautiful Tree of Life)...

Loads of kiddies and wee Balinese bebes...


Eating with the family...


And of course the kareoke...


Raising the roof...


So Bali, how deep is your love?

This would be Canadian pride, eh? (Michael and Ines, theatre practitioners from Toronto)...

Oh, of course, that Indian classic, you know, the one that goes "Kya Karoon Haye, Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai"? I guess not...

Good night was had by all! It was wonderful to experience the family community- aunties, uncles, cousins- generations of Balinese performance practitioners, all eating, sharing, and having a great time. Turns out that all my soul searching to uncover the notion of a universal language has been solved- move over Peter Brook, it's called the Gesture of Kareoke. There. Research paper, done. Boom.

Mask Museum...

Went on a wee field trip to the Setia Darma House of Mask and Puppets in Mas. It houses a massive collection of masks and puppets from Indonesia, and parts of Asia and Africa. The collection was initiated by Javanese businessmen Hadi Sunyoto, a man with an appreciation and enthusiasm for mask and puppets.

The museum is off the main road from Mas, nestled in an isolated clearing between the banana trees and dragonflies. The collection is held in a group of traditional imported Javanese houses, quite different to the Bali complexes (beautiful slabs of teak wood, massive open spaces, and motifs of pinapples everywhere). Each of the buildings had a different group of Topeng (mask) or Wayan (puppet).


This one housed most of the Topeng Bali...


The museum itself has a brilliant photo gallery of the masks online here.

The recent trend in Bali is to finish masks with gloss paint. It is remarkable how smooth they are, most look like they have been cast in plastic. You forget that these have been carved with very basic hand tools, not a bandsaw/jigsaw in sight, some carvers even choosing to use sandpaper sparingly (the traditional eqivalent is a matted bamboo which smooths the surface). I prefer the matte or 'ceramic' finish, which is more common in traditional practice.

Anyway, here are some of my favorites...

Sidhakarya Putih (the embodiement of Success. Danced at the end of a Topeng Pag performance)...


Sempati...


Sangut...


Bedahulu Putih...

This one is an older Balinese mask, Bondres (clown) Bungut Linggah. The description of this guy is hilarious...

"Mask of Bungut Linggah (wide mouth) this depicts public who like aimlessly, pretend busy but doesn't know what be do and love to affront the friend"


This Javanese mask reminds me of Yellow Bastard from Sin City...


Check the likeness (and maybe add some Klingon)...


Jiweng (sawo gletak) from Lenggeran, Wonosobo. A comic character (if you hadn't guessed)...


Here is one of the leather commedia masks made by Newman (I'm going to his studio/gallery on Sunday). He's from the states, is married to a Balinese woman, and lives here most of the time. Check out his online gallery here (and if you want me to buy one for you, sent me a message. And some cash). From what I understand he learnt some of his craft from Italy. I looooove the Capitano...

These are some of the Japanese masks from the Noh tradition, although I suspect they were carved by a Balinese craftsman. I know that both Anom and Nyoman have travelled to Japan to teach and learn some Japanese techniques (the carving is similar, the painting is different).


Nothing beats a good penis-nose-ball-sack-chin combo in a mask...


And then some of the puppets (but not before meeting some celebrities)...


Here is a set of the Wayan Kulit (Balinese puppets)...

Detail of the characters...


They are made out of animal hide, punched with different shaped stamp to create patterns, and then painted...


Here are a set of Wayan Kulit, the Christian edition. The characters (Jesus, disciples, etc) essentially match the Balinese architypes, and given that the Wayan Kulit narrative is taken from a religious epic (the Ramayana) I imagine it translates quite well in performance. Would love to see a passage of the Bible performed shaddow puppet styles.


These are the Javanese rod puppets, they are very different to the Balinese ones...


Here are some more contemporary designs (I imagine matched with contemporary narratives, although I am yet to watch a Javanese puppet show)...


I'm no expert, but if living in my old Newtown flat is anything to go by, the heat and humidity would make most of the artifacts here deteriorate considerably (mould is such a problem in Bali), there doesn't seem to be a temperature measure/gage in any of the rooms, so hopefully an upgrade in the close future will aid in preserving and prolonging their shelf life.

Now, off I go to 'pretend busy' and 'affront the friend'.