Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
These scenes from a performance done on December 24, 1978, at Cibintinu near Ban-
dung in West Java were presented in the style of wayang golek purwa—a wooden
rod-puppet theatre telling Ramayana and Mahabharata stories that is popular
among the Sundanese-speakers who live in this region of Indonesia. The dalang (pup-
petmaster), Abah Sunarya, was at that time one of the foremost popular performers in
West Java. In this genre intricately carved doll puppets dance to the music of the game-
lan orchestra on a temporary stage set up in front of the house of the person who has
hired the troupe. The dalang does the narration, singing, and dialogue with occa-
sional comments or questions added by the musicians, especially the lurah sekar (head
musician). The puppeteer and troupe perform on a raised stage; in front of it is a
banana log placed horizontally to form the playboard where the puppets present the
play. The play is at once an entertainment and an exorcism. As the performance pro-
gresses, the puppets on stage all have their counterparts in the ritual. But rather than
a play within a play, this is a play within a ceremony where the script and ritual action
intersect at key points. While the mantras are efficacious regardless of the entertainment
or educational value, there is no doubt that being able to point out parallels between
the mythic monsters and members of the Suharto family won this performer the rapt
attention of his audience. Perhaps it was his renown as a dalang who did exorcisms
that prevented the censors from stopping his performances.
Kathy Foley is professor of theatre at the University of California at Santa Cruz and
Southeast Asian editor for Asian Theatre Journal. She has performed wayang golek
purwa regularly since 1979 and has been invited over the last two decades to perform
at the Indonesian Wayang Festival (Pekan Wayang Indonesia), a national and inter-
national gathering of dalang.
Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 18, no. 1 (Spring 2001). © 2001 by University of Hawai‘i Press. All rights reserved.
2 Foley
I felt Kala in the room as, with the aid of my translation assis-
tant, Ibu Sudinah, we worked on the transcription. Her nervousness
about “making a mistake” made this translation project fraught with
tension in a way that other projects were not.
I felt Kala along with me in the houses of Epe Adisastra, an
expert in Kawi, and my mentor dalang, Gunawan Jayakusumah. Otong
Rasta, my teacher of wayang cepak, a related form of rod puppetry
found in Sunda, has helped me perceive parts of Kala’s nature. I thank,
too, Pa Enoch Atmadibarata who checked this translation.
Sometimes I have found myself running down strange paths
because I think I see Kala’s shadow there. My demon friend leads me
to leaf through medieval Indian tantric texts or to search for informa-
tion on the Islamic saints of Java in hopes of finding his mantra else-
where. I hear obscure echoes in texts used for annual purification cer-
emonies in East Java or once-in-a-hundred-year rites like the Eka Dasa
Rudra purification in Bali. In rites of purification in Tibet and in the
Mahayana Hindu-Buddhist traditions of Southeast Asia, I trip across
Kala’s name and similarities of pattern. Perhaps dealing with demons
evokes similar strategies, but I cannot find versions of this actual story
or precise wordings of these specific mantras. Close parallels are appar-
ent in related Indonesian traditions: two recent examples are found in
the translations of Cohen (1999) and Clara van Groenendael (1999).
Kama and Kala (Hookyaas 1973), a translation of a Balinese book of
dalang lore, and my own work (Foley 1984) likewise pertain. In Indo-
nesian traditions, variants of the story are widespread; mantras are
related but far from uniform. Though Kala is present as a demonic
principle in many cultures, different areas have learned to appease
and tame him in different, if related, ways. And though the quest for
Kala has carried me around South Asia and Southeast Asia and imagi-
natively scrambling back a thousand years, when I reread the kidung I
know that Kala is never far away. For I have met Kala; he and I are one.
I look for his origin and learn of my own. To work on this text is to
struggle with issues of life, death, and the possibility of enlightenment.
The translator becomes enmeshed in a web of meanings and her own
guru/student experiences. Liberation is sought, but it is only guaran-
teed to those who choose, as I have, to acknowledge themselves spiri-
tual children of the dalang and ask to be freed from illusion by the
power of art.
In this translation I try to capture some of the humor and
humanity of Abah Sunarya with his musicians of Gamelan Giri Harja
I—especially Momod, head of the musicians, who helped with his ban-
ter and asides to create this performance text. Due to constraints of
4 Foley
space, I have cut the script, but tried to keep the essence. I ask for-
giveness of dewa (Hindu deities), luluhur (Sundanese ancestral spirits),
and my teachers for any mistakes. As I deal with perhaps the most
guarded text in a tradition that prizes secrecy, those who know will note
my shortcomings. The mistakes, of course, are mine. What is correct is
due to my teachers. I hope that in this representation the reader may
capture some glimpse of Kala and sense the lesson Kala teaches: that
which is most mysterious and hidden—how we come into being and
where we are bound—lies hidden in plain sight.
(The performance begins at 1:00 A.M., as the play that precedes it is cut
short. The musicians play the sacred tune Kidung as the dalang drapes
the wooden rod puppets that appear in the first scene with a white cloth.
The refined batara guru faces his minister, narada. The tree of life
puppet (kayon) sits in the center. The dalang sprinkles small pieces of
incense into the charcoal burner beside him. The pungent fumes billow from
the stage and waft toward the overhead beams where a bullock’s head and
other offerings prepared for the ceremony are hanging. The leader of the
musicians (lurah sekar/momod) warns that if anyone intends to
leave before daybreak when the exorcism will end, he or she must leave
immediately or risk meeting the demon k a la on the road. The dalang
chants over the music.
The Origin of K ala 5
narada: Oh dear! I’ll carry out your wishes with care at once.
guru: I feel Kala is coming now. I did not give him permission [to
come to the Himalayas]. He is only allowed as far as my audience
hall, Marcukunda.
narada: We don’t let tourists in, much less this kid Kala!
(The dalang narrates that they magically move to the audience hall, Mar-
cukunda, the only site where batara guru as high god of the universe
can be visited. g u ru looks at the gate of heaven, represented now by the
tree of life puppet.)
guru: Kala is coming. See how he shakes the gate! Gate Selapetang-
kep—glory of heaven—you have permission to open. Look!
kala: (Offstage.) Gr-r-r! Ha! (For emphasis the dalang hits the metal plates
of the kecrek, which are attached to the puppet chest.) Don’t act shocked,
Pop.
guru: My son, greetings.
kala: (Offstage.) Hey, thanks.
(The dalang strikes the kecrek signaling the tune Sinyur. k a l a, a gray,
furry-headed giant, enters in bouncing, jerky dance steps. The puppeteer
sings a mood song to the Kakawen Madenda tune.)
three tigers, two boars, a pig, a monkey, and some eggs from a
pheasant’s nest.
lurah sekar/momod: Really spoiled, this guy!
kala: From about high noon (pointing to his pot belly), “Gr-r-r,” it
already started growling—hunger pains. Nowadays they call it an
ulcer. Wanted food, but I didn’t have it. Went till late afternoon,
and only this little bit of game to give Emban Durga. I come home
and collapse beside the house. I yell “’Ban, move it! Cook this. I’ve
wanted chow from midmorning till now and still ain’t had noth-
ing! Move it!”
“Hm,” says Emban, rolling up her sleeves, right and left, to
attack the catch. “Kala, seven pots are already lined up, filled with
water.”
Without thinking of much, I sit cross-legged against the woven
bamboo wall of the house. Without trying, I snooze. I dream of the
hunt, a wound! I wake in a cold sweat with little drops of perspira-
tion pouring out of my body. The sick-to-my-stomach feeling, like
before, comes back.
Emban is chopping the seasonings. I ask, speaking sort of loud,
“Hey! (The dalang hits the metal plates of the kecrek with his foot for
emphasis.) Have you cooked dinner yet?”
Emban’s eyes bulge and grow to the size of rice baskets. Her
hair is standing on end. She’s screaming her head off, mad at me
from her ass bone to her thumb.
“Ha! You ugly-faced, ugly-mugged, heartless, flat-nose, you!”
. . . She’s furious!
I start to defend myself. Then I remember, it’s just a woman.
. . . Oh well! I sit down again, leaning against the wall, stomach
gr-r-ring still. Sleep again. I wake with Emban shaking me.
“Hey! Don’t you want to eat?” says Emban. “Well, wake up quick
and wash up over there. It’s ready!”
I look and there they are, these seven pots a-boiling. Done—
and when I think I’ve just snoozed for a sec!
“Eh,” says Emban, “just wash up first if you want to eat.”
“Ah, let it go. Too much work. Later, after the grub, I’ll wash.”
I try it. Finish one pan. Wow, Pop, delicious! What’s in that pan?
Slurp. Soft meat, tiger meat, still young and tender. What’s more,
the monkey head! Finish that pot. Now the second. Wow! Scrump-
tious that second pot! The third, Pop, better and better. Then the
fourth, enjoying it more and more. The fifth, even better. After the
sixth, I didn’t need more, but (gesturing as if eating) seven pots. I
untuck my shirt and let my belly hang out.
narada: Goodness, as bad as an eel uncurling.
kala: “Ah! . . . I’m full,” I say. “Mmm, Emban, I want a drink.”
The Origin of K ala 9
Figure 2. Extensive offerings hang over the stage in preparation for The Ori-
gin of Kala. (Photo: Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 11
(The dalang signals the gamelan to begin a lively tune used for fighting
and agitated scenes, Karatagon Perang. k a la bows to his father and
then retreats, dancing gleefully, and exits left.)
Figure 3. The demonic Kala asks his father, Batara Guru, for victims and is
given a sword and list of conditions under which he can attack humans.
(Photo: Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 15
narada: Nice ruler you are! (Musical pattern for n a r a da begins and
accompanies the ostinato of his dialogue.) If this is how you act, you are
no noble leader. What I just saw was despicable! Good to your
child to the extent that you give him a sword like that! What kind
of an aristocrat are you? What do you think of a ruler as cruel as
this? 8
guru: (Defensively.) Only thirty-three cases were allowed.
narada: In the world you indicated from west to west, from east to
east, from north to north, from south to south, how many thou-
sand million humans are there? It is sinful to take thirty-three
cases! How many millions will become victims? If Kala doesn’t get
his victims fairly, he’ll take them at will. If asked, he’ll say they fall
under this condition or that or the other. Just think!
guru: (Placatingly.) Older brother, Narada, do not stop with just rep-
rimanding me. Strike me if you will, I will not defend myself. I
deserve your anger and acknowledge you as my elder. But consider
the circumstances for a moment. Kala has already come to be, and
when he goes amok, who can contain him? When he was just
semen, I wanted to destroy him, but I could not.
narada: (Unpersuaded.) Why? Why!
guru: Consider if he went amok in heaven, the ruin, the whole gov-
ernment devastated. We must look for a loophole to reach a reso-
lution now. Know that I am ready to die to remedy the situation. I
control all justice, but I myself will search for a loophole in the law.
If he breaks the conditions, I will alter my promise to him.
narada: (Pleased.) Yes.
guru: You must descend into the world along with Wisnu, for now is
the time for Wisnu to descend into the world as a dalang, a dalang
who can perform the ruwatan. I will explain it later. But first, I
myself will go as a victim. Then those who lie under the threat of
Kala can be liberated by the dalang. You too must join the troupe
for the wayang ruwatan.
narada: So Wisnu must descend into the world as an artist, as a
dalang, and whoever lies under Kala’s threat can be liberated by
the dalang. What will he be called?
guru: The dalang shall be called Dalang Kandabuana.9
narada: Who will make up his troupe? After all, if you have wayang,
you need a gamelan.
guru: Take Gamelan Silokananta. 10
narada: (Excitedly.) Oh! Oh! But what about the pasinden, the female
singer?
guru: Take the pasinden from Indra’s heaven, Dewi Saroni. She must
transform herself and become an artist in the world. Swiftly, then,
let us work together. Rather than fighting and losing lives, causing
16 Foley
(The gamelan plays the stately tune Selot. n a r a da bows and backs away
from guru in a respectful posture called baksa. Then guru exits after
n a r a d a , but in a slow, stately walk.)
Scene: Midroad
(kala enters from the left dancing. He leaps up and down, swings his
hips, picks up rocks from the ground, and tosses them in time to the music.
He sings in fee-fie-fo-fum fashion.)
kala: Jol-Jodol! (Searching the horizon for prey.) Want ones that are still
tender and plump, still smell sweet. Oh well, even if they are old,
anything to fill this. (Tapping his stomach.) Always growling! Be
quiet, you stupe!
(The dalang raps once and the lyrics of the female singer grow louder. The
tree of life is placed on the left side of the playing space to represent an actual
tree. k a la hides behind it, peeping out to look for victims. He sees someone
in the distance.)
guru: Just for a moment let me show my love. If you do not allow it,
it will be sinful to kill your father.
kala: You want to lullaby me?
guru: Yes.
kala: Well, rock away.
guru: I am not going to rock you. Just sit on my knee here. Come.
kala: Oh, now? Just don’t take too long. I want to eat.
(The kecrek begins the tune Kidung, which is believed to attract spirits
and tigers to the site of a performance. As the dalang sings, his focus moves
from the puppets. He burns incense in the charcoal burner. He takes a kris
[dagger] and holds it over the smoke. After some opening sentences he reads
from a small notebook, chanting the lyrics of the first core mantra of the cer-
emony, Kidung Panimbang, or Lullaby Kidung, which tells in meta-
phorical language of the conception of a human being. As the mantra ends,
he replaces the dagger with the offerings below the puppet stage.)
(kala has been lulled to sleep by the mantra and snores loudly.)
guru: Kala, you sleep too long, sleep in the middle of the day. Do you
know what time it is? Wake up. I am sore from waiting for you.
(kala snores.)
lurah sekar/momod: A minute ago you couldn’t shut him up, and
now this!
kala: (Talking in his sleep.) Only caught six . . . want ’em plump. Oh
well! Even if they’re thin and small, so long as they’re good to eat!
. . . Hm-m. (Yawning and stretching, he stands and looks around.)
lurah sekar/momod: What a yawn!
kala: (Searching for lice in his hair, he catches one. The kecrek bangs as he
smashes it.) You no good buggers! Lice! Look, two! (He swallows
them.) I want to eat. What time is it anyway, Pop?
guru: Why did you sleep so long?
kala: Hey! . . . I fell asleep? You’re a true gentleman, Pop. You didn’t
even split.
lurah sekar/momod: He didn’t run away!
kala: Yep. Press and chop. (Singing to accompaniment.) Press and chop.
Delish, delish, each chop, delicious. (The kecrek halts the tune.) Now
don’t get mad, but I’m going to carve you right up, Pop.
guru: You are acting like a madman.
kala: Too much! That’s a politician for you. They always give you the
runaround, these politicians.
guru: What is the cause?
kala: The cause? Look! You broke the rules—number twenty-five—
stupid leaders! (Quoting.) “Who goes abroad at the height of mid-
day”—high noon, . . . you were walking?
guru: Yes.
kala: You admit it! You weren’t whistling, were you, though it was
midday?
guru: No.
kala: A mantra—were you saying a mantra?
guru: No.
kala: (Reading.) “Doesn’t even cough, . . .” Coughing, were you
coughing?
guru: No.
kala: Were you thinking in your heart on the Almighty?
guru: I was not paying attention. I was daydreaming.
kala: Then I’ll repeat the orders. (Miming the prescribed actions. ) Cap-
ture. Press to the knees. Chop. Delicious!
guru: What time is it?
kala: Midday.
guru: If you catch them at midday . . . ?
kala: Kill them immediately!
guru: What time is it now?
kala: (Looking around, noticing for the first time it is early morning.) Hey!
It’s cold out. I’m shivering. People are already on their way to mar-
ket. Rickshaws are going by.
lurah sekar/momod: I just saw Omong’s rickshaw.
22 Foley
Pamali is above those who rule. If you violate the orders of the
dalang you will be taboo. The dalang is more powerful than I.
kala: Who is higher, you or the dalang?
guru: The dalang is higher than I. If you disturb a child of a dalang
by ruwatan you will be pamali.
kala: What is “pamali?”
guru: You will have no eyes, no feet, no hands.
kala: That’s all right.
guru: All right? How will you catch people if you don’t have arms?
kala: Eh, how do I catch? I do it with my arms! (After a pause.) But it
doesn’t matter about the eyes.
guru: How will you see people?
kala: Well, then, just no feet . . .
guru: How will you chase them?
kala: (Disgusted.) Eh! But what is a dalang anyway, Pop?
guru: A dalang is one who performs wayang. Still, not every dalang
can be called Dalang Kandabuana, only a dalang who can perform
a ruwatan. It is his children you cannot disturb.15
kala: Where is he now?
guru: He is in the wide world. If I am correct, this very night he is in
Cibintinu [the site of the performance], where a wayang ruwatan,
The Origin of Kala, is taking place.
kala: Origin of Kala! So, this dalang knows my origin? Knows me?
guru: Of course he knows; he is a seer.
kala: Frustrating! But it’s not all people, is it? Where is he now?
guru: He is in the world of men.
kala: (Consoling himself.) Well, the world is wide, its boundaries . . .
guru: . . . from west to west, east to east, north to north, south to
south . . .
kala: . . . to the top limits of the world, to the depths. He’s only there
at Cibintinu.
guru: Well, good. Such are the conditions of our justice. Let us go
now. (Exits.)
kala: Yeah, just hit and run. These measly leaders. They’re tricky.
Smart RTs [rukun tetangga, neighborhood officers]. I want to kill
him and he turns it around like someone who has a feast and
hopes the food sticks in his guests’ throats. . . . Well, so what if this
one got away? There are plenty all over. There is the path by Lake
Madira. Look at all the fish churning in the water! (kala peers over
the side of the banana log stage.)
lurah sekar/momod: Someone’s thrown in some dirt.
kala: So here I am at the pier of Lake Madira. Jol-jodol! I hear some-
thing: a boar! When I don’t want to eat them, they are oinking all
around. Blast them, the good-for-nothings!
24 Foley
(The villagers rush off and a young boy enters. Kidung is played.)
jatusmati: Oh dear! Almighty God who rules all and who gives all, I
entrust my body and my soul. I entrust my life and death. My all, I
entrust to you-o-o. Grant my request and change what has been
written. Now is the time to show your power. The dalang holds
taboo. If Kala nibbles he’ll be punished by the dalang. I will go to
Cibintinu where the dalang is carrying out his duty by performing
a ruwatan, The Origin of Kala.
kala: (Offstage.) Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Which way is Cibintinu? I can
even smell people. Gr-r-r. Jol-jodol! Hey!
(kala enters from the left, as the gamelan plays Karatagon Perang, and
sits facing j a t u s m a t i .)
kala: Gr-r-r.
jatusmati: Sir, I am very pleased to meet you. I’m frightened.
kala: Likewise, I’m frightened. Where are you going, son?
jatusmati: I’m going to Cibintinu. To tell you the truth it’s a strata-
gem to avoid the threat of Kala.
kala: Mmm. (Laughing.) Are you a victim then?
jatusmati: Yes. It says in condition seventeen that if there is a per-
son who has two siblings, one older and one younger, if they die
leaving the middle one, he becomes a victim of Kala. And there is
more: my mother is dead and my father, too, has passed away.
kala: Hmm. So you’re afraid you’ll be gulped down by Kala. Well,
after all, what’s written is written and can’t be avoided. What will
be will be.
jatusmati: But I long to become a child by ruwatan of the dalang.
kala: You want to hire a dalang?
jatusmati: No. I’ve been told that at the present time Brother Otib
has commissioned a performance for his business and land, as well
as his wife and children. And whoever watches a ruwatan from
beginning to end will be liberated too. Just watching is enough.
Those who stay on, although there be a great quake or a wild wind,
the ones who can guard against sleepiness, stand the cramps and
the cold, they will be liberated.
kala: Nice. You’ve already met Kala then?
jatusmati: Not yet, not yet.
kala: (Roaring.) Then behold me!
nyandra: Kala’s eyes glow and bulge until Jatusmati understands.
jatusmati: An ogre! (Backing away.) You’re Kala! Oh dear! Spare me,
Kala! I still long to live.
26 Foley
(kala leaps for j a t u s m a t i, but misses as the boy slips off. k a la lands
on his head and then stands up rubbing the sore spot.)
(Karatagon Perang begins. After a brief scuffle, the ogre holds the boy in
his grip.)
kala: Damn him! I chase him though the mire and his muddy foot
gets in my mouth and hits me. (Shouting at the offstage j a t u s m a t i .)
Where do you think you’re running? Who are you calling for?
(The dalang stops the music and, holding the tree puppet in front of his
face, he narrates while the musicians, cued by his voice, accompany him
softly.)
nyandra: Jatusmati runs hither and yon, pursued through the village
of Medang Kamulian. It is impossible to avoid meeting your fate.
One cannot prevent what will be. He manages to save himself, for
he has often been in that village. Now in Medang Kamulian in the
time when the rice is yellow everywhere and the rice plants are
ripe, the farmers usually open up their empty storehouses in antic-
ipation of the hour when the rice is ready to harvest: yellow and
ready to yield its contents. These are signs that the rice goddess,
Dewi Sri, has taken up her residence in the field of the water of
life. It is as if she were saying: one stalk, two stalks make one
branch; two branches make one handful; two handfuls make one
The Origin of K ala 27
sheaf; two sheaves make one bale; two bales make one bushel. The
farmer wants to say to her: “Hurry, come home from the field of
the water of life to the place that you will sleep, the storehouse!”
So the storehouse door is open and Jatusmati can enter that empty
storehouse to hide.
kala: Gr-r-r. ( Sniffing.) There’s the scent of a human here all right.
I’ll satay him: smells of kebabs here. He’s here, all right. He acci-
dentally stepped in the mud, and, you can see, he climbed up the
side of the storehouse. Come on out, you! No matter what you do,
I’m going to eat you. ( j a t u s m a ti moves slightly. The dalang rubs his
hand on the microphone to create a scratching sound.) It sounds like the
squeaking of a baby mouse. Stop squeaking against the bamboo
walls! I hear you knocking, you good-for-nothing! You pop-eyes!
It’s inconsiderate. I’m tired of being elbowed in the ribcage. Come
on out. No matter what you do, I’m going to eat you up!
nyandra: (Two raps of the wooden campala.) Jatusmati holds still. Look-
ing up, he sees a star shining. He thinks a moment and realizes
that the ceiling of the bamboo storehouse is falling in. He
squeezes, so that he can get through the hole in the center of the
woven bamboo. Jatusmati jumps up.
the place should be spotless and worthy as well. He could have seen
long ago that a part was collapsing, so why did he let it go? Before
continuing to chase Jatusmati, I am going to curse this farmer.
Farmer, if your rice is still young, may it be destroyed before sunup
by the red plague or drought. When budding, may it be destroyed
by mice. If already in bloom, destroyed by birds. Full grown,
destroyed by slugs. In the time of harvest, destroyed by birds. If you
want to avoid this destruction, quickly, you must offer rujak cok
bang.
lurah sekar/momod: What is rujak cok bang? I don’t know.
kala: Fruit salad and a young chicken in a coconut shell. Then pray
to the Almighty, saying the Safety Prayer, and I’ll stop any plague
that infects your plants, Farmer. So, I have spoken my curse. Now
I’ll chase Jatusmati. 16
(kala exits left and then enters from the right on the boy’s heels.)
kala: I’m scalded! Still, it’s not that Jatusmati is brave. No! It’s the
damn pot. You black bottom, you! And what’s more, you got an
ugly mug. You’re mean to me, you no-good. (Considering.) It’s the
woman whose behaved badly here. I’m going to curse the woman
who leaves the room while cooking.
lurah sekar/momod: What’s the curse?
kala: I give you the curse of slippery palms: Though your husband
makes hundreds of thousands a day, you’ll be as penniless as if it
was water running off a palm leaf. If you want to avoid my curse,
bring a salad quickly with fruit of seven kinds. Don’t forget the red
and white porridge, a rice pyramid with food inside [tumpang rosul ].
Pray to the Almighty, using again the Kilalayu Prayer first, Sarapat
in between, and finally the Salamet Prayer. Beg the Almighty, the
All-Loving. If not, my curse cannot be removed. I will only take
back the curse if God wishes. . . . Hey! Mati! (k a l a exits.)
Scene: Cibintinu
nyandra: (Holding the tree puppet in front of his face, the dalang narrates.)
Jatusmati flees. Later he will come to Cibintinu. Now tell of Brother
Otib and his wife, Nyi Mas Rukmini [the hosts of the night’s per-
formance].
(The gamelan begins the tune Kidung. The dalang plants the tree puppet
in the center of the stage to represent a shadow puppet screen. The dagger
used in the Kidung Panimbang is stuck into the banana log just behind
this tree of life puppet. w i s nu/dalang kandabuana sits in the pup-
pet master’s place at the screen with his hands on the dagger. Behind him
are placed a fat-bodied clown puppet ( formerly n a r a d a, now the l u r a h
sekar of Gamelan Silokananta) and a beautiful singer, p a s i n d en (the
heavenly nymph dewi saroni). The puppets are figures that in Maha-
bharata performances would be the hero Arjuna, the clown-servant Semar,
and a refined female. The configuration of the three puppets corresponds to
the placement of puppet master Sunarya, head of musicians Momod, and
32 Foley
female singer Juariah on the stage. Later a member of the family who has
hired the performance will climb on stage and sit by Juariah to represent
j a t u s m a t i .)
nyandra: Dalang Kandabuana and his troupe are playing Kidung Sari-
panggung [Kidung Attracting Love Toward the Stage], for it is already
time for the performance. The Dalang Kandabuana is an incarna-
tion of Wisnu carrying out the mandate of Host Otib to play Kidung
with his troupe. The lurah sekar is an incarnation of Resi Narada.
The pasinden is Dewi Saroni. They all join together to carry out his
order. They join to honor the intention of the host. They pray to
the Great Soul and ask the All-Loving to grant the request of
Brother Otib and his wife Nyi Mas Rukmini to bless their endeavors
and knowledge, their relatives, their five children, their car repair
business, and the farming endeavors they have succeeded in build-
ing step by difficult step. The spirit of the dalang asks the Almighty
to pay careful attention to the sound of Kidung Saripanggung, which
is beginning, so that the conduct of the ruwatan ceremony will be
correct and appropriate.
kandabuana: (In a low, melodious voice.) Where is the payment that
Brother Otib and his family and children have prepared as pay-
ment for the ruwatan?
(At this point the host, Otib, comes forward from the audience and places
the performer’s fee under the banana log. A family member, dressed in white,
takes a place beside Juariah, the singer, so that she can participate in the
ritual.)
(Dalang Sunarya burns incense as he chants the words of the second major
mantra, Kidung Saripanggung. Smoke and scent engulf the stage.)
(The audience members have been waiting for this moment and surge for-
ward to throw their coins into the large oil drum filled with water that sits
in front of the stage, while bills are passed under the banana log and placed
beside the dalang. After the stream of people subsides, the action renews.)
kala: Hey, look at this nice sweet bean porridge—white, I like it white
and what’s more, red! Mm-mm! (He slops down the porridge, then pats
his full stomach and burps.) Thank you, Mr. Dalang.
lurah sekar/narada: Mind your manners, or I’ll teach you!
kala: Look, I’m asking the dalang for a drink, not you, Mr. Lurah
Sekar. I want a drink! I’m thirsty from swallowing that coconut
whole.
40 Foley
(The dalang signals for the battle tune by striking the kecrek once. k a l a
holds out the sword and lurah sekar/n a r a da laughs as he takes it.)
(The dalang takes an egg that sits under the banana log and cracks it with
a single blow of his wooden mallet so that it falls into a thin-necked jar.)
kala: (Sitting up precipitously as the egg enters his throat.) What a sur-
prise! A shock!
lurah sekar/momod: What?
kala: It went in! It went in!
lurah sekar/narada: You’re always speaking to the dalang. He’s
busy.
kandabuana: What is it?
kala: (Complaining.) That sun-baked lurah sekar!
kandabuana: What is it?
kala: I know when I’m beaten. I won’t dare harm your child by ruwa-
tan—I realize that in my heart. Hearing the words of Ajal Kalarea,
I realize they are true. You have the power of taboo, and if I defy
you I’ll surely be beset by misfortune. I acknowledge this and won’t
dare harm the children by ruwatan of the dalang. If I dare harm
the children by ruwatan of the dalang, that will mean I abandon all
hope of safety.
kandabuana: I am your witness. God sees.
kala: Still, I want to ask, what are the limits of those included among
the children by ruwatan of the dalang? Are you going to answer?
kandabuana: Yes. My children by ruwatan are Brother Otib and his
family, both far and near, as well as all the viewers who have wit-
nessed from night to morning, along with the vendors, those in
the surrounding neighborhood—this village and district, this area
of the city—they are my children by ruwatan.
kala: I understand and I’ll obey. But what about the people in this
area who just want to be liberated. Are they?
kandabuana: No.
kala: So although there are people touched by the conditions who
may want to become children by ruwatan, they are not your chil-
dren [until they watch]?
kandabuana: No.
kala: (To himself.) Now the dalang has made a false move in my favor!
Thanks, Mr. Dalang. I want to wait out there. (He gestures to the rear.)
kandabuana: You may go.
Scene: Midroad
(k a la bounds on from the right and surveys the empty road not far from
Cibintinu.)
kala: I’ll listen to the voices from here. Each person who comes to lis-
ten and be liberated will become my child, my victim. Jol-l! Who-
ever goes by, whoever wants to be liberated, I’ve got the go-ahead
from the dalang. Though they may wish to be, they are not yet chil-
dren by ruwatan. Jol-l-l! (The kecrek crashes, and he exits to Karatagon
Perang.)
nyandra: Now in one section of Medang Kamulian, there is a Widow
Sumali who has a child whose father died while it was still in her
womb. He is called fatherless. She intends to join in the ruwatan.
Scene: Cibintinu
(The tree puppet is again placed to represent the shadow puppet screen,
and k a n d a b u a n a, lurah sekar /narada, dewi saroni, and
jatusmati are once more seated behind it. s u m a li rushes in.)
wheedled out of me. I was a sick person then. In buying and sell-
ing, a sick person can’t be held responsible. I had a headache. (The
baby cries.) There it goes again! Shut up! Be quiet, still, silent! (To
self.) This dalang is just like Daddy Guru. (To lurah sekar/
n a r a d a .) Let me speak to the dalang.
lurah sekar/narada: The dalang is busy. What do you want with
the dalang?
kala: (Pleading to k a n d a b u a n a .) Just a moment. Stop a sec, Mr.
Dalang. Okay?
kandabuana: What?
kala: I want to talk about the sword.
kandabuana: What sword?
kala: The sword Siman Tawa.
kandabuana: I took a sword?
lurah sekar/narada: (Pulling out the sword.) This one here, mon-
key?
kala: In a case like this, for a judgment you go to the village head or
to the neighborhood head.
lurah sekar/narada: What?
kala: (Pleading.) Let me borrow the sword for a sec. Just a second!
lurah sekar/narada: I’m not a child, not a statue, not a temple. I
have thought and reason. Borrow a sword to murder people! I
wouldn’t be safe. I’d be dragged into the police station in the
morning. “Musician Lends Sword to Murder a Person!” We’d all
be accessories. (To k a l a .) I should cut your neck!
kala: Don’t get upset.
lurah sekar/narada: Well? Could Intel keep quiet about it? The
eyes of the government are everywhere, you monkey!
kala: (To himself.) He’s mad again, the inconsiderate popeye.
lurah sekar/narada: That’s it! (Advancing angrily.)
kala: (Backing off.) Watch out! Don’t get carried away. This is an
embarrassment! . . . When a guy is just exercising his rights . . . !
lurah sekar/narada: Well, Son, what is it, then?
kala: I want to borrow . . .
lurah sekar/narada: (Raising his hand in interdiction.) Let the
sword be, Sonny.
kala: Hey! Don’t call me “Sonny.” Why don’t you say “master” like
Miss Sumali did?
lurah sekar/narada: Now then, let’s settle this in a way that is safe
for you and safe for me, not wrought with the threat of our being
carried to justice. (Indicating the sword.) I’m willing to trade. Come
on.
kala: Trade?
The Origin of K ala 49
lurah: Give the kid here, and I’ll give you the sword.
kala: (Wailing.) But then I won’t get to eat again!
lurah sekar/narada: You just ate.
kala: But I want to eat humans.
lurah sekar/narada: Consider a moment. This is only one child.
Even if you catch a thousand people, as you just said, you can only
eat them if you slaughter them with the sword. If I have the sword,
how are you going to be able to eat people?
kala: Eh! Peacekeeping, hmm! Well, then, hand the sword over first.
(k a l a attempts to wrest the sword from lurah sekar/narada.)
lurah sekar/narada: (Pulling it away.) Hey, the sword!
kala: Uh! You almost got my eye!
lurah sekar/momod: Poked it.
kala: Poked me!
lurah sekar/narada: Come on. Give the child here.
kala: Give the sword over first!
lurah sekar/narada: The child first!
kala: The sword first! Don’t make trouble—take the middle ground.
lurah sekar/narada: That is exactly what the dalang says. Then
let’s just do it together! I give the sword there, and you give the
child here. But here are the rules.
kala: What rules?
lurah sekar/narada: I’ll start on one, and end on seven. When I
say seven, the child comes here, and the sword there. (Counting
slowly.) One . . .
kala: (Drawing out the number.) O-n-e? Don’t take so long. We’re not
at the market counting out burayak fish.
lurah sekar/narada: Two.
kala: T-w-o.
lurah sekar/narada: Three.
kala: T-h-r-e-e.
lurah sekar/narada: Four.
kala: F-o-u-r.
lurah sekar/narada: Seven!
start on one and end on seven. Here’s the child. Why didn’t you
take your sword? Now I have both the sword and the child. Hey,
Miss.
sumali: (Taking the child.) Thank you! Thank you!
kala: (Begins to move forward again.) Hey! You tricked me.
lurah sekar/narada: Just try to come on this stage, you persecu-
tor! Even Brother Otib who has the right isn’t bold enough to
come up onstage. 26 I’ll have the right to punish you. (He waves the
weapon at k a l a.) I’ll kill you with this sword!
kala: What’s all this? Bad luck. And now I end up with nothing
despite these thirty-two conditions. Father Dalang, I end up with
nothing and my sword has been taken. What if I just ask to be
received by Batara Guru? How about it? And just stay home in Sala-
mangumpung? I don’t want the food I was after before. (Pointing
to the offerings prepared for the ceremony.) What’s that, Father Dalang?
(An inventory of the numerous offerings for the ruwatan now begins.)
kandabuana: Farming yield.
kala: Explain—what is farming, Father Dalang?
kandabuana: It comes from the earth.
kala: I want to try farming the earth. Listen, please! Please, Father
Dalang, give me seeds. I want to raise squash and watermelons.
Here, I want rice seed.
lurah sekar/narada: We have it.
kala: Seed for corn.
lurah sekar/narada: We have it.
kala: Beans.
lurah sekar/narada: We have them.
kala: Domato.
lurah sekar/narada: (Correcting.) Tomato!
kala: Seed for cassava? (lurah sekar continues to assure kala in
call-and-response fashion that each item is available.) Seed for sweet
potatoes? Seed for sticky rice and baby potatoes? Cabbage? So,
Father Dalang, I have seeds. But now the seeds need to be planted
and hoed. I ask for farming tools. A hoe, a trowel, a small knife, a
sword. And I want two sets of clothes. Do you have them? One for
me and one for Emban Durga. I’ll have to work hard to get ahead.
To use my own energy would be too hard. I want a water buffalo,
a plow, a whip, a furrow, a sun hat, a grass carrier, a hand scythe,
a machete, a harness. (Acknowledging receipt of the gifts.) Thanks,
Father Dalang.
lurah sekar/momod: Everything is here. Mrs. Rukmini and Mr.
Otib have prepared it all.
kala: If the food is already grown, I may need to cook. I want to ask
The Origin of K ala 51
you for a rice pounding block. (Again lurah sekar calls out “We
have it!” after each item.) A rice pounding stick, a rice separating bas-
ket, a bamboo colander, a pounding stone, a rice storage basket. I
want to ask you for kitchen implements —a rice fan.
lurah sekar/momod: We have it.
kala: It is all ready. But how can I carry it alone? Let me call my
friends.
lurah sekar/momod: Who?
kala: Emban Durga and Sapujagat. They are on their way. Gat, Gat,
Sapujagat! Gat! Durg! Come help me carry the offerings!
clad behind the puppet master during this scene. The dalang adds incense
to the charcoal burner and the smoke and scent swirl around the wrapped
ogre, the people being exorcised, the musicians, and the audience. The
gamelan softly begins the final rendition of Kidung. The dalang, holding
k a la in his left hand and the dagger with its point touching the water to
be blessed in his right, chants the final mantra, Kidung Panundung.)
(As the chant ends, the dalang drops the shrouded figure of k a la into the
puppet box. He withdraws the dagger from the water and gives the water in
the bucket by his side to the white-clothed woman and Otib. He holds the
blade of the knife against her forehead for a moment as a final blessing.
Then the puppet master plants the tree puppet in the center of the banana
log, marking the end of the performance, and the gamelan starts Kerbo
Jiro, signaling the end of a performance.
As the kayon is planted, pandemonium breaks loose: people rush to get
a bit of the holy water from the basin in front of the stage. Some splash hand-
fuls on themselves; others sip it; others gather a cup to take home. Children
struggle to steal the coins from the bottom of the tub. Musicians hand down
their instruments to protect them from being smashed by audience members
who swarm onstage to seize offerings. The players try to beat the audience to
the money, the food, clothing, seeds, housewares, and tools. m o m od takes
what the musicians collect and divides everything into shares to give each
gamelan member.
Scuffles occur as some people vie for the same object. Shouting and
yelling come from all sides. The dalang alone remains calm and centered
in the hurricane of activity that swirls around him. Silently sits smoking as
the stage is stripped. The site grows silent as the audience ebbs away, car-
rying water or offerings to bless their homes. Finally the dalang stands. His
work is accomplished. The red streaks of dawn mark the beginning of the
new day.)
NOTES
1. The term used here is “denawa,” which means a fanged giant. This
antipathy for fangs relates to the tradition of tooth filing practiced on Java in
the Hindu era and continuing in contemporary Bali. Because it was felt that
they were animallike, incisors were filed until they were even with other teeth.
The hope was that the ceremony would purge the person of animallike
excesses. Denawa (ogres) are incarnations of such excess—greedy, aggressive,
and overtly sexual. The interrelation of gods and demons is also important to
recognize. Batara Guru is the beneficent face of the divine, but he, too, has
his demonic moments and Kala is one result. Dewi Pramoni (later the
demonic Emban Durga) was meditating in the nude in hopes of obtaining a
perfect husband. Batara Guru, flying through the sky, became sexually
aroused and, transforming into his demonic form, started chasing her. Resist-
ing his attempted rape, Pramoni fled. Guru’s semen fell into the ocean, even-
tually to form Kala. Batara Guru finds his hands full in dealing with his demon
progeny, but when he finds a way to disarm them, they can exert protective
power. Thus the fang of Batara Kalamat, Kala’s older brother, becomes a pow-
erful kris that is used by Mahabharata heroes. And it is no coincidence that a
dagger plays an important part in this ruwatan ritual of calming Kala and helps
bless holy water rather than instigating battles. The moral may be that gods
and demons, heroes and villains, are not different in essence: it is just that
gods and heroes have been defanged whereas demons and villains still bite.
2. At the time of this performance President Suharto—and even
more so his children and wife—were being charged in the papers with using
their position to enrich themselves while the people’s needs were neglected.
Kala’s admonishments to Batara Guru about fairness (and Narada’s later
admonishments on how a ruler should prevent his followers and family from
victimizing the people) refer to the proper action of a ruler—a debate that
dominated Indonesia in the preelection days of 1978.
3. This is a reference to the custom of traditional singing tales, called
wawacan, from dusk to early morning, especially in the forty days after the
birth of a child.
4. Batara Guru is remembering the gods’ earlier attempt to destroy
Kala: after Batara Guru’s semen fell into the sea, but before it became Kala,
the amorphous semen attacked all the creatures of the deep. Batara Guru
sent all the gods to investigate and the semen/Kala defeated them. Batara
Guru then recognized Kala as his own offspring. After the semen developed
into a tangible, demonic shape, Batara Guru sent Kala to live with Emban
56 Foley
Durga as his caretaker, leading to the episode presented in this play. This pat-
tern of a demon who attacks heaven and must be subdued (often by Arjuna
or one of his sons) is often found at the base of wayang plots. The concept of
gods who are helpless in the face of forces they unleash and who need the
assistance of those who have come to understand life through meditation has
staying power in the wayang repertoire.
5. “Mangsa,” the term used for those threatened by Kala, means both
“victim” and “in the time or season of.” Kala’s name means “time”—hence we
can consider him the god of time who claims his own at the appointed hour.
In traditional village life Kala was thought to rotate around the different
points of the compass according to the day and season. Elaborate rules were
established for dealing with each time of day to avoid “meeting Kala”—hence
cosmic as well as microcosmic forces were under his influence.
6. This nonsense word is musically chanted and, much like “fee-fie-fo-
fum” in English, indicates intent to harm. It is the first intimation victims have
of Kala’s arrival throughout the remainder of the play.
7. Medang Kamulian is a mythical Javanese kingdom where primeval
events occur—Sri the rice goddess’s life and death, for example, are bound
up with this kingdom.
8. The laughter in the audience indicates that viewers appreciated
this critique of Suharto allowing his children to enrich themselves at the
expense of the Indonesian people.
9. “Kanda” means “book”and “buwana” means “world.” In a sense, the
dalang can be thought of as someone who knows how to read or understand
existence, the “book of the world.”
10. Batara Guru is said to have made this gamelan to be played in
heaven and soon thereafter the bidadari, the heavenly nymphs, learned to
dance to it. In the context of this story of the ruwatan, the gamelan first comes
down to earth.
11. This implied attack on the Suharto family won applause. Viewers
were continually conscious of the performance as a discussion of Suharto and
his inability to curb his children’s greed.
12. The banyan tree with its aerial roots is a symbol of how ancestral
life is recirculated into the newborn. The inverted tree (waringan sungsang) is
a symbol of death’s impermanence and the link between ancestors and
descendants. Mantras for curing and exorcising in Sunda frequently refer to
this concept.
13. Operasi Tertib (OPTIB) tracked corruption in government offices.
14. I was a graduate student at the University of Hawai‘i in this period,
so there were many jokes about the Hawaiian Islands during the performances
I attended.
15. Dalang ruwatan must be over forty, from a traditional family of
dalang, and are normally the eldest dalang in their lineage. All who attend
and stay from the beginning of the ceremony until dawn become the “chil-
dren of the dalang” and are exorcised by the performance.
16. This curse against the farmer and the following two curses (against
woodworkers and home construction/pot spilling) are old traditions. Pamali
The Origin of K ala 57
(taboos) dictated careful construction of the rice shed, cleaning of the scraps
after construction, and building houses so that doors do not align with each
other, since this would allow demons, who only move in straight lines, to
enter and disturb women while cooking. People say it was this experience
with Jatusmati that caused Kala originally to institute these taboos. Kala’s for-
mulas for avoiding repercussions were still being practiced by very traditional
Sundanese in the late 1970s.
17. “Sunan” is a title for a monarch. “Langgeng” means everlasting. The
title refers to Siwa in meditation but simultaneously to the dalang who uses
mantras to attract the admiration of viewers and spirits and all who are exor-
cised. The naga is a mythical snake/dragon associated with water, the fertile
earth, and chthonic powers. The banana-log stage on its two supports is the
earth. Serpents (Si Naga Melang) coil around the frame of the shadow pup-
pet screen.
18. This kidung relies on an analogy whereby the parts of the puppet
stage are analogous to the universe (the macrocosm) and, simultaneously, the
human body (the microcosm). Thus the banana log is said to be the earth, the
lamp to be the sun, and so forth. From another perspective the banana log/
naga can be considered the lower part of the body that carries out base
human functions but is also the site of kundalini (represented by the serpent
starting at the bottom but rising toward the top); the stage supports are the
legs; the lamp can be thought of as the intellect; the campala the heart; and
so on. From another perspective one can interpret the lyrics as hinting about
life and death in a mode related to tantric initiations. Brahma, in this inter-
pretation, becomes the fire on the funeral pyre; Kala is the guard at the bur-
ial ground who can terrorize us into enlightenment; Wisnu is the ashes of
death that, rubbed on the body, smash our illusions of physical immortality;
Sambu opens the gate to death/enlightenment. The path beyond illusion for
the wayang (that is, human) is guided by the dalang as guru, with the game-
lan’s music encouraging the ascent and, simultaneously, holding negative
spirits at bay. The wind that blows away illusions is the individual’s life breath,
the actual wind, and the wind god Bayu who, unseen and all powerful, is asso-
ciated with enlightenment.
19. In 1978, the equivalent of twenty-five U.S. cents.
20. Coin offerings at this ruwatan ceremony were put into the water
blessed during the rite. For this performance the vessel contained seven kinds
of flowers and holy water drawn from seven different wells.
21. Punning in the following sequence becomes increasingly elabo-
rate. Kala wants to say there is a particular type of mango called bapang. But
he calls it buah baplang (literally “one unit of mustache”) instead. He tries
again and calls it a buah gelung (“one unit of necklace”). The musician then
takes the transformation one step further and says buah golek, which would be
translated as one golek (puppet).
22. Kala again confuses terms: he means jeruk purut, used in making a
spicy sauce eaten with rice, but instead uses “burut” (a disease of the scrotum).
23. For each feast, certain relatives and friends of the host family will
be designated the panitia, the committee in charge of running the event.
58 Foley
24. This mantra clearly outlines the coming into being of Kala and,
analogously, all humans. The ogre imagery corresponds well to Siwa’s trans-
formation into a giant as he attempts to rape his wife and then the fall of
semen to the earth that gives rise to Kala. On a microcosmic level the mantra
alludes to the sexual act by which we come into the world—the “rice store-
house” alluding to the mother’s womb. This meditation on different limbs of
the body is analogous to Tantrism’s technique of nyasa, in which the initiate
is taught to understand his body as a mandala of the macrocosm and differ-
ent letters or syllables are identified or inscribed with different body parts.
Some dalang’s versions of the ruwatan have the mantra of the ruwatan actu-
ally written on Kala’s body. This corresponds well to the nyasa. These ideas
reinforce interpretation of the ruwatan as a tantric practice to teach the initi-
ate his participation in divine/macrocosmic power through an exploration of
his own mind/body as a microcosm that represents the divine/whole.
25. I was sitting next to Juariah and writing notes furiously for this
translation.
26. As main sponsor of this performance, Otib chose not to exercise
the option of sitting onstage during the play.
27. Thursday and Monday evenings are still the times when older peo-
ple burn incense to honor the spirit world. The puppeteer’s proscriptions
correspond to older practices.
28. This mantra sends the negative part of Kala back to nothingness.
The reference to the fangs of ogre sons of Siva (Kalabraja and Kalarung)
relates to daggers. As the fangs are transformed into kris, so in the hands of
an enlightened person the dangerous weapons (passions/fangs/kris) become
implements of protection and success used in making the holy water and pro-
tecting the community.
REFERENCES