Balinese Culture12 February 2008, 02:03:31 - (447 hits) Balinese Arts - Dancing
This art functions is a part of the religious temple ceremonies. The religious ceremony consider uncompleted without gamelan orchestra and dancing.
Kerawitan
Similar to dancing, kerawitan also consider as the necessary part of the religious temple ceremonies. Orchestra / karawitan is a dominant entertainment in Bali, especially the instrumental.
Seni Wali - (Religious)
What is meant by Seni Wali is the art performed in the temples or places connected to the religious ceremony. Presented as part of the ceremony, there is normally no story told, but the connection with the supernatural is invoked to gain its power and protection.
Seni Bebali (Ceremonial)
Seni Bebali is part of the religious ceremony both inside and outside the temples. It generally tells a story, which is presented in the forms of dance and instrumental music. Among these dramas are: Topeng dance, Gambuh, Leko dance, Wayang Kulit, Angklung, Semar Pegulingan, Balaganjur, as well as others.
Seni Balih-Balihan (Performance)
Seni Balih-balihan are performances which serve as popular entertainment rather than religious ceremony. The basic elements come from the more classical works but have the purpose of to be enjoyed in a light manner rather than being taken seriously.
Traditional Groups
Traditional groups in the Bali community are: villages, banjar (community group), subak (irrigation group) and sekehe (special group). Traditional group based on territory area called desa (village). The Village concepts consist of two parts which are traditional & official villages. Traditional villages is a traditional community in Bali with its own specific tradition and habit in line with Hindu religion which inherited from generation to generation; bounded into Kahyangan Tiga (Three important temples in the village) with their own territory. The official village is administrative territory under the subdistrict.
Tri Hita Karana Concept is a Balinese concept integrating in harmony three components for the life prosperity and happiness which are:
1. GOD who protect your life
2. The whole territory available
3. The human resources consist of the whole community.
Dried Palm Leave (lontar)
Lontar is part of the Bali culture collection by culture documentation office.
The Bali culture documentation office is formed in an effort to protect the value of Balinese culture, especially the one which was kept in the dried palm leaves. The various manuscripts written on the lontar will not last longer because of the weather and humidity in Indonesia.
Process of writing and protecting the dried palm leaves.
Preserving the leaves started from the pick up from the tree and preserving then writing on it and stored in its special box. The natural preserving process and with the chemical. The process dried leaves with the manuscript written on it then stored in the special box.
The antique and rare manuscript were copied before disappeared through copying of the manuscript into the new lontar. This process was available since 17th century when the oldest manuscript of epic Ramayana kept at the Leiden University Library. The manuscript number LOr 1790 aged 3 decades . Another valuable manuscripts collected at Leiden University Library was back dated to 20th century and end of the past century.
Balinese Village
Village in Bali is mainly based on the location unity. Half of its territory belongs to the villagers as an individual, and the other half is the area under the village supervision right, or concretely under the supervision of the village’s leader. The villages in the mountain range usually have a centered pattern of settlement, whereas the villages that have ‘banjar’ (a traditional institution) system and villages in the plain area have a dispersed pattern of settlement.
Besides as a territory unit, a village is also a religious unit that is determined by a village temples complex called Kahyangan Tiga comprising Pura Puseh, Pura Bale Agung and Pura Dalem. Sometimes Pura Puseh and Pura Bale Agung are combined into one and called as Pura Desa.
As explained before, the points of direction concept has a very important meaning in the religion of the Balinese. The sacred things are positioned towards the mountain direction (kaja), and the ordinary things that are unsacred placed to the sea direction (kelod). This dualism classification is reflected in the site arrangement of the house and the center building of the village. These buildings must be built in accordance with the points of direction concept. For instance in the mountain direction is placed Pura Desa, and in the sea direction is the site for Pura Dalem (a temple related to cemetery and death).
In the area that has a ‘banjar’ system exists a ‘bale banjar’ building, a place for the villagers to hold a meeting and other activities, surrounded by the housing of the banjar members. The building complex that is occupied by a nucleus or extended family is built on a yard, usually surrounded by a wall with a narrow splitting gate. This complex consists of bedroom, one or more kitchen, lumbung (rice barn), living room, and a family shrine (sanggah). The complex as a whole is called uma. The sites of the bale, sanggah, etc., are generally arranged in accordance with a certain pattern. The family shrine is considered to be sacred and located in the kaja direction. The housing area is located in the kelod direction. Each bale (building) has a certain name based on its function in customs or daily needs.
Banjar
Banjar" is a social unit based on territory unity. This social unity is strengthened by custom unity and sacred religious ceremonies. In the mountain range area, the characteristic of banjar membership is limited only to those who were born in the banjar territory. Whereas in the plain area the banjar membership is open to the public and not limited only to those who were born in this area. The people from other places and happened to stay in the banjar are welcomed to join the banjar if they want to. The center of banjar is ‘bale banjar’ (‘banjar’ hall), where the members of the banjar usually meet on a certain day. Banjar is led by a ‘kelian banjar’. The banjar members elect him as the leader of the banjar for a certain period of duty. His duty is not only related with all the social life of the banjar as a community, but also the religious life. Besides that he also has to solve the custom problems. Sometimes kelian banjar also deals with the things that are related to governmental administration.
Sekaha
In the life of village society in Bali, there are organizations that active in a certain field called ‘sekaa’. They could be hereditary or temporary organization. There is a sekaa which functions to perform the ceremonies related to the village, such as sekaa baris (Baris Dancers Group), sekaa teruna teruni (the youth organization). These sekaa are permanent, but there is also a temporary sekaa, i.e. the sekaa that is established for specific purposes, such as sekaa memula (planting group), sekaa manyi (harvesting group), sekaa gong (gamelan orchestra group) and others. These sekaa are usually apart from the banjar or village organization.
Subak (Balinese Farmer Organization)
Subak in Bali does not belong to the banjar and has its own leader. The people who become the subak members are not always the same people who become the banjar members. The subak members are the owners or the people who work on the rice field that getting the water irrigation from the dams regulated by a subak organization. Not all of the subak members live in the same banjar. On the other hand, there could be a banjar member who has many rice fields in different areas and get the water irrigation from the dams organized by several subaks. Therefore this banjar member will join himself in all of the subaks where his rice fields are located.
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