All-female 'angklung' group holds its own

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Thu, 06/26/2008 10:39 AM  |  Surfing Bali

Balinese women are renowned for their skillful dancing, which is usually accompanied by gamelan music played by men.

However, the Guna Suara women's angklung group from Jembrana put a twist on Balinese tradition with their performance at the Art Center in Denpasar recently.

The Guna Suara women’s angklung group shows how Balinese women are not only skilled in traditional dance, but can also play musical instruments just as well as their male counterparts.(JP/Irawaty Wardany)

The Guna Suara angklung performance accompanied three traditional dances Wednesday at the Denpasar Art Center's wantilan (hall).

"This performance proves that women are not only capable housewives, but are also capable of participating in musical shows," the master of ceremonies said when opening the show.

More than 20 women wearing orange kebaya (traditional blouses) appeared on the stage of the wantilan to take their places at a set of gamelan angklung instruments.

Gamelan angklung is a four-tone orchestra -- one of more than 20 different types of indigenous gamelan in Bali -- consisting of gongs, metal xylophones, cymbals, flutes and drums.

The group opened its performance with a Tabuh Lelambatan, which literally means "slow composition". This piece has long been closely identified with Balinese temple festivals, where the music is presented as an offering to the gods.

Their first set was awarded with a huge applause from the audience members, most of whom were men: Some even nodded their heads showing their approval.

The group's second performance accompanied the Penyembrama, a welcoming dance, performed by students from the Pekutatan junior high school in Jembrana.

The show continued with the Margapati dance, a dance that depicts the story of a forest king.

The dances were all performed by females, except in the third dance, the Majagau dance, where male dancers accompanied the female dancers in the performance. The dance tells of the beauty of the Majagau tree, a rare tree and considered sacred by the Balinese.

According to A.A. Ketut Anom Sukadana, one of the managers of Guna Suara, the women's angklung group was established around a year ago.

"The group was basically a side activity of the housewives of Banjar Dalem, Gumbrih Village in Pekutatan District in Jembrana," he said.

He added the women usually practiced once a week; but that ever since they had decided to perform in the 30th Bali Arts Festival, they had increased their practice schedule to three days a week.

"We want to show people that women can also do what men do, and that women and men are equal," he said.

He added the establishment of the group was based on its member's principle that if men could do something, so could women.

"We can see that women are more enthusiastic and they can play really well," he said, adding there were currently 35 women in the group.

Sayu Raka Suandewi, a member of Guna Suara, said most women in her village actually had basic angklung-playing skills.

She added it took a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to play Balinese gamelan, considering its complex and vibrant rhythm.

"But we are happy because there are more and more people acknowledging this group and we now have many invitations to play for the public," she said.

Sukadana said the group had five invitations in the coming months to perform in different regions of Bali.

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