Hiya Folks!
Last night I paid a visit to the world famous Javanese puppeteer Ki Purbo Asmoro. He is a Solo base Puppeteer in Central Java who's innovative styles have brought traditional Javanese puppetry into the 21st century and have reached a wider global audience. I traveled from Yogyakarta to Solo yesterday to touch base with my contact there a Kistie Emmerson who was once a New York City resident and pianist who left the hustle and bustle of New York City life to travel to Java and try her hand at being a Gamelan musican. She has since become a successs and was incredibly helpful in offering me an opportunity to meet with Ki Purbo and her wonderful translations throughout the interview.
Ki Purbo is an incredible man who has constructed more than 300 puppets and performas regularly on top of his teaching responsibilities at the conservatory. I'm sorry folks but I only have video if this meeting and to upload that on Java's "broadband" will be hopeful to the point of foolhardiness. As soon as I get home I will upload these and all the amzing videos I have collected from interviews and performances. Thanks for your patience and thanks for following along.
3 more days and I return home. Tomorrow I travel to Jakarta to meet with my old friend Pria who in middle school ignited this passion in me by bringing examples of puppetry from his own country and showing me how they work. See you all soon
Love
Daniel
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
And some temples in Bali.
These are pictures of a few of the many Hindu temples in Bali. Below are pictures from the Mother Temple, one of the largest Hindu Temples in the world and indeed in Bali. The Temple on the Sea and the Temple on the lake. And there is a shot at me in front of the Mother Temple.
Picture's from Pak Made's
here are some pictures from Pak Made's home in the village of Bangah in Tabanan district. These are just a couple of pics of the view from Pake Made's beautiful home! FANTASTC!!!
some promised pictures with explanations
Hiya all. I'm meeting with a puppeteer today in Yogyakarta but I finally have a few peaceful minutes in this bustling city to post some pics of the journey so far. Enjoy!!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Back online!
Hi Everyone.
I arrived in Yogyakarta this morning and was really sad to say goodbye to Bali. I have to apologize for not being able to write I was staying with Pak Made Lasmawam a Gamelan musician and teacher in his home in the small village of Banga in the Tabanan district of Bali. It is a mountainous region of the island where there was no wireless internet, no western plumbing and not hot water. Pak Made's home is of traditional Balinese style, he has a beautiful compound complete with a family temple, housing for students, rice hut and tons of rehearsal space with Gamelan instruments. If you wish to bathe you have one of two choices. One you can take a half hour drive to the hot spring every couple of days or you can grit your teeth and do it the traditional Balinese way of ladling really cold mountain spring water from the basin over your bod. Fantastic! Better than a double shot of espresso and twice as effective.
Pak Made arranged for me to work with the village dalang which is a rare and wonderful opportunity. My teacher also named Made started our instruction with a ceremony at his home to bless the union between pupil and teacher. The ceremony was a beautiful affair where among other things he plead to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of art and education to bless our time together. (I have pictures and video and will upload them ASAP. The broadband here is a bummer)
After the ceremony we retrieved a cow's hide, the traditional material for making Wayang kulit in Bali. I will not give you the details of how we obtained the cow hide but I will say I feel less of a vegan. The hide was also blessed and we began to draw our characters on the hide. We started with Arjuna that famous charioteer from the Bagavad Gita.
After drawing the character we also drew a traditional pattern of small shapes, spirals half moon shapes and and circles that will later be cut out with tools I was given by a puppet maker in Ubud. I was instructed on how to use my new tools which consisted of a wooden hammer and a series of chisel like tools with different shapes on the ends to 'tap, tap, tap' through the leather and thus creating a pattern where light will escape when performed behind the screen thus adding to their already stunning beauty.
It takes the average puppet maker days to finish constructing a puppet it took me about three days of work to get as far as I did. I haven't finish my puppet yet but am looking forward to working on it when I get home. During my off hours I learned how to play Gamelan music. Gamelan is an important part of Wayang performances not to mention dance here in Bali. I participated in a local ceremony in the village temple and didn't do too bad if I do say so myself. Must have been all that band I took in middle school.
It wasn't all work and no play however. I also had the opportunity to take in some of the local sights including the temple lake, the local market, and the monkey Forrest, not to mention walk through the stunning vistas of rice patties in this famous mountainous region. The rice here is a huge part of the local culture and is not exported which is really too bad because it is delicious. It is a red rice unique to the Tabanan region of Bali.
I even got to go to my first Balinese dance social which is quite a spectacle as you will soon see for yourself when I upload the videos from the event. The whole village turns up and the bring in about four traditional Balinese dancers. The idea is she is supposed to pick a young man from the crowd to dance with , picking a few partners so that all the fellas have a chance. The boys however are so excited they run out to the middle of the crowd to dance with the girl sometimes pushing others in the middles (yours truly included) to get a dance with the girl. It gets pretty racy in the end and a lot of macho showboating takes place.
Made for affording me with this rare and wonderful opportunity to Like all good things this to had to come to an end. I was very sad to say goodbye to my teacher and of course to Pak Made not to mention his wife Ketuit and her delicious cooking. Pak Made held a ceremony in his family temple for me and asked for blessings for my journey. It was all hugs and tears. I made a lot of lasting friendships that week including many of the villagers and local gamelan musicians and of course Pak Made and his wonderful family. Thank you Pakreally immerse myself in Balinese culture. I came to learn puppetry and gained a family.
So here I sit in Yogyakarta with a heavy heart and excitement of what is to come. Tomorrow I will travel East to the largest Buddhist monument in the world Borobodor to watch the sunrise over that amazing artifact. After that I meet with a Javanese dalang who calls himself Pak Eddie. He sounds like a great fella.
Well, good night for now, I've got an early day.
love and respect,
Daniel
I arrived in Yogyakarta this morning and was really sad to say goodbye to Bali. I have to apologize for not being able to write I was staying with Pak Made Lasmawam a Gamelan musician and teacher in his home in the small village of Banga in the Tabanan district of Bali. It is a mountainous region of the island where there was no wireless internet, no western plumbing and not hot water. Pak Made's home is of traditional Balinese style, he has a beautiful compound complete with a family temple, housing for students, rice hut and tons of rehearsal space with Gamelan instruments. If you wish to bathe you have one of two choices. One you can take a half hour drive to the hot spring every couple of days or you can grit your teeth and do it the traditional Balinese way of ladling really cold mountain spring water from the basin over your bod. Fantastic! Better than a double shot of espresso and twice as effective.
Pak Made arranged for me to work with the village dalang which is a rare and wonderful opportunity. My teacher also named Made started our instruction with a ceremony at his home to bless the union between pupil and teacher. The ceremony was a beautiful affair where among other things he plead to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of art and education to bless our time together. (I have pictures and video and will upload them ASAP. The broadband here is a bummer)
After the ceremony we retrieved a cow's hide, the traditional material for making Wayang kulit in Bali. I will not give you the details of how we obtained the cow hide but I will say I feel less of a vegan. The hide was also blessed and we began to draw our characters on the hide. We started with Arjuna that famous charioteer from the Bagavad Gita.
After drawing the character we also drew a traditional pattern of small shapes, spirals half moon shapes and and circles that will later be cut out with tools I was given by a puppet maker in Ubud. I was instructed on how to use my new tools which consisted of a wooden hammer and a series of chisel like tools with different shapes on the ends to 'tap, tap, tap' through the leather and thus creating a pattern where light will escape when performed behind the screen thus adding to their already stunning beauty.
It takes the average puppet maker days to finish constructing a puppet it took me about three days of work to get as far as I did. I haven't finish my puppet yet but am looking forward to working on it when I get home. During my off hours I learned how to play Gamelan music. Gamelan is an important part of Wayang performances not to mention dance here in Bali. I participated in a local ceremony in the village temple and didn't do too bad if I do say so myself. Must have been all that band I took in middle school.
It wasn't all work and no play however. I also had the opportunity to take in some of the local sights including the temple lake, the local market, and the monkey Forrest, not to mention walk through the stunning vistas of rice patties in this famous mountainous region. The rice here is a huge part of the local culture and is not exported which is really too bad because it is delicious. It is a red rice unique to the Tabanan region of Bali.
I even got to go to my first Balinese dance social which is quite a spectacle as you will soon see for yourself when I upload the videos from the event. The whole village turns up and the bring in about four traditional Balinese dancers. The idea is she is supposed to pick a young man from the crowd to dance with , picking a few partners so that all the fellas have a chance. The boys however are so excited they run out to the middle of the crowd to dance with the girl sometimes pushing others in the middles (yours truly included) to get a dance with the girl. It gets pretty racy in the end and a lot of macho showboating takes place.
Made for affording me with this rare and wonderful opportunity to Like all good things this to had to come to an end. I was very sad to say goodbye to my teacher and of course to Pak Made not to mention his wife Ketuit and her delicious cooking. Pak Made held a ceremony in his family temple for me and asked for blessings for my journey. It was all hugs and tears. I made a lot of lasting friendships that week including many of the villagers and local gamelan musicians and of course Pak Made and his wonderful family. Thank you Pakreally immerse myself in Balinese culture. I came to learn puppetry and gained a family.
So here I sit in Yogyakarta with a heavy heart and excitement of what is to come. Tomorrow I will travel East to the largest Buddhist monument in the world Borobodor to watch the sunrise over that amazing artifact. After that I meet with a Javanese dalang who calls himself Pak Eddie. He sounds like a great fella.
Well, good night for now, I've got an early day.
love and respect,
Daniel
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Hey Guys,
Things are going really well. I've done so much since the last time I wrote. After meeting with a famous Balines dalang (puppeteer) named Wayan Wija he invited me to a village ceremony to observe his performance. it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never seen anything like it. He performed for three hours straight with over 45 characters from the Ramayana with a full Gamelan orchestra and a burning torch behind the screen, I can't wait to show you the photos. He allowed me to watch from behind the screen which is a real honor, he also invited me to join him for the traditional coffee and rice with palm sugar before the show. VERY COOL!! I was in total awe! I left Ubud yesterday to travel to Tabanan District. Here I'm staying with a Gamelan Teacher who often invites his US students to his home to study Gamelan which is a sort of orchestra with wood and xylophone type instruments, the music is really beautiful and is always used in Wayang (puppet) performances. Made ( the teacher) has arranged for a local puppeteer and puppet maker to spend the week with me building and then performing. I even jammed in a gamelan session for a local Hindu ceremony last night
I leave here Sunday to travel into Java to study a different form of puppetry, not the shadow kind but more of a rod style.
His home is beautiful up in the mountains and he is an incredible man. There are some former students currently staying here as well as some new ones so I have some Americans to talk to. I don't know when I'll be able to write again because I'm really off the grid here.
Things are going really well. I've done so much since the last time I wrote. After meeting with a famous Balines dalang (puppeteer) named Wayan Wija he invited me to a village ceremony to observe his performance. it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never seen anything like it. He performed for three hours straight with over 45 characters from the Ramayana with a full Gamelan orchestra and a burning torch behind the screen, I can't wait to show you the photos. He allowed me to watch from behind the screen which is a real honor, he also invited me to join him for the traditional coffee and rice with palm sugar before the show. VERY COOL!! I was in total awe! I left Ubud yesterday to travel to Tabanan District. Here I'm staying with a Gamelan Teacher who often invites his US students to his home to study Gamelan which is a sort of orchestra with wood and xylophone type instruments, the music is really beautiful and is always used in Wayang (puppet) performances. Made ( the teacher) has arranged for a local puppeteer and puppet maker to spend the week with me building and then performing. I even jammed in a gamelan session for a local Hindu ceremony last night
I leave here Sunday to travel into Java to study a different form of puppetry, not the shadow kind but more of a rod style.
His home is beautiful up in the mountains and he is an incredible man. There are some former students currently staying here as well as some new ones so I have some Americans to talk to. I don't know when I'll be able to write again because I'm really off the grid here.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Day 2
Today was an amazing day! I apologize for not writing yesterday. I was coping with a lot of jetlag and culture shock. But I did have an incredible first day. I woke up and left the hotel to visit the Bali Arts Festival which was kind of a bust so my drive and guide mentioned some Balinese dance that I must see. So he took me to see the Barong and Kris Dance which consisted of 5 incredible acts of music, costume and dance. I will try and upload some photos later. I've been having trouble uploading photos and video it takes a killer long time. Next I visited a local puppeteer and his children who showed me how to make wayang kuilt or shadow puppets. They are made of fish skin that has been dried and then cut into the shapes of the characters next they punch wholes in intricate patterns so that when the light is shined behind the screen some light will escape through the wholes. They allowed me to punch wholes using the hammer and small tool of one of the puppets they were working on. The kids giggled so much at this point, I thought I was doing it wrong. After working for a while and learning about the painting process I bought 4 characters to take home. Rama, Sitha, Hunuman and Antabosa.
After I left I took a brief nap at the hotel and attended the Bali Arts Festival. baliartsfestival.com there's a link you can check it out.
I saw an amazing Gamelan performance from Japan. It was an all female troupe and they were incredible.
So Day 2 consisted of a rare opportunity to sit and talk with one of the great dalang of Bali a man named Wayan Wija. He was a really nice man who has been making his own puppets and performing them for over 40 years. He has been invited to our country by the Hensons a number of time for their festivals and performed around the world.
He showed me around his studio and did some performing of me. He has an amazing collection of puppets from the characters from Ramayana to Dinosaurs and dragons. They were so cool. Again, apologies for not having pictures up yet. I'll get on that.
After we talked for a while and had tea, I said good bye. I will get a chance to see him perform at a village ceremony this Sunday. After that I did a little sight seeing before The Arts Festival really kicked off again. I visited Ubud and checked out the local art scene. Ubud is said to be the arts center of Bali and they aren't kidding. There are tons of galleries and crafts! Beautiful masks, paintings, textiles, puppets and sculpture from bone to stone to wood. Fantastic!!!
After getting completely overwhelmed I took a nice relaxing walk into monkey forest. Which is appropriately named. They were so cute. There is a temple there that they call monkey temple due to the local residents.
After that it was back to the Bali arts Festival where I wanted to take in a performance from a Mexican puppet troupe by Lucia Mendoza and Carla Pedroza. It was so interesting to see such a troupe perform to a culture that already has such a rich tradition of puppetry. The troup mostly used hand puppets and different then the shadow puppets they are used to. They were really well received the locals loved them!
After I left I took a brief nap at the hotel and attended the Bali Arts Festival. baliartsfestival.com there's a link you can check it out.
I saw an amazing Gamelan performance from Japan. It was an all female troupe and they were incredible.
So Day 2 consisted of a rare opportunity to sit and talk with one of the great dalang of Bali a man named Wayan Wija. He was a really nice man who has been making his own puppets and performing them for over 40 years. He has been invited to our country by the Hensons a number of time for their festivals and performed around the world.
He showed me around his studio and did some performing of me. He has an amazing collection of puppets from the characters from Ramayana to Dinosaurs and dragons. They were so cool. Again, apologies for not having pictures up yet. I'll get on that.
After we talked for a while and had tea, I said good bye. I will get a chance to see him perform at a village ceremony this Sunday. After that I did a little sight seeing before The Arts Festival really kicked off again. I visited Ubud and checked out the local art scene. Ubud is said to be the arts center of Bali and they aren't kidding. There are tons of galleries and crafts! Beautiful masks, paintings, textiles, puppets and sculpture from bone to stone to wood. Fantastic!!!
After getting completely overwhelmed I took a nice relaxing walk into monkey forest. Which is appropriately named. They were so cute. There is a temple there that they call monkey temple due to the local residents.
After that it was back to the Bali arts Festival where I wanted to take in a performance from a Mexican puppet troupe by Lucia Mendoza and Carla Pedroza. It was so interesting to see such a troupe perform to a culture that already has such a rich tradition of puppetry. The troup mostly used hand puppets and different then the shadow puppets they are used to. They were really well received the locals loved them!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Bali at Last.
Good Morning from Denapsar Bali! I MADE IT!! Its a beautiful day here about 6:45 am and I was so excited I couldn't sleep any longer. That is really surprising considering the journey I just finished. The entire air time of the trip took a total of 23 hours not including those wonderful little stays in various airports including Anchorage, Taipei and Jakarta. I finally arrived last night and was picked up by a friend of my teacher and contact here in Bali.
I'll be meeting with my new teacher Made Lasmawan at his home on the 13th. In the meantime I'm going to soak up as much of the Balinese culture as I can. Today I'm going to see the Bali Arts Festival which should be full of dancers, gamelan musicians, dalang, many local crafts and works of art. At the end of today I'll be sure to post all the wonderful photos and video on the blog here.
I'm so excited to be here. The city of Denpasar from my drive through it last night is vibrant and full of vitality. There are little shops everywhere where I wanted to stop and explore but I had just ended my long journey and I was a walking Zombie. I got into my hotel room last night and found I had a roomate. A lizard about 5 inches long and cute as a button. I took his or hers presence as a good omen. However when I woke up this morning he was gone. Ah well. The solitude is good for me. Well I'm off to enjoy this beautiful breakfast spread they have here. ps Bali is a Vegetarian's Paradise. I have thus far no food issues. You have to be clear on the whole vegan thing but its no big deal.
More later.
Love,
Daniel
I'll be meeting with my new teacher Made Lasmawan at his home on the 13th. In the meantime I'm going to soak up as much of the Balinese culture as I can. Today I'm going to see the Bali Arts Festival which should be full of dancers, gamelan musicians, dalang, many local crafts and works of art. At the end of today I'll be sure to post all the wonderful photos and video on the blog here.
I'm so excited to be here. The city of Denpasar from my drive through it last night is vibrant and full of vitality. There are little shops everywhere where I wanted to stop and explore but I had just ended my long journey and I was a walking Zombie. I got into my hotel room last night and found I had a roomate. A lizard about 5 inches long and cute as a button. I took his or hers presence as a good omen. However when I woke up this morning he was gone. Ah well. The solitude is good for me. Well I'm off to enjoy this beautiful breakfast spread they have here. ps Bali is a Vegetarian's Paradise. I have thus far no food issues. You have to be clear on the whole vegan thing but its no big deal.
More later.
Love,
Daniel
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Getting down to the wire
Well. I've got about 6 hours before I take the longest plane ride of my life.
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