“Indonesia gained a number of gold medals while I was present at the Asian Games…and I’m sure that if there had been a gamelan competition, Mekar Bhuana would have got gold too!” enthused the Minister, adding that even though he had been to Bali many times he had never seen this classical court style of Balinese gamelan and dance, especially using antique instruments.

It’s awesome to know that there are people who appreciate the efforts our musicians and dancers, who have learnt much of the material from vintage recordings, because there are no guru left in Bali who remember the art-forms. We hope that the Minister and others can help to gain further support to help Balinese document and preserve village performing art-forms.

When we were not performing, we had the opportunity to watch other groups from parts of Asia, including Burma, Iran, Mongolia and Tuva, who represented a mixture of the old and the new. The people of Guangzhou were lucky to catch such quality performances; of course, many of the shows were packed out.

We enjoyed our China experience and offer a huge “thank you” to the organisers for inviting us to be part of this massive sporting event. More tours are on the horizon for Mekar Bhuana next year, including to other parts of Asia as well as Europe.

Check out our photos, audio samples and video clips of the performances under the Multimedia tab. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter: Mekar Bhuana Conservatory.

The musicians at Mekar Bhuana Conservatory plans to document this piece by engaging I Wayan Mandra to teach the pieces and then record two albums’ worth of music. This will take several months, so we plan to start straight away (this Sunday, July 11th). It is truly an emergency preservation project, and we have no funding to do this, so via this email we are appealing to the international gamelan community for financial support. This could be in the form of a donation, sponsorship, patronage or complete funding for this project. Even if we got 100 people donating USD20 each, that would help us get started on recording an album. Everyone in the international gamelan community would benefit from this because this rare music would be documented for posterity.

If anyone or any organization/company/university is interested in sponsoring this worthwhile project, please contact me (info@balimusicanddance.com) off-list and I will send you our budget for this and how much we need to raise to document this rare music for future generations of Balinese and gamelan lovers worldwide. Donations can also be made via our website (www.balimusicanddance.com) by clicking the ‘Donate’ button.

You can hear examples of the sound of our antique five-keyed pelegongan on our audio page: and there is some video of our recent pelegongan performance at the Bali Arts Festival on the Pesta Kesenian Bali Facebook Page; http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1337383391099 ; http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1336593931363 ; and http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/video/video.php?v=1337048782734

Thank you one and all for your support!

Vaughan Hatch
Co-founder & Coordinator
Mekar Bhuana Conservatory
www.balimusicanddance.com
info@balimusicanddance.com
+62 (0)361 464 201
+62 (0)81 999 191 104 / 6
Jl. Gandapura III, no.501X
Kesiman Kertalangu
Denpasar, Bali
Indonesia

The new location is in Banjar Kesiman Kertalangu, just 30 metres off the Sanur-Tohpati Bypass. It is very easier to find and even closer than their previous location in terms of time from the tourist centre of Sanur (only 5 minutes by vehicle). Ubud is only 30 minutes away and there are local amenities such as supermarkets and cheap food stalls and restaurants nearby.

The new 550m2 premises is bright and welcoming, yet shaded in part under an elegant mango tree. There is ample parking space with a private driveway. Although, there is a large area for dance and gamelan practices, conservatory founders, Vaughan and Evie, plan to build a pavilion in the courtyard area, dedicated especially to the antique seven-tone semar pegulingan set, as well as a gender wayang / selonding pavilion. There is also a special archival space for their extensive collection of audio and video recordings.

Students and guests to Mekar Bhuana have the option of on-site accommodation, which is fully air conditioned, with queen-sized bed, TV, WiFi, breakfast, optional meals and a laundry service. An added bonus is the large swimming pool which can be enjoyed after a long day of lessons or workshops. For larger groups, there are reasonably priced hotels within walking distance of the conservatory.

Mekar Bhuana believes that the new strategic location and larger capacity will open access to a wider audience of Balinese gamelan and dance lovers; therefore greatly aid them on their mission of education, documentation and preservation of rare Balinese performing art-forms.

Photos of the new location and facilities will be posted shortly on our website: www.balimusicanddance.com and also on FB: Mekar Bhuana Conservatory.

The most senior musician left who still remembers the Singgi pelegongan style, Nagi had been a member of Mekar Bhuana Conservatory since 2004. He is one of the few musicians left in Sanur who play gender rambat in the old fashioned style, a manner which is dying out due to a general standardisation of pelegongan playing style by ISI arts institute in Denpasar.

The Singgi pelegongan tradition was taught to the villagers in the 1950s by I Kecug of Kelandis, Denpasar, and it is believed that these compositions were composed by a number of different composers, including I Wayan Lotring, I Nyoman Kaler and Gusti Putu Geria, now all deceased.

The compositions known by the Singgi musicians were also taught to two other banjar in Sanur: Pekandelan and Taman; however the most complete repertoire remains in Singgi and, according to senior Singgi musicians, Singgi was the only area in Sanur that used two kendang kerumpungan in the pelegongan style, as opposed to solo kendang cedugan.

With the tragic loss of I Ketut Nagi, there is only one musician, I Wayan Mandra, also a member of Mekar Bhuana, left who remembers the tradition in its entirety. It seems like the time is nigh to study and record this rare repertoire before it is lost completely!

Usually if there is a risk of rain – for example, if the ceremony is in the mountains or being held in the middle of the wet season – then a special rain stopper called a ‘tukang/juru terang’ is sought after. Tukang or juru means someone who does a job and terang means ‘clear’. Even though Balinese Hindus believe that everything in the universe is controlled by God, by using a tukang terang one can pray that foul weather won’t inhibit a special ceremony or occasion being carried out.
To either stop or start the rain, offerings, mantra and prayers are made, and the tukang terang is also paid a small fee of a few thousand rupiah called sesari which is placed on the offerings.

Tukang terang are almost the same as a balian (a magical healer and wise person) except that their expertise and powers are focused specifically on controlling rain. In some families, there may also be a person who has trained in black magic who can control the rains. A tukang terang can also make rain, just like the American Indians, and on occasion may have ‘rain wars’ between other tukang terang. This is not uncommon, especially if the rain is caused by a person trying to stop a particular ceremony due to envy or hatred of another family.

Don’t forget that we’re right smack in the middle of the wet season at the moment, so if you’re planning a ceremony (or a gamelan and dance performance!), you’d better get the number of a good tukang terang, just to be safe…

© Vaughan Hatch 2010

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Let’s start with the difference between ‘ngayah’ and ‘ngo’opin’. Both of these words loosely mean ‘to help out with a religious or community activity’. Often focussed on a religious-based activity in a temple, Brahmin household (griya) or palace (puri), ngayah is a more commonly heard term. The word ‘ngayah’ has a different connotation depending which part of Bali you’re from. From my experience, in South Bali the word means to ‘devote oneself to a particular cause or ceremonial activity without any expectation of payment or reciprocity’. So, if you dance or play gamelan at a ceremony, for example, that is called ngayah if you are not paid to do so.

Ngo’opin is a more general word for helping out at the banjar or friends and family when they have a particular ceremony; for example, in preparation for a wedding, tooth-filing or cremation.

Acts of both ngayah or ngo’opin can last for many days, weeks or even months if the ceremony is large enough. These demands placed can bring to a halt other activities in a Balinese person’s life, including work. This is why employers have to be both aware yet realistic about how much time off they can grant to their Balinese employees. I’ve known of employees who have been forced to quit their jobs in lieu of a large ceremony!

© Vaughan Hatch 2010

There are several restrictions to be observed on Nyepi. Some of these are: amati karya (no working, including talking), amati geni (no fire or lights) and amati lelungan (no going out). One should also refrain from any form of entertainment, yes even TV! For those who choose to fast, it is a long wait as Nyepi starts at twelve midnight and goes through to sunrise the next morning. In reality, however, few Balinese recognise all of these.

People are expected to stay indoors, or at least on their property and this requirement is fairly strictly enforced by community security guards, otherwise known as pecalang. Even venturing out to the beach from a beachside hotel is forbidden.

To ensure total peace and quiet, of recent years the local government decided to stop all flights in and out of Bali over the Nyepi holiday. Security and health services however continue to operate, in case of emergencies.

A trend over the last few years has been “Nyepi hotel packages” which offers more freedom to both local and overseas tourists who may find it difficult to cope with Nyepi in the village context. Hotel employees of course are expected to work over Nyepi, however the no-entertainment rule is enforced in most establishments.

©2010 Vaughan Hatch