Wayang shadow theatre In Bali Part 6

To obtain a better understanding of the genre, identifying and defining the nature and scope of the performance structure of the Wayang Kulit Parwa is useful, since it is the most popular type of Wayang in Bali. The dalang sees this as the essential structure within which he operates. There are, in effect, 18 chronological activities. Although it is possible to omit a sequence or event, it is not possible to have, for example, extra love scenes or fighting scenes. Also, it is sometimes possible to reorder sequences for specific dramaturgical purposes. As with the earlier Shakespeare parallel, this following structural scaffolding is as important as the Western classical text itself:

1. Ritual offering and invocation. After all hospitality (food and social welcoming and greeting) and the apparatus are set up, the dalang begins to dedicate the opening offering (Peras Santun Pamungkah) to invoke divine guidance. A dalang also serves the segehan offering to the lower spirit in order to obtain spiritual support. The end of the dedication of the offering cues the musicians to begin their overture.
2. Musical overture/prelude, Gending Pategak. This piece technically tells the spectators that the Wayang Kulit performance is about to begin, while the musicians are ‘warming up’ with their instrumental music. Among numerous popular musical pieces, musicians often play Sekar Gendot, Sekar Sungsang, Merak Angelo, Cangak Merengang, Katak Ngongkek and Sulendro.
3. Opening of the puppet storage and performance box, Pamungkah, with some silent incantations by the dalang. After the dalang taps the box three times with his palm, musicians begin to play the Gending Pamungkah. Eventually the dalang leads the tempo of the music by knocking his wooden hammer (cepala) on the right side of the puppet box. 
4. The Tree of Life, Kayonan, puppet dance. It symbolises the first creation of the universe through the evolution of five universal elements (the panca maha butha) of life: earth, water, fire, wind and ether. Regardless of the selected story and context of the performance, the Kayonan puppet always begins and ends the show, in addition to making appearances in between the acts (Babak or Babad). The Kayonan puppet dance is accompanied by a musical piece called Taru Mentik, blooming tree.
5. Casting, with the selection of story and preliminary arrangement of puppets. While the musicians display their skill by playing a number of pieces that they may choose, known as Oncang-Oncangan, the dalang independently recasts and prepares the puppets. For example, the same puppet previously used to represent the god Wisnu might be recast as Kresna. The next time it is used it may represent Rama, and so forth.
6. The second Tree of Life dance, to begin the first act. The dance is accompanied by a musical piece called Taru Keampehan, blown-out tree.
7. The entering scene with sung poetry, Alas Harum, Fragrance Forest, a music piece for soft characters, Candi Rebah, Slanted Tiara, a piece for demonic characters and the Bopong piece for strong/hard characters. All lyrics are in the Kawi language, which the audience only partly understands. Feeling the mood and atmosphere is more important for the spectators than fully understanding the meaning of the words. In this scene, the dalang begins to sing with a medium pitch, tempo, and power of his voice. This is the only opportunity for the dalang to warm up his voice.
8. ncantation and prologue, Panyacah. Narrating the early evolution and the creation of the universe, which resulted in the settlement of all the planets and life on earth, a dalang puppeteer must explore all possibilities of his voice, from the very soft through to the extremely loud, from the very low to the extremely high. The narration is in Kawi and is musically and spiritually enjoyed by the Wayang Kulit enthusiasts, often without an understanding of the text. The dramatic structure or story begins during the last quarter of this prologue, when the dalang recites: ‘Now it shall be told the appearance or the coming of . . .’.
9. The first court meeting scene, Patangkilan: (a) King interlude, Pangalang Ratu, (b) Servant interlude, Pangalang Parekan. Either one of the older servants, Twalen or Delem, but never Sangut or Wredah, entertains or praises his lord by singing a hymn or reciting a stanza of a kakawin. This hymn is called Tampak Silir, stepping on the same lane together, since the melody and the pitch of the vocal and instrumental should go simultaneously and exactly in the same step and tempo. In this meeting scene, the dalang uses at least three languages: the Kawi, Sanskrit and Balinese (low, medium and high). Sometimes he may even use the Indonesian languages and foreign words.
10. Travelling scene, Angkat-angkatan, accompanied by a number of ostinatic pieces. The dalang recites an elaborate song over short pieces of repeatable instrumental music (ostinato). Among the many pieces are Gedebeg, Srikandi, Bimakroda, Krepetan, etc.
11.  Love/flirtation scene, Rebong. To many contemporary dalang who are not well trained in puppet manipulation skills, this scene is optional or substituted with the Ragragan comic interlude, although the Rebong is traditionally a requirement.
12. Sad scene, Tetangisan. Depending on the character, the scene has three different versions and each is accompanied by a different musical piece: Gending Mesem for soft characters with small, flat eyes, Rundah for demonic characters with sharp fangs and Bendu Semara for strong/ hard characters with big, oval or round eyes. Only one version may be performed at a time. Recently, this scene has also become optional.
13. The second court scene, Babad, of the opponent or antagonist character, although it may often be in another position in the sequence. Sometimes the meeting scene may be between the protagonist character and the antagonist.
14. Ragragan, comic interlude and social contemporary commentary. It appears continually anywhere from the travelling scene through to the end of the fighting scene. One comic court attendant, or possibly a pair, always appears for this commentary; it is an allegorical, often absurd, hilarious dialogue or monologue.
15. The dance of Bapang Delem. The boisterous court attendant, Delem, typically begins the second scene, always with his ever-sceptical younger brother Sangut.
16. Second travelling scene, Angkat-angkatan. Unlike the first travelling scene, this scene is more than mere travelling; it is, in effect, usually a group of rebels (ogre soldiers or monkey armies) going towards a battle scene.
17. Fighting or battle scene, Siat. This scene always signifies the climax of a play or a performance, no matter what story the dalang selects. The accompanying musical piece is Batel, which has the sound and tone of a battle.
18. Ritual dedication, Panyudamalan. In this sequence, holy water is arranged for the purification ceremony. The beginning of dalang’s incantation is a cue for the musicians to begin playing either the piece Panyudamalan or Bugari.

Except for the Ragragan interlude, each of these 18 categories is identified by, and must match with, the exact sequence of musical accompaniment. Musicians are independent from the dalang’s cues and dramatic activities only in phases 2, 5 and 18, but even to begin these independent pieces, musicians still wait for the cue from the dalang. In the rest of those activities, beyond those three pieces, the musicians must follow the dalang’s cues closely so they know whether to remain or to adjust and/or to change the piece, the rhythm or tempo (with an appropriate musical cadences) in accordance with the dramatic sequence and movements. Beginning from phases 3 to 4 and then from the phases 6 to 17, the musical accompaniment should closely follow the puppet movements, reinforce the dramatic mood or fuse with the dalang’s vocal arts to compose a musical drama. In Bali, a Wayang show never takes place without musicians. Dalang artists may

produce the conventional types of vocal arts, Tetandakan, only with a musical accompaniment.

An ensemble of gamelan music always accompanies the performance of Wayang Kulit theatre. Of the 30 existing divergent ensembles, three ensembles are traditionally affiliated with and employed to accompany a

Wayang show. The quartet or at least a pair (pangisep ‘male’ and pangumbang ‘female’ instruments) of the metallophone Gender Wayang music ensemble invariably accompanies the Mahabharata-based Wayang Parwa. When two medium-sized Kendang drums, a unit of cymbal, knobbed Klenang, Kajar and Kempur gong chimes are added to the quartet Gender music, then the ensemble is called the Batel Ramayana. This Batel music accompanies the performance of Wayang Ramayana, Wayang Calonarang and the Wayang Cupak. When the quartet Gender instruments of the Batel ensemble are replaced with several giant bamboo flutes and several instruments such as the Gumanak and Gentorag bells clusters, the ensemble is called Pagambuhan. This flute-dominated music accompanies the performance of the Wayang Gambuh, which is based on the Panji cycles. Just as the narrative repertoires are associated with different genres of performance, different ensembles are associated with a specific type of Wayang. Consequently, an audience would immediately recognise the specific type of Wayang that is being performed simply by hearing the music. In recent experimental productions, other instruments have been added.

The role of music is crucial in Wayang, because numerous dramatic moods, emotions and movements are properly established only by playing a certain piece with all its cadences, rhythm, melody and tempo. Although there is no room here to exhaustively discuss the important role of music to the Wayang, it is important to understand that certain musical pieces establish a certain dramatic event (such as travel or conflict) or mood (such as sadness or anger) even before any text is spoken.

Discussing how a dalang cues and collaborates with musicians is essential to understanding the process of creativity in performance. Except for the Ragragan interlude, each of the 18 chronological activities (astadasa karma) of the performance is identified by and must match the exact set of musical accompaniment. The musicians must closely follow the dalang’s cues whether to remain or to adjust and/or to change the piece, the rhythm, or the tempo (with appropriate musical cadences) in accordance with dramatic sequence and movements. The dalang cues and guides the orchestra as a conductor and musical director. Specific triggers for this dynamic relationship express themselves through the following: when the dalang raps rhythmically on the puppet box, tabuh cepala; when the puppet performs certain movements, or patterns of movement, during the dramatic narrative; when the dalang sings his lines; and when the dalang performs routine ritualistic actions. A dalang is often frustrated and uncomfortable when working with new musicians who do not share the same artistic approach or training as him.

The first sound that the dalang uses to cue his musicians, which sets the tempo of the opening piece, is manifested through a tapping sound. The dalang makes this sound by knocking or tapping the cone-shaped, wooden rattle on the puppet box; he holds the rattle in his hand or in the toes of his right foot. This is similar in function to a jazz drummer using a foot pedal. Three basic sounds of cepala/box are tak (single), blak (simultaneous double sounds when the dalang’s foot and the cepala hit the box), and tak-blak (alternately plural sounds when the first tak is immediately complemented by the second blak). Any composite patterns of the cepala are known as tabuh, a term which also refers to a compositional piece of Balinese gamelan music.