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Gong Ceremony
According
to the Balinese calendar, an important ceremony
of Nyakapang the unification of a Gong Kebyar
gamelan instrument with its musician or
owner is to happen on Tumpek Krulut Day,
Saturday Kliwon Wuku Krulut, or on 3 January
2003.
The
Balinese word of nyakapang is a derivation
of the verb sakap meaning to own, to relate,
to couple, to unite or to wed, leading to
the word mesakapan meaning wedding or marriage.
Thus, Balinese compare unification of the
orchestra soul with its owner on the same
level as a wedding.
Those curious to see such unification of
gamelan and its owner or musician, should
go to Tabanan Banjar Tunjuk Kaja, Desa Tunjuk
at Tumpek Krulut Day. Teruna Mekar Gong
Association of the village is to conduct
the unification ceremony for the first time
to promote safety for future activities.
Past experiences have shown that the gong
association, established in 1968, needs
the unification ceremony to avoid human
errors in relation with traditional musical
instruments and other implements. Now after
having made many trips abroad, the time
has come for the association members to
face the spiritual owners of the gamelan
association of 31 members.
By chance there are several new gamelan
instruments and a few renewals of older
ones such as ‘gender rambat’ and
kempur, the association’s mentor, Mr.
I Made Arnawa told Bali Travel News. He
is a Yogyakarta (S2) alumnus in the art
of gamelan orchestra and singing.
During the rite, each gamelan player is
ready with their respective musical instruments
that they usually play. Some songs precede
the rite to create a serene atmosphere,
to provoke the spirit of keeping the gamelan
instruments in order, and to develop a sense
of responsibility in treating the instruments,
the association’s chairman, I Wayan
Ardika explained. The rite would achieve
its peak point when the priest Ida Pedanda
Mas from Geria Gede House blesses the ritual.(Budarsana)
Baris Dance
 Baris
is a warrior dance thought etymologically
as meaning queue, row, harmonious movements
or same attitudes within a group. The word
baris shows also the meaning as a military
unit ready for warfare. The dance of baris
generally functions as a religious ritual
dance performed by four up to sixty-four
males. There are about 30 kinds of baris
dances, each of which has its own peculiarity.
A baris dancer’s dress consists of
a gelung headdress made of cone-like coral
reefs, and of a colorful awiran and lelamakan
piece of cloth ornamented with golden-coloured
prada paint. There is a badong longish piece
of cloth hanging from the dancer’s
breast. Badong is made of felt cloth ornamented
with jewelry.
Lately, Baris Tunggal single dance has come
to the fore as an entertaining dance conducted
by gong kebyar musical melody. As the word
illustrates, Baris Tunggal has three phases,
while the dancer is a single male person
bearing an ornament of a dagger. The three
phases are respectively what Balinese call
gilang, bapang, and kembali gilak.
Among the kinds of baris dance, there are
agem kanan or kiri (right or left side motion),
ulap-ulap waving of hands, turning-around
motion, ngentungang pajeng or throwing away
of umbrella and oyod-oyod the multi-sided
motion.(Budarsana)
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