Tourism, Culture and Society

Culture of Indonesia

Definition of culture by ICOMO:
Culture can be defined as the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterise a community, society or social group. It includes not only arts and literature, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs. Culture encompasses the living or contemporary characteristics and values of a community as well as those that have survived from the past.

Arts of Indonesia
Indonesia has as many as 700 ethnic and linguistic group with each group having their own unique performing arts. This makes the total number of original dances more than 3000. Dances are usually about stories and tales of fairy tales characters. Not only do these dances represent the culture of the various ethnic groups but it has become a form of entertainment for tourists as well.

Dances in Bali
Balinese dances are unlike other dances as they encompass religion and are mostly about religion ceremonies. Base on bali ceremonies, the dances can be separated into 3 categories.

1.Wali (sacred) Dances
Wali dances are sacred and must be performed in the inner court of the temple.


Sang Hyang Dedari (Trance Dance), credits to flickr pixxiefish

Sang Hyang Dedari (Trance Dance)
This dance is usually performed to entertain the gods and the goddesses appease them and ask for their blessings. For example an epidemic has occurred, this is a bad sign and the Balinese would perform this dance. Dressed in beautiful and elaborate attire together with the thick smoke from the incense, two young girls would dance slowly as the village women chant them into a trance. The gods and goddesses will then enter their bodies once they are in the state of a trance. This is followed by dance movements which they have not mastered before, at times they may even sound and act like a monkey or horse. This continues until the two girls collapses, the village women would then chant to ask the gods and goddesses to peacefully leave the bodies of the young girl



Barong
One of the most famous group dances that involve the entrancement and possession of participants is the Balinese Barong. It is another story telling dance that acts out the battle between good and evil. It is after all the Balinese way of acting out a myth resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.

Barong, Credits to getbalivillas

2.Bebali Dances
These dances are ceremonial, and usually performed in the middle court of a temple.

Gambuh
Gambuh which is one of the oldest classical dances in Bali tells a love story of a Javanese prince in his quest for a beautiful princess. The dance is now performed only in a few villages like Pedugan and Batuan. The Gambuh showcases the best of both male and female Balinese dancing.

3. Balih-balihan Dances
These dances are often considered secular and entertaining. They are performed in the outer court or even outside the temple

Credits to baliwww

Legong
The legong dance, a court dance was created in the 18^th century and is usually the first dance taught to beginners. Girls as young as the age of 5 are required to master perfect mix of posture (tangkep), movements and mimicry. The dance only has 3 dancers - one condong lady-in-waiting and two princesses whose roles change according to the narrative. In the past the dance would be accompanied by a storyteller who narrates the story by chanting. However now it has evolved to become a performance. As the dance requires great feminity, girls at the age of 14 have to retire.

Credit to indonesian-cultures

Kecak
The Kecak Dance tells the Indian story of Ramayana. The dance boasts one hundred or more bare chested men, sitting down on the ground surrounding the bonfire, led by a priest in the middle. This dance unlike others does not require the accompanying of musical instruments as music is created from the beats of their palms hitting their chests, their thighs, or other parts of their bodies, or their claps, rhythmically accompanied by shouting and chanting.

The dancers move in unison, creating a spectacular choreographic performance. Either hands stretched out, pulled in, rested on the shoulder of the next person, or waists gyrated left and right, etc. The kecak dance is by far Bali’s most popular tourist spectacle.

Changes in dance culture
Bali encompasses many different types of dances. These dances not only showcase the Balinese culture but preserve the culture and remind the Balinese of their traditions. However as tourism grows in Bali, these dances have become a form of tourist attractions. The dances have evolved into a form of entertainment to the tourists. Instead of the traditional dances being performed fully, only bits and pieces are being showcased due to both time constraints and lack of manpower and funding.

Dances which are normally performed only every 60 years are now requested and organized by hotels on a weekly basis. Not only do tourists not understand the true meaning of these dances but some of them are not truly interested in it as well.

In a traditional area known as Ubud, numerous dance shows are staged every night with various timings. Besides Ubud, other areas also have nightly performances. These performances do not hold the same or true values. They are in fact a source of income and a way to earn revenue.

One example is the Kecak dance which was first invented by Walter Spies, a German artist. He had initially created this dance to be appreciated by both western audiences and the Balinese. The Kecak dance performance is staged daily at Uluwatu Temple.

On the other hand, the dance known as Tari Panyembrama a popular Balinese social dance was created specifically for welcoming and entertainment purposes of tourists. The word Panyembrama means welcome, thus this dance is used to welcome guests of honor. The hospitality and friendliness conveyed through the smiles of the Panymebrama girls makes the audience feel welcome as flowers are scattered over the floor to welcome them.

Panyembrama, Credits to balidancedrama

Another dance known as the Topeng aka Mask dance is traditionally performed during ritual processions. However these dances have been modified and recreated by taking them out or rituals and performing it for tourists. A famous dancer known as I Made Kredek in Singapadu created a one hour version of the traditional Barong dance for the view of the tourists. Minimal dialogue was included along with some form of humor to reduce cultural barriers.

These dances represent disneyfication. I will compare the dances in Bali to the famous Disney parade in Disneyland. The parade is one of the most look forwarded to performances in Disneyland as it showcases all the Disney characters from Cinderella to Donald Duck. Visitors can be seen camping on mats up to few hours before the show just to catch a great view of the parade.

Credits to wdwlive


Similarly, one of the highlights in Bali is the dance performances. Although the dances represent the culture, overtime it has become a staged performance for the tourist. The dance has been shortened to suit the ideal time of approximately one hour for performances. In addition new versions of the traditional dances have been created for tourist enjoyment. Furthermore, these dances are performed daily at designated times just like the parade in Disneyland.