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Sanghyang Dance (The Dance of Spirits)

Published 1 year, 5 months ago in Arts & Culture by ablteam | 2,689 Views

Sanghyang Jaran, the Pemangku (temple priest) or a group of chosen men becomes himself the Sanghyang, possessed by ancestral deity, a Gandarwa (celestial soldier) on horseback. The dance is performed in the inner court yard of the death temple. As in Sanghyang Dedari the dancer is put into trance with wafted of incense and chorus of Sanghyang song. In the state of trance the dancer fall, convulsed to the ground and rush to grab hobby horses. During the pre-trance chanting, coconut shells have been lit, leaving red hot coals.

Nadi; Trance in the Balinese Art;1999

The dancer is said to be attracted by all forms of fire and onlookers are required not to smoke. The entranced dancer take on the movement of a horse leap into the coals, prancing on top of them, picking up the hot pieces and bathing themselves in fire. The Sanghyangs are accompanied only by a kecak chorus of chanting men. At the end of the dance, the entranced dancer is pacified by the sprinkle of holy water. Sanghyang Jaran is performed in a time of pestilence or disaster. This sacred dance can be found in Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Bangli.

Nadi; Trance in the Balinese Art;1999

flickr.com/photos/casers/

Sanghyang Bojog dance, as in other Sanghyang dance, is started by summoning a monkey spirit to occupy the body of monkey-like-dressed dancer. The Sanghyang song is singed to summon the spirit and hypnotize the dancer. The entranced dancer takes on the movement of monkey, jumping to the tree and doing impossible acrobatic movement. At the end of the dance, the entranced dancer is pacified by the sprinkle of holy water. Sanghyang Bojog can be found in Duda, Karangasem.

Sanghyang Celeng is a kind of sanghyang dance which summon the spirit of boar to occupy the body of the dancer. The Sanghyang Celeng dancer uses a special costume made from duk (black fiber taken from outer part of palm trunk) which resemble the fur of a boar. The dance is accompanied by a Sanghyang song. The Spirit of boar is “inserted” into the dancer body wafting the smoke of traditional incense made from majegau woods to the dancer (nusdus). The entranced dancer crawls and takes on the movement of a boar on the top of blazing charcoals which are spread before the dancer put into trance. At the end of the dance, the entranced dancer is pacified by the sprinkle of holy water. Sanghyang Celeng can be found in Duda, Karangasem.

Sanghyang Grodogan is a kind of Sanghyang dance that can only be found in Lembongan village, Klungkung. This sacred dance is in the edge of extinction, the last performance of Sanghyang Grodogan was held in 1970. After 1970 the performance of this sacred dance was stopped with no apparent reason. Sanghyang Jaran is held in sacred places such as temple courtyard, in front of public hall (balai banjar), under a big banyan tree, or other chosen spots. The Sanghyang Grodogan is held in 2nd month (sasih karo) of Balinese traditional Calendar (around August). Balinese believes in this month the balance of positive and negative force is in danger, so a kind exorcism has to be held.

The Sanghyang Grodogan uses a miniature of traditional boat (Janggolan / Grodogan) as a representation of summoned spirit as holy horse in Sanghyang Jaran performance. This miniature of traditional boat is 5 to 7 meter long, equipped with a pair of wheel so it can be moved to and fro easily. This traditional boat miniature is decorated with fabric, flower, fruit, plant and offering.

Sanghyang Grodogan is a massive trance dance; it requires 50 dancers to perform this sacred dance. The dancers are bare-chested and only used simple Balinese cloth with no special accessory. The dancers are volunteered men since there is no specific requirement has to be fulfilled in order to become a dancer. Before the dance is begun, the dancers are purified with a certain ceremony.

As in other Sanghyang dance the dancers are put into trance by wafting the smoke of traditional incense made from majegau woods to the dancer (nusdus) accompanied by the chorus of Sanghyang song. The entranced dancers grab the traditional boat miniature and swing it to and fro in wild movement for hours. At the end of the dance, the entranced dancer is pacified by the sprinkle of holy water.

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