Wayang Puppet Show Spiritual Norm and Ritual Form

Wayang Puppet Show: Spiritual Norm and Ritual Form of Worship through Aesthetic Devotions Bali Module for East 15 th Acting School Essex University August 1 st - 21 st 2011 Prof. I Nyoman Sedana, Ph. D.

Spiritual norm/practice: Kala chases Kumara Aesthetic devotion: Wayang puppet show Through Ritual Form of worship: wayang holy water to purify a man Tantra=spiritual norm, practice &ritual forms (believe-based culture): 1. Yantra=holy forms 2. Mudra=hand gestures 3. Mantra=incantations

Tantra: spiritual norms & practice – ritual forms Yantra RITUAL FORMS Mudra HAND GESTURE and ACTIVITIES Mantra INCANTATION

Spiritual norm why puppeteer is a priest: Mythology Siwagama SOMYA RUPA PEACE Performing artists His coitus with Durga results in a myriad of demons that carry pestilence and terror me n Sanghyang Trisemaya ly SHIVAISM Ho Longing for Parwati, God Siwa (Shiva) transforms into the Demon Kala Rudra. ISWARA= Puppeteer BRAHMA WISNU= Assistants Caturlokapala = musician

Another Tantra the spiritual practice: Mythology of Kala Purana Since Kumara is born on wayang week, Kala will Two sons of God Shiva: devour him. Kumara Sanghyang Adi Kala and escapes to seek refuge to Rare Kumara the Middle world m Kasinuhun Kidul grants Kala i s h e k put a a privilege of devouring t f ng and o a l mankind: all those born a ara llow D within the week of wayang, m e ho e u Kala comes K h tub t walking during the sun o t n i oo and devours b reaches its zenith, quarrelling r m ba nato puppet at sunset, and roaming about o s re during dusk. offering. Dalang sue Kala authorizes dalang to purify people with Kala unable to Tirta Penyapuhleger (destroying defilement, return the sin, and impurity) or Tirta Panyudamalan prescribed (cleaning bodily blemish and deformities). offering Evils shall be exorcized by the Tirta Panglukatan of Dalang priest.

Indian Tantra Mythology Tolpavakoothu puppet from Kerala God Brahma Gods & Rsi God Siva Asurastri Detya Darika creates terror God Siva perform shadow puppet TOLPAWAKOOTHU To deafeat DEVI BHADRAKALI/ BHAGAWATI Using weapons of Nawasanga

Triangle altar Similar altar used for wayang Ritual forms Offerings on the Dalang’s side Meru 3 -stories

Wayang puppet holy water in contemporary Bali 1. A patron commission puppet show to obtain holy water (by sprinkling, cleaning mouth and face, drink, and wash him/herself from the head) typically become more mentally stable, civilized, and facing less and less accident or problems. 2. Collective ruwatan purification in order to share the cost as on March 27 th 2011 by Badung Regent. 3. Unable to commission the show one may come to the dalang’s house during the week of wayang or approach dalang at the end of puppet show with a minimum offering.

Mudra & Mantra The fresh water being transformed into holy is inside a rodiac silver beaker on a wanci raised tray.

Mantra and Mudra—along the 30 steps in creation of wayang holy water— may be briefly quoted step number 6: Take and hold another petal over the censer while reciting Mantra: Ong gunung mas apucak manik akrikil nawa ratna, inapungan ing naga patra, ingaranan Sanghyang Merti Tita Kamandalu, maka uriping watek Nawa Sanga, maka patirtan ira Sang Pandita Ratu, anglukata anglebura sakwehing lara wigna, jadma manusa ing madya pada wenang anglebur gering kabeh lupa lelep arip, purna sewu satusing papa klesa lara roga lara wigna, kalukatakna upataning bapa ibu kaki nini buyut. Om lukat, lukat. Om awignamastu swaha. Meaning: OM the golden mountain with a jewel as its summit, and, the nine pearls serve as the gravel, encircled by an ornament (finger ring) consisting of naga snakes, called the Divine Ambrosia Kamandalu, the Life Force of the Nine Gods, the Holy Water of the Kings of Priests. May it exorcize all suffering and hindrances afflicting mankind in the Middle World. May it remove all illnesses, failures of memory, tiredness of the eyes and of the mind. May they are freed from 1100 evils and illnesses. May it undo the effects of the curses of parents, of grand parents, and of great grand parents. OM Exorcize, Exorcize!). I then drop the petal into the water in the beaker.

Strep of benang tukelan white yarn has been tied around the beaker

The final stage: puppet stick stirs up holy water Natural energy creates holy water: Fire incense Mineral 11 tarupremana flowers Coconut oil of the lamp Rice Each delivered via mantra incantations

Dala emp ng’s dev loys oitio Yan n in tra, Mud ritual w orsh ra , a ip nd M antr a Dalang is a bridge of beauty connecting two realms

Dalang a bridge between sekala dand niskala In the ritual show of puppet Sapuhleger By performing the wayang ritualistic theatre, dalang communicates with the gods in the spiritual realm to transform the ordinary water of material realm into the holy water of the sacred space for the human purification in the profane space Tirta holy water Nawa Ratna Pure water

Yantra the Ritual Forms

Mudra (gesture) and Mantra (incantation) Sprinkling holy water to the beneficiary

Go on to the second part ?

Thematic links underlying Asian ancestral deliverance ra t n China Puppet show Marionette Mulian Wayang Kulit Bonraku Bima Mokurenki Myth/ Story Mulian rescues his mother from the underworld Bima rescues Mokurenki his parent rescues his from the hell mother from Hades Ta Indonesia Ancestral Hungry Ghost Ngaben. Ceremony Festival/ Qingming Nyilawati cremation Japan Obon/Ochū gen Festival

Five Components of Asian Ancestral Deliverance in Performative Format (1) Qualified living descendant to rescue the parent by transferring merits, (2) Causes and effects of karmic law as the driving force, (3) Puppet show with the story of ritual liberation, (4) Commemorating ancestor (Tangsan/Leluhur/Ibu) or parent soul/spirit (jiwatma) as the object, (5) Ceremony creating public awareness about spirit liberation.

Qualified man to rescue by transferring merits China Puppet Mulian characte r Suprame Goddess guru Guanyim power Shoe and chansan tool Indonesia/ India Japan Bima Mokurenki Dewa Ruci, Vayu/God of wind Angkus prana: power to purify Sakyamuni Buddha Super natural power

Causes and effects of karmic law as the driving force Good karma is more helpful than knowledge or even super natural power. Absolute law of karma makes no one is immune from the causes and effects of one own karma: In virtual reality puppet show formulates sins: 1. Mulian’s mother, Madame Liu, served dog meat 2. Bima’s father, Pandu, killed sage Kindama 3. Mokurenki’s mother: greed and self important. 4. Mokuren’s former life to kill his father that caused him to be killed badly by bandits

Puppet show presenting virtual reality of human liberation Chinese puppet show presenting the story of Mulian Jiu mu ji rescuing his mother from the under world; Indonesian puppet show enacting Bima goes to heaven (Bima Swarga) to rescue his parent from the Hades. Japanese puppet show presenting story of sekkyobushi play in which Mokurenki rescues his mother from hell

Commemorating ancestor Spirit (jiwatma) of Tangsan/Leluhur/Ibu 1. Hungry Ghost and Qingming festival in China 2. Ngaben and Nyilawati cremation for the dead in Bali. 3. O-bon and Ochūgen ancestor celebration in Japan. Contemporary extension of Asian traditional ethic of "universal love" Both in China and Bali: "Worldly fortunes belong to the 'five families' of flood, fire, the unfilial, the corrupt and thieves – it will not remain. Only merits will remain because nothing but karma remains after a person passes away. "

CONCLUSION Domains of Asian ancestral deliverance in performative format ACTUAL REALITY RITUAL THATRE PHILOSOPHY HUMANISM RELEGY Hinduism Confucianism Buddhism Taoism Belief