More understanding of the ramayana and Bali

Again classes are starting to pick up in their difficulty as the semester starting to jump into the work load. Specifically, in Introduction to Classical Asian performance on Monday, we started to learn about the different mudras, or hand positions, as they correlate to different dance steps. So far we've learned five mudras (Pataka, Katakamukha, Shikhara, Tamrachuda, and Chatura) as well as the dances (namaskaram[a salutation], ta-ka dhi-mi[a 4 beat dance], ta-ki-ta[a 3 beat], and tai-ya-tai[another 3 beat that has only two feet gestures]). As well as the different naming schemes for people in Bali which is based on their birth order and their caste in society (Brahmana[priests or other clerical services{male: Ida Bagus, female: Ida Ayu}], Ksatria[rulers or warriors{male:Tjokorde, female:Tjokorde Istri}], Wesia[tradespeople{male:Gusti/Dewa, female: Desak}], and Sudra[the remaining 95% of the population{male:I, female: Ni}]). One person we learned about who had two names was I Gusti Jelantik who in particular had one parent of two caste classes.

Another aspect of Balinese culture we learned about is the Kecak or Cak ceremonies which is a sanghyang ritual that is used to get rid of evil spirits that may enter the dancer's body. These are related to a teeth filing ceremony to banish evil spirits from the dancer when they come of age which for girls is their first menstruation and for boys is their voice changing or for both before their marriage. Upon the tooth filing, the father's obligation to his daughter is done then.


Monday's class was not too bad of a class and I like the mudras a lot and how they relate to the dance itself. I have some troubles with the foot work as I can't stomp as hard as I should without shoes on. I'm not sure if I can condone stomping excessively due to the possible effects on not only my heels, knees, and shins that result from the stomping. When I was in high school, I used to run on track in my Senior year which I stopped shortly after due to how much trouble I was seeing some of my friends, who ran all through college and high school, had with those specific parts. I have since then found a better technique for running other than a heel based running but that's a story for another day. However, the fact that we're stomping on a softer floor is somewhat helpful I suppose. I can see this dance being done with a more softer footwork but still as graceful, but I guess that it wouldn't have the same effect that the stomping has for the audience. I guess I like the dance itself and I think my favorite mudra to date is Katakamukha just because of how it looks.

On Thursday, we had class in Swem library which was the first class I've ever had in there so it was a new and good experience for me. In there, we watched a previously performed version of the Ramayana that Francis had been in before. The more I watched, the more I saw that was straight from the book. I really liked the mixture of languages that were in the play and how they really made the demonic aspect of Ravana interesting as well as the comedic aspect to the play. I was a little disappointed by the fighting choreographs but I'm not used to Balinese fight scenes but I think that I could choreograph something a lot better. I did like the use of the bows and the monkeys throughout the play though.

In terms of how far I am in reading the Ramayana, I've gotten pretty far now and I'm begining to really like it. I've read past Rama's initial banishing and the reaction of his wife to stay true to him, his brother who was willing to take revenge for him, and his mother who grieved constantly at this. I'm starting to get towards the part where Rama kills the 14000 demons.

Thank you for reading and until then, I'm still me,

Later.