Gambuh, a classic dance drama that now is in the edge of extinction, is considered as the ancestor of all Balinese dances. All dance-technique originates in its movement, all scales and melodies from its peculiar gamelan. It is so rare that a Balinese may never see a gambuh performance throughout his life.

The origin of gambuh can be traced back to 1007 A.D. the first mention of gambuh appears in a lontar, palm leave manuscript, with a Candra Sengkala (a method of expressing time), in the year of 929 Caka or 1007 A.D. This lontar mentions that in 1007 A.D. King Udayana Warmadewa of Bali had married a Javanese princess from Daha, east Java, named Cri Gunapriya Dharmapatni. When the princess went to Bali, in her entourage she brought Javanese dancers and artist with her. According to the lontar, King Udayana was very fond of Javanese dancing and in this period developed the dance known as gambuh, here is an excerpt from the lontar:

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Once upon a time in Bali, there were two brothers Cupak and Grantang. These two brothers are completely opposite. Cupak was the older brother, he was lazy, boastful, gluttonous, and cowardly. While Grantang was gentle, refined, fair and wise, humble in speech but fierce in battle.

One day, Cupak played a trick on Grantang and the result was, that their parents turn against Grantang accusing him of being a very lazy son, and they drive him from their home. Grantang was forced to wander in the wilderness, but Cupak sorrowfully followed him. Cupak however traveled without any burden, while Grantang carried all the provision. Moreover, Cupak was the one who eat most. All through their travels, Grantang was the one who must do all the heavy work. Finally, they arrive at the palace of Daha, where the king asked them to recover his daughter and promised that the one who successful could marry the princess. Cupak boastfully promised to kill the giant, while Grantang said humbly that he would also try.

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Pura Meduwe Karang at Kubutambahan, 12 km from Singaraja, and 108 km from Denpasar is dedicated to the fertility of the and is associated with the dry field (tegalan) and the fruit and vegetable gardens (abian) in the same way as the various temples maintained by the subak associations are linked with the complexes of wet rice fields. It is the temple of all those who cultivate the dry fields whether their crops be coconuts, or fruit, maize, or tobacco, or ground nuts, or coffee, or cotton, or lontar leaves, or palm sugar. The list does not include rice because the soil is unsuitable and the rainfall too low in the coastal areas of east Buleleng for the cultivation of rice in the dry fields.

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Balinese Hinduism is very much a living organism. It is alive. And the visible sign of it is its never-ending adaptation with the Desa (place), Kala (time), Patra (circumstance), the results of this adaptation is numerous variations of Balinese Hinduism, especially in the field of ritual and ceremony. Each village (desa) has its own version of a ritual and may have a wide difference with the neighboring villages.

This time, however, I will not point out the adaptation of Balinese Hinduism in the concept of place but rather in a framework of time and circumstance, and one of numerous example of this adaptation is the Tumpek Landep that will be celebrated on Saturday, 4/28/2007.

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Drama Gong is still the most popular theatrical performance in Bali. For the last four decades, it enjoys a great popularity all over the island. Since early days of its development, Drama Gong has attracted enormous number of audience because of its simplicity in language and story and of the generous sprinkle of jokes and humors.

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In the 1960s, a famous dancer and actor, Anak Agung Raka Payadnya from the village of Abianbase, Gianyar, initiated a new form of theatrical performance created by blending several pre-existing theatrical performances such as sendratari, modern theater, and arja accompanied by the gong kebyar orchestra with its dynamic and energetic rhythm. This new form of theatrical performance was named Drama Gong by the Director Kokar (Karawitan Konservatorium), I Gusti Bagus Nyoman Panji.

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Perched on the slope of Mount Mangu, 1100 meter above the sea level, the village Kiadan, naturally offers a cool climate and a foggy morning in the rainy season. With the majestic mount Mangu on the background and surrounded by the combination of dense forest, lush coffee plantation, and mesmerizing rice field, in short, the village of Kiadan offers stunningly beautiful views to behold.

This village now develops its ecotourism project known as JED or Village Ecotourism Project supported by Wisnu Foundation and Starling Kencana Tours. This is not a so-called “ecotourism” project, with has neither respect to the surrounding environment nor involvement of the community and all its profit goes to the travel agent pocket. The ecotourism project (JED) in Kiadan village is a grass root movement; it is designed and managed by the local Subak community with local guides, local foods and local accommodation.

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