Back in my childhood days, my friends and I used to play traditional Balinese children game called “meong-meongan” or “the cat” game. It is a simple game, derived from the well known theme of a cat chasing a mouse. But this time I will not talk about the game but the song that accompanied this game. The game is accompanied by a simple a joyful traditional Balinese children song entitled “meong-meong” (free translation into English: “cat, oh cat”)
Hundreds of children, mostly of 3 to 15 years of age, gathered in the inner courtyard of Duwur Bingin Temple, in Tegalalang village on Wednesday (4/22/09). They dressed in traditional clothes some of them were bare-chested. They had painted their faces and bodies with colorful images and pattern and each of them carried a slender staff made from the branch of palm, decorated with colorful flowers and young coconut leaves. They are the participants of Ngerebeg ritual.
Hosted by Undiksha, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja. With the support of Yayasan Pelestarian Warisan Budaya Bali Utara (Bali), foundation Irama, BAKE society (the Netherlands).
Undiksha, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Singaraja presents the first International Conference and Festival on the ‘Cultural Identity of Buleleng’. Both Conference and Festival take place in the Bali Taman Hotel, Lovina Beach. Its aim is to (re-)discover the cultural heritage of the Buleleng regency, to describe, discuss and expose its artistic identity, and to stimulate the revitalization of its performing arts in particular. Highlights include a mabarung (competition) between east and west Buleleng gong kebyar orchestras, an evening featuring rare and sacred ensembles, and the presentation of contemporary and newly commissioned works. All concerts feature seniman tua (old masters). In the context of the conference, lecture-demonstrations will be given on the specific characteristics of North Balinese performing arts, and its interactions with south Bali. The conference also marks the opening of Roots of North Balinese culture, an exhibition of old photographs of parba, drawings, prasi and other works that have been preserved in Dutch libraries.
We still welcome contributions to the conference. Let yourself be inspired by the program below! We strongly hope that all known performers and scholars in the field will consider participating. We also hope young experts and artists will be present in large numbers.
Sri Tanjung: The Scent of Innocence, the newly-created contemporary dance-drama was staged last night at Ksirarnawa building, Art Centre, Jl. Nusa Indah, Denpasar by dancers from Arti Foundation. This contemporary dance-drama was created by Gusti Putu Sudarta, Bali’s renowned artist (shadow puppet master, dancer, composer, and vocalist) from Bedulu village Gianyar.
This contemporary dance-drama is based on 17th century tale Kidung Sri Tanjung originating from Banyuwangi, East Java. In Bali, the story once gained popularity as the theme of a traditional Arja dance-drama, shadow puppet performance and the sung of ancient hymn (pesantian) but has since been survived in the realm of pesantian.
A wedding for Balinese is not just the business of the happy couple but rather a family or sometimes the clan business and often the couple has left little to do in preparing their own wedding ceremony. As soon a Balinese couple announce their intention to hold a wedding ceremony, their families begin to take the main role in preparing the ceremony.
All members of the families, clan and sometimes member of the hamlet will eagerly participate in the preparation of the wedding ceremony. The elders of the family will consult a priest to find auspicious day for wedding ceremony. The male members of the families, clan, and hamlet will work voluntarily to decorate the venue of the ceremony, preparing the offering, slaughtering the pig, cooking the food, gathering materials for offerings and wedding ceremony, while the female members preparing the offerings and food and cake for the weeding ceremony. What is usually left to be done by the couple is determining the friends and colleagues to be invited to the weeding reception.
