Gianyar, Regency

Funny Combination of Games, Dance and Music

Old-age artistry such as the comical traditional games played by Balinese children remains attractive to local audiences but only in a small scale, both in cities and in rural areas. In former times, children had various occasions and sites such as during full moon or the post-harvest period or during religious ceremonies to play the game outside school hours. Today due to modernization brought by technological progress such as video games children don’t spend so much time for traditional games or other creative actions.

However, there are still many people who care about preserving traditional games by including the games in the arts festival program meaning that there are new artist groups related to the game performances both in Denpasar and in rural areas. One of the new groups is Sanggar Taksu of Banjar Cebang, Desa Srongga (Gianyar), under the direction of I Wayan Suarta, S.Sn. This group showed the mebojog-bojogan game at the festival on Sunday, 22 June 2003.
Mr. Suarta, also called Rawit among close friends, believes that the game has been precious since long time ago as a means of strengthening the growth and education of children, encouraging them to appreciate of sincerity, togetherness and reciprocal esteem. Suarta, of Banjar Kramas, Desa Blahbatuh (Gianyar), is dedicated to preserving the character of this game.
There are three kinds of mebojog-bojogan game. Firstly, the participants in two groups decide by finger lot the winner who has the right to the kaja (toward-the mountain) site, while the loser to kelod (seaward) site of the playground. The kaja group deserves the name of bojog pecehan or frustrated ape, while the other is bojog kurap or itchy ape. Each group chooses their own representative to take part in a fight known as bojog ngamah biu (banana-eating apes). Each of the fighting ape representatives has their own assistant in charge of supplying the fighters with bananas, while blindfolded. The fighting apes have their hands tied behind their backs. The winner is the first to succeed in eating up the banana.
The second variation of the game is bojog ngamah bulan, a crackers-eating contest. Children hold crackers on a string and intermittently move them quickly as if they were a moon or bulan. The contestant succeeding in eating their cracker first is the winner.
The third contest is called bojog ngerem ikut (tail-immersing ape). Each of the competing apes ties a cord around his body. There is a nail on the end of the cord, which the contestants must put into a bottle. The game is sometimes called ‘fishing in a bottle’.
(BTN/015)

Indang-Indang Sidi, Traditional Gianyar Game

Indang-Indang Sidi is an after harvesting game for the village kids. After the harvest the farmers didn’t do any of the rice pulverization. The pulverization of rice was completed by a crushing and sifting (menyidi) process. With great inspiration of the artist, this milling process was transformed into a traditional game of Indang-Indang Sidi. Indang means twisting movement and Sidi is a circle-shaped tool to sift the stain on the rice. This children’s game contains village esthetic values that reflect togetherness and solidarity.
Indang-Indang Sidi was arranged by I Made Sidia, S.SP, the artist who lives in Bona Kelod sub-village, Bona village, Gianyar, about 3km from Gianyar City, or 22 Km from Denpasar. He has transformed this game into an attractive show, so the children of his village were delighted to play this game. This game that involves 16 elementary students was also performed at Bali’s 25th Arts Festival 2003.

How to Play
The game situation is like the harvest season on the rice field. The game begins by doing the om ping pang (lot drawing), while the other kids forming a circle reflecting the Sidi, and the loser will stand on the center as the latah (the dirt seed of rice). Then, they start singing and twisting through the circle. The song is repeated 3 times. At the end of the song, exactly on the Nyarirut Nyongkok (meaning ‘squatting suddenly’) lyric, the ‘circle’ kids take the squat position, whereas the ‘center’ kids keep standing in the center. If there is a kid who is late in squatting at the end of the song (at nyarirut nyongkok lyric), then he/she will be touched by the latah (kids at the center spot) to replace his/her position. And if the song had been repeated for 3 times, and the latah couldn’t touch for the late-squatting kids, he/she will be punished with Magedig (hit the loser’s hand or body by the forefinger.) This game is repeated continuously several times. (BTN/033)