Badung The Center of Tourism

“Melubak-lubakan” Game by Cili Mekar Group

Bali has many traditional games played by children of elementary school age to entertain onlookers, such as ‘melubak-lubakan’. Twenty-seven children appeared on stage at Ayodya Ground on Sunday 15th June 2003, singing before audience attending the annual Bali’s Art Festival held this year for the twenty-fifth time in Denpasar.

The traditional character of the game was first shown through the guidance of bamboo-made ‘tingklik’ gamelan instruments. The players appeared on stage as a group associated in ‘Sanggar Cili Mekar’, established 1986 in Banjar Beneh Kawan, Blahkiuh Village, Badung Regency, by Made Persib who is also the club’s supervisor. The group is representing Badung Regency in the festival held from 14 June until 13 July 2003.
Mr. Persib has arranged the game neatly even though the club did not come on stage as a contestant, but just to entertain audience. He worked out the game by upholding its originality, fine technicality, and careful choice of players depending on their respective role in the game.
There are three parties of children engaged in the show - chickens, civet cats (‘lubak’), and dogs, without demeaning the character of children who come from SD 3 Blahkiuh elementary school. Mr. Persib (46), who has three sons and is teacher at Sukawati SMK 3 Senior High School of Art, Gianyar Regency said that the children benefit from being in the ‘sanggar’ group where the game is preserved in a democratic way.
Persib’s wife, Ni Made Ganti, has helped in teaching arts to the girls in the group, including training in the dances of Legong Kraton and Pendet. Opportunity is open to the boys to learn the Baris Dance.
Some other games suited to children are “Meong-meongan” (game of fake cats), “Capung-capungan” (fake dragonfly), “Megarang saka” (snatching away of pillar), and “Mececimpeda” (question and answer in puzzle). In the game of “melubak-lubakan”, civet cats are enemies to chickens, while dogs towards civet cats. Consequently, civet cats always run after the chickens to capture them while the dogs try to catch the civet cats. The dogs have friendly relations with the chicken so that the dogs deter the civet cats from capturing the chickens. Such reciprocal relations between animals described by formation of two circles among the game participants. One of these circles describes the civet cats’ house, while the other became that of the dogs.
Civet cats lose their right to catch the chicken if the latter are already inside their home circles. Similarly, the dogs lost etheir right to capture the civet cats, if the latter are already safe in their own home circles. Otherwise, transgressions made by dogs against the regulation would transferr them to the other circle, while a similar fate would be experienced by civet cats for similar break they perform. Those punished lose the game, which by ends common agreement. (BTN/015)

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