ALL ABOUT BALI Volume 1: Traditional Dances

Written by: Ida Ayu Indira Pratiwi

Table of Content 01 |Balinese Culture 02 |Balinese Dancing 05 |Rejang: The Hidden Dance of Bali 09 | Rejang Dewa

Balinese Culture Bali is paradise on earth. This island with the “Pulau dewata” or in English “Island of the Gods” is located in Indonesia, a country in the Southeast Asia region. Bali is very known for its beach and heaven-like scenery that will blow you away. Other than its scenery Bali has a variety of arts that are equally as amazing, these arts include paintings, music, carvings, dances, and many more. These arts are heavily influenced by Bali’s rich culture which comes from aspects of the Hindu religion.

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Balinese Dancing

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Balinese Dancing Balinese dancing is one of the most well-known art forms in Bali. These dances could be seen everywhere in Bali especially during big cultural events or arts festivals that happen annually. Balinese dances that are really well known to the public are Tari Kecak, Tari Janger, Tari Cendrawasih, and many more. With the endless amount of dances in Bali, the dances are separated into 3 different groups. These groups help differentiate the different types and purposes of the dances, the groups are Tari Wali, Tari BeBali, and Tari Balih-balihan.

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Tari Wali Tari Wali dances are the dances that are the most sacred. These dances are only allowed to be danced by Hindu people, this is because these dances are

only

performed

during

sacred

rituals. The dances that are considered in this group are Tari Rejang, Tari Sanghyang

Dedari,

and

Tari

Baris

Upacara.

Tari BeBali Dances that are considered in the Tari BeBali category are still considered sacral but have entertainment aspects in them. These dances are usually performed

to

accompany

or

complement religious rituals. Some dances

that

are

included

in

this

category is Tari Topeng, Tari Gambuh Drama,

and

Tari

Wayang

Wong

Drama.

Tari Balih-Balihan The dances that are in the Tari Balihbalihan category are dances that are solely

for

entertainment

purposes.

These dances could be danced by anyone from anywhere and are the dances that a lot of people know. These dances include Tari Cendrawasih, Tari Pendet, Tari Legong, Tari cilinaya, and many more.

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Rejang: Hidden Dance of Bali

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What is Rejang? Rejang is one of the hidden gems of dances in Bali. This dance is included in the Tari Wali category thus making it extremely sacred and only people who are Balinese know the existence of the dance. This dance is included as one of Indonesia’s cultural heritage that is registered in UNESCO. This dance is not danced for performance but it is danced as part of sacred ceremonies called Odalan. This dance is used for welcoming the presence of the gods and goddesses coming from heaven that was called to witness the sacred ceremony. Since it is a welcoming dance for gods and goddesses this dance is performed right inside the temple.

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Who Can Dance Rejang? This

dance

is

normally

danced by any woman in Bali who

has

Hindu

as

their

religion, this includes kids, teenagers,

young

adults,

adults, mothers, elderly, and many more, they do not have to be specifically trained in traditional dancing because anyone can join. But before the dance, all of the dancers must be purified so thus only allowing

Balinese

Hindu

women to dance and perform it. There is a lot of types of Rejangs but the 3 that people know

and

are

commonly

found during ceremonies are Rejang Dewa, Rejang Sari, Rejang Renteng.

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Rejang Backstory Rejang has a very unique backstory behind the dance. The Rejang dance originally had different variations as different villages in Bali had their own version and interpretation of the Rejang Dance. As time goes on the Rejang ended up evolving which are the Rejang dances that we know and see being danced today. As people being able to create their own Rejang led to the creation of the big 3 of the Rejang dances which are Rejang Renteng, Rejang Sari, and Rejang Dewa. An example of how Rejang evolved we have the example of

Rejang

Renteng.

Rejang

Renteng was created by Ibu Dayu Astini. She said that she evolved the dance from the already existing Rejangs that the

Balinese

Cultural

Department or in Indonesian known as Dinas Kebudayaan Bali.

She

said

department preserve

the

was

that able

dance

the to that

allowed her to create her own dance.

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Rejang Dewa

Rejang Dewa Rejang Dewa is one of the types of Rejang that are danced in Bali. This specific Rejang is only danced by girls who have not reached puberty or had their period. This dance has extremely simple dance moves and is also are very slow and graceful. Most of the dance moves are just the dancers going from left and right while utilizing the Scarff. Then there are dance moves that are heavily inspired by how Balinese Hindu people usually pray to our offerings.

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Rejang Dewa Dance Movements

The dance moves in Rejang are very simple. This is because this dance is mainly focused on the spiritual points instead of its artistry. The Rejang movement is usually dominated by the movement called ngembat and ngelikas, these are the type of movements that goes from left to right that is done while taking steps. Every dance is usually done with a tempo that is really slow and also being aligned to the melody that the gamelan is playing in the back. Rejang Dewa specifically has specific movements that imitate the way Balinese Hindu people pray while we are offering our offerings. The way people pray to the offerings in Bali is called ngayap, this movement is being imitated in the middle of the dance. The dancers place their left hand under the elbow and the right hand imitates how the hand is usually positioned while people “ngayap”.

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Rejang Dewa Costume Gelungan

Selendang Kuning

Tapih

Wastra Putih

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The colors that are used in the Rejang Dewa dance are very simple. The two colors that are used in this dance are white and yellow. These colors sumbolizes the wind direction. First, there is a long white cloth which is called wastra putih that is wrapped around the dancer’s body. The white cloth is wrapped around the waist and goes until the ankle of the dancer. Then to cover the chest of the dancer there is a yellow cloth which is being wrapped around the chest, this is called a tapih. Then there is the yellow scarf or the selendang that is tied around the chest area, this scarf is utilized in the dance as a prop. Then the last and main point is the hat or crown that is worn throughout the dance, this is called the Gelungan. The gelungan is usually made of coconut leaves and then flowers are added to be pretty. Another prop that is used is a dupa that is usually stuck on the top of the gelungan, this dupa is usually what Hindu people use to pray. This dupa is added to create a much more welcoming and holy welcome for the ancestors.

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