Wednesday, September 10th, 2003 – Day 204
Full moon tonight. I was going to join a group climbing up a mountain for sunrise but decided to do more cycling today and go an exhibition of Bali dancing (for tourists) tonight’s. There is a special Kecak dance on full moon days. The ARMA group would have open air dancing tonight at 7.00pm. The cost was 50,000 IR. It is Bali dancing without music. It is called monkey music as much of it is chanting like a Monkey and the story encompasses a Monkey Army!!
Anyway after all the cycling yesterday, my muscles had seized up (and those f*@#*&# roosters). I was up at 11.00am and stayed around town until 12.00 noon as it was raining. I had lunch and went off cling on the opposite direction from yesterday. I headed towards the river which has rice terraces climbing up from both sides. It was nice but rain showers continues and I got yet.
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Working away (10-09-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Temple (10-09-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Temple (10-09-2003)
I started heading back around 4.00pm down a side road and came across a big crows of men. Half were gambling and other half were watching cock fighting. I knew it. Why have so many of those bloody things. I watched going ons for 30 minutes. had seen cockfighting before in South America. Similar but here the extra sharp claw they put on the back of the cocks leg is very sharp. The fights in South America lasted mayvbe 10 minutes and did not usually fatally kill the bird. here, it must be razor sharp as after about 2 minutes, one animal was dead and it was cut to ribbons, with blood all over the place. Just a reminder that Bali is no paradise.
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Cock fighting (10-09-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Cock fighting (10-09-2003)
They did not mind me being there. It started raining again so I headed back.
I had a shower and headed back to the tourist office to get my free transport to the dancing which is about 15 minutes drive from the town centre.
Taken from the Hindu epic Ramayana, the dance tells the story of Prince Rama and his rescue of Princess Sita, who has been kidnapped by the evil King of Lanka. Unlike other dances, there is no gamelan orchestra accompanying it. Instead, a troupe of over 150 bare-chested men serve as the chorus, making a wondrous cacophany of synchronized “chak-achak-achak” clicking sounds while swaying their bodies and waving their hands.
Rather than the Gamelan orchestra that is typical of other Balinese dances, as well as most Southeast Asian classical dancing, in the Kecak the only music is provided by a large chorus of bare-chested men and boys sitting in a circle just in front of the audience. This choir provides a constant accompaniment to the story, and even become actors towards the end.The story is simple, and its not really necessary for you to know it to appreciate the dance. The dance depicts a sub-plot from the Hindu epic the Ramayana. In the story the wife of Rama, Sita, is kidnapped by Rama’s arch-enemy, the king of Lanka, and taken to his palace of Alengka.
In his search for Sita, Rama enlists the aid of the red monkey king Sugriwa. Together they select Hanoman, a white monkey with magical powers, to find Alengka and seek out Sita. Rama gives Hanoman his ring so that he can prove his identity to Sita when he finds her.
Hanuman shows Sita Rama’s ring. Hanoman finds Sita, gives her the ring, and attempts to destroy the palace where Sita is held, but is caught. In perhaps one of the performance’s most dramatic scenes, Hanuman is bound and placed in a ring of straw that is set on fire. The sun has set by this time, so we see the white and gold monkey dance back and forth over the burning straw, eventually kicking the sparks up into the air as he chases off his persecutors. The great general returns with his army of monkey warriors, portrayed by the choir. The bad guys are defeated. Sita is reunited with Rama. The end.
Another titbit.
The other major example of “traditional” music is the kecak, a very dramatic and visual a cappella piece featuring as many as 100 men depicting a saga of a monkey king and his warriors, featuring bursts of simian-styled chanting that gives the style its onomatopoeic name. Intriguingly, though, the kecak and to some extent the other generally seen performances are actually the invention of Westerners. In Balinese culture, where there’s no distinction between sacred and secular, there is no real tradition of performance for performance’s sake rather than for real ceremony. But in the ’30s, artist Walter Spies, living in Bali, was asked to arrange some dance performances for a visiting filmmaker, and that was accomplished by using excerpts and pastiches of the true things. As tourism grew, the demand for such things grew as well, and today they are ubiquitous.
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Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Kecak (10-09-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Kecak (10-09-2003)
More information from here.
It was OK, a nice setting with no artificial lights, just a few paraffin lights. It was dark and moody. A pity about the weather as it was an open air even. We had two big showers during the 1 hour performance. It was OK, nothing special.
Anyway I was back in town by 8.15am and headed for the temple. Another celebration there. Luckily I had the auld gear to wear. More dancing music but lots of prayers in the inner temple tonight. I would have bullshitted my way it but did not have the cheek. These people were in solemn prayer and had brought many offerings. Indeed offering are a large part of the ceremony. It seems today was the anniversary of the setting up of this temple. The other one the other day was about protecting the eco-system etc. Don’t ask me, I am just a tourist.
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Another Temple Celebration and Prayer (10-09-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in its original size
Ubud – Bali – Indonesia – Another Temple Celebration and Prayer (10-09-2003)
I head down town at 9.30pm to get a bite to eat. I am a favorite restaurant in goodtam street. After that I got my photos burned onto a CD-R for 25,000 IR (2.70 EURO).
I have taken more ohotos in 3 days here than a month in New Zealand and Australia. Funny that!! I was on the NET until 11.30pm. The weather was still showery.
I will go on a tour to Batur Lake tomorrow. I am to leave Ubus on Friday.