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The Origin of Kala: A Sundanese


Wayang Golek Purwa Play
by Abah Sunarya and
Gamelan Giri Harja I
Translated and introduced by Kathy Foley

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.

The Origin of Kala (Murwa Kala) is an exorcistic performance


(ruwatan) done in West Java to release people from the harm the god-
demon Kala might inflict. Anyone who has attended a performance
will know that even at present a sense of awe and danger surrounds the

Asian Theatre Journal, vol. 18, no. 1 (Spring 2001). © 2001 by University of Hawai‘i Press. All rights reserved.
2 Foley

play. Accurately recording and translating this story, therefore, posed


special challenges. Language was the least of the problems. The dia-
logue was understandable to those who know the different language
levels of Sundanese spoken in the highlands of West Java—from the
high, polite language of the noble characters to the rough argot of the
demons. But the major mantras at the core of the exorcism are hard to
obtain. These texts, in a mixture of Kawi (Old Javanese) and Cirebon-
area Javanese, are taught only to sons or favored pupils. Thus earning
the trust of my teacher, the late Abah Sunarya, such that he shared
with me the written texts of the four major mantras (kidung), which are
intoned sub voce to a song of the same name, was the first challenge. I
was honored that this family of puppet masters would give these texts
to an outsider, and I know they recognized that this sharing, while
potentially diminishing the power of a family legacy, was opening the
wisdom of wayang to a different part of the world.
Those who have studied mantras of wayang know that the dalang
often cannot provide word-for-word translations of passages. Analogies,
interpolations, and intuitions are important parts of the learning pro-
cess. As I went from dalang to dalang with a particular question, I would
sometimes find as many different answers as people. But when I was
ready to throw up my hands in despair over a line, Abah would say,
“Keep repeating the words long enough and you yourself will eventu-
ally know what they mean.” Ultimately I think there is some truth to this
time-honored method of dalang-ship. I have returned to this script
repeatedly over the years and feel that time, effort, and the sheer dint
of repetition have made words and ideas that once seemed so exotic
somehow familiar. From an academic perspective, however, it is impor-
tant to point out that translations of ritual passages are at best an indi-
cator of a complex world of ideas. Mystical language in West Java is as
much about obscuring meaning and preventing easy access to the for-
mulas as it is about communication. Another dalang might say slightly
different words; another translator would render different interpreta-
tions. One translation or interpretation does not negate the other, but
the sum total of interpretive and linguistic variance helps clarify what
these mantras have meant in the past and may mean now.
The second problem was that I had to encounter the demon
Kala. I first encountered Kala over twenty years ago as I sat behind
Abah Sunarya, on a raised stage full of musicians and female singers,
furiously writing notes and monitoring my tape recorder. Personal
experience has taught me that technical problems are sure to arise
when taping “sacred” performances. (I had even taken to burning
incense over my machine prior to recording.)
The Origin of K ala 3

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 ORIGIN OF KALA


CHARACTERS

batara guru, siwa, the high god of the universe


narada, a god who i s batara guru’s cousin and minister
kala, the demon son of batara guru
villagers
jatusmati, a young boy pursued by k a l a
dalang kandabuana, the puppet master who is an incarnation of w i s n u
pasinden/dewi saroni, female singer, an incarnation of a heavenly nymph
lurah sekar/narada, head of the gamelan who is an incarnation of n a r a d a
sumali, a young woman who brings her baby to the performance
baby, sumali’s infant who falls under k a la’s threat
s a p u j a g a t, literally “world sweeper,” a demon friend of k a l a
emban durga, a demon manifestation of s i wa’s consort who is caretaker of
kala
lurah sekar/momod, the head of the musicians of Gamelan Giri Harja I
nyandra, the formal, narrative voice/persona of the dalang
kakawen, the dalang’s song

(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

Scene: Suralaya, the Heaven of Batara Guru


nyandra: The time has arrived. Begin with the word ruwat [make
safe]. One must look for a way to liberate the flesh, to liberate the
spirit, to liberate the heart that pays homage to God. If one exam-
ines the wayang, one cannot deny that it originates in India, like-
wise the ruwatan exorcism. There was a follower of the prophets
who had a child, an only daughter, lovely beyond compare. When
still a baby, you could already see her radiance. But there was a
heavy curse, for this king’s daughter was human above, but the part
below was not human. After a while, it was predicted that eventually
health would come to the child, but first she had to be cured by
Batara Guru. Goodness! The father was of a different persuasion
[Islam] and did not want to ask for help! But Guru pointed out
there is no knowledge that does not come from God. So the
mother and father sought audience with Batara Guru. He covered
the child with a white cloth, to liberate, to ruwat. When the white
cloth was removed, the child was normal from head to toe. From
that time the ruwatan ceremony has been approved by both the
Islamic prophets and the Hindu gods. Speak of the Himalayas, the
holy place of batara guru who greets his cousin and elder. (The
dalang removes the white cloth and moves the tree of life puppet off.)
batara guru: Older brother, Narada, please sit closer. Welcome on
your arrival.
narada: Oh! My! My! Don’t speak twice, My Lord. A thousandfold
my thanks, ten thousandfold my joy, if you accept my humble bow.
Though my faults be great or slight, I accept your judgment with
joy. What is your wish?
guru: Older brother.
narada: Your servant.
guru: I have a child not born of woman. Already his form is devel-
oping into an ogre. 1
narada: Oh! Oh! What can we do?
guru: I have received a report that I am the father, and I acknowl-
edge it freely.
narada: Yes. When it comes to justice, you can’t favor the black or
lean to the yellow. Whether handsome or ugly, boy or girl, you’re
the father of your child.
guru: Yes, I own up to it. I will give him a title and let him reside in
Salamangumpung, and give him Emban Durga as a companion to
cook for him daily. Though a god, this child is a true buta [ogre,
“blind”], which means he is full of dark qualities and does not con-
duct himself properly. I ask your help to prevent his anger from
rising into any kind of excess.
6 Foley

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.

Figure 1. Dalang Abah


Sunarya meditates before
performance. The puppets
are covered with a white
cloth for the purification
rite. (Photo: Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 7

(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.)

kakawen: Thus he comes


The same respect
Filled with awe.
guru: Kala, my child, greetings. It has been long since we met.
kala: (Barking out his sentences in a gruff voice.) Came here. Important!
narada: (Aside.) Short retorts!
guru: (Soothingly.) What is important?
kala: Need desperate!
guru: Then hurry up and say it.
kala: Eh, Dad. Dad’s a ruler?
guru: Yes.
kala: Rules the Three Worlds?
guru: Yes.
kala: Well! Emban Durga was right! All Three Worlds are ruled by
Dad?
guru: Yes, it is all under my rule, entirely under my rule.
kala: Well, if you’re a ruler you can’t favor one side, favor the black,
lean to the yellow. You can’t just wink at something if you’re the
ruler. Be honest in your actions. Be fair with your son. Don’t let it
come to this—to give me rotten, bitter food and hide the good
stuff ! What way is that for a ruler to act? 2
lurah sekar/momod: He’s right!
guru: What? I do not understand you. Wait a moment!
kala: Oh! Oh! Oh!
narada: What’s up with you? Be quiet!
kala: (Challenging.) Little men and kids should keep quiet.
narada: (Spluttering.) You calling me a kid?
lurah sekar/momod: He called him a kid!
guru: Explain what you want. Explain what you want.
kala: You’re the ruler and, according to Durga, a powerful god—you
should already know.
guru: As a god, I know all. But since you have lips and a voice, I can-
not stop you from speaking.
kala: Oh, that’s it! Okay, I’ll spell it out: how you play favorites and
lie as a ruler. But I need to tell my story first.
lurah sekar/momod: Wait till sunset! Tell it after sunset! 3
guru: What is the story?
kala: Let’s begin at the beginning. One day hunting, I had bad luck.
Started out at daybreak and came home late afternoon. Bad! Only
8 Foley

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

“Well, she says, “ There’s water in the drum.”


I finish two drums in a gulp and smoke, holding my knees. I
call out, “Emban, come here! Have to speak to you a sec. I’ve been
here nine months; you make my rice and cook for me, Emban.
Why is it only now that I get something this good to eat? What were
the seasonings, Emban?”
narada: (Apprehensively.) Uh-oh?
guru: Her answer?
kala: The answer of Emban?
guru: Yes.
kala: Emban answers, “Just the regular.”
I grab her waist. “ Wait! Sit down a sec.”
“Eek!” says the maid. “What d’ya want?”
“Sit there, you pop-eyed, ugly mug!” I say. “What seasonings
did you use to make the food so good?”
“The usual.”
Pow! I punch her.
narada: Oh dear! Oh dear!
kala: She screams to high heaven. I don’t pay a bit of attention.
“What are the seasonings?” I ask silky sweet.
She still doesn’t answer.
Then she says to me, “Mmm, ’Ala, really, ’Ala, it was only the
usual spices. But just in case you don’t know what happened when
you yelled—look here, my fingers are still all bandaged. Yes, just in
case you don’t know, my blood fell onto the spices. It’s really all
gashed, index finger, ring finger, little finger, too, the middle fin-
ger as well—only my thumb didn’t get it—all of ’em.”
Wow, just think! What kind of father gives his kid rotten, bitter
junk and hides what’s delicious? Well, what’s delicious is people! If
it’s already this good with just a bit of blood mixed in, how much
better with the whole person! I grab Emban. I’m about to eat her.
“Go ahead!” says Emban. “Spare me a long and weary life! I’m
tired of cooking for you. Eat me!”
I think twice: who’s going to cook my rice if I kill Emban?
I cry and cry and tearfully beg, “Listen, Emban, I want to eat
people, humans as grub. What can I do now?”
narada: Oh dear! Oh dear!
kala: Emban says, “For you it’s easy. You have a powerful father who
rules the Three Worlds. What’s this “Three Worlds” business any-
way, Pop?
guru: The lower world is the earth from the first to the seventh layer;
this middle world is the world of striving; and the world above,
heaven, is the place called Suwarga. All are in my power; all are
ordered by me.
10 Foley

kala: Well, then, I ask permission—permission to eat people! If you


don’t give it to me, you know, I’ll smash heaven single-handedly!
narada: Oh dear! Oh dear! Younger brother! Don’t let this happen!
kala: Gr-r-r! Answer! Which will it be: permission or destruction?
nyandra: In the moment the child speaks, the father thinks on what
took place in the sea, as he hears Kala, hears him speak.4 (The
dalang sings a mood song using the Kakawen Talutur tune.)
kakawen: The Lord’s heart is still.
The Lord’s heart is still.
Wounded to his inner core,
He wipes his face with the delicate cloth.
guru: You want to change your diet?
kala: Yes.
guru: And if I do not change it?
kala: I’ll smash heaven!
guru: (Under his breath.) You are already fully grown now. When you
were still just semen, I tried to destroy you, to no avail. How much
more difficult if I tried now?
kala: I’m surrounded by petty minds. You want to get something a lit-
tle better to eat, and they can’t bear it. It’s too much! You can’t
treat me like this.

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

narada: Oh dear! Spare us, spare us!


guru: So, now you want to change your diet. There are animals . . .
kala: Yuck! Won’t eat ’em! Not me! I won’t eat ’em! I want to eat
people.
guru: (After some hesitation.) Well, then, go ahead.
narada: (Shocked.) Goodness! Goodness! Goodness! Goodness!
lurah sekar/momod: Spare us!
kala: Where do I hunt ’em?
guru: Before I indicate the place, let me make it clear. It is not just
anyone that is good to eat.
kala: Say that again, Pop. Say it again. Say it again.
guru: There are people whose flesh is bitter; there are people whose
bones are sour . . .
kala: (Considering.) Mmm, I don’t want the bitter ones.
guru: . . . sickening . . .
kala: I don’t want to get sick.
guru: . . . poison.
lurah sekar/momod: Now he’s scared.
kala: I’m scared. Which ones are good to eat?
guru: The ones that are good to eat occur in a total of thirty-three
cases.
kala: Well, how do you like that? How do you like that!
narada: (Moving agitatedly.) This is disaster! The world is bound for
destruction!
kala: One by one.
guru: One by one, people who are good to eat: first, an only child,
called untang-anting [earring?].
kala: Could you run that by me again, Pop? I don’t understand. It’s
all new to me. What is it?
guru: An only child is called untang-anting if male. If a couple has
only one son without siblings, he is called untang-anting.
kala: I see. Two?
guru: An only child, but a female, called unting-unting.
kala: I want an only child, boy or girl. Delicious, sweet, I’d like
to eat one now, scrumptious! Gr-r-r! Third, Pop?
guru: A child born without an afterbirth, called lamun unting.
kala: Oh! Does that happen? This one is really easy. I’ll be a threat to
all children. I’ll join up with a midwife and bribe her. What do
midwives like? I’ll pay off the midwife so the afterbirth disappears.
If she doesn’t want to do it, I’ll threaten her with death. Okay, Pop,
four?
guru: Four—four children, all females with no male sibling, called
sarimpi [a four-woman Javanese court dance].
kala: Oh! Sarimpi. And I have the right?
12 Foley

guru: The right to make them your victims.5


kala: Want four children, all female. Mmm, sweet if I could be eating
them now! I can see the blood, the lovely throats, so tender. I want
them young and plump. (Reconsidering.) Oh well, even if they’re
skinny. Four, Pop. Five?
guru: Five—four children, all male, without a sister, called saramba.
kala: Oh, it’s the same for males and females?
guru: The sixth condition is five children, boys only, called pandawa
[after the five brothers in the Mahabharata].
kala: Very nice. I like this sixth condition. Jol-jodol! 6 I come—they’re
already grown. I want these five children, boys only. Seven, Pop?
guru: Seven—five children, all girls, without a brother, called pan-
dawi. Eight—five children, four boys and one girl, pandawa with a
virgin. Nine, five children, four girls and one boy, called pandawa
with one slipped in. Ten—two children, both boys called ugger-ugger
[tied?]. Eleven—two children, the girl older, the boy younger,
called gandini-gandana. Twelve, two children, both girls, called
kembang sapasang [pair of flowers]. Thirteen, two children, the girl
younger and the boy older, called gandana-gandini. Fourteen, three
children, the middle one a boy, called “waterpipe between ponds.”
Fifteen, three children, the middle one a girl, called “pond
between waterpipes.” Sixteen, three children—a child whose sib-
lings have both died, called “stump of a sugar palm tree.” Seven-
teen, three children, when the younger and older sibling have died,
called “carrying a corpse.” Eighteen, a child born at sunset, called
“dusky.”
kala: I hope everyone is born in the late afternoon. Nineteen?
guru: Nineteen, a child born feet first, called “breech.” Twenty, a
child born with his head full of dark patches like scales, called
“scaly.” Twenty-one, a child who when born is pulled out by the
midwife, called “difficult.” Twenty-two, a person who leaves in
anger, called “eaten by spirit.” Twenty-three, a child whose father
has died while it was in the womb, called “fatherless.” Twenty-four,
a person whose conduct is bad, called “confused.” Twenty-five, a
person who passes by or works at the height of midday without mak-
ing the precaution of whistling, saying a mantra, or even coughing,
and, what’s more, not thinking in his heart on the Almighty. This
person is an unbeliever. Twenty-six, a person who works at midday,
not stopping a moment in his work, comes under your threat.
Twenty-seven, a person who ruins a mortar. Twenty-eight, a person
who ruins a pestle for grinding. Twenty-nine, a person whose plow
breaks while plowing. Thirty, a person whose rice-pounder splits
while separating rice. Thirty-one, a person whose frame for a build-
ing falls before the building is done. Thirty-two, a person who
The Origin of K ala 13

builds either a factory or a house on land that was formerly rice


fields. Thirty-three, people who build for a business or a factory on
land that formerly held no buildings, they are among those you
have the right to threaten.
narada: Oh dear! (The mood song is the high-pitched Kakawen Kabin-
gahan, which expresses joy. k a la lurches from side to side in a dance of
celebration.)
kakawen: Overpowering happiness
Towering high as mountain peaks
Happy in his soul, beyond compare.
kala: I have the right to all these as my victims? But I haven’t quite
memorized all the stuff you said. I really only got the gist of it.
What if I asked for it in written form?
guru: (Taking out a list, he gives it to k a l a .) Here, for you.
kala: ( Joyfully.) Right, Pop! Thanks! (Running his hand down the list.)
One, two, three, sixteen, twenty-three. . . . I can memorize them
word for word on the road. Where am I allowed to hunt?
guru: In the wide world.
kala: Where is the path?
guru: Straight on from here to the east, then head south. There you
will come to a place called Seven Banyan Trees. Go straight down
and below you’ll come to a lake called Lake Madira. Climb up the
hill that is there and you will see a village. The name of the village
is Medang Kamulian.7 Head straight for that place. From there you
can see clearly. Look to the west; view to the east; see to the north;
to the south as well. You can see all that is happening in the world.
kala: The limits of the world from west to west, from east to east,
from north to north, from south to south, by the great river. I’ll
catch eight victims right away to make meat rolls. (Rubbing his pro-
truding belly.) Shut up, you tapeworms! (To g u ru.) They’ve been
crying for food since afternoon.
lurah sekar/momod: (Holding up a plate of fried rice he is eating.)
You want something to eat?
guru: But Kala, there is a condition on the killing. You are not
allowed to kill by choking, not allowed to slap, not allowed to
punch, not allowed to stomp, not allowed to crush, not allowed to
kick, not allowed to shake, not allowed to throw down.
kala: Well, how must I do it?
guru: Capture them.
kala: And once I’ve caught them?
guru: Once you’ve caught them, press them to the knee . . .
narada: Oh dear!
guru: . . . and cut their throats with a sword.
14 Foley

kala: (Protesting.) I don’t have a sword, Pop.


guru: (Placing a sword in front of k a l a .) I will give you a sword. Here
is the sword Siman Tawa.
kala: (Delighted.) Wow! Wow!

(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.)

guru: Older brother, Narada. Sit closer, older brother.

(n a r a da’s body quivers as the dalang sings the Kakawen Nangling, a


tune used to indicate anger in a refined character.)

kakawen: Like a bowstring stretched taut,


Such is his anger,
To the point of madness.
Resi Narada crazy with anger.
Such is the will of the Almighty.
Encountering danger tinged with suffering.
guru: Why are you angry?

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

consternation to reign, it is better to use strategy. If Kala breaks the


rules, it will be easy to catch him. Judgment hangs on three things:
first, witnesses; second, proof; third, conduct. In a case of wrong-
doing, you can judge once you have examined these.
narada: (Bowing.) I beg permission to depart, brother.
guru: We are in agreement, older brother.

(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.)

Figure 4. Juriah, the


pasinden (the female
singer), is identified
with Dewi Saroni, a
nymph from Indra’s
heaven, in the ruwa-
tan story. (Photo:
Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 17

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.)

nyandra: In that moment, Otipati [Batara Guru] appears in that


place.
kala: There’s what I want! (The dalang hits the kecrek and the music
changes to Karatagon Perang. kala moves excitedly, sighting a poten-
tial victim in the distance. But then he glances down at the list he holds in
his hand, reads, and groans.) But I can’t take him. (Sighting another.)
There’s one! Young and plump, and his cousin too! (kala runs off-
stage but returns empty-handed.) The dope, the stupe! Sure was
plump, though. (batara guru comes.) Look how fat! He shines
on the outside. Mmm-mm, sweet, and lots of blood!
lurah sekar/momod: What condition does he fall under?
kala: (Pointing to the list.) Here! It’s in twenty-five. “Who goes abroad
at the height of midday” . . . gr-r-r . . . “not whistling, not saying a
mantra, not even coughing or thinking in his heart on the
Almighty, you have the right to eat.” (He notices for the first time that
the victim is batara guru, but pauses only momentarily.) It’s not fair
to threaten the common people and let the rulers go free.11 What’s
more, I want to eat! So I’ll grab him. Justice doesn’t belong to the
individual; the individual’s wish is not justice. Justice knows no
mother, no father, no grandmother, no grandfather, no relative,
no family—nope, no nepotism. I’ll eat anyone who breaks the
rules. But I don’t have him yet. Still far, far away. (With rising antic-
ipation.) Already close! One, two . . . Ah! Now I’ve got you.

(The musicians clang on their instruments to create cacophony as k a l a


tackles his father.)

guru: What is going on? Grabbing me!


kala: Gr-r-r! (Chanting to gamelan accompaniment.) Grab bag, Grab
bag. Carve, delish!
guru: What are you going to do?
kala: Press you against my knees.
guru: (Self-righteously.) Who are you talking to?
kala: Daddy.
18 Foley

guru: Why are you like this?


kala: (Unrepentant.) I want to eat.
guru: What condition?
kala: Stupid ruler! Who made up the rules? (Pointing to his list.) Who
signed? Whose permission is this? It’s not fair for me to threaten
the common people and let the leaders go free. I’m going to eat
you! (Defensively.) I’m only doing my duty. Mother, father, grand-
mother, grandfather, relative, family—they’ll not be spared. Who-
ever defies justice, I’ll judge. (Kecrek.)
guru: What condition have I violated?
kala: (Pointing to the list.) Here! Condition twenty-five: “Whoever goes
abroad in midday and doesn’t whistle, say a mantra, not even
coughing, . . . doesn’t think on the Almighty” . . . I have the right
to take as my victim. Pop, were you whistling? Were you coughing?
Were you thinking on the Almighty?
guru: No.
kala: (Gleefully.) Then aren’t you in violation of number twenty-five?
Think!
lurah sekar/momod: It’s true.
guru: I am in the wrong.
kala: A real gentleman! (kala starts his rhythmic chant again and the
musicians pick up the tune.) Chopping block, delish, delish. Each
chop, delicious. Each chop, delicious! Gr-r-r! (The kecrek crashes.)
guru: You will not pardon your own father?
kala: Why should I pardon you? You’re in the wrong.
guru: It is good that you do not confuse right and wrong. Listen. It is
just that I be killed, so I agree to be eaten by my child. I will defend
your right, my child, even to the death.
kala: ( Joyfully.) Smart pop! Let’s start then.
guru: (Gesturing him back.) Let us return to family matters for a
moment.
kala: (Disappointedly.) What?
guru: According to evidence that is worthy of belief, God cannot for-
give someone who has not already been forgiven by his mother
and father, since their love is as great as the mountains, their love
is as deep as the sea, since they love and treasure their child no
matter how ugly, regardless of whether it is a boy or girl. I wish to
show my love for you before you slay me. I want to rock you in my
arms for an instant.
kala: (Taken off-guard.) Oh. Okay. How do you rock me? Want to rock
and roll? Just so it’s not too long. Go to it. (Mangling the words of a
familiar children’s song.)
Clap. Happy! Happy!
Clap. Happy! Happy!
The Origin of K ala 19

Early morning. Happy! Happy!


Ding dong. Happy! Happy!
lurah sekar/momod: Those aren’t the words. (Parodying k a l a .)
“Ding dong. Happy! Happy!”

(Karatagon Perang plays as kala enters his father’s arms.)

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.)

kakawen: Bismillah hirroman nirrohim.


Truly the one who sees all,
who returns our love, who holds all,
is God.
I and all others,
the earth and sky and all their contents,
heaven and hell and all their contents,
belong to God.
May the request to lullaby,
the request to use the [mystical]
knowledge of the lullaby,
along with our firm intention be granted.
This performance prays to God for assistance.
Lullaby to remove the incipient power
and disturbance from our present endeavor.
Already we undertake the service of the Lord.
The seizing, the disturbance, the bad behavior—banish
these elsewhere.
20 Foley

(He begins reading.)

Noble Karna, the god-man,


The divine male, the divine woman.
The male essence of God Kala [semen],
the female essence of God Kala [menstrual blood]
God Kala, Kala’s ruwatan.
The liberation from the ten evils [dasamala].
Becoming the waringan tree, hanging down.12
The waringan tree hanging down, pungent with flowers,
There is all beauty. All doing is easy.
All desires are easy. All wants are easy.
All is in the power of God.
nyandra: Tell that Batara Kala sleeps.

(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!

Figure 5. Dalang Abah Sunarya reads the mantra of Kidung Panimbang.


(Photo: Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 21

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

kala: They’re already counting out fish as they sell them!


guru: If you tie a ream of rice plants, tie it tight. Justice is justice: if
you catch them at midday, kill them at midday—those are the
rules.
kala: (Waving his hands in protest.) But you said, . . . you said you
wanted to lullaby me first!
guru: Those carrying out justice should not let themselves be bribed.
It was not even a big bribe, just a lullaby, and you wanted it. Justice
cannot be played with. It must be like rice: if you tie a ream, tie it
tight. Now I, myself, am no longer in the wrong: you are in the
wrong for failing to execute justice.
kala: Hey, this must be OSTIP.
lurah sekar/momod: (Correcting him.) OPTIB.13
kala: I didn’t think OPTIB would investigate. Forgive me!
guru: I cannot. Justice is not mine. Rulers only carry out justice; they
cannot change it. Justice knows no mother, no father, no grand-
mother, no grandfather, no relative, no family. If I was guilty, you
should have executed the conditions of number twenty-five, not
done just as you pleased! Condition twenty-five is now withdrawn,
and I am free of your threat.
kala: Now he changes the rules, takes away the condition! He goes
free, and threatens me! Hey! Okay. You go free, but the important
thing is: keep the condition!
guru: I cannot allow it. You have failed to carry out your
responsibility.
kala: I don’t get anything to eat, and I’m the one in the wrong. This
is too much! So I must follow the rules? From now on I will.
guru: Still, I’m removing that condition.
kala: (Peering at the list.) Hey, look! The writing has all disappeared.
It’s like playing the lottery. And I have to pay a penalty. What’s the
penalty?
guru: From now there are thirty-two cases, and all the people covered
by those thirty-two cases remain your victims. But a person who has
already been liberated by a dalang, you must not disturb.
kala: Something always goes wrong! A little slip and automatically
this. As they say in Hawaiian, automatically.14
lurah sekar/momod: As they say in Hawaiian!
kala: Still, I have a question: who is more important, you or the
dalang?
guru: The dalang.
kala: (Starts in surprise.) But you’ve already told me that you rule the
Three Worlds. How can the dalang be higher than you? I’m con-
fused. You’re a big leader. The dalang is no leader.
guru: But he has a power that is just. The dalang holds pamali [taboo].
The Origin of K ala 23

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

lurah sekar/momod: Catch one.


kala: (Sighting another animal.) A wildcat! What am I carrying this
sword for? (Addressing the weapon.) You useless, bug-eyed thing, you!
I carry you and you don’t do anything, don’t move, and what’s
more, don’t hack! (Scratching himself.) Eels and mosquitoes and
bugs, too. Gosh! I got eaten up by mosquitoes while I was sleeping.
I’m going to Cibintinu.

(The gamelan plays Kulu-Kulu Bem as the female singer performs.)

nyandra: Leave Kala as he draws nearer and nearer to the human


world. See the people of Medang Kamulian as they gather. Stream-
ing in droves, you can see them from as far away as Cibintinu.
There is to be a performance of a wayang ruwatan, The Origin of
Kala, by Dalang Kandabuana. The intention of all from far and
near is to witness how the dalang protects and deflects destiny.

(Villagers swagger on. The puppeteer sings to the Kakawen Madenda


tune.)

kakawen: Those who walk,


Walk the road,
Pause in midstep.
head villager: (In a deep, guttural voice.) Well, you know by now that
Otipati [Batara Guru] has already made up for giving power to
Kala by adding a limiting condition.
old villager: (In a weak voice.) What condition?
head villager: All the people in the world were quaking in fear
that the heretic Kala would be given the whole population as vic-
tims through the duplicity of their leader. How can one acquiesce
to the wishes of a child like that? A giant with a giant’s form, an
ogre—how can one give him power like that? But Batara Guru
then declared that he was willing to sacrifice himself. Now let us
see how the dalang performs and what kind of political chicanery
he will use to deal with the remaining thirty-two conditions. Who
is having the feast?
old villager: If I am not mistaken, it’s Brother Otib.
third villager: And the dalang?
old villager: Dalang Kandabuana will perform the ruwatan.
head villager: Let’s go there together, speaking with all we meet
en route. People are streaming there, important people and
nobodies, aristocrats and commoners, the famous and the
unknown, all of them.
The Origin of K ala 25

(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: Look, there are whole battalions of worms in my stomach. Once


you’re dead and eaten inside, you’ll have loads of friends. What-
ever you want to play, you can—badminton, Ping-Pong, even golf !

(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.)

lurah sekar/momod: You got a big mouth.


kala: I give myself headaches. I should grab first and talk later. (Point-
ing.) See him run? Well, no matter. For every hundred steps he
takes, I need only ten. I’ll chase him.

(Karatagon Perang begins. After a brief scuffle, the ogre holds the boy in
his grip.)

jatusmati: Goodness! Spare me, Kala!


kala: I’m going to eat you. I’ll press you on my knee and. . . . (The boy
escapes.) Damn! His elbow hit my ribcage. You can tell he studies
white-elephant-style martial arts. I’ll chase him, the good-for-noth-
ing.

(Karatagon Perang plays while k a la pursues j a t u s m a ti once more.


jatusmati escapes.)

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.

(The music changes to Karatagon Perang as the tree-puppet is planted to


the right, representing the storehouse. j a t u s m a ti hides behind it. k a l a
enters.)

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.

(To Karatagon Perang j a t u s m a ti climbs to the top of the tree puppet,


which represents the storehouse, and leaps off.)

kala: Sounds like a tarabakan fish.


lurah sekar/momod: Probably a big one.
kala: “Flip-flop.” Hear it? Before there was rapping like a spoon and
now the sound of splashing into water. Nice sound, hmm? For this
I should curse this farmer. Oh, well! Usually the prey you catch
later is a bit fatter. (To j a t u s m a t i .) Come out, fellow! (Peering
into the storehouse.) Only a bitsy mouse feeding. It’s crazy! He leapt
through the ceiling where it’s broken, the brat! But actually, if you
think about it, it’s not that Mati’s so brave. It’s the no-good farmer
who has ruined me. Look! Jatusmati is free. But it’s not that Mati
is so brave. It’s the neglect of the farmer that’s the cause.
lurah sekar/momod: What did the farmer do wrong?
kala: The crops are waiting in the fields and gardens, but the storage
shed is a wreck. If you have contents that are spotless and worthy,
28 Foley

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: Where is the good-for-nothing? Seems to have disappeared. All


I see are bus restaurants.
nyandra: Jatusmati comes to a place where a house is being erected.
(Chanting.) Now in this time, in the village of Medang Kamulian in
making a house, most of the materials are of bamboo. From the
beams to the crossbeams, the ceiling, the walls, the roof, the door-
frames, the floor—all are made of bamboo. So the yard of the
house under construction is strewn with scraps. Jatusmati has only
to grab a piece. Holding it he says: “Almighty God, Almighty God
who holds the power, allow me to enter into the scraps. Though my
body be this large, I hope that I can enter into the scraps. For it is
said that there was once a person who hid himself in a blowpipe.
So may I hide in the scraps.”
kala: (Offstage.) I didn’t find him over there. Damn! (Sniffing as he
enters from the left, he sits facing the scraps that hide j a t u s m a t i.) Hey!
I smell him here! There’s satay here!
lurah sekar/momod: Can’t you think of anything but food?
kala: Goodness! I can’t see him, but he just went in there—I saw his
heel as he entered. He’s as good as in my mouth now. Jol-jodol! (To
j a t u s m a t i .) Where are you running to? I’m getting worried that
there won’t be anything left of him to eat. After all, the kid is only
so big, ’bout as big as an eyelash. I hope that a lot more turn up.
Maybe while I’m eating him, another will suddenly turn up.
nyandra: Jatusmati hides in the bamboo. Because it is open on the
end, he can run out again.
The Origin of K ala 29

( j a t u s m a ti flees. k a la picks up one of the pieces of bamboo and scrapes


through the rubble with it. The musicians scratch on their instruments to
emulate the sound of his digging. k a la finds nothing.)

lurah sekar/momod: Disappointed?


kala: I want some food, and this is what happens! Who’s in the wrong?
It is not that Mati is brave, nope. No way, I say! It’s this useless car-
penter who is at fault, who is badly brought up. Damn! I’ll curse
him and all carpenters with him. I’ll give him a cough, the good-
for-nothing, and make it hard for him to breathe. Then, if he is
prosperous, I’ll take his gains. If you wish to avoid my curse, pre-
pare seven pyramids of rice [nyongcot kosong]. A rice pyramid with an
egg at the top [puncak manik], red and white porridge—make them
very sweet. Sweets, food, different cakes, and make rice wrapped in
coconut leaves [leupeut], rice wrapped in bamboo leaves [tangtang
angin]. For the prayer, use the Kilalayu Prayer, then Sarapat next,
then the Salamet Prayer. Pray to God if you want to avoid my curse
and get me to take it back. Otherwise it can’t be.
nyandra: Jatusmati runs to the village of Medang Kamulian. About
twenty minutes of the time that Kala can take victims has already
elapsed. Although the custom has already disappeared from the
villages, in former times the doors were like this: it was required
that there be two so the husband could go out the front door and
the wife go out through the kitchen. Thus in making a house there
would be doors on each side, in the front and at the kitchen. There
would be obstructions in between, and the stove would always be by
the door. Jatusmati is frightened because of the pursuit. He quickly
enters a house, but leaves the front door open to avoid suspicion.

( j a t u s m a t i hides behind the stove.)

jatusmati: Ma’am, Mister—you who own this house, excuse my pre-


sumption. Be kind to me, though I do not have your permission to
enter. My intentions are not evil. I only want to save myself from
Kala’s threat, to hide by the stove.
kala: (Entering from the left.) I’m confused! Little Jatusmati went into
that house thinking I wouldn’t see. But when he opened the door,
I saw him go in. He’s my lunch! (To j a t u s m a t i .) You should have
shut the door. Because the doors in this house are in a straight line
from the front room to the kitchen, you lazybones! I see you hiding
by the stove, your hair blowing in the smoke. (Laughing, then, to him-
self.) Should I wait for the person who owns the house? But that
30 Foley

would probably mean trouble. Humans will probably side with


humans, once they know what’s up. What if they were to hit me
with a rice paddle? I’d get hurt! They might beat me. And what’s
worse than that trouble, I’d have to delay eating. I’ve been longing
to eat since yesterday. So then, Ma’am, Sir, Miss, Missus, Mister . . .
Master if you are younger than me. Excuse me. I hope you’ll for-
give my request, Miss, Missus, but I want to come into your house
now, Miss, Missus. I’m not going to destroy your possessions, Miss,
Missus. I just want to bag my prey hiding beside your stove. Excuse
me! Excuse! Excuse!
lurah sekar/momod: He says he isn’t going to destroy anything.
kala: I step on the floor. (The musicians clang on their instruments to rep-
resent his steps shaking the house.) It’s too bad for the bedbugs that
jump from their sleep. Excuse me, bugs. (Karatagon Perang plays
as k a la grabs j a t u s m a t i.)
jatusmati: Oh dear! Spare me, Kala! Kala, I beg for your mercy! I
still want to live.
kala: As I told you before, you ugly, pop-eyed, good-for-nothing,
once you are dead you can live in my belly. You’ll have all those
worms for company, too, you good-for-nothing, you. I want to eat!
(Singing to the gamelan: )
It’s your fate,
though you don’t want.
It’s time I ate,
though you don’t like.
That’s life,
you can’t retreat.
I’m going to eat.
Chop, delicious.
It’s time,
prime time.
Time to slice,
cut with a knife.
Kala wins.
Gr-r-r! What’s that?
jatusmati: Spare me, Kala.
kala: Hey! I already said this is the end, you good-for-nothing. Stop
blabbering about pardon. You can’t sweet talk me. I’ve got you. I
could just slash him, but Pop said I’m not allowed to slash like that.
I have to grab him and press him against my knees, then cut, not
stab. If I break a rule, I’ll have nothing again. I’m afraid Pop is still
here. (The pair struggle again.) Hey! This is like badminton, you
The Origin of K ala 31

good-for-nothing. The rice basket is in my way and the lip of the


pot is in my way, too. I’ll reach over it and get him by the hair. Got
him! No, I can’t grab him!
nyandra: Jatusmati is in danger of being seized over the pot. Jatus-
mati’s foot hits the stove and he pushes the pot at the same time.

(Gamelan instruments clang, creating the impression of the crashing stove,


as the tree puppet falls on top of k a la who slowly extricates himself moan-
ing.)

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

Figure 6. The person for whom an exorcism is conducted dresses in white


and takes her place on the stage as, in the story, Jatusmati hides among the
musicians. (Photo: Kathy Foley)
The Origin of K ala 33

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.)

lurah sekar/narada: (narada in his new form speaks in a high, fast


voice as he directs the placement of the money.) There, put it in front.
kandabuana: The offerings?
lurah sekar/narada: The offerings [decorating the stage] are there
in front, already ready, already in place.
kandabuana: Nothing is lacking?
lurah sekar/narada: Nothing.
kandabuana: Then I will start.

(Dalang Sunarya burns incense as he chants the words of the second major
mantra, Kidung Saripanggung. Smoke and scent engulf the stage.)

The exalted personage Sunan Langgeng


Attracts all to the stage.
The banana log is the king of dragons.
The legs of the stage bear up the world.
The frame is like standing iron.
The shadow puppet screen is made fine by God Siwa.
Sharply and clearly, see into the heart.
Worked around it the snake Si Naga Melang.17
Contemplate the oil lamp:
The teja wood is carved like an opening leaf;
The hook is of bronze;
The base of the lamp is Mother Earth;
The oil is the water of life;
Its wick is a diving crocodile;
34 Foley

The flame is God Brahma.


The incense spreads.
The scent of charcoal is God Kala.
The ash is God Wisnu.
God Sambu opens and closes the Heavenly Gate
Selapetangkep to the pavilion.
The wayang puppets are beautifully displayed.
The center stick is a single diamond.
The arm rods do the will of the heart.
The gender [bronze musical instrument] is all beauty.
The drum wakes the soul.
The gong is the eagle’s bowl.
The kenong [gong chime] is the eagle’s cry.
The saron [a metallophone] is so sweet.
The campala [wooden hammer] gives the beat to the body.
Enter the gates of heaven.
The dalang of many performances is known everywhere.
His saron has sweet-voiced keys.
The ravishing gamelan of heaven plays in the wayang ruwatan.
The viewers are engrossed.
The heavenly sprites and nymphs
Are spellbound but held by no spell.
Curse of the ancients,
Curse belonging to the past,
Smash.
Dissipate.
Hither and yon.
Blow away in the wild wind!
Blow away in the west wind! l8
nyandra: (After stopping the music.) Those who request a ruwatan need
not ask twice. Nor do we forget all our brothers, far and near, those
who watch and those who sell, the men and the women—all are
protected with peace. May God bless the running of our businesses
and our prosperity. Only God protects us; only God holds us; only
God saves us; to God alone we pray. Amen.
kandabuana: Older brother.
lurah sekar/narada: Yes? No need to speak twice.
kandabuana: Actually, for all here watching, it’s not just our job to
perform the ruwatan but to use strategy. Hopefully we can avoid
the trials and temptations and betrayals of the spirits that mislead,
avoid the satans that seize, the dead souls, the evils, the passions, the
The Origin of K ala 35

greed, the revenge. May these vanish without a trace. Remember


the fate of man: it is his responsibility to live in mutual respect with
his fellows.
nyandra: Jatusmati arrives.

(Karatagon Perang sounds for a few moments as j a t u s m a ti halts


breathlessly in front of the shadow puppet screen.)

jatusmati: Excuse me if I have pushed you, brushed you, bumped


you. I entrust myself to your protection. Whether you interrogate
me or beat me, I will not defend myself—better that than I be
killed by Kala. (Chants to the mournful tune of Lara Tangis:) I ask of
you Father Dalang, Father Dalang Kandabuana—you who are
noble in your heart of hearts, for great is the heart of man and
many thanks to Brother Otib and his family—I ask to be received.
I want to become a child by ruwatan of the dalang. I do not want to
be Kala’s victim.
kandabuana: A child is crying.
lurah sekar/narada: Who is it?
jatusmati: It is I.
lurah sekar/n a r a d a : (Peeking around the shadow puppet screen.) Who
are you?
jatusmati: I am Jatusmati.
lurah sekar/narada: You can’t just talk to the dalang, you good-
for-nothing. The dalang is in the midst of carrying out his duty,
focusing on higher things. Just in case you don’t know it, lazybones,
you’re interrupting!
jatusmati: Excuse me. But as I said before, I am willing to offer my
throat to be cut, my feet to be bound so tight you can see the mark.
lurah sekar/narada: You think I am a butcher?
jatusmati: I acknowledge my bad behavior.
lurah sekar/narada: (Softening.) What’s wrong?
jatusmati: I am being chased and threatened by Kala.
lurah sekar/narada: Oh dear! You wild child! Threatened by
whom?
jatusmati: I am threatened by Kala.
lurah sekar/narada: Where are you from?
jatusmati: I am from the village of Medang Kamulian.
lurah sekar/narada: Then why are you running here?
jatusmati: On purpose, on purpose—I came as a stratagem.
lurah sekar/narada: Hold on! Speak more clearly. Now, you’re
from the village of Medang Kamulian and you came here inten-
tionally?
36 Foley

jatusmati: I came here intentionally. I have been told that Brother


Otib was going to have a performance of a wayang ruwatan, and I
fall under condition seventeen.
lurah sekar/narada: So, lazybones, you want to commission a
wayang performance! I see, son.
lurah sekar/momod: (Correcting.) He wants to join this one.
jatusmati: I want to join and be liberated. I know Father Dalang can
release me.
lurah sekar/momod: Of course.
kandabuana: Of course, I can release you from the threat of Kala.
Which condition do you fall under? Tell me, the dalang.
jatusmati: I fall under number seventeen.
lurah sekar/narada: The stump of the kawung tree.
jatusmati: Yes.
lurah sekar/narada: Your younger brother?
jatusmati: Dead.
lurah sekar/narada: Your older sibling?
jatusmati: Is no more.
kandabuana: Brother Otib, with the help of all your family, open the
gate immediately. This ruwatan is not just for your family or busi-
ness, but for all. Hurry! You may discuss this with me as I open the
gate. (Signals the boy to come past the tree puppet and sit behind the screen.)
lurah sekar/narada: What’s your name?
jatusmati: Jatusmati.
lurah sekar/narada: From what village?
jatusmati: Medang Kamulian.
lurah sekar/narada: Is it true that you want to become a child by
ruwatan?
jatusmati: Yes.
lurah sekar/narada: Why?
jatusmati: I want to escape the threat of Kala.
lurah sekar/narada: In case you don’t know, Brother Otib has
already paid in cash. Paid in one installment. If it’s true that you
want to be liberated, are you willing to pay hard cash?
jatusmati: I brought money.
lurah sekar/narada: (Approvingly.) All right.
jatusmati: I have 100 rupiah. 19
lurah sekar/narada: Are you willing to pay the whole hundred?
jatusmati: No.
lurah sekar/narada: What!
jatusmati: I plan to divide it in half: 50 rupiah for the water basin
and 50 for snacks. 20
lurah sekar/narada: Is that so?
jatusmati: Yes.
The Origin of K ala 37

lurah sekar/narada: Then throw it into the water basin. (Karata-


gon Perang is played while jatusmati mimes throwing the money and
moves behind lurah sekar/n a r a da to sit close by the singer, d e w i
s a r o n i.) Have you donated? (See Color Plate 1.)
jatusmati: Yes.
lurah sekar/momod: (Addressing the entire audience.) If you want to
join in the ruwatan of jatusmati by the dalang, toss your money
in the water basin. You must be at the performance from beginning
to end. Please, go ahead, pay whatever you like.

(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.)

nyandra: Then comes Kala!

(The kecrek signals Karatagon Perang. k a la lumbers in and clumsily


seats himself in front of the screen.)

Figure 7. Momod, the


lurah sekar, is the leader of
the gamelan who makes
comments throughout the
performance and is iden-
tified in the story with
Narada, messenger of the
high god. Here Momod
invites audience members
to contribute money to the
water basin. (Photo: Kathy
Foley)
38 Foley

kala: Gr-r-r! Get out of my way, spectators!


lurah sekar/narada: Who are you?
kala: I’m Kala.
lurah sekar/narada: What do you want?
kala: The dalang. I want to see the dalang.
lurah sekar/momod: Why?
kala: I want that kid that’s curled up by the female singer, by the
pasinden.
lurah sekar/narada: Which one?
kala: Jatusmati.
lurah sekar/narada: What’s the reason?
kala: Well, in case you don’t know, he’s my prey.
lurah sekar/narada: In case you don’t know, he’s become a child
of the dalang by ruwatan! Just in case you don’t know!
kala: Well! In that case, the dalang must not understand that Jatus-
mati is my prey. Give him here! Hand him over! I’ve been chasing
him since this afternoon.
lurah sekar/narada: You good-for-nothing! Just ask anyone in
the village. I already told you he became the child of the dalang by
ruwatan before you arrived.
kala: Oh, no!
lurah sekar/narada: Be quiet! It’s already been set up with the
dalang. I’m the lurah sekar.
kala: Oh. Is that the same as the dalang?
lurah sekar/narada: Yes.
kala: Nice. Well, Mr. Dalang, I want my prey, Jatusmati.
kandabuana: He is my child by ruwatan.
kala: Hand him over, Mr. Dalang.
kandabuana: If you take him by force, I will invoke pamali. Taboo!
kala: Oh! What kind of taboo? I want to know if it’s what I think it is.
kandabuana: You will have no eyes, have no feet, have no hands.
lurah sekar/momod: Think about it!
kala: Well, then, Mr. Dalang, your words agree with what I’ve been
told. But look, Mr. Dalang, I want to eat. So help me, Mr. Dalang.
I ask your help. A dalang is supposed to help the needy, help those
in difficulty, give, accompany the fearful, assist the fallen, save the
drowning, (meaningfully) FEED THE HUNGRY !
kandabuana: Indeed, but within reason.
kala: How so reason?
kandabuana: Sufficient offerings have been prepared and are avail-
able here.
kala: Offerings? For whom?
kandabuana: For you.
kala: What?
The Origin of K ala 39

kandabuana: (Citing Otib’s offerings for the ceremony.) One pyramid of


rice with food inside, seven pyramids that have no contents, a pyra-
mid with an egg on top, a bunch of golden bananas, salad with
seven kinds of fruit, red porridge and white porridge, a basket of
root crops, sticky rice wrapped in a coconut leaf, in a banana leaf,
in a bamboo leaf, a whole raw chicken, and a cooked chicken. Now,
before you eat the pyramid, take this coconut and drink.
kala: What?
kandabuana: Take it.
kala: (Takes it and mimes eating and drinking.) That’s delicious. And
what’s more, the raw chicken. It’s good raw—and even better
cooked! And the rice pyramid and the cooked rice, too! Thanks,
Mr. Dalang! (k a l a gobbles more food.) Nice, the head of the chicken
and its feet—my favorites! What’s more, the tail and breasts —I
like them third best! (To the musicians.) The feathers are for you.
lurah sekar/momod: The intestines, too—really nice!
kala: Here are snacks of pounded sticky rice [opak] and plain sticky
rice [ranginang]. Good! What’s more, palm sugar candy [dodol ] and
popcorn treats [borondong]. Nice! What’s more, sweets of coconut-
flavored sticky rice [wajit ] and fermented sticky rice sweets [peu-
yeum]!
lurah sekar/momod: What kind of peuyeum?
kala: Peuyeum from black, sticky rice and white sticky rice and cassava,
even! I’ll eat it all.
lurah sekar/narada: Boy, is he hungry!
kala: Look at this fruit—the mango fruit, the bangle fruit.21
lurah sekar/narada: The dangling doll, the wayang.
kala: And these apples, delicious, round and delicious. Eat two of
these round ones.
lurah sekar/narada: (Holding up some fruit.) Here, eat this.
kala: My favorite—kupa grapes, nice and black—and sweet oranges,
nice, oranges from Garut even, grapes, oranges, and these cock
oranges. 22
lurah sekar/narada: Cooking oranges!

(Karatagon Perang plays as k a la devours the fruit.)

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

lurah sekar/narada: You ate it with the husk on!


kala: I want water to drink. I’m thirsty.
lurah sekar/narada: Look, even I haven’t been served by the
committee.23 No one has given me water yet.
kala: Just a little bit, Mr. Dalang?
d a l a n g : I am not responsible for the refreshments. That is the respon-
sibility of the lurah sekar and the committee.
lurah sekar/n a r a d a : As I just finished saying, the committee hasn’t
served drinks.
kala: (Pointing down to the offerings behind the stage.) What about the
stuff in the bottle? That’s something warm to drink. (To himself.)
Stupid dalang, stupid musicians! How much does it cost?
lurah sekar/narada: How many bottles?
kala: Seven bottles.
kandabuana: Help yourself, madeira, arak, sake, brandy, martini . . .
kala: Goke? Do you have Goca Gola? (Coca Cola is customarily one of the
seven drinks in the spirit offerings.)
lurah sekar/narada: Yes.
kala: That’s what I like. (Karatagon Perang sounds as k a la mimes
drinking.) One bottle is not enough.
kandabuana: Take all seven, one after the other. Finish them all.

(Karatagon Perang resumes while k a la drinks. Satisfied, the ogre yawns


and settles himself for a nap. He begins to snore.)

lurah sekar/narada: Pardon to the committee here, we’re not


trying to plague you. We are in the process of executing a strata-
gem . . . please don’t take offense. (Shaking his hand at k a l a.) The
good-for-nothing! He took the stuff I use on my feet after a per-
formance. I usually rub my feet with medicine.
lurah sekar/momod: Get some Jago brand powder and mix it with
alcohol.
kala: (He awakens groaning.) Headache! And the audience is making
faces at me. Mr. Dalang, a headache, and scowling men and
women!
lurah sekar/narada: No one here is scowling.
kala: They are making faces like people from Hawai‘i.
lurah sekar/momod: Hawaiians make faces. . . . There is medi-
cine.
kala: Please, cure me. They say peanuts help a hangover.
lurah sekar/narada: You already ate all the food. See! Eat first,
then you’re sick.
kala: Come on, Mr. Dalang, I have a headache.
The Origin of Kala 41

kandabuana: There is medicine, but you have to pay for it.


kala: Pay what?
lurah sekar/narada: You can pay with postage stamps because
it’s a tune.
kala: What tune?
kandabuana: The tune Kidung with the words “Ajal Kalarea” [pre-
destined hour of death].
kala: It’s ready?
kandabuana: Actually these words tell truly of your beginning and
end.
kala: The nerve!
kandabuana: If it isn’t so, you can penalize me.
kala: Okay.
lurah sekar/narada: Pay your stamps first!
kala: What stamps?
lurah sekar/narada: The money!
kala: I don’t have any money. I’ll send you a money order from Sala-
mangumpung.
lurah sekar/narada: Listen. If the payment comes later, then so
does the song.
kala: (Protesting.) I’m not a nobody. I am a rich man, the head of my
district!
lurah sekar/narada: Talk is cheap. (Mimicking the demon’s boast-
ing.) At home I, too, have three pans, a fish pot, five rice baskets,
and a huge basket for drying sticky rice.
kala: (Pleading.) But I don’t have anything with me. Cure me first.
How about it?
lurah sekar/narada: Pay now with whatever you want.
kala: (Looking around, he notices the weapon given him by his father, which
he holds in his hand.) What about a sword?
lurah sekar/narada: (Gleefully.) As a matter of fact, I was looking
for a sword a little while ago.
kala: Hey, Mr. Dalang, why do your musicians need a sword?
lurah sekar/narada: At dawn I divide the bananas from the
wayang offerings into bunches for each member of the troupe.
Doesn’t matter if the dalang gets his share, the important one is the
lurah sekar. Divide some, hide some: that’s how it goes. I always hide
some, then divide some more.

(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.)

kandabuana: (As the music halts.) Have you already paid?


42 Foley

lurah sekar/narada: He’s already paid.


kandabuana: Well, Kala, from whence do you come?
kala: From Salamangumpung.
kandabuana: Listen. (The gamelan begins to play Kidung very softly.)
kala: What is the name of the song?
kandabuana: Ajal Kalarea, the origin of all.
kala: What are the words?
kandabuana: They tell of your origin.
Meditate in silence.
There were three things.
His name is Raja Kapa-Kapa, the Diamond King,
Born of a marriage.
Place of chivalry is his name.
Holy King Selabendani is his name.
His ears are called Alert Ones.
His eyes are called Twin Suns.
His nose is called Smeller of Ants.
His teeth are called Iron Rows.
His penis is called Mover Back and Forth.
The base of his throat is called Chain.
His chest is called Teakwood.
His shoulders, right and left, are called Massive Ones.
On his chest, it is called Golden Chain.
When he circles the ground, it is called Sinking.
His step is called Making the Plain Fertile.
Coming from his body it is called Diamond Semen.
That which it hits is called Ash.
Entering into the seventh layer of earth, the name is
Sang Terus Rasa.
Entering into the rice storehouse,
Sang Kuncang, Sang Kencong.
All that was heavy is light.
All that was heavy is light.
The silent one sees. Eyes become the writing instrument.24
lurah sekar/narada: The good-for-nothing is snoozing! How do
you like that? The good-for-nothing is sleepy and snoozing!
lurah sekar/momod: A sweet sleep. Where is he sleeping?
lurah sekar/n a r a d a : Against a little coconut tree. From now on it
will be told of Kala that so many coconut trees are crooked because
Kala leaned against one when it was small, the lazybones. (To k a n-
d a b u a n a.) Throw the egg at him. His mouth is wide open because
he is snoring.
The Origin of K ala 43

kandabuana: I will throw it at him.


lurah sekar/narada: We still have an egg. (Giving the countdown.)
One, two, three!

(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.

(The kecrek begins Karatagon Perang, and k a la bounces off.)


44 Foley

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.

(s u m a l i enters clutching her child, who is represented by a scrap of


wrapped cloth. Hearing the sound of the performance nearby, she pauses.)

sumali: Ah, wonderful! (Calling.) Father Dalang, Brother Otib, par-


don my request, which I make with a pure heart, and be generous.
I am Sumali. I have a son just forty days old and am not strong
enough to carry him. Can you help him? He is a child whose father
has died and hence he must now be made ruwat. I am poor, but
luckily I have 100 rupiah: 50 for the water basin and 50 to buy
snacks for the child.

(The kecrek sounds, beginning Karatagon Perang. k a la plants him-


self in her path.)

sumali: Dear me, what a fright!


kala: Where are you going Miss? Missus?
sumali: Actually, I am going over there to Brother Otib’s. My child
and I want to become children by ruwatan of the dalang.
kala: You’re awfully late.
sumali: This afternoon I was in the city. It was crowded on the road
and I didn’t think it would matter if I didn’t come till now. And
you, what are you, the village watch?
kala: That’s right, I’m the watchman, the peoples’ peacekeeper.
sumali: Oh! Excuse me, then.
kala: Of course. (kala continues to block the road.)
sumali: (Trying to squeeze past.) Oh, not there.
kala: This is the only way. Please, this way. The path is a narrow one.
Uh, . . . where do you want to go?
The Origin of K ala 45

sumali: I want to pass here, by your honor.


kala: Who is the child?
sumali: This is my child.
kala: (With anticipation.) A fatherless child?
sumali: Yes.
kala: Then bring him here. Hop on over here! Here! GOT H I M!
(The kecrek clashes as k a la seizes the child.) In case you don’t know,
I’m Kala!
sumali: E-e-e-ek! Help! Help! Help!

(s u m a l i backs away in terror as k a l a exits to Katatagon Perang. Then


she rushes off screaming incessantly.)

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.)

lurah sekar/narada: Here comes another.


sumali: It’s I! My child was grabbed by Kala on the road.
kandabuana: What?
lurah sekar/narada: What?
sumali: As for me, I intended to come here in the afternoon, but
what could I do? My house is distant, so far from anywhere, and,
what’s more, I have no husband.
lurah sekar/narada: (With obvious interest.) Oh, not married yet?
sumali: I was. I was. Indeed, I have a child, too.
lurah sekar/narada: Then bad fortune . . . ?
sumali: He died while I was pregnant.
lurah sekar/narada: I see, a fatherless child. And you haven’t
married again?
sumali: Not yet.
lurah sekar/narada: Well, well! I’m alone myself—I’m a bache-
lor still.
sumali: Don’t joke like this! Help me.
kandabuana: And the child?
sumali: Kidnaped by Kala.
kandabuana: What, then, do you want?
sumali: I declare to Brother Otib and to you, my intention was to
have my child become a child by ruwatan.
kandabuana: Really?
sumali: Yes.
46 Foley

kandabuana: You want to pay for the ruwatan now?


sumali: Yes.
kandabuana: Go ahead.
sumali: Where?
kandabuana: In the basin. How much are you putting in?
sumali: I have 50 rupiah.
kandabuana: Go ahead.
sumali: It’s for the child.
lurah sekar/narada: Yes, a momma’s wish. Now sit down.

(Karatagon Perang plays. s u m a li deposits her offering and joins the


others behind the screen. Simultaneously, audience members who did not
give an offering earlier but wish to participate in the ruwatan come forward
and toss coins into the drum of water in front of the stage.)

kandabuana: Sit down, Mother.


lurah sekar/momod: Sit, sit.
sumali: Alas!
lurah sekar/narada: What do you take in your betel leaf ? Quick,
chew betel with Miss Kathy over there. You can study writing with
Miss Kathy there, with Miss Juariah! 25
kandabuana: Sit down.
sumali: What?
kandabuana: Sit. (s u m a li sits by d e wi s a r o n i, the puppet pasinden.)
Intel, the Indonesian Secret Service, is out there. Sit down. It’s not
so easy to carry out the duty of safeguarding justice.

(From offstage the baby screams “Waw!Waw!” After a moment k a la enters


with the squawking child.)

baby: Waw! Waw!


kala: You sure can scream, you pop-eyed, inconsiderate, uneducable
so-and-so! It cries right on. You want to drink varnish?
baby: Waw! Waw!
kala: (Shaking the baby.) Look at him! Making faces at me! I’ll eat him
right here. The duck just quacks! What does a duck that’s been
eaten sound like?
lurah sekar/narada: Don’t go near the ducks or they’ll say you’re
an egg thief.
kala: Who is that?
kandabuana: What are you doing?
kala: (Trying to hide the squalling infant.) Oh, no!
lurah sekar/narada: Who is it?
kandabuana: Be careful!
The Origin of K ala 47

lurah sekar/narada: You again!


kandabuana: What is it?
kala: (Revealing the baby.) I caught a little one.
kandabuana: Good. Maybe later this morning you’ll get one that’s a
bit more plump. What child is this?
kala: A fatherless child, Sir.
kandabuana: A fatherless child. Where are you going to eat him?
kala: (Gesturing.) I want to hide over there.
kandabuana: All right. But don’t forget, you can’t do what in killing
people?
kala: Oh! Are kids people, Sir?
lurah sekar/narada: What is this “Are kids people?” bit!
kala: (Innocently.) I thought maybe kids weren’t people! I’m amazed!
baby: Waw! Waw!
kala: (To the child.) Quiet! There’s people here! Cut the noise, you
good-for-nothing.
kandabuana: You can’t do what in killing people?
kala: I can’t choke them . . .
kandabuana: What else?
kala: Can’t kick them . . .
kandabuana: What else?
kala: I can’t jab them, rap ’em, can’t slap their cheeks, knock their
heads, pinch, bite . . .
lurah sekar/narada: What must you do?
kala: Press them.
lurah sekar/narada: Press them how?
kala: Press them against my knees and then cut their throats.
kandabuana: Cut their throat with what?
kala: Cut their throat with . . . (nervously) . . . ha, ha, ha!
lurah sekar/n a r a d a : What? Cut them with a ha-ha-ha? Be serious!
kala: With a sword. (Looking around for it.) Hey! Uh, pardon me in
advance, Sir. Excuse me, since we’re among friends, but that sword.
. . . Uh, I gave it to the crazy musician, traded it for a song. He took
back the song, but he didn’t return the sword.
lurah sekar/narada: You’re badly behaved. Don’t you know it’s
corruption, selling government property!
kala: (Defensively.) Not selling, trading.
lurah sekar/narada: Trading government property, then. Awful!
If you can’t appear here with it in your hands in five minutes, I’ll
throw you out and withdraw all thirty-two conditions!
kala: Too much, these musicians! He wheedles it out of me, the
good-for-nothing, gets the sword, and . . .
lurah sekar/narada: You have exactly five minutes now!
kala: Crazy musicians, they ruin you! That government property was
48 Foley

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!

(The gamelan clangs in cacophony as lurah sekar/n a r a da grabs


the child from k a la’s arms and ducks behind the puppet screen.)

kala: (Moves forward menacingly.) Four . . . seven?


lurah sekar/narada: (Stopping k a l a .) Here—just try to enter.
kala: (Whining.) What kind of counting is that? I couldn’t follow the
counting!
lurah sekar/narada: It’s not counting that I specified. I said I’d
50 Foley

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!

(The kecrek sounds and Karatagon Perang plays as the burly s a p u-


j a g at and the red-bodied demoness emban durga enter.)

durga: Well, my dear, you want me to help carry the offerings?


kandabuana: First the key.
kala: (With d u r ga and s a p u j a g at echoing him.) What “key”?
kandabuana: The key that’s a sign of safety for our children by
ruwatan.
durga: Agreed!
kandabuana: (Chanting to the tune of Kidung )
The key of happiness for our children by ruwatan.
The key of good luck for our children by ruwatan.
The key of clear thinking for our children by ruwatan.
The key of wide vision for our children by ruwatan.
The key of joy in heart and mind, here and hereafter,
for our children by ruwatan.
The key of goodness and contentment for our children
by ruwatan.
durga: All right, I grant you this.
kandabuana: I ask your guarantee.
durga: Yes, Father Dalang.
kandabuana: Sapujagat, what kindness can you show to the children
by ruwatan?
sapujagat: Dalang Kandabuana, I offer my love to your children by
ruwatan. Tell this to your children by ruwatan. When they sweep on
Thursday evening, do not throw out the sweepings on Friday but
wait till the next day, till Saturday. If they sweep on Monday
evening do not throw out the sweepings on Tuesday, but do it the
next day, on Wednesday.27 This is my mandate to the children of
the dalang by ruwatan. The reason, now hidden, will be clear in the
end.
52 Foley

kandabuana: Thank you. Durga, what kindness can you do my chil-


dren by ruwatan?
durga: Father Dalang . . . (kecrek) . . . tell the children of the dalang
by ruwatan, male and female, old and young, not to urinate from
the eaves.
kandabuana: I will tell my children by ruwatan.
durga: Second, when they sleep, they are not to leave the chamber
pot near their head, but must put it by their feet.
kandabuana: Thank you. I will tell the children by ruwatan.
durga: Such is my mandate, Father Dalang.
kandabuana: Thank you.
durga: (Indicating the offerings.) I want to take these.
kandabuana: Go ahead.
durga: And I request this set of clothes, please, Father Dalang. (Exits.)
sapujagat: I want to take some offerings.
lurah sekar/momod: Go ahead, take everything, Son. Take the
farming equipment and seeds. Load it all up! (Sapujagat exits.)
lurah sekar/narada: (To k a l a .) So what are you waiting for, just
crouching there?
kala: There’s something else.
lurah sekar/narada: What is it? Why are you looking around? It
is already dawning in the east.

(The first rays of the sun are starting to appear.)

kala: It’s dawning in the east.


kandabuana: What is it?
kala: I am afraid I’ll meet the herdboy on the road. I want to borrow
that white cloth to cover my head. (He points to the cloth that draped
batara guru and n a r a d a at the beginning of the play.)
lurah sekar/narada: Doesn’t leave anything for others, the good-
for-nothing. (Begrudgingly.) Go ahead, take it. I can’t make clothes
from it, since Kala always gets it.
kala: I want to cover my head since I’m afraid of meeting Otib on the
road. But if I’m covered up, he won’t see a trace.
lurah sekar/momod: If you’re covered up, OPTIB’s investigators
won’t investigate.
kala: Father Dalang, can you spare me what I’ll need to travel, both
for body and for soul?
kandabuana: I will give it to you.

(The dalang swathes k a la in the cloth until his figure is reminiscent of


a corpse wrapped in a white shroud as a sign of holiness and final cleans-
ing. The person for whom the ruwatan has been commissioned sits white-
The Origin of K ala 53

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.)

kakawen: Thus is the shape.


Like a pot, but not a pot.
Like a sweet potato, but not a sweet potato.
Like a squash, but not a squash.
Your name is emptiness.
Your fang is called Si Kalabraja, Si Kalarung.
Movement in an empty stone is your name.
What is, is.
Adam was.
Before, the Prophet.
Kang Ali Putih/Allah rules. 28

Figure 8. Incense rises as Dalang Abah Sunarya drops the white-swathed


image of Kala in the puppet chest. The tree of life puppet represents a
shadow puppet screen. Puppets of the Dalang Kandabuana, the female
singer, the lurah sekar, and the victims saved from Kala are on the puppet
stage. (Photo: Kathy Foley)
54 Foley

(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.

Figure 9. The tree of life


marks the end of each play.
The face of the demon
Kala glares from the trunk
of the tree. (Photo: Kathy
Foley)
The Origin of K ala 55

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

Clara van Groenendael, Victoria (trans.). 1999.


Released from Kala’s Grip: A Wayang Exorcism from East Java. Performed
by Ki Sarib Purwacarita. Edited by Joan Suyenaga. Jakarta: Lontar.
Cohen, Matthew (trans.). 1999.
Demon Abduction: A Wayang Ritual Drama from West Java. Performed by
Basari. Edited by Joan Suyenaga. Jakarta: Lontar.
Foley, Kathy. 1979.
“The Sundanese Wayang Golek: Rod Puppet Theatre of West Java.”
Ph.D. dissertation, University of Hawai‘i.
———. 1984.
“Of Dalang and Dukun—Spirits and Men: Curing and Performance in
the Wayang of West Java.” Asian Theatre Journal 1(1):52–75.
Hooykaas, Christian. 1973.
Kama andKala: Materials for the Study of Shadow Theatre in Bali. Amster-
dam: North Holland.

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