1 Clive S. Kessler, "Archaism and Modernity: Contemporary Malay Political Culture," in Joel Khan, and Francis Loh Kok Wah, Fragmented Vision: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1992), 134.
2 From the middle of the nineteenth century, until 1942, Bali was under Dutch colonial rule which was gradually imposed over the whole island. In 1868 the Dutch occupied the northern and western parts of Bali, and established a center for their colonial government there. By 1908 they occupied the rest of the island.
3 Kessler, "Archaism and Modernity: Contemporary Malay Political Culture," 134.
4 Kessler, "Archaism and Modernity: Contemporary Malay Political Culture," 135.
5 The idea of "symbolic universe" is taken form Bruce A. McConachie's article "Towards A Postpositivist Theatre History" in Theatre Journal, 37, no. 4 (Dec. 1985): 479. In this section of his article, McConachie further develops Kenneth Burke's perception that man makes symbols to ameliorate the chaos of existence: "The 'symbolic universe' shapes time and history, places a contemporary social hierarchy into a context of transcendental order, 'locates' the meaning of death and 'shelters the individual' from the terror of formless experience." (p. 479)
6 According to Geertz, history in Bali is seen as a gradual decline from the classical "golden era" to the present. Many Balinese court ceremonies and performances were, in effect, "re-creating" an "exemplary center" on the model of these classical kingdoms. See Clifford Geertz, Negara: The Theatre State in Nineteenth-Century Bali (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980), 13-19.
7 By religion I do not mean the system of religious beliefs only, but the rich network of practical applications of these beliefs into a complex system of daily rituals and temple ceremonies, together with the regulations of social behavior which are still inseparable from the religion itself. By religion here I mean the everyday life of the Balinese.
8 These efforts started with the "Ethical Policy" under the Dutch, and were enhanced in the early 1970s under the policy of "Cultural Tourism."
9 Sekolah Tinggi Seni Indonesia (in further text STSI) and Sekolah Menengah Karawitan Indonesia (in further text SMKI).
10 Animism assumes the existence of spirits and demons that reside in everything in and beyond the physical world. These spirits (called buta or leyak in Bali) are believed to be charged with magical power which can either harm individuals or communities, or bring them prosperity. To assure the cooperation of spirits people needed to establish some kind of communication with them. This communication could be carried out by people who possess a special kind of "magical power" necessary to establish contact with this invisible realm, in order to propitiate gods or appease demons for the betterment of the community.
11 The Kurawas would probably belong to a foreign kingdom which is at war with Java or is in any other way annoying the good Javanese. The tendency on both Java and Bali is to present the "bad guys" as foreigners.
12 The Sultans of the Central Javanese Mataram kingdom identified themselves as descendants of the heroes in the Mahabharata as they were represented in the wayang kulit . During this period several genealogies were written that traced the lineage of these Javanese rulers all the way back to wayang purwa epics (Serat Kanda and Babad Tanah Jawi ).
13 Adrian Vickers, Bali, A Paradise Created (Singapore: Periplus Editions, 1996), 131-132.
14 Clifford Geertz, Negara, 7.
15 Clifford Geertz, Negara, 8-9. Adrian Vickers in his introduction to Being Modern in Bali: Image and Change. supports Geertz's theory: "The view of Bali as somehow apart or cut off from the rest of the archipelago was largely a colonial construction, a combination of divide-and-rule policies and the idealization of Bali as a cultural paradise." See Being Modern in Bali: Image and Change, ed. Adrian Vickers (New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1996), 8.
16 I Wayan Dibia. "Dari Tari Tradisi ke Tari Kreasi/Moderen," paper presented at the Indonesian Dance Seminar in Mataram, Lombok, July 1997.
17 I Wayan Dibia. "Dari Tari Tradisi ke Tari Kreasi/Moderen,"4.
18 When faced with the more powerful and better armed Dutch army early this century, several Balinese rajas chose to exercise the rite of puputan rather than suffering the humiliation of being defeated and enslaved. When the Dutch surrendered Denpasar in 1906, they were welcomed by a strange, solemn procession that emerged from the main gate of the court. Hundreds of court officials, guards, priests, their wives and children, led by the raja, dressed in white ceremonial clothes, came out to fight to the end, and to die with dignity. When they approached the startled Dutch army, the entranced men and women began attacking the well-armed soldiers with golden daggers (kris ) or with bare hands. The soldiers answered with the fire. When the raja was killed, all of his wives stabbed themselves to death over his dead body; the others either followed them or ran towards the soldiers, only to be killed by the guns. At the end, the way to the palace was free to the Dutch, except for hundreds of corpses that covered the way. The same rite was repeated in other Balinese courts. After the Klungkung puputan in 1908 the last direct descendants of the Majapahit emperors were gone. Only a few survived.
19 Martin Ramstedt, "Indonesian Cultural Policy in Relation to the Development of Balinese Performing Arts," in Danker Shaareman, ed. Balinese Music in Context, (Winterthur/Schweiz: Amadeus Verlag, 1992), 61.
20 Colin McPhee, "Dance in Bali," in Traditional Balinese Culture, ed. Jane Belo, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1970), 290.
21 Tilman Seebass, "Kebiar in the 1920s and 1930s," in Vickers, Being Modern in Bali, 86.
22 Seebass, "Kebiar in the 1920's and 1930's," 86.
23 I Gusti Ngurah Bagus, "The Play 'Woman's Fidelity': Literature and Caste Conflict in Bali," trans. Hildred Geertz, in Vickers, Being Modern in Bali, 92.
24 Bagus, "The Play 'Woman's Fidelity: Literature and Caste Conflict in Bali," 92.
25 Geoffrey Robinson, "State, Society and Political Conflict in Bali, 1945-1946." Indonesia no. 45 (April 1988): 2.
26 Adrian Vickers, "Modernity and Being Modern: An Introduction," in Vickers, Being Modern in Bali, 25.
27 Michel Picard, "Cultural Tourism" in Bali: Cultural Performances as Tourist Attraction. p. 41.
28 Michel Picard, "Cultural Tourism in Bali," 42.
29 The others are primarily Indonesian artists and scholars. In most of his work I Made Bandem emphasizes the positive intentions as well as the results of the policy of Cultural Tourism.
30 Michel Picard, "Cultural Tourism in Bali," 44.
31 Michel Picard, "Cultural Tourism in Bali," 52.
32 Kaja and kelod , in Balinese language literally mean "toward the mountains" and "toward the sea", respectively. Aside from indicating the spatial orientation, kaja and kelod symbolize the spiritual orientation in Balinese universe. In this understanding, kaja , the direction toward the mountains, especially the sacred mountain Gunung Agung which is believed to be the abode of the gods, symbolizes the sacred aspects of this universe. Kelod , direction toward the sea, which is believed to be inhabited by demons and evil spirits, is the symbol of demonic forces and spiritual impurity. Kaja is, thus, sacred, divine, and pure, while kelod is demonic, impure, and often profane.
33 I Wayan Dibia, Kecak: The Vocal Chant of Bali. (Denpasar: Hartanto Art Books Studio, 1996), 53.
36 Michel Picard. "Cultural Tourism" in Bali," 37.
37 One may add that these new productions also serve an educational
function in that they make the audience more familiar with the old epic
literature, as well as Balinese history and the legends which are dramatized
on the stage. However, it is hard to say that creators of these new productions
have this in mind when thinking through their art work, and that they are
deliberately aiming their performances to serve an educational purpose.