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Title: Ceremonial Night View count: 1029 Rating: 5.0 (5 ratings) Description: When the night falls people from Pengosekan gather at the temple Pura Penataram Dalem to celebrate its anniversary. It is a sacred and magnificient celebration, called Odalan, in Balinese, wich take place every 210 days. The "pura dalem" is the temple of the dead, where cremation ceremonies take place. Today there is no funeral on the temple premises, only joy and fun. At the beginning we see the entrance of the Barongs at the campound of the temple. The Barongs are the most sacred criatures on the Balinese mythology. Balinese Barongs come in many forms, but the most common is like a baroque Chinese lion, the Barong Ket, with big eyes and clacking jaws. It is one of the most sacred masks in Bali and probably every village has at least one. The Barong is accompanied by a Balinese gamelan orchestra. The Barong protects the village from harmful influences. It parades the streets every Galungan festival, dancing in front of houses and shops, warding off evil. The Balinese bow in reverence. It does the same just before Nyepi, at the time of the Balinese New Year. Two men are inside: one operates the wooden head and lower movable jaw, and the other holds up the back and arched tail. The men have no special qualifications as long as they belong to the same banjar as the barong, but they need to be very strong as the whole Barong Ket costume weighs about 85 kilos (187 pounds). The front, especially, is heavy and the dancer will need to be relieved during long processions. They are the highest quality suitable for secular dance performances. They have not been consecrated which would make them suitable only for sacred temple performances. After the priest blessing the sacred criatures, Barong Macan (Tiger Barong) starts dancing. When the dance ends a man dancing Jauk Manis appears. Jauk dance is a classical solo performance expressing the movements of a demon, Jauk is derived from a traditional play in which all the dancers, wearing frightening masks of the "raksasa" or demon type, enacted episodes from the Kawi versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, like the dramatic Baris. Jauk is considered a high art to execute well. The dancers aim is to express the character revealed in the appearance of the mask-that of a strong, forceful personality. Unlike the Baris dancer, a Jauk performer cannot rely on powerful facial expressions to convey feeling. He can dart his artificial looks here and there, but he is obliged to express his demoniac exuberance through his gestures alone. (The round, protruding eyes and tentacle like fingernails are the marks of identification for a demon). The Jauk dancers movements closely resemble those of the Baris, but his manner is more exaggerated and violent. Suddenly he lunges, the music becomes frenetic with loud, clashing sounds, he spins to reach the perimeter of the stage: then stops, precise and controlled only the constant shimmering of the tassels and finger¬nails mirror his intensity. Slowly, he retreats, as if preoccupied by dark, treacherous thoughts. When Jauk finishes appear two man playing Lawak Bali, a sort of comedy very appreciate for all audiences. Both adults and children enjoy watching the men acting like clowns. Finally we can see a portion of the dance of the most sacred Balinese creature: Barong Ket. With a fragment of this dance the video ends. The musicians playing gongs, strings, drums, flutes and xylophon instruments (gamelan orchestra) are members of sanggar Çudamani, from the village of Pengosekan. Çudamani Group is one of the most finest and prestigious artistic ensembles in Bali. Enjoy the images and have fun. Tags: odalan bali, barong macan, barong ket, jauk, jauk manis, lawak bali, lawak, balinese comedy, sanggar Çudamani, sanggar, Çudamani, pura penataram dalem, pengosekan, ubud, bali, jaume mestres, Author: barakasin |
