The Grandeur and Intrigue of the Traditional Balinese Theater State

Miguel Covarrubias, the famous Mexican amateur anthropologist and intrepid traveller, wrote in 1937 in his classic work Island of Bali that "it seems difficult to reconcile the soft-mannered, peace-loving Balinese we know with the intrigue and violence of their turbulent past." And indeed the historians of Bali's past thousand years tell tales that would put any modern soap opera to shame: stories of the rise and fall of kingdoms, of bloody battles waged and beautiful maidens won, of princes gifted with magical powers warding off evil demons disguised as fierce, fanged monkeys and vicious, razor-beaked birds. Bali's written history begins in the 8th century, when Java's Indianized kingdoms turned an eye toward the island's bounty. The Javanese, who had already been introduced to the Buddhist and Hindu religions by South Asian traders, spread these teachings to Bali, along with the knowledge of writing in the Old Javanese language - known in Bali as Kawi - which soon became the medium of communication for Bali's elites. By the 10th century, Balinese art, religion and culture had taken on a decidedly Indian appearance. One important relic of this era can be found today in the midst of modern Sanur: the Prasasti Belanjong, an inscribed monument dated 913 A.D. - making it Bali's earliest dated artifact - that tells the tale of a Javanese king and his journey to Bali. The 11th century saw the birth of one of Bali's most influential historical figures: Airlangga, son of the Balinese Prince Udayana and the Javanese Princess Mahendratta. Airlangga journeyed to Java, where he ascended the throne of a dynasty that would rule on that island for the next 300 years. During Airlangga's lifetime, contacts between Java and Bali grew increasingly close. Out of this cross-fertilization of cultures came a number of social features that would mark the face of Bali for centuries to come: rituals presided over by Hindu priests chanting holy mantras, temples devoted to the worship of gods and divine ancestors, and the means to effect magic, both good and evil, to harm one's enemies or heal one's friends. This period of Bali's history also gave rise to the mythic tale of good and evil that continues to enthrall visitors with its fearsome power: the story of Rangda and Barong. Legend has it that Airlangga's mother, Mahendratta, possessed among her many queenly accomplishments a command of the dark forces of transformation that enabled her to change from a beautiful woman into a horrific witch able to rain disease and death upon her enemies. When her husband found her dabbling in these dangerous arts, he banished her to the forest, where she remained, nurturing her evil powers, until her daughter reached the age of marriage. Fearing Mahendratta's black magic, no one dared to marry the young princess, despite her esteemed status and her lovely looks. Wild with anger and driven to revenge, Mahendratta shifted her shape into that of a hideous witch, armed with spiked teeth, a tongue of fire and heavy, hanging breasts, to spread plague and pestilence across the land. Today the story is reenacted in the drama of Calonarang, where a mythological beast, the lion-like Barong, protects the suffering villagers from the demonic powers of the witch, known as Rangda. In the performance, traditionally held in the dead of night in the village graveyard, the followers of the Barong attack Rangda, who uses her magic to send them into trance and make them turn their daggers against themselves. The Barong's power protects them from the blades and helps them push the witch back into the cemetery, restoring the balance between good and evil until the next encounter. The most critical turning point in Bali's history came in the 14th century, when the Javanese kingdom of Majapahit sent an army led by the revered general Gajah Mada to colonize Bali. Different versions of the tale of Majapahit's conquest exist, but the basic story goes something like this: At that time, Bali was ruled by a cruel and greedy king named Bedaulu. Although he possessed great magical powers, he angered the gods by forbidding his subjects to worship them, requiring instead that they make their offerings to him. Bedaulu was so arrogant that he once removed his head and sent it up to heaven to show the gods what awesome spiritual skills he commanded. Annoyed by this boastful display, the god Siwa replaced Bedaulu's head with that of a pig. Embarrassed by his new animal appearance, the king ordered that none of his courtiers was to look at him, and he had them build a high tower where he would sit, presiding over his subjects free from their curious stares. But Bedaulu still had not learned his lesson. His evil grew to the point where he demanded that all his food be spiced with human blood. Finally, his desperate people sent word to Java, asking for aid from Majapahit. Gajah Mada promised to help if the king did indeed have a pig's head, and he sent one of his soldiers to investigate. In order to catch a glimpse of Bedaulu, the cunning Javanese tricked the king by requesting the food known as paku, a long, stringy green that is eaten by lowering it from above into one's mouth. Facing upwards toward the tasty morsel, he was able to verify Bedaulu's beastly countenance, and called for Gajah Mada and his troops, who conquered Bali and set in place a new king who ruled from Samprangan, near Klungkung. With the arrival of the Majapahit empire came vast changes in the cultural, religious and political landscape of Bali. Only the people known as the Bali Aga, who kept themselves distant by retreating to their isolated mountain villages, escaped encompassment by the new social order. As the Javanese installed their own nobles to preside over Bali, the island's population became drawn into a hierarchical system controlled by warrior kings and learned priests and divided into castes. Today, Balinese speak of history in terms of the pre-Majapahit and post-Majapahit eras, and those who can trace their genealogies back to the mighty rules and sages of that time still claim high social status in the present. When the Hindu Majapahit empire finally fell in the 16th century, brought down by the rise of Islam across the Indonesian archipelago, a new wave of priests, scholars, nobles and artists sought refuge on Bali, which would remain the last Hindu island in the land. Over the next four hundred years Balinese culture flourished around the royal courts. Elaborate rituals were staged, and Bali's famous cremation ceremonies came into existence as a means of showing honor and loyalty to the ruling lords. Art, dance and music prospered, not as purely aesthetic activities but as service on behalf of gods and kings. This era saw the rise of what later anthropologists would describe as the Balinese "theater state": a complex combination of extravagant art and ceremony designed to celebrate the power and majesty of the royal families and to express the humble deference of their followers. But this period was hardly a peaceful one. The seat of the kingdom of Bali moved to Gelgel, and the king who presided over it was given the title of Dewa Agung, or "Great Lord," a reference to both his worldly and spiritual powers. One of these kings even managed to bring parts of neighboring East Java and Lombok under Balinese control. But the kingdom soon became fragmented by family feuds, and Gelgel splintered off into a number of smaller principalities, which remained in a state of constant war and intrigue until the turn of the 20th century.

Arts And Entertainment For The Whole Family

There are times that due to our busy schedules and different careers in life, we tend to forget to spend some time with our family which is really bad. We must always remember that in order to get closer and have a better relationship with our dearest love ones, we must able to give some of our time to them. Lets all enjoy time together as long as we can still have it. It is very essential because we can never bring back the time that we've already lost so no matter how busy you are, you are still obliged to find ways on how you can let them feel your love for them. By simply meeting them and spend quality time doing activities together, you can able to make them happy. And one thing that you can do to make your time with your family the best ones is through arts and entertainment. The most popular way of spending time with family is to stay at home and enjoy each and everyone's presence. You can choose some good movies and go with a movie marathon with your siblings. In this way, you can also check them out and ask them what's going onto their lives. You can open up with them while watching your favorite movies of all time. You can scream, be scared, laugh and be happy together. Just make sure that in choosing the movies go for those that everyone from the oldest to the youngest ones will surely enjoy. You can also ask your parents to make some delicious foods for a more exciting movie experience. The next activity that you can try out is to sing and dance with your family. Do you still remember how happy it was when all of you used to sing and dance with your favorite song in the karaoke machine? Do you want to see your parents sing their favorite love song again? If yes, then making a simple and small song and dance party in the comfort of your own home is the best way to spend your free time. You can ask your siblings to sing and dance under Jason Derulo album songs and the one that will make the best performance will get a prize from you. You can also showcase your talents to them by singing your own favorite Jason Derulo songs and inspire them by letting them see your glamorous song and dance number. If your family is a creative one, then maybe you can also pursue with some art crafts that you can all do together. Choose those that can be displayed in your house so all of you will always see that wonderful moments of spending time with your family. This activity will surely make the family even closer and will also help build and develop your skills and abilities in the line of arts. Just make sure that the young ones will be guided accordingly so we can avoid them from being hurt or from any accident that may happen.

Art and Entertainment Then and Now

What is art and entertainment? Art and Entertainment is a medium which is liked by say by every person both are two sides of the same coin. The only difference it the materials for entertainment have a popular or mass appeal, it can be understood easily by commoners whereas art involves are fined sense of understanding. The, difference between Van Gogh's paintings and a James Bond movie. One is art the other is entertainment. But the purpose of both is relaxing the mind and generating a pleasurable feeling. Difference between art and entertainment. Art includes paintings, poems, sculptures, installations in studios and museums. Entertainment includes Hollywood movies, television serials, theaters, circuses. Nowadays artists are trying to do more of interactive art so that there creation can reach to all, poems are taking the form of rap songs. Contemporary art is very much interfused with everyday issues, the problems or situations a person goes through. Aphrodite is a classical Greek art. Monalisa by Leonardo da Vinci is renaissance art done on poplar paper and oil paint. Pablo Picasso and Vincent Vangogh contribute to modern art. Postmodern art or contemporary art consists of Installations, Intermedia, Multimedia and Conceptual art. Brian Andreas, Allan Graham are artist of this age. Postmodern Installations. Installation art is a very new concept in postmodern art it is space specific three dimensional designed to transform the perception of space. Marcell Duchamp, Kurt Schwiters are father of installation arts. The Three dimensional affect of this art makes them unique from other art forms. Passing phases of entertainment. Man indulged in entertainment with stage plays the topics of Kings and queens, medieval dramas and folk songs. Entertainment resources shows the ways and nature of entertainment changed with time according to the changing demand of the public. Movies gain popularity with the invention of the camera. First was the silent era, only moving pictures without sound. The invention of sound recorder brought in the Talkies, movies with sound and dialogue. Latest technology is High Definition 3D movie Avatar. Entertainment is no longer limited to movies but have moved on to video gaming, internet gaming. Entertainment is an institution itself and has a business market of its own which is expanding rapidly.