Festival Showcases Ramayana: Denpasar, Bali

The Bali Arts Festival is currently underway in Denpasar and attracting visitors and participating foreign dancers alike. One of the dances showcased is that of the Ramayana as part of International Ramayana Festival, a cultural gathering held in conjunction with the 28th Bali Arts Festival.

In Yogyakarta in Central Java this dance is a mammoth spectacular set against the backdrop of the Prambanan Hindu Complex and held every October. However, the Ramayana performances at the Bali Arts Festival involved Ramayana troupes from Thailand, Cambodia, India, Singapore and the United States.

Rama is considered to be the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu. The main scriptures are the four Vedas and the Mahabharata. The Ramayana is important and widely revered as a scripture by a wide proportion of the Hindu community. The original poem was in fact the final version of a story that had been around for several hundred years and added to by many poets. It reached the length of 24,000 Sanskrit couplets organised into seven books in its final form. In the ninth and tenth centuries when the modern languages of India were first formed it had a great influence in inspiring the modern Indian tongues. Rama went on to become a God, accepted as an incarnation of Vishnu, and worshipped monotheistically by some sects.

At the Bali Arts Festival I Wayan Juniartha of the Jakarta Post experienced a performance:

Festival showcases Ramayana's rich tradition
I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar

It was a breathtaking battle scene. A majestic Rama climbed onto the shoulder of his archenemy, Rahwana, and for several minutes their bodies were locked in mortal battle.

Their beautifully carved staffs clashed with each other as Rama and Rahwana fought for a definitive end to the prolonged epic of human tragedy and divine victory.

"It's an amazing performance. The way the dancers used acrobatic manoeuvres truly gave the scene a dramatic edge" said rector of the Indonesia Arts Institute in Denpasar, Wayan Rai S.

"The acrobatic manoeuvres are unlike anything we have ever seen here in Balinese traditional dance dramas on a similar theme" he added.

Titled Thai Khon Ramakien, the Thai version of the great Hindu Ramayana epic was presented by seasoned dancers from the predominantly Buddhist kingdom.

Dressed in glittering costumes around 21 dancers narrated the journey of Phra Ram &$40;Rama), his beautiful wife Nang Sida (Sita) and his trusted younger brother Phra Lak &$40;Laksmana) through a dense forest during which Sita was abducted by Rahwana, the demonic King of Lengka.

The story ended with the ultimate duel between Rama and Rahwana. Mighty as he was Rahwana was no match for Rama who according to Balinese Hindus was the incarnation of Lord Wisnu and for Thai Buddhists, the personification of Lord Buddha.

The refined and elegant movement of the dancers, the intricate costumes and the eerily beautiful musical scores worked in unison to cast a dramatic spell over hundreds of spectators who flocked to the Ksirarnawa indoor theater Monday night.
Naturally, the spectators gave thunderous applause at the end of the performance.

Thai Khon Ramakien was the opening show of the International Ramayana Festival, a cultural gathering held in conjunction with the 28th Bali Arts Festival. Held from June 26 through July 15 the festival involves Ramayana troupes from Thailand, Cambodia, India, Singapore and the United States.
Indonesia is presenting two troupes in the festival, one from Bali, the other East Java.

Ramayana is arguably the second most popular item of literary heritage in Bali. The epic exists in a variety of performing art forms: from the ancient refined poems of Kakawin to the energetic masked dance drama of wayang wong.

The Ramayana is also a favourite recurring theme in the island's well-known fine arts in paintings, sculptures, reliefs and glass panels.

"That is probably the reason why despite the language barrier the audience had no difficulty in following the performance" arts scholar Kadek Suartaya pointed out.

"It is an important eye-opening gathering which introduces and familiarizes the Balinese with the rich traditions of Ramayana from various countries in the world" Rai stressed.
Bali's Werddhi Budaya Art Center head Dewa Putu Beratha nodded in agreement.

"For example the East Java troupe provided us with a working-class version of the epic" he said.

By incorporating various movements from popular folk dances, unadorned costumes and attractive elements from contemporary dances, the troupe succeeded in painting a fresh picture of the ancient story he said.

"Somehow, the conflict among princes and kings was transformed into a battle between masses" he added.
Colourful local interpretation and adaptation have been a primary characteristic of the Ramayana for hundreds of years. The epic which consists of over 24,000 verses compiled into 700 chapters is believed to have been composed by Indian poet Valmiki somewhere between 400 BC to 200 BC.

In his fascinating book Ramayana in Southeast Asia prolific cultural researcher Garret Kam details the vast distribution of the epic. The story can be found in dozens of countries including Iran, Japan, Mongolia and Korea and even in the predominantly Muslim part of the Philippines.

In each country the epic has been modified and adapted to local cultural and religious contexts. Rama, the Hindu hero of India, has been transformed into a Buddhist icon in Cambodia and Thailand but into a secular personage in Malaysia.
In India, Rama is the ultimate hero while in Sri Lanka the ogres are portrayed in a more sympathetic manner; in the ninth-century Khmer Reamker, Rama is an irresponsible father who engaged her sons in a futile civil war.

Similar adaptation is also present in the Indonesian version of the Ramayana. Literary scholar IBG Agastya stated that the first version which was written in the 10th century, and the second, Yogiswara's Kekawin Ramayana of 2,778 verses from the 12th century were specifically adapted to ancient Javanese language as well as to the local cultural environment.

The author even incorporated a detailed description of a local Siwaistic temple believed to be Prambanan into the text as one of the place visited by Rama. It was truly an interesting verse portraying the incarnation of Wisnu kneeling and paying homage to Siwa.

"From an academic point of view the festival provides us with a rare opportunity to conduct a comparative study on the Ramayana. That's why I'm urging my students to attend the festival" Rai said.