Theatre in a Time of Terrorism: Renewing Natural Harmony after the Bali Bombing via Wayang Kontemporer
I Nyoman Sedana

The bombing of the Sari Club on Legian Street, Kuta, Bali, on 12 October 2002 disrupted the natural balance that is sought for in Balinese religion. This article shows how a technically innovative shadow puppet performance that responds to the disaster is informed by the Balinese conception of the natural balance of human life governed by tri hita karana (three elements of harmony) and dasanama kerta (ten elements that cause harmonious prosperity). These ideas provide a context for healing through performance.

I Nyoman Sedana is a faculty member and chairman of the Pedalangan Theatre
Department at the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) Denpasar. He received his BA
from the Dance Academy of Arts (ASTI) Denpasar, SSP from STSI-Denpasar, MA
from Brown University, and PhD from the University of Georgia. As a Balinese
dalang (puppet master) and dancer, Sedana has performed wayang and other Balinese theatrical forms in Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, and the United States.

Introduction
How can theatre help resolve the suffering that comes in the wake of a terrorist attack on innocent people? A performance of wayang kontemporer (contemporary shadow theatre) called Wayang Dasanama Kerta (Wayang of the Ten Elements) was presented 4 January 2003 in Kuta, Bali, in the same area where a bomb killed hundreds of people when the Sari Club disco was blown up by Islamic fundamentalists linked to the al Qaeda network on 12 October 2002. This Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 22, no. 1 (Spring 2005). © 2005 by University of Hawai‘i Press. All rights reserved. performance by Sanggar Paripurna Bonasari Gianyar Company was also telecast by Bali TV on 9 January 2003, expanding the viewership to the entire island, and was followed by interactive dialogue between the audience calling from home and the main dalang (puppet master/narrator) Sidia in the TV studio. The intention of the performance was to release inhabitants of Kuta and all Bali from the psychic damage of the blast and to restore a sense of harmonious well-being. While the performance was theatrically innovative and technologically experimental,it rose from a traditional root of theatre in Balinese culture. Wayang’s exorcistic potential merged with modern artistic innovation to help make a shattered world whole.

Directed and narrated by Dalang Made Sidia and electronically arranged by Dewa Darmawan, this innovative shadow puppet show employed modern technology including LCD, video, and electric lighting in place of the traditional coconut oil lamp. Both creators are faculty members of the Theatre (Padalangan) Department of the Indonesian Arts Institute (Institut Seni Indonesia), formerly called the State
College of the Arts (STSI) in Denpasar. Both have shown long-term commitment to new technology in creating innovative performance. At the same time Sidia is well trained in traditional performance and its repertoire. He is the son of Dalang Sidja, one of the most respected puppet masters on the island, who is an expert in the philosophical and religious issues of wayang parwa (shadow theatre). Sidia is, therefore, trained in traditional knowledge, but simultaneously among the most technologically experimental of dalang, because of his frequent collaboration with international artists such as Dalang Sri Joko ( Java), theatrical directors Kent Deveraux (United States) and Nigel Jamieson (England), and composers Paul Garbowsky and Peter Wilson (University of Melbourne, Australia). Although the theatrical choices can be debated, his work exemplifies the ability of traditional arts to be born anew in the hands of talented artists.

Technical and Other Innovations
Before turning to the issues of story and philosophy, which are rooted in traditional religious and life practices of the island, I will discuss some of the choices in technology and organization of the production. This will help clarify innovations that are current in Balinese performances of artists trained in the high school and university of performing arts. Balinese wayang parwa puppet theatre is traditionally controlled by one central artist, a dalang, who is accompanied by a small group of
musicians, usually a quartet, that plays on bronze-keyed percussive instruments (gender wayang). The puppet master manipulates all the 74 Sedana puppets, sings songs that set the mood of the scene, delivers the dialogue and narration, and makes sounds on the wooden puppet chest via foot taps with a wooden hammer to cue musicians, create sound effects, and create percussive interest. The light is the blencong (coconut oil lamp), whose flame makes shadows that seem to breathe with life as the fire flickers. The screen width approximates the arm span

of the performer, and the puppeteer sits about a foot and a half behind the screen with the lamp just above his forehead. The shadows are precise, because of the closeness of the performer and puppet to both light source and screen. Mystical effects can be created by pulling the figure away from the screen and toward the lamp, making the shadow grow instantly to encompass the whole screen. The fact that one person is in charge of narration, dialogue, singing, percussion, and movement, as well as various ritual actions required by the genre, makes everything coordinated. Musicians follow the lead of the puppet master. Little rehearsal is necessary: tradition and clear cuing by the puppeteer control the show as the dalang improvises according to the rules of the genre. Wayang kontemporer alters many of the technical aspects of the genre. Twenty performers may be involved, dialogue and narration are delivered by up to three narrators, multiple puppet manipulators are needed, and the orchestra often includes a larger gamelan orchestra and a sound board operator. Light is provided by an LCD projector showing images borrowed from Balinese life, films, and videos. The light source is five meters from the six-meter-wide screen, allowing a broad playing space where the many performers may use more than sixty puppets. They use their hands close to the light to create shadow mudra (hand gestures) that fill the large screen. They use their bodies to create dancing figures at a middle distance. When using puppets, they sit on skateboards that allow them to move quickly across the five
meters between light and screen, changing the size of figures, or process majestically across the breadth of the wide screen (see Color Plates 3–5). Shadows are less precise than in the traditional theatre, because of the distance of the light from the screen, but many new effects are possible. Light color can be varied to create nuances that help clarify the tone of the scene. Scenery can be projected and video clips can be played either as the sole image or as a backdrop for puppet action. The lack of one central controlling person creates a situation of greater pros and cons with fluctuating possibility, but the increased number of
personnel and numerous cues for projections, sounds, and actions also increases the possibility of mistakes. More rehearsal and decision making must occur before the performance. Thinking though what to do when electricity fails or computer or human error take place makes preparation and discussion an essential part of wayang kontemporer performance. In traditional wayang, rehearsal is superfluous; in wayang kontemporer, rehearsal is a necessity. Let me show how this production
used new techniques by discussing three elements: visual design, video usage, and personnel. Visual design was more diverse than in a traditional wayang, which is a black and white show with puppets cut in traditional character designs. Some traditional puppet figures were used in Wayang Dasanama Kerta for gods and demons, but many new figures were added— villagers suffering from the bomb’s destruction and disco girls in miniskirts appeared. Animals with moving limbs based on innovations of Dalang I Wayan Wija were added. Hands and bodies of the performers could be used in addition to puppet figures. Projections on the LCD provided scenery that included the carved stone gate of a temple and a water hole where animals gathered. This kind of scenery is not part of the traditional puppet theatre, but is an innovation that current artists and audiences have embraced since the idea was introduced to Balinese artists in 1994 at Pangosekan, Ubud, Bali by Larry Reed, a Balinese-trained American dalang and puppeteer with Shadowlight
Theatre in San Francisco. Employing the electronic devices, with the potential for miscues and electrical outages, is more risky than 76 Sedana the traditional technique, but the innovation allows more variation. The screen turns blood red to show fiery destruction as demons terrorize the world. A tranquil forest image is built with Photoshop software. Employing a laptop computer and an LCD projector, such prepared images are presented using PowerPoint software. Combining puppets, people, and projections creates more visual variety than is possible in traditional wayang. Video added another dimension. Mythological figures such as
the barong (Balinese lion dancer) and images of topeng and telek (two kinds of mask dance, the first strong male and the second refined feminine) were recorded and edited ahead of time, then projected in the performance to represent the images of gods descending into the world as performers of these genres. Visual images of a forest, ocean, mountain, cloud, and running water were incorporated from video clips. Animation of a spinning globe framed between the sun and the
moon, intimating the relation of the story to cosmic processes, played as the tree of life puppet (kayon) opened the show with its ritual dance representing the creation of the universe. A great number of personnel are needed for the show. This wayang presentation involved twenty musicians, four puppet manipulators, and one narrator, although later performances employed up to three narrators. Sitting on skateboards, each manipulator used both traditional puppets and more than a dozen larger-size, newly created puppets. This expansion in the number of puppet manipulators (from one to four or even more) is needed because of the current artistic reinterpretation and visualization of the story, which requires more
puppets moving at one time than is traditional. For example, traditionally, at the beginning of the show there is always a meeting scene in which a small number of characters hold a cabinet meeting. Their dialogue, while seated, exposes the central problem that will be solved in the course of the narrative. This motionless
meeting scene often puts children in the audience to sleep. With a current artistic reinterpretation and the use of multiple puppeteers,this exposition can now be done, for example, while the king is mounting a horse or chariot accompanied by his ministers, followers, and servants. Each character may have a distinctive animal vehicle that moves from one place to another. The puppets talk while mounting
horses in a beautiful environment created by the projected scenery, rather than sitting on a blank screen that represents a palace hall. Many hands are needed to simultaneously manipulate multiple puppets with their vehicles and the scenery.
To clarify a new-style mounting horse scene, the text of a 29 January 2004 performance at National Archive Hall in Jakarta is given: dalang: (narration) In spite of his victory in the great war of Bharatayudha, King Yudistira faces various challenges in ruling his people. Among his family and his staff, Bima and Arjuna often accompany Yudistira in discussion to share their ideas about improving
their people’s prosperity and ensuring peace. Their discussion is not only in the palace, but also on the road or even in the forest as everyone is mounting horses and other vehicles as at this moment. yudistira: Uduh yayi Bima lan Arjuna, de kadyang punapa yan rinasa denta amerih sukaning wadua dulur sutreptinikang jagat kabeh? twalen: (translating) My dear brothers, Bima and Arjuna, what do
you think is the best way to govern our country in order to improve our people’s prosperity and reduce foreign debt? bima: I think you ought to rule people with power: reward those who are good and punish those who are bad, especially those criminals who caused public riot, anarchy, and unrest in the commercial centre.
arjuna: Yan rinasa deniran Arjuna, leheng sang nata masiha lawan ikang pertakjana kabeh. wredah: (translating) Aduh, oh … oh. Excuse me, my honorable brother. I think as a wise king you ought to treat your people as 78 Sedana you wish to be treated. Just like a tiger in the forest, if the tiger does not treat the forest well, eventually the hunters can easily catch the tiger, since there is no forest to protect the tiger. In addition to this type of traveling scene, which touches on the
recent Indonesian monetary crisis and the rioting that led to Suharto’s fall in the frame of a Mahabharata story, other scenes of fighting and animals fleeing fire demand many hands for multiple puppets. To accommodate the large cast, the screen is expanded to six meters. The quickest way for the puppet manipulators to move from one side to another side of the long screen is by sitting on skateboards with movement and direction controlled by the puppeteer’s feet. The sitting position allows puppeteers to remain at a stable height and prevents their
heads from appearing onscreen. Thus, the many functions that are combined in a single dalang separate out as multiple manipulator/dancers are used. And even the
narrators may multiply: for a recent performance the number of narrators was enlarged from one into three to provide the overarching narrative in various languages appropriate for the audience. The performance employed an Indonesian language narrator in addition to a Balinese language narrator for both a Surabaya performance ( July 2003) and one at the National Cultural Park Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Pecatu Bali (7 December 2003). At the National Archive Building in Jakarta on 29 January 2004, the show employed English narration as a third layer when the show was sponsored by an international philanthropic group. This movement from a unitary performer in control of everything to a multiperson cooperative endeavor requires heightened rehearsal and coordination. Despite the complexity, young artists have embraced the changes, since this technique allows for more visual excitement than does tradition. This technical innovation has become popular among students of the STSI Padalangan department since 2001, when LCD projection was used for a collaboration of the local cultural council Listibiya, Pedalangan STSI, and distinguished artists from Bone and Sukawati
villages. This group presented Lubdaka, which concerns a trapped hunter who gains Siwa’s favor. Both audiences and the faculty judges lauded the innovations that other students creating their graduation performances have since emulated.
Wayang kontemporer has many new features, including technical and visual innovation and increased personnel, but in story and philosophy, the performance holds to tradition. Now I will focus on the lakon (play/plot) of Wayang Dasanama Kerta and show how the story is based on ideas from Balinese religion that urge when nature is out of joint, performance is a tool for restoring balance.

To understand the script generated for this performance, it is important first to understand the exorcistic story that served as the model. The presentation grew from Balinese mythology as recorded in the palm leaf manuscript (lontar) Cudamani (literally, “Pure Diamond,” but here referring to the third eye). The following is the précis of the story contained in the written manuscript that circulates freely in the
oral tradition of Balinese dalang and was used as the basis for Sidia’s production.
Once upon a time, the God Siwa (Shiva) was lonely, having cursed his wife, the goddess Parwati, to live in the form of a demoness, Durga, in Setra Gandamayu cemetery.1 Overpowered by sexual longing for Parwati, Siwa transforms into the terrible demon Kala Rudra. His coitus in his demon form with Durga results in a myriad of demons that carry pestilence throughout the world. Like a viral infection,
demons enter human beings who do not guard against the six internal enemies (sad ripu)—lust, greed, anger, confusion, drunkenness, and jealousy. In Sidia’s adaptation of this part of the story, he showed how, in economic life, politics, and organized religion, demon-animated people threaten both human security and natural harmony as they pollute forest, air, water, and earth and endanger animals and birds as well as humans. Devoid of darma (wisdom) and satwam (truth), those dominated by sad ripu violate life. Sad ripu are the doors for the demonic to transform anyone to a terrorist, no matter what their nationality, religion,
social status, gender, or ethnicity. To restore security to the world, the Hindu trinity (sanghyang tri semaya) of Brahma, Wisnu, and Iswara transform into priests who perform wayang puppet theatre. Brahma (the creator) becomes a priest
named Tapowangkeng and serves as the dalang’s right-hand assistant. Wisnu (Vishnu, the preserver) becomes the priest Salukat and serves as the dalang’s left-hand assistant. Iswara (a form of Siwa the destroyer) becomes the priest Lotatia, a dalang who undertakes the first performance of the wayang shadow theatre. The guardian gods of the four directions (sanghyang catur loka phala) take the roles of the musicians who play the four gender (metal percussion instruments) that accompany a wayang performance.2 The episode that this divine puppet master Lotatia enacts in his play shows Siwa and Parwati forgetting their godly origin and becoming the demonic Kala Rudra and Durga. This ur-story of how the divine can turn deadly both entertains these gods gone wrong and reminds
them of their divine origin. Calmed by the evocation of Dalang Lotatia, Kala Rudra returns to Siwa, and Durga to the goddess Parwati. As 80 Sedana their demonic spirits are pacified by the dalang, pestilence vanishes and human welfare is restored.3 This reestablishment of security as narrated by Sidia of course—unlike the bombing in Bali—involves no death of innocent civilians. The terror is simply tamed by the theatrical representation. The story reminds everyone to control his or her own six internal enemies (sad ripu), the doors for the transformation of a
good human into a terrorist. In addition to wayang, the Cudamani manuscript further mentions a number of other Balinese theatrical forms that gods, titans, and
celestial nymphs use to expel evil. In Sidia’s show, these theatrical forms were prerecorded, edited, and presented with PowerPoint to represent the descent of divinities. Brahma, the lord of fire, appeared first, transformed into topeng bang (coarse red mask). Iswara, the lord of sound, became barong swari, a lionlike mythological creature that appears in the Balinese barong dance. Bayu, the lord of wind, became the puppeteer Dalang Samirana, while Wisnu, the lord of water, transformed himself into telek (refined white mask) to exorcise the demonic
butha-kalas.4 Male celestial nymphs (widyadara) performed the baris (warrior dance), while the female celestial nymphs (widyadari) performed the sacred rejang (female dance). For the performance the male and female titans played gamelan music and sang songs. This is the brief summary of the myth recorded in the Cudamani. Associated stories are also found in the manuscripts Siwagama
(Original Wisdom) and Purwagama (Ancient Wisdom). The story explains why the genres mentioned above continue to be presented in temples as ritual entertainments to the present. But, as wayang kontemporer alerts us, when activating tradition, more than simple replication of prior performances is required; an artist must modify tradition to fit contemporary needs, resulting in innovation.
Though the plot of Wayang Dasanama Kerta is related to tradition, the narrative of gods becoming artists also undergoes modification. The events that bring the gods down are clearly related to the destruction of the bombing, and the puppets representing ordinary people refer to the bomb’s impact on their lives. Thus, the story featured in the show is neither fully traditional nor a completely new
creation, but rather a new development consistent with the culture’s past. So, too, the aesthetic concept and performance method of the piece are artistically molded from Balinese wayang, dance, and music traditions, but accommodate innovative impulses in response to contemporary needs. In this show that employed both traditional puppets and more than a dozen larger-size, newly created puppets, the demonic buthakala spirits were featured at the beginning of the show. With joy they entered human bodies, causing the victims of their possession to become terrorists. Subtle social conflict accelerated into mass fighting. Forests were burned, and birds and animals perished. Water, earth,
and air were polluted. Disasters appeared everywhere. The people became extremely poor and the leaders were frustrated. The situation of contemporary Bali was evoked. In an emotional moment, an old woman was told that her son
had worked as a security guard, but was killed by the bombing. Another scene showed a little boy seeking his parent everywhere. The parent was yet another victim of the tragedy. The scene that conflated the recent reality of Kuta with mythical drama of Siwa and his spouse rather shocked the live audience, which consisted of the local community. Most viewers were Balinese Hindus, but there were also some Muslims and Christians, including a small number of foreigners. Sidia deliberately selected, changed, and embellished the traditional story in order
to effectively reflect and articulate the social conflict in contemporary Bali, to open to public discourse the gossip and rumors that were circulating at the time, and to suggest a solution to the conflict. In this selection and development of the story to meet current needs, Sidia was acting as any Balinese dalang typically does: using tradition in the context of the present to innovate. In the wayang, the disastrous situation forced King Takipati to seek divine guidance and blessings. In response, the gods descended and devised various performing arts to exorcise the demonic buthakala. Once the arts were presented for the malevolent butha-kala, showing them who they really are, the demons remembered their divine
origin. They transformed back into gods and goddesses and blessed the entire universe. Still in the guise of artists, the gods spoke of the trihita karana (three harmonious things)—the environment (palemahan), man (pawongan), and divinity (perhyangan)—and the dasanama kerta(the ten elements: earth, water, fire, air, fish, animals, birds, plants,humans, and gods). People were warned about the great danger when the ten elements of dasanama kerta are abused or if any one of them is ignored. To understand this conclusion of the story, it is necessary to consider the threefold and tenfold divisions of the cosmos that structure Balinese thought.

Tri Hita Karana

The idea of natural balance in Balinese religion is based on tri hita karana, the three causes of harmony. The three causes are understood by all, from the modest pamangku priest to a great pedanda priest, from the private individual to the whole society. The causes are perhyangan (god/divinity), pawongan (humanity/society), and palemahan 82 Sedana (environment/nature). These three elements must be kept in balance. An imbalance in one of the three will cause disorder in the others.
Humans are the element between the divine and nature, and so have a role as mediators, helping to balance the other two. This idea permeates Balinese thought, as a few examples will make clear. The use of space, social relations, and religion are all affected by the concept of the three causes of harmony. The use of space and the construction of buildings are based on the palm leaf manuscript Asta
Kosala Kosali,5 which shows humans how to promote the correct relations between the gods, humans, and nature in spatial terms. For example, in a house compound, the house shrine is to the northeast or toward the top of the mountain. Living quarters are in the center. Finally, the kitchen and toilets are to the south or toward the sea. This directional orientation, of kaja (mountain/north) and kelod (sea/south) with the center between them where the self/human is located,
is pervasive in Bali. This idea can be related to the idea of tri mandala (three spaces), which sees space as either sacred, ordinary, or profane. In this thinking, of course, the mountainward/north/top of the head/ ancestral temple (located to the north in a village) is more sacred, while that which is seaward/south/bottom of the body/death temple– cum–cemetery is more profane. The center is associated with human living, transfixed between the other two. Human space is our everyday space. Thus, traditional Balinese architecture and spatial use reflects an understanding of universal harmony with the ordinary/ human as the means between the two extremes. Likewise the social life of the Balinese is ruled in the awig-awig (local, ritual, religiously oriented law) of the desa pakraman (traditional
village) with consideration to the ravages of nature and the demonic, and the worship of the gods and the pure divine. Religion is especially attentive to keeping a proper balance between these two forces. The establishment of myriad holy places on the island with complex arrangement of yadnya (celebrations with offerings) to thank and glorify the deities and sooth the demons reflects people’s perception of the cosmos. Humans can balance the threatening and the beneficent
by offerings and proper religious action. The performance of a dalang who presents the story of Siwa and Parwati returning to their godly forms is an example of such an offering. The story balances the demonic and divine through human mediation.
While the concept of tri hita karana continues to be revered, in practice we have seen problems in maintaining its natural balance in contemporary Bali. Political decisions and the multiplication of business projects that violate the harmony of the environment are present in many areas of the island. Political and capitalist concerns often lead to the misuse of earth, air, fire, and water, which affects humans as well as fish, the forest, animals, and birds. For example, in the 1990s, when Soeharto was still in power, some farmers in Tabanan regency were
forced to sell their lands to a government-licensed foreign investor, who then built Bakery Nirwana Resort by a holy site, Tanah Lot Temple. Army personnel threatened those who did not want to sell their land. The Balinese government at the time acted as broker, violating the holiness of Tanah Lot (perhyangan). This misuse of the land/environment (palembahan) upset the psychological and religious feeling of the local Hindu people (pawongan).6 Tri hita karana was not observed.
With globalization there are more things to be harmonized than ever before. So in recent years the tri hita karana concept has been expanded into the dasamana kerta (ten elements [which cause harmonious prosperity]). Dalang Made Sidja, Sidia’s father, introduced the term dasanama kerta to me and Sidia.7 His thinking on the topic began ten years ago, when he joined the minister of environment, Emil Salim, for a workshop in Sweden. There Sidja presented the concept of dasanama
kerta, his elaboration of the three principles, through a wooden statue he created that was about sixty centimeters in height and featured all ten natural elements of the universe. These include earth, water, fire, wind, trees/plants, fish, birds, animals, human beings, and the divine.8 Sidja demands that people—especially the authorities— treat these ten natural aspects appropriately. Both Sidja and Sidia feel that in response to global development, commerce proliferation, and
ethnic pluralism the concept of dasanama kerta is needed in Bali. Instead of hearing one word, palemahan, for nature/environment, we need to acknowledge earth, air, fire, fish, forest, animals, and birds. Both government authorities and individuals must care for each. So too, we must carefully rethink the term “pawongan” (humanity). We cannot destroy terrorists by being worse than they are—this will only create more war, terror, and unthinking punishment. Always we must look to perhyangan, the divine.

The idea of ten is related an expansion of the idea of three. As three is related to spaces (above, center, below), ten in Balinese thinkingis a spatial paradigm that includes the four directions, the four quadrants, and the center, making up the nine directions or nawsanga, in union with the final element of the divine. Ten is a cosmic number and hence dasanama kerta brings cosmic harmony. It was this idea of the dasanama kerta that informed Sidia. Hence, the story gave attention to the elements (fire, air, and water) as represented by the gods of the story, Brahma, Bayu, and Wisnu. The purpose of the barong, a mythical animal, was to represent the animal world, and so on. What this performance showed was a model of a
84 Sedana world where all ten elements are restored to order by the wise leadership of the ruler who turns not to punishment but to the power of a
divine dalang. The dalang showed how the imbalance had been allowed to enter society through the six doors, giving rise to humans who were animated by demonic impulses. This presentation responded to the terror brought into the
world by those who in their passion and anger fall into demonic behavior. The performance, however, recognized that there are large forces —social and cosmic—that are feeding into this current social problem. The demons have taken over ordinary citizens, and until those citizens are reintegrated in a balanced way into the total system, the problems will be with us. Globalization and modernization have to be met with the dasanama kerta in all minds for stability and progress to
prevail. Though Sidia and the other artists are mere humans, in the time that they played the wayang they stepped into a place of power where the disorder can be mediated by the active power of performance. There humans mediate the divine and nature as in the tri hita karana. There they can reveal the dangers of the sad ripu and help promote the proper relation of the dasanama kerta. Even in the newest permutation—wayang kontemporer—we see one of the old impulses of
Balinese puppet performance: art actively reorders the universe and humans become like gods when they enter the realm of art.

NOTES
This article was edited by Kathy Foley.
1. There are two popular interpretations of why Siwa curses his wife.
In one version Parwati (also known as Giriputri or Umadewi) mistreats her
child, and in the other, Parwati trades sex for milk from Gopala, the cowherd.
2. The names of the deities associated with the directions are Indra
(god of rain and north), Kuwera (god of wealth and east), Yama (god of death
and south), and Baruna (god of sea and west).
3. For a fuller version of this episode see Ramseyer 1986: 200. This
story is related to other exorcistic performances on Java and Bali. For related
versions of this story see Hooykaas 1973, Clara von Groenandael 1998, and
Foley 1984, 2002.
4. “Butha” means ogre or ignorant. “Kala” means time or season.
5. The words chosen for the title of this manuscript indicate a complexity
of ideas. “Asta” means eight and is also pronounced hasta, meaning
hand. Asta wara (the eight-day week) includes Sri, Indra, Guru, Yama, Ludra,
Brahma, Kala, and Uma. For example, in building, the number of bamboo
pieces in the roof, the number of steps of a buiding, and so on are counted
according to these terms and the required number is decided based on the
THEATRE IN A TIME OF TERRORISM 85
purpose of the building: Holy places may use either Sri (1), Indra (2), or
Brahma (6); a school may use Guru (3). For example, if the number of bamboo
pieces (after being divided by eight) is three, that means Guru, which is
appropriate for a school building.
Another concept of hasta is the ten fingers. This relates to dasa wara,
meaning the ten different weeks as explained in the religious texts Sekala and
Niskala. The dasa wara helps builders select the appropriate day to build a certain
building.
“Kosala (i)” is derived from “kosa” (treasure/vocabulary). “Kosala”
means prosperity.
6. Further examples that disturb the socioreligious harmony of the
Balinese include political party flags and banners being blessed in a temple
to win an election; the making of a video by Saigon Kick (a music-dance
group) on a meru, the pagodalike, multiroofed Balinese shrine with a religious
offering made of golf balls; the appropriation of the names of avatars
of the god Wisnu, Rama and Kresna, for a motorbike trademark; and the holy
letter Ongkara tattooed on the navel of a sexy young woman as featured on
the magazine cover of Merdeka (Liberty) on 1 September 2003.
7. Dalang Sidja is also the inventor of new forms of puppet theatre,
such as wayang suling, which uses the flute (suling) in its accompaniment, and
wayang arja, which follows the style of the popular female theatre arja, and is
one of my gurus.
8. The Indonesian terms are earth (tanah), water (air), fire (api), wind
(angin), trees/plants (tumbuh-tumbuhan), fish (ikan), bird (burung), animal
(binatang), human being (manusia), and the supreme god (Tuhan).
REFERENCES
Clara von Groenendael, Victoria, trans. 1998.
Released from Kala’s Grip: A Wayang Exorcism from East Java. Performed
by Ki Sarib Purwacarita, ed. Joan Suyenaga. Jakarta: Lontar Foundation.
Foley, Kathy. 1984.
“Of Dalang and Dukun—Spirits and Men: Curing and Performance in
the Wayang of West Java.” Asian Theatre Journal 1 (1): 21–40.
———, trans. 2002.
“The Origin of Kala: A Sundanese Wayang Golek Purwa Play by Abah
Sunarya and Gamelan Giri Harja I.” Asian Theatre Journal 18 (1): 1–59.
Hooykaas, Christian. 1973.
Kama and Kala; Materials for the Study of Shadow Theatre in Bali. Amsterdam:
North Holland.
Ramseyer, Urs. 1986.
The Art and Culture of Bali. Singapore: Oxford University Press.
86 Sedana