Nadi - Kerauhan in the Balinese Performing Arts

8/10/2019 Nadi - Kerauhan in the Balinese Performing Arts

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Source : NADI Trance in the Balinese Art

KERAUHAN

IN THE BALINESEPERFORMING ARTS


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NADI OR KERAUHAN TO HIGHLIGHT

THE PERFORMANCE

Again, karauhan or kerauhan is closelyrelated to the traditional Balineseperformance arts. It can happen not onlyduring a sacred art performance, but alsoat any other spectacle. A good example isat a communal performance, in which thegamelan players and audience suddenlyshiver, tremble, groan and screamunconsciously. These people are at thebeginning of kerauhan. These unique andmysterious happenings are hard toexplain, but are not uncommon forBalinese people.

The sacred Sanghyang dance that has beenin existence since pre-Hindu times has

always involved spirits entering, forexample the two young girls who performthe Sanghyang Dedari (angel) dance. Thegirls will jump onto adult mensshoulders to wipe away bad spirits thatwish to disturb the village community.Another example is the Sanghyang jaran(horse) dancing performed by a man. Hetakes on a fierce attitude, and neighswhile stepping on embers as if playing inthe rain. The Sanghyang Celeng (pig)dance meanwhile is performed by a man whowill gore here and there and swallow


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things that he considers sources ofepidemic.

The Calonarang dance drama, which issemi-sacred, is often followed bykerauhan. The kerauhan usually happens atthe climax of a show when the Barong andRangda are fighting. The Rangda isstabbed with kerises by a number of men,but the Rangda dancer is not hurt at all.The same thing also happened to the wildthrong who stab their own bodies. Again,none of them are hurt, let a one killed.

The kerauhan can also happen to ritualBans dancers such as Bans C/ha - a uniqueart form available only in Sanur. Herethe dancers wear the silat (traditionalform of self-defense) costumes from


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China. They perform Kung-fu movements,accompanied by the gong beri Chinesedrums. After being entered by a spirit,the dancer will say Chinese words such ashaiya... haiya.... Strange enough, the spectacular arts suchas joged and janger also involvekerauhan. A form of Joged called Lekofrom Tabanan makes audiences tenseindeed, especially when the main dancersstart to run amok unconsciously in awarlike scene derived from Calonarangstories. Meanwhile, a kind of janger thatinvolves hysteria and kerauhan is JangerMaborbor (roasted on fire) which we canstill find at the foot of Batur Mountainin the Bangli Regency.SO ATTRACTIVE

Nadi from South Bali and kodal from NorthBali are different terms to express asimilar thing, kerauhan. However, themeaning is almost the same. God ispleased to enter a persons body. And ifit happens, the community members willrespect and follow the Sanghyang Dedariswhims as they travel around the village,or malancaran until dawn. Villagers willngiring or follow the nadi personfaithfully. And the same thing alsohappens if the Sanghyang explain theingredients used to cure, the communitywill listen carefully.


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Although kerauhan can be brought on, itis hard to predict exactly when someonewill be entered by a spirit. A person whoprepares for kerauhan in a ritualprocession in the Sanghyang dancing, forexample, will become absorbed in theprocession, but will not always succeed.However, a participant who screams andshivers may nadi. At a temple nearbyDenpasar, kerauhan can happen to anybodyinvolved in a ritual ceremony. An


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adolescent carrying an umbul-umbul cansuddenly and wildly take a keris and stabhimself (ngurek). Or a young beautifullady can suddenly become wild and ask fornarat, or for people to stab her.The mystery of kerauhan in the Balinesearts shows that it usually happens, or isstimulated by a series of ritualprocessions. To achieve the climax ofkerauhan in Sanghyang a series of stagesneed to be followed. The main stages arenusdus, masolah and ngaluwur. Nusdus iswhen dancers are stimulated with incensesmoke with a certain sharp aroma so thatthey can kerauhan faster . Masolah is thedancing stage after nadi accompanied bychanting and kecak or gamelan orchestrasounds. Ngaluwur is the process of

returning the dancers to their normalstates.

In the Calonarang drama and dancing,especially during the fight between blackmagic symbolized by Rangda against whitemagic represented by the Barong, kerauhancan happen unexpectedly and withoutpreparation. The kerauhan can happensuddenly to the keris dancers who thentake sides with the Barong. In thetektekan art in the Tabanan Regency,Rangda dancers will also experiencekerauhan. They are overwhelmed and


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stabbed with keris daggers by a number ofpeople. Later, they stab themselvesseveral times while bowing their bodiesand rolling around on the ground. Thosewho kerauhan soon become conscious afterbeing splashed with tirtha or holy waterby a ceremony leader namely pamangku orthe temple priest.


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Both dancers and other participants whoexperienced kerauhan say that it is hardto say what happened because they wereunconscious. They do not know how theydanced, how invulnerable they were toweapons and how powerful they were. Theydidnt feel anything no matter how hot


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the embers were. The Sanghyang Jarandancers feel nothing, except fatigue assoon as they regain consciousness.

The Sanghyang Dedari dancers do not knowhow beautiful and natural were theirmovements while they were kerauhan. Theyare surprised by the praise they receive,because they have never studied how todance when they are chosen to be aSanghyang dancer. When they are enteredby spirits, they can dance beautifullyadorably and attractively with their ownimprovised movements accompanied bygamelan palegongan music.

TO DRIVE DISEASE AWAY

There are still other Sanghyang typesthat have their own character andidiosyncrasies such as Sanghyang Dewa,Sanghyang Deling, Sanghyang Dangkluk,Sanghyang Panyalin, Sanghyang Lelipi,Sanghyang Bojog, Sanghyang Memedi,Sanghyang Bumbung, Sanghyang Kidang,Sanghyang Sampat, Sanghyang janger,Sanghyang Kuluk, Sanghyang Penyu,Sanghyang Sembe, and Sanghyang Sengkrong.If we observe their enactment carefully,we will see that they all involvekerauhan. For example, Sanghyang Delingwhich often involves nadi, can be found


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in villages around Batur Lake, Kintamani.Here they use a doll as the medium toinvite the Sanghyang, and a dancerentered by the spirit will be able todance amazingly. Sanghyang Celeng dancecan still be found in the Pasangkan andDuda villages, Karangasem. By wearingspecial costumes made from ijuk (palmfiber from sugar palm), a man will soonkerauhan and be entered by the SanghyangCeleng (pig) spirit. He will crawl onhands and knees and snort like a pig ashe tours the village. In North Bali, theSanghyang Memedi dance can still befound, in which the invitation of thespirit is done by burning horses dunk. Ina state of kerauhan or kodal, this personwill kidnap a child and then leave him in

a quiet place or perhaps in a graveyard.


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The process of Sanghyang performancestarts with the announcing ceremony. Theceremony is to let the gods know that the

sacred art is going to be performed soon.After this ceremony, there follows theNusdus ceremony. Incense smoke derivedfrom gum benzoin smothers the Sanghyangdancers. A Kuskus Arum, a sacred songwith many repetitions, is sung by achorus of women. The signs of kerauhanare a trembling and uncontrollable body.

When the dancer is already nadi, the nextstep is to sing the Dewa Bagus song. Thelyric is: Dewa Bagus dong ambil kudanemangkin/kuda sampun macancang/ macangcangdi kepuh randu. When this song is sung


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the kerauhan dancer will stagger closerto the prepared embers.

When the Sanghyang kicks the firerepeatedly, the chorus gets louder andlouder. The lyric now is Kebo jambulbangun lemah galang kangin/ngetok tanglukmagrobogan ngetok tanglukmagrobogan/makekeskes makekipu.Meanwhile, the kecak chorus is sung bydozens of men to encourage and givesupport to the Sanghyang Jaran.

The horse costume worn by the dancer ismade of rattan, wood or cow hide, and isconsidered sacred. The Sanghyang jaranwill scream happily and freelyaccompanied by the female chorus and the

back beat maintained by the men. As longas the song is being sung and the kecaksounded, the Sanghyang dancer will keepmoving and sometimes far beyond theperformance space, as though chasingsomething away. The audience will followit wherever it goes, until the Sanghyangjaran begins to strain and steps on thefire and jumps here and there, whichfills onlookers with fear. Anybodysmoking will be chased by the SanghyangJaran, who will hit the cigarette andstep on it until the fire is out. Hardlyany member of the audience will be bold


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enough to light a fire when they arewatching a Sanghyang Jaran performance. Asong entitled Tut Pekatik Cangcang willbe sung so that the Sanghyang Jaran willstop running amok and stop playing withfire.

The final ceremony of the Sanghyang Jaranperformance is ngaluwur, or returning thesacred spirit of Sanghyang to itsoriginal world. This stage is alsoaccompanied by the kecak. After beingsplashed with tirtha (holy water) theSanghyang dancer soon becomes consciousand he will feel very tired. Now, he isreturning to himself, a normal person.His wildness and agitation disappear in ashort time.


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To become a Sanghyang dancer, there is aserious selection process which involvesinheritance factors at times. One of therequirements to become a Sanghyang Dedari(angel) is youth and femininity a notyet adolescent girl. As a Sanghyang, shewill have to stay in a sacred place andonly do jobs related to ritual activitiessuch as making offerings and makingpreparations for ceremonies. They are notallowed to say any bad words or walkunder clotheslines.

The Sanghyang art is usually performed inthe evening. The Sanghyang Dedariperformance is usually conducted in themost sacred part of a temple. Meanwhile,the Sanghyang Jaran such as in Sedang

village in Badung is always performed atthe marga agung, the main crossroads inthe village. These two Sanghyang arts arestill in existence and they are verycommon in South Bali, their performancesalways being accompanied by a womenschorus and by a male kecak group. Onlyduring the masolah (dance), is theSanghyang Dedari accompanied by gamelanmusic locally known as semarapagulingan.

The Sanghyang dancers movements do nothave a particular style. Improvisation isthe most prominent factor. Like its name,


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Sanghyang Jaran moves and straddles andneighs like a horse. Meanwhile, SanghyangDedari dancers imitate natural movementssuch as being blown by winds, bent like atree, wavy movements, or imitations ofanimal behaviors. However, they are allcombined into one and accompanied withchant, kecak, and gamelan music.The Balinese community believes thatSanghyang is an art that can protect usand give use tranquility. Sanghyang isbelieved to have the power to wipe outepidemics or avoid the presence of badspirits that want to harm their village.In mountainous villages, this art isoften performed when there is a diseasespreading. Usually the Sanghyang activitywill last more than a month and will stop

for a while when the epidemic isovercome.

FOR TOURISM

Kerauhan in Sanghyang, Barong, joged, andJanger dancing is still a mystery, but itis very common in Bali. During thetourism development period in Bali, theseperformances are amongst those thattourists most love to watch. Kerauhan hascertainly managed to attract touristsattention, and currently is performedregularly in Batubulan village in the


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Gianyar Regency not necessary to waitfor an epidemic. Tourists in Bali canenjoy a Kerauhan performance everymorning in the barong dance and in theSanghyang Dedari and Sanghyang Jaranevery afternoon. It is hard todifferentiate between kerauhan fortourism or the real kerauhan in ritualceremonies. For every Odalan ceremony ina Dalem temple there will be dancers inkerauhan, for example during theCalonarang drama and dance performance.Even the pamangkus who in their dailylives lead ritual ceremonies and prayersat a temple are often kerauhan, and oftenspeak in tongues when thus afflicted.Even older onlookers such as grandfathersand grandmothers, can scream loudly and

jump, then act like a Barong and stabthemselves with keris daggers. All of thesupporters (dancers and orchestraplayers) of a Calonarang drama and danceare happy because they have anopportunity to ngayah surrendersincerely to God.


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48 year old Ngurah Made Agung, who acts

as Rangda every morning on a local stage,says that he never feels bored whenperforming his art for tourists, andneither do the gamelan orchestra playersand dancers.

They can perform their best even thoughthese two performances are used fordifferent purposes. Acting in kerauhanfor an art performance is a means to earna living, while in a ritual ceremony itis to surrender oneself to God with nothought for financial re muneration.

Nadi - Kerauhan in the Balinese Performing Arts

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