R. Schumacher Musical concepts in oral performance of in

In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Performing Arts in Southeast Asia 151 (1995), no: 4, Leiden, 488-515

This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl

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In memoriam Professor P.J. Zoetmulder, S.J.

Unfortunately the erroneous belief seems to be ineradicable that non- writing or non-reading societies live in a world virtually without memory, in a world of permanent change without any 'progress'. In fact, it is not the case that non-writing societies have no memory, but rather that they have a different kind of cultural memory. Initially, in the development of writing, the contents of memory are simply externalized; that is, writing is originally used as a medium for storage, serving accounting and bookkeeping purposes. Only at an advanced stage of development does writing acquire an additional, yet secondary function, which comes to dominate: that of a medium of communication, a means of communicating the sounds of language in a different mode.1 One may with good reason ask how these observations apply to the topic of this article; certainly, after more than a millennium of writing in Java and Bali nobody will suggest labelling these cultures as non-writing or non-reading. But looking at the reception processes of several Javanese and Balinese literary genres, in particular Old Javanese kakawin poetry, we may become aware of the - sometimes forgotten - original and true meaning of 'reading'. Script, the system of graphic signs representing the sounds of language, is unable by itself to ensure continuity of the encoded meaning and knowledge. The comprehension of script is not a matter of the script itself, but rests inevitably upon the corresponding cultural memory. Through the process of reading, the latent contents of memory are transferred to the present moment. Cultural memory, having been 'stored' in graphic signs, is appropriated anew through a process of communication, and thereby made concrete again. As a rule - in particular in the reading of kakawin in present-day Bali - this does not happen simply through silently decoding these signs, but rather through an audible oral interpretation and realization which strives for meaning through a complex process. Thus it seems that the kakawin poetry of ancient Java acquires its character as a meaningful literary text for present-day Balinese only through oral performance. Philologists, being traditionally inclined towards the study of

On cultural memory and the culture of writing see Assmann 1992 and 1994.

BKl I51-IV (1995) Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance o/Kakawin in Bali 489 written documents, have accepted the study of oral performance of kakawin as an 'added dimension' (Robson 1988:37), understanding this process as the realization of an ancient poem in a current (real-time) performing communication process between a reciter, representing the absent author, and his audience. As Uhlenbeck (1989:334) has pointed out, a concern with the nature of oral performance might help us solve philological problems as well; for example, it may be an initial step towards understanding the nature of interpolation in Old Javanese texts. Yet, a philological analysis, not being my specialty, is not the central concern of my considerations here. This article aims to contribute to an adequate understanding of the prosodic and, more particularly, the musical concepts which govern the oral/aural realization of Old Javanese kakawin in a contemporary Balinese context.2 It starts with a brief discussion of the prosodic rules, as far as these can be inferred from Old Javanese and Balinese written tradition. Contemporary, Balinese performance practice will then be considered, with special emphasis on the performance context, the prescribed performing skills of the person who chants kakawin texts, and several special concepts of sound which can be demonstrated through a musical analysis of the chanting process and its products.

Prosody of kakawin; Old Javanese and Balinese perspectives The prosodic system of written poetry is simply the codification of essential aspects of its oral performance. However, as an elaborate and explicit set of rules which channel the natural flow of language and restrict the structure of verse, prosody always seems to be a late phenomenon in the devel- opment of writing. Each poetical tradition as a body of artificially moulded language is based on specific rules of vernacular language and diction. The entirety of typical ways to combine words, standard figures of speech, and phrases - that is, the traditional phraseology of a given language - includes certain inherent rhythms. Favoured rhythms become linguistic instinct and tend to develop an autonomous stability, sometimes absorbing elements of foreign phraseologies as well. Originally still flexible and variable, these rhythms become independent, and freeze into rigidly fixed metrical schemes which may be forced upon foreign languages even if they go against a traditional manner of speech (see Nagy 1974:145). Hence, in many verse poems, we observe a strong tension between prescribed 'theoretical'.patterns of metre and their application to living speech. The prosody of Old Javanese kakawin seems to be a complex product of an advanced stage of this development. It is rooted in the rigorously fixed prosody of classical Sanskrit poetry, which had grown out of more flexible

2 For a detailed study, based on extensive fieldwork in Bali in 1981 and 1983, see Schumacher 1987. A revised version will be published in the near future.

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verse structures in Vedic texts.3 With the exception of only a few traits, Old Javanese kakawin poetry adopted a major part of this prosodic system, the system originally underlying Indian kdvya poems. Examining kakawin texts composed during the East Javanese period between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries AD we recognize practically no changes in this system. Despite the problem of distinguishing short and long vowels in Old Javanese language, the poets of ancient Java succeeded in reproducing and transferring the prosodic principle of syllabic quantity and used it masterfully in creating new verse metres. More than half of the metrical schemes compiled by Zoetmulder (1974:451-72) were neither used in Sanskrit poetry nor have been listed in treatises on Sanskrit prosody.4 This may justify the assumption that many of these metres are the creation of Old Javanese poets. Knowledge of Sanskrit prosody must have been solid and unchallenged during this period, since the first and most important of surviving Old Javanese treatises on prosody was written in a quite late phase of Hindu-: perhaps afraid of an impending loss of knowledge on traditional versification, Mpu Tanakung, court poet under King Sri Singhawikramawardhana alias Dyah Suraprabhawa (1466-1478 AD) of , composed the kakawin Wrttasancaya ('collection of metres') in the form of a story on 'the duck as messenger' (Cakrawakaduta).5This short kakawin (112 stanzas) tells the story of a noblewoman who entrusts a pair of ducks with the search for her beloved, a poet. This plot is treated in 95 stanzas, each one composed in a different metre whose name is alluded to in the last line of the stanza (stanzas 9- 103). This poem therefore is primarily a collection of verse models. Yet, comparing its metres with those preferred by the poets of the time, we realize that the Wrttasancaya did not reflect contemporary practice; rather it seems to have been a Javanized version of an Indian prosodic treatise. Wrttasancaya starts with an invocation to Saraswatl, the of speech and language, literature, and the arts. Then, the central concepts and principles of prosody are outlined, starting with stanza 2:6

3 It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss in detail the intricacies of the complex prosodic system of Sanskrit poetry, which served as a model for Old Javanese prosody. See Weber 1863, which even today is one of the most important studies on Sanskrit prosody. More recent studies include Velankar 1949 and 1961. 4 This becomes evident after a careful inspection of the comprehensive lists of Sanskrit poetical metres in Velankar 1949:117-60 and Velankar 1961:285-321. 5 See Zoetmulder 1974:362-6 and Noorduyn 1978:251-4. The approximate date of the Wrttasancaya is only acceptable with reference to the kakawin Lubdhaka (Siwaratrikalpa), which was also composed by Mpu Tanakung and which mentions the name of the reigning King Sry Adi-Suraprabhawa (1.2d). The Wrttasancaya has been edited, translated, and annotated by Kern (1875). A thorough study of Old Javanese verse technique including the Wrttasancaya has been made by Zoetmulder 1974:101- 25. 6 The spelling of Old Javanese quotations follows the rules and practice in Zoet- mulder/Robson 1982.

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'Nahan donkwajapangarcana ri sira kedo mrakrta ng chandasastra, mangke tingkahnya pintonakena gumawaya ng wrddhya ning walabuddhi, sangkhya ning warna munggw ing sapada tang inaran chanda ling sang kawindra, pat sangkhyanya ng pada byakta dadi sakakawin mon umunggw ing palambang.' (Kern 1875:82.)7 Kern (1875:96) gives the following translation: 'Na aldus aan Haar mijne bede en vereering gebracht te hebben, terwijl ik gaarne een werk over de verskunst zou willen vervaardigen, ga ik straks proeven geven hoe men verzen maakt, opdat de onkundigen zich er in bekwamen. Versmaat dan heet, volgens de leer der groote dichters: het getal lettergrepen in het vierel eener strofe. Vier vierels maken regelmatig een (afzonderlijk) vers (d.i. eene heele strofe) uit, gelijk (?) er staan in de Palambang.'

A more comprehensible and, according to my rather limited knowledge of Old Javanese, more exact translation has been provided by Zoetmulder (1974:105): 'It is appropriate to direct my prayers and worship to Her, as I feel an irrepressible desire to render into the vernacular a resume of the science of versification (chandasastra). I shall try to elucidate [here] its intricacies to help those inexperienced in the subject. The number of syllables (warna aksara) in one line of verse (pada) is called chanda by the illustrious poets (kawindra, 'princes among poets'); four such lines form one kakawin, also in & palambang.'* Stanzas 3-6 consist of an enumeration of the different categories of chanda, starting from Ukta (metres with 1 syllable per line) to Wyutkrti (Sanskrit Utkrti) (metres with 26 syllables per line). Then we read in stanza 7, lines c and d (Kern 1875:83): 'wrttanyeki muwah ya tajarakenangku n kokta ring Pinggala, tingkah ning guru len parunggu ni laghunyekapadudwan n aran.' 'I am going to explain only those metres (wrtta) which are referred to by Pinggala;

7 The pagination of Kern 1875 is given according to the reprint in Verspreide Geschriften of 1920. : • . 8 According to Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:969 palambang is a 'poem in kakawin- form'. Kern 1875:98 understands it as 'gelijkenis, parabel, allegorie'. However, the most important difference between the two translations concerns the exact meaning of 'mrakrta ng chandasastra'. I concur with Zoetmulder's opinion that Mpu Tanakung's purpose was to produce a (free) translation into, (vernacular) Old Javanese of 'the' chandasastra, a still unidentified Sanskrit treatise on metrics.

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the arrangement of long syllables {guru) as well as the placement of short syllables (laghu) gives rise to the different names.'9

From this brief statement we may extract the core of prosodic principles of Old Javanese poetry: (1) concept of chanda: a certain fixed number of syllables (warna) per line. (2) concept of wrtta: a certain combination of long (guru) and short (laghu) syllables per line, resulting in a fixed metrical pattern. (3) concept of pada: a line, consisting of words grouped according to the structure of an individual wrtta. (4) concept of kakawin: a composition of four (metrically identical or different) lines (pada) forming a stanza.10 Whether an independent poem (kakawin) comprises only one single stanza or several hundreds of them, perhaps using different metrical patterns, is not a matter of prosody. Comparing these fundamental concepts of Old Javanese prosody with several sources of Sanskrit prosody confirms the highly derivative nature of Old Javanese prosody.

At later Balinese courts, Old Javanese kakawin poetry was preserved in the form of written documents through an ongoing process of copying palm- leaf manuscripts. Besides, these poems were continually read and studied in scholarly court circles. We may therefore assume that knowledge of prosodic rules and basic techniques of oral performance were part of this enduring tradition as well. On the other hand, we have to face the fact that ramification and dispersal of this writing (and performing) tradition contributed to the emergence of several conceptual changes, especially in terminology. (Such a dispersal may have followed the collapse of the central authority, the most important Balinese court at Gelgel, into regionally independent branches of tradition.) Beyond that, one should not disregard the fact that the knowledge of this prosodic system during the past five centuries was preserved via the heritage of Old Javanese kakawin texts only. There is no indication that during this period Balinese scholars and reciters have ever had access to any prosodic text of Indian provenance. In order to understand the performance practice of kakawin in Bali, it is necessary to keep track of these differences. One of the most important and most strictly adhered-to principles of Old

9 In this passage, Mpu Tanakung refers to a certain Pinggala whose treatise on Sanskrit metrics he may have used as reference. Unfortunately, this text has not been identified yet; it is certainly not the Chandahsutram by Pinggala, which has been studied and edited by Weber (1863:157-457). 10 This concept of kakawin as a four-line stanza corresponds to the Sanskrit term catuspad(J); see for example Velankar 1961:283. This Sanskrit term was known in Old Javanese literature: Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:316 quote a passage from the Old Javanese Brahmandapurana.

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Javanese poetry, the distinction between short and long syllables, has continued to be handed down in Balinese tradition under the conventional terms of guru and lagu.u Lagu or reswa (Sanskrit and Old Javanese hraswa) denotes a short syllable. Its performance has been described as a short, light, gentle, soft, quick, simple, and low (but not in regard to pitch) sound. The time unit required has been labelled aketok ('one pulse beat'). Konta (1981:9) mentions some rules which are worth remembering in performing the short syllables: lagu should never be longer than one beat; otherwise its sound would become too lingering and hesitating (nyigjig). Transition from short to long syllables should not be in a continuous, immediate, or narrow (nyagjag) way; guru and lagu should be separated by one time-beat. A sequence of several lagu has to be performed slowly, leisurely (banban alon), as well as softly, charmingly, and sweetly (lindi) so that there are no difficulties in distinguishing them from long syllables. Tinggen (1982:32) says that the performance of lagu should be nylocor, which means with certain distances but without emphasis. Guru or dirga denote long syllables, long by 'nature', meaning syllables with long vowels like a, 1, u, e, ai, o (au), and 6, and long by 'position', meaning syllables with a short vowel and two or more following con- sonants. Guru in the Balinese view are characterized as long, slow, heavy, harsh, great, full, curved (ngeluk), and as swelling and ebbing (mombakan). According to Sugriwa (1978:7) in referring to performance practice, a long syllable requires three beats or time units. Konta (1981:8-9) even distinguishes three different types of guru, illustrating their differences by referring to the initial three guru of the metre known as Jagaddhita 'Sang suramrih ...' {kakawin 1.1): Here the first guru is 'long but not swinging' ('pangjang nenten ngileg'); the voice is motionless and fixed ('tetep'). This guru is ekamatra ('one time unit') and is called reswa ('short'). The second guru is 'long and swinging twice' ('panjang ngileg ping kalih'); 'the pitch of the voice changes twice as well' ('nada suara taler maubah ping kalih'); it resembles 'a voice calling from afar' ('kadi anggan ing sabda pasiang-siang saking adoh'). This guru is dwimatra ('two time units') and is called dirg(g)a ('long'). The third guru is 'long and swinging thrice' ('panjang ngileg ping tiga'); the pitch may 'change several times' ('nada maubah-ubah') like the 'sound of the berV ('kadi

11 The following discussion of contemporary Balinese interpretation of Old Javanese prosody is largely based on information obtained in personal discussions with several Balinese experts on kakawin. Similar details are presented in written form by Balinese authors like Wenten (1972:1), Sugriwa (1978:6-7), Medera (1979:40), Witana (1981:11), Simpen (1982:11) and others. Note that all Balinese words and terms are spelled according to the 'Pedoman Ejaan Bahasa Bali', Jakarta 1977, even if they are clearly derived from Old Javanese. The 'shwa' vowel is spelled e only in Old Javanese quotations.

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suaran ing bahir').12 This guru is trimatra ('three time units') and is called pluta ('protracted').13 In order to make his performance suitable, harmonious {lengut), and attractive (bangkii), the reciter is not slavishly bound to this sequence but may freely combine these three kinds of guru. A suitable performance seems to be achieved when the reciter's voice is 'vibrating, throbbing' ('ngumbang ngisepang'); in this case, the reciter has attained the aesthetic goal of a charming and attractive performance. Any combination of these metrical units of guru and lagu gives rise to lines or verses, in Balinese called acarik or acarik lengkara, meaning a sentence which is terminated by carik 0), a writing sign marking the end of a line and thereby denoting it as a unit of meaning and structure. Balinese acarik corresponds to the Sanskrit and Old Javanese terms pada or pdda. Further terminological differences can be briefly mentioned. The principle of number of syllables (in Balinese wilangan wanda or wilangan aksara) is referred to as wretta {wertta, warta) in Balinese tradition,14 corres- ponding to Sanskrit and Old Javanese chanda. The pattern principle of long and short syllables is called matra;15 differing from this, Sanskrit and Old Javanese theory does not have a separate concept of metrical pattern independent of the number of syllables. And finally, the combination of both concepts in forging any individual metrical scheme is called wrtta in Sanskrit and Old Javanese theory, but canda or, more frequently, wirama in Balinese tradition.16

Table 1. Terminology of prosodic principles Concept Sanskrit and Old Javanese Balinese number of syllables chanda wretta pattern of short and long syllables matra number + pattern of syllables vrtta I wrtta canda or wirama

The causes and functions of this terminological shift, summarized in Table 1, are difficult to ascertain. This difference, however, does not affect the practice of vocal performance, but apparently only affects the classification of different types of metres. As far as I know, it is only Balinese tradition which has given a name to each of the four lines in a stanza. This was done in order to facilitate

12 Bahirisabda ('the sound of the bheri', Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:188) may justify my guess that bahir is identical with the beri gong. 13 Later on we will see that this reference to metrical time units is valid only in (prosodic) theory, since performance practice of chanting Old Javanese texts is not bound to metrical structures in the sense of musical measures. 14 See Simpen 1982:12; Sugriwa n.d.:l; Witana 1981:11. 15 See Simpen 1982:13; Sugriwa n.d.:l. 16 See Simpen 1982:13; Sugriwa 1978:8.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance of Kakawin in Bali 495 communication during textual discussions in performance. In fact, these names contain some obvious hints about the manner of oral presentation:17 line a: pangawit ('the initial one') or ngambilang ('to take up, to begin') line b: pananggap ('the receiving/hearing/answering one') or masalahlmingsalah ('to change/remove/shift'); the sound or mel- ody presented in line a is to be 'changed' or 'answered' in line b. line c: pangumbang ('the flowing/streaming one'). This label is related to an important Balinese concept of the perception and aesthetics of (musical) sound, expressed in a pair of opposing terms (pa)ngumbang-(pa)ngisep. It means that a deeper, 'flowing' sound (pangumbang) is balanced by a higher, 'sucking, absorbing' sound (pangisep). Coming together they merge into a lively vibration of musical sound. In accord with the pangumbang character of this third line of a stanza, there is a strong tendency to stress the range of lower pitches at the beginning of this line during performance.18 line d: pamada orpapada ('the one [completing] a stanza'). As a whole, these four lines constitute a stanza which is called pada (Sugriwa n.d.:l), likewise contradicting Sanskrit and Old Javanese terminology which uses pada to refer to the line. Additional Balinese terms which denote a stanza are carik kalih ('two carik' "ft), referring to the punctuation mark at the end of the stanza, sloka or seloka (Witana 1981:10, 17), and kakawin (Sugriwa 1978:8). As we have seen, Balinese tradition recognizes two different terms signifying an individual poetical metre: canda and wirama. While canda seems to be preferred in discussions of prosodic theory, wirama is closely related to the performance practice of chanting kakawin. In Sanskrit prosody, virdma, meaning 'cessation, termination; end of a word or sentence; stop, pause; ...' (Monier-Williams 1899:982), as a synonym for yati refers to breaks or caesurae which interrupt the steady flow of language at certain points in a line.19 Originally it was a flexible means of dividing longer lines into two or more phrases for the sake of comfortable recitation, while respecting sections and contexts of meaning. Later on, it was petrified to a rigid, mechanical element at fixed places in individual metrical patterns. In Balinese tradition, wirama means a poetical metre in the entirety of prosodic structure, including any orally transmitted elements of 'Gestalt' in chanted performance.20 The Balinese term angsel basa or

17 See Wenten 1972:1; Witana 1981:17; Wallis 1980:136. 18 According to Mukherji 1976:140 the penultimate line of a stanza has a special meaning in ancient Indian poetry, too: "The penultimate line is thus accorded a special importance in these metres on account of its variation as in many mixed stanzas in Vedic like Brhafi and Atisakvafi.' 19 As well, in ndgarl script virdma is a special graphic sign written as a small dash below a syllable, thereby removing its vowel. May we speculate about a connection with the Balinese carikl 20 Without throwing the discussion into disorder it may be of interest to at least

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access 496 Riidiger Schumacher palet basa, adopting the function of Sanskrit yati and virdma, is a most important element in the oral performance of kakawin in Bali. It means a pause or break in the chanting process for the sake of inserting a spoken Balinese translation of or annotation (basa) to the Old Javanese text. The actual placement of this break depends only upon phrases of meaning and, unlike Sanskrit yati, is not fixed at a certain position in a metrical pattern. The syllable preceding an angsel basa in oral performance is conceived of as being long, even if it is short in the sense of metrical structure.21 With wirama - in the Balinese meaning of the term - we have left the field of a theoretical abstraction of prosody contained in written sources, and entered the field of oral performance, which forms an integral part of Balinese cultural life.

Context of mabasan According to analytical perspectives of the outsider as well as indigenous conceptualization, there are three different contexts for the oral perform- ance of kakawin in Balinese life: (1) discussions of grammar, content, and meaning of texts as literary products, (2) presentations of selected stanzas and excerpts within ritual activities of the five sacrificial categories of Balinese (pancayadnya), and (3) quotations of short passages with or without allusive function as structuring devices in scenes of performing arts like shadowplay, dances, and dance drama.22 These three performing contexts of kakawin are not of equal importance. Without any doubt, it is the first context which is the primary one, while the other two seem to be derived from it. In this first context, the Old Javanese text itself as a literary text is the focus of interest. Apart from contemporary uni- versity curricula, thorough studies of these poems can still be encountered on a village level in individual communications between teacher and pupil or in certain associations of experts and enthusiasts. Such loose asso- ciations constitute a primary platform of communication in what is called mabasan. The principle of this mechanism of mediation and communication reflect upon the different meanings and functions of wirama as well as guru and lagu in contemporary (Central) Javanese musical usage. Here wirama, mostly spelled irama, indicates the tempo of music or, more accurately, the level of subdivision of the 'basic melody' (balunganing gendhing or balungan), 'defined by the ratio between the balungan beat and the faster parts that subdivide that beat' (Sutton 1991:64). According to Kunst 1973:124 and others, guru lagu [sic] refers to the prescribed vowel of the final syllable in a poetic line in modern Javanese macapat poetry. A critical review of both terms in modern Javanese is to be found in Brakel- Papenhuijzen 1992:151-4. 21 See Sugriwa 1978:25 and Granoka 1981:12. Wallis (1980:169, note 19) gives a slightly different interpretation: 'A correct phrase division, therefore, is called guru basa (the rules for marking off syntactic units for paraphrase).' 22 These three contexts have been characterized by Tinggen 1982:33 as 'untuk berdebat tata bahasa, makna dan isi, untuk "masuka-duka" dalam yajnya-yajnya, untuk mengantarkan adegan-adegan dalam pewayangan'.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance of Kakawin in Bali 497 seems to be old, since it is repeatedly referred to in ancient literature. In kidung Wangbang Wideya, a romance in verse written during the late sixteenth century AD, there is a description of a shadowplay performance which mentions that the dalang sang kakawin (akakawin) and translated it afterwards into the vernacular language (amrakreta).23 This constant alternating between chanted kakawin passages and spoken Balinese translation and interpretation is the essence of mabasan. The way in which it communicates meaning is still very flexible and variable. This is reflected in overlapping terms like makakawin, mababasan or mabasan, and mapapawosan. In a general sense, these terms refer to the complex whole of chanting and translating. In a more specific sense, mabasan stresses the aspect of translating, and mapapawosan the aspect of reading or chanting, whereas makakawin, in contrast to makidung, usually denotes the singing (and not reciting) of kakawin in a ritual context (Jendra 1979:4). Under normal conditions, this widespread art of 'practical philology' is not performed by single individuals but is rather carried out by a group which has established itself as an association called seka mabasan.24 According to Geertz (1980:158) seka or seka(h)a means 'to be as one', and in this literal sense a seka mabasan is a union or association of people interested in the study of classical poetry. These groups are characterized by a membership coming from all castes, social strata, and professions under the leadership of a highly respected individual, often a brahman.25 There seem to be no fixed limits to the number of members; according to my personal observations it is reasonable to assume that there are some 10 to 20 members on average, meeting once or twice a week for several evening hours to read kakawin. Remarkably, even today there is a strong dominance of male membership; women are still an exception. I do not view this as a result of a discriminating social restraint. According to many informants, the chanting of kakawin requires a full, deep, strong, and resonating (wibawa) voice, a requirement which, according to the majority of my informants, is rarely met by women. The vocal qualities of women - medium or higher register, soft, flexible, and melodious - are understood as

23 3.69/70, see Robson 1971:186-9. Old Javanese prakrta means a translation of a Sanskrit poem into the courtly language of Old Javanese; in this kidung text, the verb amrakreta denotes a translation and explanation of a kakawin excerpt into vernacular language of the time, probably a Balinese 'dialect' with a strong Javanese influence (see Robson 1971:35-6; Teeuw 1946:34; Zoetmulder 1974:321 and Zoetmulder/ Robson 1982:1388 under prakrta). 24 These seka mabasan prefer to call themselves pasantian (from Sanskrit/Old Javanese sand, 'peace of mind, freedom from passion', Zoetmulder/Robson 1982: 1656). This underscores their essence as communities devoted to the study of ethical, philosophical, and religious principles and aims, preserved in literary heritage. 25 According to a statistical survey written by Sukartha 1979:74, only about two- thirds of the members have had any formal education.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access 498 Riidiger Schumacher perfectly matching the requirements of singing kidung. In recent years, however, the chanting of kakawin has become more and more open to women, as can be seen in annual reading competitions (utsaha) being organized in two different groups (male and female). The members of a seka mabasan do not see themselves as musicians or professional singers, but as participants in an activity and event of social relevance. Even if a seka mabasan or individual experts of kakawin are invited for the performance of chanting within the context of religiously motivated celebrations, they are never paid in cash, since a pecuniary settlement of primarily religious services is felt to be unsuitable. As an interdependent communicative process, mabasan operates on several levels between several participants. It therefore embodies mutual help as a basic principle of Balinese society. As a process, it can be described as follows: In front of the reciter, called juru paos ('expert in reading'), there is a wooden tray with a stand (dulang) which holds the manuscript. In a mabasan context, kakawin are never recited or chanted by heart, but are always read out loud from documents, written in Balinese script, either palm-leaf manuscripts (lontar) or original/hectographed paper manuscripts.26 The juru paos reads the text line by line or, if there are longer lines, in two or three phrases per line. In most cases, the exact duration of a reading session and therefore the number of stanzas recited is not fixed and depends upon external conditions. Subsequently, the interpreter, juru basa ('expert in speaking, explaining'), translates each chanted phrase into Balinese vernacular. He is free to present a brief trans- lation only, closely related to the Old Javanese text, or to give a detailed and comprehensive account of the content, extensively commenting on certain words, concepts, or longer passages. His actual wording is based on his knowledge of Old Javanese as well as on his eloquence. This trans- lation is the crucial point of communication in mabasan. As a reflection of the Old Javanese poetical text, it checks and, if necessary, corrects or improves the recitation. Above all, the translation serves as advice and interpretation addressed to the wider audience which has no detailed knowledge of Old Javanese. At the same time, it is the starting point for reactions by other members of the seka mabasan. The task of these mostly elder and more experienced members, called pamilet ('companions, escort'), which often take part in the process of mabasan only indirectly, taking a broad view from a lofty standpoint, is to critically review and comment upon recitation as well as translation. Additionally, they discuss some linguistic features of the chosen texts, especially grammar and

26 According to Jendra 1979:19 some 92% of seka mabasan still continue to use original lontar manuscripts. My personal experiences are different and suggest a strong tendency towards the use of original or hectographed paper manuscripts.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance of Kakawin in Bali 499 morphology, called wiakarana,21 and in a detailed exegesis they elaborate underlying ethical concepts of the text (wirasa) (see Granoka 1981:4). These discussions, which at times may vividly bring out fundamental disparities in viewpoints, aim at establishing and confirming group har- mony by means of compromise and balance of diverse opinions. This element of social interaction can be emphasized by changing roles several times during a reading session. The wider audience, which rarely has any passive knowledge of Old Javanese, does not generally demonstrate any outward reactions. Never- theless, owing to their attendance, they are included in this communication process. For, according to Balinese views, the activity of listening gives rise to a strengthening of ethical attitudes as well as an effective protection against many evil influences. There are several indications of this sacred character of mabasan - sacred in a broad sense as 'removed from every- day profanity'. Everyone who wishes to devote himself (or herself) to the study of kakawin has to undergo a ceremony of spiritual purification which the Balinese call maening-ening mawinten. He (or she) is obliged to pray to , pleading for wisdom and knowledge (kapradnyan), and he (or she) has to free himself (or herself) from any impurities of thought (masuci laksana, Konta 1981:6). This mental purification is again per- formed at the beginning of any mabasan: the participants sit down respectfully as if in attendance of a king (Medera 1979:61). With a gesture of homage (sembah) they speak a salutation of reverence (panganjali) 'Om swastiastu!' ('Om, fortune and blessing!'). And every mabasan is concluded with a request for peace 'Om, santi, santi, santi, Om'. By this sounded verbal frame, mabasan is separated from everyday life and elevated to the rank of a sacred action. Performing tasks of the juru paos Although the interpreter (juru basa) must be regarded as being more important to a Balinese audience than the reciter, it is appropriate in this article to concentrate upon the role and capabilities of the juru paos. His task is expressed in terms like maca, memaca, memaos, ng(a)wacen, wacen which all mean 'to read (something)'. As stated above, this always relates to a loud and audible reading; a silent reading of kakawin seems to be unknown in traditional Balinese contexts. Even while a juru paos studies a kakawin for himself, he recites it (with reduced volume) within the scope of traditionally fixed metrical and tonal structures. Further terms for the reciter's activity are mawirama or ngwirama, referring to oral performance according to the rules of individual metrical patterns. Moreover, there are

27 From Sanskrit/Old Javanese wyakarana, 'distinction, explanation, elucidation (of a question), detailed description; grammatical analysis, grammar', Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:2347.

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some terms which point directly to the musical nature of this oral perform- ance of kakawin. Some cassette covers, for example, present the reciter as juru gending; in Bali, gending refers exclusively to vocal melodies.28 In addition, it is not unusual to employ the term tembang, either in reference to certain metres, like tembang Seronca and tembang Aswalalita, or in indicating the process of singing, for example 'tiang jaga nembangang makudang-kudang wirama' ('I am going to sing several wirama'). Last but not least, Sugriwa (1978:1) even uses the Indonesian word menyanyikan ('to sing'). The activities of the juru paos, thus being referred to by many terms, make several demands as to qualification and capabilities. Even though there are fundamental differences in the available information on the abilities of a good juru paos, as provided by several experts, all of these expectations are related to three central features of a suitable performance of kakawin: text, metre, and melody.29 That a reciter has to be able to correctly decipher a written text may be self-evident, at least from a European point of view. This basic requirement was emphasized by all of my informants. According to their view, a defective spelling of the words destroys the precondition for understanding the boundaries of the words and the structure of their meaning, which is achieved by grouping the syllables and accenting them appropriately. The juru basa will only be able to provide a correct translation of the Old Javanese text if the chanted syllable groups can be perceived as words. This is also valid for an exact phrasing of longer verses. The musical phrasing as an organizational and structural device of performance is determined solely by the structure of meaning in a verse, and not by certain melodic formulae at certain syllable positions. This structure of meaning is realized by the exact position of the angsel basa, a break in the chanting process for the insertion of a spoken translation into vernacular Balinese. This break is subject to several restrictions in actual performance. According to Konta (1981:11-2) fusions (sandi) and assimilations (sutra suara) of sounds should generally not be separated by angsel basa. If subsequent words are related grammatically, angsel basa should only coincide with the end of a line. However, with regard to actual performance practice, I have witnessed many exceptions or violations of these rules, which causes me to question their validity. A correct performance of the meaning structure is directly dependent on an appropriate execution of the prosodic features of metre. A juru paos

28 Some locally published booklets like 'Gending-gending Bali' and 'Papupulan gending' usually present song texts and appropriate notations of melodies. 29 One informant has mentioned these three aspects within a conceptual and labelled system of rules: guru lagu says that a metre should not be altered, guru legawa or guru basa says that a text should not be altered, and guru pageh says that a melody should not be altered. Actually, this use of terms seems to be idiosyncratic.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance 0/Kakawin in Bali 501 who does not clearly perform the correct patterns of long and short syllables causes confusion and uncertainty which may result in a wrong interpretation of the content. The Balinese call this sort of wrong performance guru lambuk ('violated [rules of] guru [and lagu]'). Even though there is no formal provision for repetition of texts, a reciter may repeat a short passage of text if he has chanted it defectively or misleadingly. With a change of metre at the start of a new canto, he may introduce this new structure by singing the initial line twice, the first time without any angsel basa (see Medera 1979:63). The melodic aspects of the reciter's musical capabilities primarily con- cern the correct use of the required tones or pitches (nada suara). Accord- ing to Witana (1981:12-3) this aspect is of special importance in the judging and evaluating of participants at reading competitions. Even if this requirement is not of central significance during 'conventional' mabasan, it nevertheless should not be underrated or neglected. Unlike text and metre, the principles of melodic structure are to be found exclusively in oral tradition. Therefore, with regard to the past, we can only state that oral per- formance existed; understanding its musical and especially its melodic fea- tures can only be done with reference to contemporary practice. Stability of oral tradition is guaranteed by the fact that a large number of different metres are performed by applying a comparatively small number of melodic contours or models which, therefore, can be learned and remembered easily. Reng, the Balinese term for this concept of melodic model or contour, is apparently derived from Old Javanese hreng ('deep persistent sound, rumbling, grumbling, growling, humming', Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:643). It is not easy to recognize or define reng as the most important musical concept in chanting kakawin since it has several layers of meaning and use, and it is articulated anew in countless concrete realizations. These versions of melodies as well as their inherent melodic ornamentation and figuration (gregel, eluk, leglegan) depend upon stylistic traits and habits of particular juru paos, their region of origin, and their training. Even if we are able to discover something like an underlying musical grammar of kakawin performance, there will always be an element of uncertainty since a capable juru paos is able (and willing) to improvise within the scope of a fixed text, metre, and a flexible melodic model.

Mabasan as musical art The concepts of Old Javanese prosody as far as they have been transmitted in writing do not yield any knowledge about the sound aspects of actual vocal realization but are limited essentially to the metrical structure of written poetry, which is based on the distinction of long and short syllables creating rhythmical patterns in lines and verses. In elucidating the concepts of present-day kakawin chanting by treating it as the sound product of performance, it is therefore convenient to start with a glance at how this

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Daeng Mile (left), A. Halilintar Lathief (centre), and Pak Amrullah Syam at final meal served to guests and participants at circumcision ceremony in Debaing, early on the morning of 13 August 1993. Special food is in the bosarak containers in the foreground.

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metrical text structure is rhythmically realized in contemporary Balinese performance practice. In order to demonstrate the sounded products of Old Javanese concepts, I confine myself to two stanzas, represented by detailed transcriptions given in Musical Example I.30The first example is based on a realization of kakawin Sutasoma 23.1, composed in the metre wirama Aswalalita ( wwww—w—www—w—www—w—wuu ), and chanted by Ida Bagus Komang Kusa from Banjar (Buleleng):

'Para ratu sang haneng pura ri Ratnakanda nguniweh tikang balagana, giri-girin epu tan wring ulahares ing Sudasaputra sakti ring ayun, tuhu-tuhu Rudramurti masafira ring rana pasung bhatara Karana, karana nika pranamya ya makon umantuka ri sang mahasurapati.'

The second example is a realization of a well-known stanza of kakawin Bharatayuddha (26.1), also composed in wirama Aswalalita, and chanted by Ida Bagus Gde Diksa from Aan (Klungkung):

'Rahina tatas kamantyan umuni ng mrdangga kala sangkha ghurnitatara, gumuruh ikang gubar bala samuha mangkat anguhuh padasru rumuhun, para ratu sampun ahyas asalin lumampah ahawan rathaparimita, nrpati Yudhisthira pramukha Bhlmasena Nakularjunagra lumurug.'

Given the prominence of the concept of long and short syllables it is reasonable to start with a critical survey of the relation of their duration. A reduction of these quite complex duration values, expressed in numbers representing the quantity of quavers, is given in Table 2. If the exact length of a note was not a whole number of quaver values, I deliberately rounded off its value to the next higher number. Generally, rests have not been included in this calculation. From Table 2 we can conclude that both juru paos realize an accurate rhythmical idea of the metrical structure of wirama Aswalalita. There is only one small deviation from the prosodic rule at the end of line c (on the fifth guru) in Ida Bagus Gde Diksa's version. One can only speculate about the reasons for this lapse; perhaps the internalized rhythmical flow was disturbed by the chanter due to contracting ahawan to awan; on the other hand the possibility can never be excluded thai juru paos sometimes have access to defective manuscripts only. Generally we can observe that, in contrast to theoretical notions on pulses and metrical units existing in the Balinese tradition of Old Javanese prosody, the durations of guru differ extremely from that of lagu. This becomes intelligible if we take into account that guru often function as points of pitch changes and even more

30 Based on an enlarged stock of signs of occidental staff notation, the chosen method of visualizing the flow of sound tries to reproduce the course of pitches and durations as precisely as possible. I am convinced that its flexibility in descriptive application outweighs its disadvantage of being difficult to read.

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Table 2. Duration of syllables measured in quavers Aswalalita ------

I.B.K. Kusa line a 3 2 1 1 10 1 11 1 5 1 12 1 9 4 2 1 9 1 10 2 2 1 12 line b 3 2 .2 1 7 2 9 2 1 1 12 1 12 2 2 1 8 1 10 1 1 1 11 linec 3 2 1 2 7 1 10 3 2 1 11 2 9 1 4 1 10 1 9 2 1 1 12 lined 2 2 2 1 8 1 9 4 1 1 13 1 10 1 4 1 10 2 8 2 1 1 13 I.B.G. Diksa line a 7 5 5 1 9 1 9 6 1 1 7 1 8 4 3 1 8 1 6 3 3 1 6 line b 6 4 5 1 11 1 9 1 4 3 7 1 4 4 1 - 10 1 11 4 2 1 13 linec 6 5 4 1 9 5 7 4 2 1 7 1 10 5 1 - 8 4 2 3 3 1 4 lined 6 4 4 1 9 1 9 4 4 1 8 4 7 5 4 1 10 2 6 3 4 2 10 extended melodic movements. In order to underscore this rhythmic contrast between guru and lagu, most lagu which immediately precede a guru are of extreme brevity. In a series of several consecutive lagu it is very often only the last one which is really short; the other ones may become extended or stretched to a certain degree. This tendency, obviously a feature of personal performing style, is stronger at the commencement of lines in Ida Bagus Gde Diksa's version, whereas lagu with a duration of more than three quavers can be identified without exception as potential guru basa in Ida Bagus Komang Kusa's version. Beyond these general notions it seems hardly possible to verify those rules of a suitable oral performance of short and long syllables which have been quoted above from Konta (1981) and others. Particularly, it is important to observe the inequality of short syllables. And it is impossible to generally identify a time-beat which, according to Konta (1981:9), should separate a long syllable from a short one. A substantial part of the vocabulary of these rules (for example banban alon, lindi) is to be interpreted very broadly in view of the variability of actual oral performance. Except for the context of shadowplay, dance, and drama, the chanted performance of kakawin in Bali is generally independent of any instrumental accompaniment. Therefore, the juru paos is not bound to a given tonal system which might force his voice into prescribed pitch levels. The features of unaccompanied chanting relevant for the process of melodic analysis were dealt with by Erich M. von Hornbostel at an early stage of comparative musicology. He states (1913:23) that the freedom of intonation, not constrained by a given scheme, is an advantage of unaccompanied singing since melodic lines can be expressed more clearly and with abundant nuances. Nevertheless, this way of singing has its own hallmarks, its certain points of departure and arrival in motifs and lines, its limits in range, and its returning points of movement. In these centres of melodic gravitation, Hornbostel finds the fundamental structures of tonality. Therefore, a scale is not simply a norm to be fulfilled by melody,

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access 504 Riidiger Schumacher but rather an empirical abstraction of tonal movement. In order to recognize scale as a visualization of an inherent tonal structure of chanting kakawin, we first have to answer the question of dimensions of variability and stability of intonation behaviour. The two chanted stanzas transcribed in Musical Example 1 (see page 514) give an impression of the abundance and scope of regional and individual differences of intonational behaviour. These are the pitches in the four lines (abed) of Ida Bagus Komang Kusa's realization of wirama Aswalalita:31

A " in cd, A<-) in abed, B ~ in c, B (~' in acd, B H in ab, c jtw in a, c $ \ in d, c $ <+> in bed, c # + in acd, d ~ in abed, d w in be, e w in c, e \ in acd, e<+) in abd, e + in c, f |(+) in abd, f | + in d, a \ in bd. Estimating the average of this series of pitches, we can abstract the following scale, representing a quite stable manner of intonation:32

A H H ~ (+)

12 3 5 6 1

The second example, the transcription of Ida Bagus Gde Diksa's chanting of wirama Aswalalita, illustrates a manner of intonational behaviour which is totally different: c|(+) incd,cj+ in be, d" in ad, d" inabd,d>i ina,d<+) in a, d ftM ind,e~ in a, e ("} in c, e \ in cd, e<+) in abd, e + in acd, f ~ in a, f w in a, i\ in ab, f(+) inb, fJ(-» inb, fjt1! in abd, f#(+) inc,f|+ in a, g w in cd, g N in a, g(+) in

31 The following symbols, added to the pitch names of the European tonal system of equal temperament, identify the size of deviations from this system of reference: \ marks correspondence to the reference pitch; (+) or (-) mark a deviation of ca. +25 cents or -25 cents (the fourth part of a minor second); + or - mark a deviation of ca. +50 cents or -50 cents (a quarter tone). 32 For the sake of convenience I have deliberately added a chain of ciphers indicating pitches on the analogy of the well-known Javanese cipher notation titilaras kepatihan. This system of writing music is increasingly used by Balinese musicians, especially those who are or have been in contact with the state schools and academies of music and dance (SMKI and STSI) at Denpasar.

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ad, g + in d, g j) ~ in a, g f w in abd, g} 'l in abc, g f(+) in abd, a ~ in d.

Given the abundance of pitches realized in this performance, it is very difficult if not impossible to establish a scalar abstract by estimating an average. Only a close observation of melodic movement and its tonal blending can result in a scale which is still full of uncertainties. Ranges of intonation can be localized and it is dubious whether a fourth pitch (range) really is intended by the singer:

5?

An aesthetic closely attached to European norms here might lead to a judgement of this juru paos as having inferior musical capabilities. Of course, this would be totally misleading, since the variability of intonational behaviour in a wide range, the permanent swaying and gliding of certain tonal points, has to be regarded as a typical stylistic trait of a regional style, represented by many juru paos of the eastern Balinese districts of Klungkung and Karangasem. These very exact results of analysing intonational behaviour must be evaluated by comparison with and application of indigenous Balinese concepts of tonality. When asked about their conceptualization of tones or intervals, most of the juru paos did not suggest any principles or musical norms. Sometimes they were even amazed at the idea of speaking of such things; also, suggesting an analogy with instrumental tunings seldom evoked any positive reactions. Most of the juru paos claim to read ancient texts which, in their view, does not have anything in common with instrumental music of the Balinese gambelan. More than a few of my informants even denied any musical practice or experience. They persisted in concentrating on an adequate sounding of literature, showing no special interest in any musical qualities of their performance. Only a few juru paos gave some elucidating yet heterogeneous hints that are difficult to generalize. Their conceptualization is, at least, indicative of their personal attitude towards chanting kakawin. Ida Bagus Komang Kusa, a venerable elder brahman from Banjar (Buleleng), highly respected and well known even beyond the boundaries of northern Bali, directed my attention to a concept of 'scale' which he called sapta nada or sapta reng ('seven sounds'):

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cetana-nada 'sound of consciousness' dewa-resi-nada 'sound of the divine sages' dewa-nada 'sound of the deities' gandarwa-nada 'sound of the heavenly musicians' manusa-nada 'sound of mankind' detya-nada 'sound of the detya demons' raksasa-nada 'sound of the raksasa demons' buta-nada 'sound of the buta demons' acetana-nada 'sound of unconsciousness'

Ida Bagus Komang Kusa explained that, since a human being has no access to perfect consciousness as well as perfect unconsciousness, he is unable to perceive the sounds of these spheres. Therefore, only seven sounds (sapta nada) are accessible to human perception. These sounds of the intervening spheres are 'incarnated', in an imperfect and shadowy manner only, in the perception and production of different (musical) pitches. Ida Bagus Komang Kusa explained that, with regard to a well- balanced sound performance, it is of central importance that ajuru paos is constantly conscious of his reference pitch, that is manusa nada, the pitch levei appropriate to human beings. This middle or average tone, which melodically can be conceived of as a mediant, has to be reached or stabilized at the end of each stanza. This interpretation of a tonal system obviously does not focus upon interdependencies of concrete musical pitches or certain structures of intervals, but rather reflects one of the core features of Balinese culture, that is the commitment to an appropriate and existentially safe place for human beings in the universe. Therefore, this 'tonal system' is philosophical or cosmological, and not really musical. Dewa Ngakan Made Sayang, a well-known satriya and dalang from Payangan (Gianyar), teaches at the Sekolah Menengah Karawitan (SMKI) at Denpasar.33 His interests are oriented towards musical and theatrical performance practice. According to him, most of the melodies of Old Javanese metres 'use slendro' ('ngangge slendro'). As a musical term, slendro comes from Javanese music and apparently was introduced to Bali rather late, as may be concluded from its restricted use in the public education system. However, there are Balinese terms that correspond to the concept of slendro, for example (pa)patutan gender ('tuning of the gender'),34 reng gender ('sound of gender', Ida Bagus Komang Kusa), gegenderan ('in way of gender'), and, on a more abstract level, saih gender ('scale of gender').35 According to tonometrical observations of gender instruments made by McPhee (1966:50-5) and Gomperts (1995), patterns of intervals apparently

33 A few years ago this school moved to Batubulan. 34 Djirne and Ruma 1961:51; Medera 1979:68. 35 Team Penyusun... 1979; McPhee 1966:36-55.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance 0/Kakawin in Bali 507 are cognate to or even identical with those which can be abstracted from most melodic realizations of kakawin: their intervallic range of five steps within an octave vacillates between a major second (200 cents) and a minor third (300 cents), with temporary crossings of these limits being tolerated. Quite recently, this connection between chanting kakawin and the tonal structure of slendro has been strengthened by small booklets used in public schools which contain Old Javanese stanzas printed together with indigenous pitch notations (grantang[an]) derived from instrumental music.36 As a musical term, grantang(an) refers to an interlinear chain of notation symbols derived from vowel signs which distinguish the Balinese names of tones ding, dong, deng, dung, and dang. In connection with oral performance of kakawin this kind of notation is confined at present to classes in public schools; I have never witnessed it in an actual mabasan context. Altogether, these questions of exact intonation are of secondary importance to the oral performance of kakawin. There is an abundance of intonational practices which, like that of Ida Bagus Gde Diksa, cannot be explained by a fixed tonal system. Also, the Balinese generally do not regard an exact intonation of precise pitches as being important. What is regarded as important is a concept of the form of melodic movement which is flexible and variable within certain limits. Old Javanese prosody, as far as it has been handed down in prosodic treatises like the kakawin Wrttasancaya, does not provide any indication of how to realize textual lines and stanzas in actual reading or chanting performance. There have been only a few hints at a grouping of cognate metrical structures, so that we are totally dependent on Balinese tradition of prosody and contemporary performance practice. The Balinese tradition of grouping several individual, structurally related metrical schemes again uses the concept of reng. It is difficult to ascertain the total number of different reng, since there is much overlapping in Balinese nomenclature as well as in different regional and local traditions. In order to demonstrate the nature of reng as a group of several individual metres with common melodic (and partly prosodic) performance features, I will confine myself to one example: reng lalita. In Old Javanese prosody there are six metres whose names directly allude to reng lalita: Aswalalita, Bhadralalita, Wiswalalita, Wiralalita, Kumaralalita, and Madhukaralalita. As an adjective meaning 'playful, artless, graceless, gentle, charming, lovely, handsome' (Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:965), latita or lalitya has been used by many Old Javanese poets in order to characterize an aesthetic ideal pertaining to voice quality, song, and music in general.37 Also, one encounters lalita in connection with synonymous

36 See Team Penyusun... 1979. 37 There are numerous passages quoted in Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:965 under

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access 508 Rudiger Schumacher or similar words like alon, manda, mrdu, komala, which are constituent elements in the names of two well-known Old Javanese metres: Mandamalon and Mrdukomala. In addition to reng lalita, the north Balinese tradition of Banjar, according to Ida Bagus Komang Kusa, prefers the designation reng bremara ngisep sari or reng bremara. This label, meaning 'the humming of bees, sucking the pollen (essence) of flowers', is based on several models prefigured in Old Javanese poetry; here the humming (panghreng) of bees likewise has a topical function as the label of an aesthetic concept.38 According to my Balinese informants as well as many written documents like handwritten editions of kakawin texts, there are at least 28 different Old Javanese metres which, by Balinese tradition, belong to the group of reng lalita. I have been able to verify nine of them by analysing recorded performances:

1. Wiralalita —ww—w—www—w—wwww

2. Mandamalon wwww—w—www—ww—www

3. Mattaraga —w—www—w—www—w—wwww

4. Turidagati wwww—w—www—wwwwww—w—ww

5. Sandhyakara wwww-w—www—w-www—w—ww

6. Kilayu anedeng —wwwwww—w—www—wwwwwww

7. Aswalalita wwww—w—www—w—www—w—wwww

8. Widyutkara ww—w—www—wwwwww—w—wwww

An initial comparison of the metrical patterns results in an understanding of a profound similarity, at least between schemes 1, 3, 7, and 9. Summarizing the results of musical analysis, we are able to recognize several common and several differing traits in the performance of these metres. However, a complete survey of the differences would have to take into account several aspects of regional and personal performing styles. Only a sufficient lalita, Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:966 under lalitya: '... kuwongnya lalitalaleh mangidungi ...' {kakawin Ghatotkacasraya 5.13), to be translated as: "... the cuckoo is singing lovely and charmingly ...'. Or '... lalitya tan karkasa ..." (kakawin Sumanasantaka 112.6), meaning: '... lovely, not rough ...' (on music). 38 Several quotations in Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:258 under bhramara, Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:643-4 under hreng, reng, Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:702 under isep, hisep, Zoetmulder/Robson 1982:1693-4 under sari.

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Concepts in Oral Performance o/Kakawin in Bali 509 number of realizations by different juru paos can guarantee an abstraction of accidental performing elements. An outline of the melodic structure of reng lalita can be traced in Table 3. Movement, indicated by an arrow, as well as shape of melodic contour in reng lalita is generally embedded in a stable fifth (1-5) or, with regard to most realizations from the eastern Balinese districts of Klungkung and Karangasem, a fourth (1-3). The melody thereby constantly moves between the two frame pitches (1 and 5, or 1 and 3) and comes to an end on the mediant 3 (or 2) in lines a, c, and d, respectively, and on the lower frame tone 1 in line b. This low finalis of line b points to the pangumbang character of line c where, in its first part, the performers generally prefer to chant in a lower range than in lines a, b, and d, returning to full range in the second part of line c. By an additional pendular movement between the frame pitches at the end of the stanza, line d summarizes the characteristic movements, thereby rounding off this circular, closed form of the stanza. Four of the nine metres in Table 3, that is Wiralalita, Mattaraga, Kilayu anedeng, and Widyutkara, commence with a guru, melodically emphasized by an ascending fifth (l-»5). This element is missing in the performance of Widyutkara B, since the reciter, Ida Bagus Ngurah from Kesiman (Badung), generally tends to avoid these initial upward movements. Therefore this step is also missing in his realization of Kilayu anedeng. The interpolation of an additional melodic arch (l->5->l) in Mattaraga, Sandhyakara, and Aswalalita obviously is due to the availability of a greater number of at least six guru per line; in this case two guru at the centre of the metrical structure are available for this additional movement. Owing to the large number of guru, it is reasonable to expect this arch in Widyutkara and Gadyakara as well. Unfortunately, I was able to record only two realizations of these longer metres, which are seldom used in Old Javanese poems and therefore not generally known by all Balinese performers. Both realizations were performed by Ida Bagus Ngurah, who does not include this melodic movement in his renditions of reng lalita metres. We may conclude that an adequate recognition of structurally important performance characteristics depends upon a reasonable number of realizations of a given metre. Only this number guarantees being able to separate structural traits from elements of personal (and regional) performing style. Yet there are explicit conceptualizations of regional stylistic features. According to Ida Bagus Komang Kusa, in his home village of Banjar, the melodic contour of reng lalita metres is realized in a special performing style called reng bremara ngisep sari. As stated above, this term does not refer to the substance of melodic structure but rather to an idiosyncratic way of inducing special melodic movements. There seems to be a direct analogy between characteristic melodic 'motifs' and the image of bees humming about:

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Table 3. Melodic, structure of reng lalita line a l->5 5->l 1—>5—>•! l->5 5->3 lineb l->5 5->l l->5->l l->5 Wiralalita Mandamalon A Mattaraga Turidagati * Sandhyakara * Kilayu anedeng * ASwalalita * Widyutkara B * Gadyakara * linec 5->3 lined 1-45 5->l l->5->l l->5 Wiralalita * Mandamalon A * Mattaraga * Turidagati * Sandhyakara Kilayu anedeng Aswalalita Widyutkara B Gadyakara

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(1) an upward movement exceeding the structural range of a fifth (1-5): (l)356(i) or (l)56i, see Ida Bagus Komang Kusa's realization of wirama Aswalalita (Musical Example 1): 1st and 6th guru in line b; 1st and 6th guru in line d. According to Ida Bagus Komang Kusa this movement suggests bees flying upwards into the calyx of certain flowers. (2) a considerable 'diving': 6-»2 or i->2 on the following lagu. This abrupt change of direction symbolizes the bees leaving the calyx by letting themselves drop out. (3) a descending arch to the lower frame tone: 2321, 2nd guru in line a; 2nd guru and ultima in line b; 2nd and 6th guru in line d. This resembles the bees peeling off, or leaving the hive.

In summarizing the traits of melody formation in kakawin performance, we first have to recognize that a vast body of different metrical schemes is realized in performance by a relatively small number of melodic contours. Analytically, melodic contours can be expressed in terms of separate steps of contour which make the acoustic substance of contours easier to grasp. Since this analytically recognized regularity corresponds to an inherent Balinese concept of musical tradition, these contours can be seen as elements of a 'grammar' of chanting kakawin. These melodic contours exist predominantly within the scope of a structurally relevant fifth or fourth. Pitches or tonal degrees relevant to the melodic contour are: 1,3, and 5 (or 1, 2, and 3) in reng lalita, as well as other contour groups like reng wirat and reng swandewi, 1, 2, and 5 in reng sronca, reng malini, reng girisa, reng sikarini, and reng rajani.39 The melodic contours of several other metres are characterized by a clear exceeding and thereby increasingly weakening of the structural range of pitches and by a weakening of tonal hierarchy. The basis and content of Balinese life are shaped by the necessity to keep conflicting physical and metaphysical forces in balance. This maxim is expressed in musical terms in an oral performance of kakawin by means of a cyclically closed form of melodic contour. The direction of melodic movement does not aim at dynamic development but rather at a well- balanced 'swinging' within a clear-cut frame. In this respect, the 'sound of mankind' (manusa nada), represented by the mediant pitch 3 or 2, is of special importance as the focus of balance: it serves as 'finalis' of lines in reng lalita and reng swandewi, as 'finalis' of stanzas in reng wirat, and as axis of melodic movement in reng sronca, reng girisa, reng malini, reng sikarini, and reng rajani.

39 For a detailed analysis of these different contours, see Schumacher 1987.

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Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Example 1. Transcription of a kakawin stanza chanted by Ida Bagus Komang Kusa

Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 09:22:49PM via free access Musical Example 1 (continued). Transcription of a kakawin stanza chanted by Ida Bagus Gde Diksa

- m nnnC **L n /] LJLcj|jf f JJJ k.i= n. WI4M.-IU-- : nayx. ka-U. S«.« u- -tart*, j. JJ «-fc<».= S»ni- 1 cti * «•> « »— tn" f JJ JTlj,. j»|

Mrtj pa- K WYu.oU-: stira. pn»-i«u.- ka. "B>i- nwit: Mi Wx- huia.- »-a- ju- iut: 4JOL (ic»^».M*^| •

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