Balinese life is full of artistic colors. Since being conceived, a Balinese is introduced to the ritual of magedong-gedongan implemented by means of sesaji offering arranged in such a way to contain full of artistic nuance, giving the sesaji both religious character and magical power expected to safeguard the baby in conception. More over the sejaji instills a good taste to the baby making its mother feel happy, full of eagerness and joy. This ritual consequently sends vibration’s to the baby still being in conception.
Similar is the case with further phases of the baby’s life until becoming grown up. In this span of time a range of rituals take place respectively at the time of birth, of the age of one month and seven days, of three months, of six months or one oton (as Balinese mentions it), and so on, ending at a time when the man reaches grown up stage. At the latest phase of human development, the sesajen offered is very implicated, while its artistic value gets higher. Wealthy men would add an art show to the series of ritual.
Looking on such a phenomenon shown previously, M. Covarrubias, in his book entitled ‘Island of Bali’ termed all Balinese as artists. Following such a view of the Dutch writer, the Island of Bali had become more famous as ‘Island of Paradise’, while Balinese art has echoed throughout the world. Nevertheless, it has remained a monopoly of only few people who know that Balinese artists own a specific day to keep taksu inner power and their profession intact, including their effort of care taking and safeguarding of their art implements by means of religious ritual procession. The specific day is termed as Tumpek Wayang or Tumpek Aringgit, observed on Saniscara (Saturday) Kliwon, Wuku Wayang, six-monthly.
According to Sundarigama lontar, Balinese people are busy in ritual performance of ‘Tumpek Kandang’ Holy Day in prayer to ‘Dewa Iswara‘ Deity, manifesting God Almighty as creator of art and its implements, consisted of puppets, ‘aringit’ carved objects, idols, pratima sacred object, gong, musical instrument of gender, gambang, bell, wooden drum, and other Balinese gamelan Bali instruments.
Sesajen offered to art implements during Tumpek Wayang observance consists of implements known among Balinese as peras or ajuman, completed with white duck meat, fruits, such-called canang meraka and pesucian. Meanwhile, sesajen dedicated to safeguard taksu inner power, spiritual and bodily sacredness and safety of artists, consists of sesayut tumpeng boiled rice cone, big-sized sesayut tumpeng, ‘prayascita’, ‘penyeneng’, and so on, adapted to local tradition. This Tumpek Wayang ritual means, as it proposed in Sundarigama Lontar Ancient Manuscript, that the observers ask for guidance from Dewa Iswara toward achieving blessing of all kinds of arts with capability of giving material and spiritual prosperity to the whole mankind. More over, artists could also achieve blessing safely in practicing their artistic skill.
Balinese artists, especially gamelan players, dancers and puppeteers, would be very busy in observing rituals and performing a variety of dances. Academy and schools of arts such as Denpasar’s STSI Academy, Batubulan’s SMK Senior High School of Dance, and art groups, would take part in local temple ritual, while artists being engaged in stage performances, including all-night shows of shadow leather puppet dances. The importance of shadow puppet-show of specific standard during the day is because of the shows being not merely a usual ones, but this is an occasion used by puppeteers to convey messages of morality filled with teachings of perfect morality and good conduct.
Wayang performances reflected the world of human kind, Balinese called bhuwana alit and the objective natural world with all of its contents, known among Balinese as bhuwana agung. Implements made and used during wayang performance, contain specific meanings. Its screen signifies human being, petrol lantern reflects atma spiritual holy rays dwelling in human body, ‘gender’ musical instruments directing the wayang performance symbolizing human soul vibration. The puppeteer himself is reflecting the God as Jiwatman defining the fate of human beings and other creatures.
Parents in Bali make an analogy of human life as if it were a wayang performance to reflect the law of life formulated as follows: Man may have an expectation and execute a deed to the utmost as possible, nevertheless God will at last decide what would be the result. This law drives Balinese to uphold the following philosophical compass:
Maserah ring Sang Hyang Tuduh (Total obedience to the God Almighty), idupe buka megantung aji bok akatih (“Life is hanging down upon one hair”, meaning that everybody should work and perform as best as possible, while absent of depending himself to the fruit it resulted, because God will define the outcome with justice to all human deed).
By adhering to such a philosophy, a man could not easily be a victim of feeling sorry in case of failure. On the other hand he would not be overacting following a success and not be aired with arrogance because of a feeling of overvalue compared with others. Just such a person is qualified as wise man capable of realizing peace in the world.
Thus, the Tumpek Wayang ritual really is capable of creating a wise man having ability of releasing water of peace in the world. Please, you need not be surprised if at present more Balinese become ‘artist ambassadors’ touring well-known cities around the world supporting development of world peace through dance performance. In Hindu teaching, God has created this globe by mobilization of all power as if humane beings in dancing. They perform a dance named ‘Dance by God Siwa Natya Raja’. Many of the sacred dances believed of having supernatural power in prayer to God conserved up to now in eternality and only takes the floor during certain temple ceremonies.
The Island of Bali has remained in peace and security amid chaos suffered by the Indonesian State downtrodden in multidimensional crises. This situation may be a product of Balinese persistency in eternalizing Balinese art, in prayer to God defining art, which is capable vibrating peace into the inner mind of every living creature. Consequently, it would be not a wrong step to make a mirror in reflecting prime values Tumpek Wayang Day in the eyes of everybody taking part in realizing peaceful life in loves to ach others.
Please visit Bali busy in celebrating Tumpek Wayang, to see this Island of Paradise as if you look on your own image or reflection of the whole nature with its contents. Bali persists to be an Island of Paradise following the October 2002 Bomb Tragedy.
Ketut Sumadi
Lecture at “STAH Negeri Denpasar”
(Denpasar College of Hindu Studies)
He is chairperson of the “Sari Kahyangan Indonesia” Foundation.
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Balinese People Born on ‘’Wuku Wayang”
Balinese people believe that sekala (environment) and niskala (spiritual or immaterial world) influence one’s character or attitude. These factors are closely related with dewasa (good and bad day consideration), pawukon (the name of the days in Balinese calendar), wewaran (birthday), and sasih (month) that are something like the horoscope. The science that explains specifically bad and good days according to the Balinese calendar is called wariga. This science can be only mastered by certain people since they who want to be expert in this science must be smart, having a clean body and soul, well behaved, and being able to fast (and obey what has been prohibited).
Based on wariga teaching, since wuku wayang is the day for worshipping God as the creator and the ruler of art, the people who are born on this day tend to become art lovers and be creative. In spite of this fact, wuku wayang is also considered to have a bad influence in which the creative aspect will be changed becoming demon characters, egotistic, stubborn, and bold if it is influenced by bad environments. On one side wuku wayang is considered to be a bad influence since it is the day when Uma goddess did wrong by having a sexual affair with a herdsman. She lost her logical mind when given the task to find cow milk to cure her husband, Siwa, who was sick. In the jungle she must fulfil the herdsman’s lust to have a sexual affair in order to get the cow’s milk. Knowing this, Siwa was angry and cursed Uma to bear the child on wuku wayang who is full of lust and stubborn like a demon. However, Siwa was also generous giving directions in order to make “Penglukatan Mpu Leger or Sapuh Leger” (self-purification ceremony) for the children who are born on wuku wayang. The tirta (holy water) used in this ceremony should be requested from Mpu Leger or Sapuh Leger puppet puppeteers. “By being sprinkled with this holy water, their harm and bad attitudes can be controlled”, I Dewa Ketut Wicaksana, a lecture in the puppet art department of STSI Denpasar, said. His research entitled “Wayang Sapuh Leger, Fungsi dan Maknanya dalam Masyarakat Bali” (Sapuh Leger Puppets, Its Function and Meaning for Balinese Community) explained in detail about puppet arts and Tumpek Wayang in Bali.
According to some parents whose children were born on wuku wayang, their children tend to love art very much and be very creative. Since he was 3 years old, Wayan kayun’s son began learning to play the gamelan (traditional instrument) and watching people dancing. Now 5 years old is capable of playing gamelan together with the adults and learning to dance diligently. “He will ask to take part in playing the gamelan whenever he sees it”, Wayan Kayun who is also an artist of the traditional instrument from Sidemen, Karangasem, said. He also admitted that his son is sometimes stubborn and has many desires. He conducted a self-purification ceremony for his son and guided him to pray diligently so that those bad characteristics can be reduced. “Hopefully he can grow to be a good artist”, his father said.( Ketut Sumadi)
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