Balinese Dance, Drama & Music. I Wayan Dibia

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      One of the better known Gamelan Gong Gede ensembles comes from the village of Kintamani, Batur. This group performs at the temple ceremonies at Pura Ulun Danu in Batur.

      In Tenganan Pegeringsingan, the villagers say that long ago they heard the sounds of thunder from the sky. The first thunderclap fell to the earth at Bongaya and the second at Tenganan Pegeringsingan. Sets of selonding appeared where the thunder hit. These are only taken out and played during the twice-yearly rituals (usually in January-February and June-July) in Tenganan Pegeringsingan. In the 1980s, ISI (Indonesian Arts Institute) made copies of this sacred ensemble so that students could learn on it. Gamelan Selonding can also be heard in the mountain village of Kayubii, Kintamani.

      The Bronze-Keyed Gamelan Gong Luang

      This is another ensemble used for rituals. It is a seven-tone pelog scaled ensemble that consists of nine different types of instruments played by 10-20 musicians. These include various sized saron (thick bronze keys over a trough), a gambang (xylophone), two jegogan (metallophones), one trompong or reyong (rack of inverted kettle gongs), two large gongs, one kempur (medium-sized gong), 2-4 pairs of medium-sized cymbals (ceng-ceng kopyak), gangsa (metallophones), and two kendang (drums). The number and types of instruments varies from village to village. This is a bronze gamelan except for the gambang which consists of bamboo keys over a wooden soundbox.

      Gamelan Gong Luang is used to complete ceremonial needs, accompany dance (Topeng, Baris Poleng, Pendet and Rejang) and to to fulfill a vow (mayah sesangi). In Dewa Yadnya (temple festivals), Gamelan Gong Luang music is part of the ritual, although not all the instruments are used, the saron for example. For cremations, the same holds true. For the purification rites following cremation (memukur or maligiya), the whole gamelan, including the saron, is used.

      The music played on the Gong Luang ensemble is melodic. It is colored by elaborations of the gam-bang and reyong and with accents by the saron and jegogan. One of the unique features of the ensemble is its sixteen-pot trompong; four musicians sit in two rows facing each other to play this instrument. The gamelan has a serene sound unlike other ensembles, and evokes a time long ago. It can be seen in only a few villages today in Bali, including Singapadu (Gianyar), Tangkas (Klungkung) Krobokan (Badung) and Kesiut (Tabanan).

      Gamelan Gong Bheri and the Baris Cina Dance

      Gong Bheri is probably one of the most rarely heard ensembles and can only be found in Renon and Semawang in Sanur. The instruments are made of bronze. The ensemble consists of two flat gongs, klenteng (a higher pitched small gong), two tawa-tawa (small knobbed gongs), bebende (large gong), kajar (small knobbed gong) kempli (small flat gong), klenang (small flat gong), sangka (conch shell), a set of ceng-ceng (cymbals) and bedug (barrel-shaped drum). Since the bedug is a type of drum used in the mosque, it is thought that this ensemble came to Bali from Java. It was originally housed in Renon but frequently moved. In each new location it claimed a human victim every time it was played.

      Gong Bheri is used to accompany the Baris Cina dance. Both costume and name indicate Chinese influence. The dance depicts two platoons of nine soldiers, one dressed in white, the other in black. It is only performed when someone in the village makes a vow to the temple and sponsors the dance in order to effect a cure. The enormous quantity of offerings involved makes the cost prohibitive. The dance is rarely performed and only in Renon and Sanur.

      Gamelan Gambang and Gamelan Caruk

      Gamelan Gambang accompanies religious rituals such as cremations in North, Central and South Bali and temple festivals in East Bali. It is a seven-tone pelog scaled ensemble with six instruments. Four of these instruments are made out of fourteen bamboo keys and are played by one musician holding two doubleheaded mallets. The other two instruments are bronze saron. The resonating box for the saron is quite small and the keys are placed on top of this box as opposed to being suspended over a bamboo tube, which changes the sound substantially. Gamelan Gambang is performed in Tenganan, Asak, Bebandem (Karangasem), Singapadu, Perangsada, Saba, Sukawati, Blahbatuh (Gianyar), Kesiut (Tabanan), Kerobakan, Sempidi, Kapal and Manikliyu (Badung), and Jirengdalem (Buleleng).

      An extremely rare ensemble called Caruk consists of two gambang and one saron, all of them smaller in size than the regular Gamelan Gambang. This is performed only at cremation rites in Bebandem, Saba, Dharmasada, Krobokan, Sempidi and Abiansemal.