THE BALINESE BARIS DADAP, ITS TRADITION AND TEXTS
(A PRELIMINARY STUDY)
by D. Hinzler, Leiden (Niederlande)
The baris dadap is one of the many varieties of baris dances in Bali. The word
baris means in this case „row", or „military formation". This refers to the fact that
the dancers are arranged in two rows. Dadap or dadap is the name of the wooden
boat-shaped shield, held by the dancers, curled over at the end and supplied with
one or two circular handles at the back. At right angles to the upper part of the
shield is a piece of leather with a tuft of hair on top of it. So-cahed wayang-figures are punched out into the leather (fig. 1). Because of this the shield is sometimes
called wayang and the dance wayang baris dadap. The word dadap can also be
associated with a sacred tree (arythrina indica), called kayu dadap or kayu sakti in Balinese. Its leaves and branches play an important role in the Balinese ritual. It is
as yet unknown, however, if the shield is made from the wood of the dadap-tree
and thus derives its name from the tree.
Both concepts — baris and dadap — are first met with in Old and Middle Java¬
nese literature (Bhomakavya VIH,3; A:idung 5unda II, 56, 118, 134; 111,49: IVang-
bang Mdeya 2:52a,53b,56a; 3:6b,95b;'). In the ^5 and Wwe even find descrip¬
tions of the shields: they are provided with a golden brim and white or coloured
fly-whisks. The shield is used for parrying during fights with kris or sword. The
descriptions of the shields of the texts fit in nicely with some of the shields depict¬
ed on the 17th/18th centuries wayang beber scrolls from Central Java. We are re¬
ferring to the Pacitan scrolls^, viz. scroll 3 part 4 and scroll 4 part 2 (fig. 2,3), copies of which are made by Supomo^, and to the Kajoran-'^scroU 2 part 2 (fig.4,5) that is now in Gelaran. The shields are crowned by figures (a woman, a bull's head,
a one-eyed ogre's head and a bulged-eyed wayang puppet), and have a tuft of hair
on top. These shields also have very much the same shape as the Balinese dadap-
shileds, so we may conclude that cfarfflp-shields are depicted on the scrolls.
In the WW and on the scrolls the dadap is particularly used by the main charact¬
ers of the story — Panji and his adversary. Nowadays there still exists a war-dance
1 R. Friederich, Bomakawja, VBG 24 1852; A. Teeuw, Het Bhomakavya, 1947; C. C. Berg, Kidung Sunda, BKI 83, 1927; 1-161; S. O. Robson, Wangbang Wideya, Bibl. Indon. 6, 1971.
2 R. A. Kern, De Wayang Beber van Patjitan, TBG LI, 1909, 338-357; G. A. J. Hazeu, Eine
"Wayang Beber" VorsteUung in Jogjakarta, Int. Arch. Ethn. XVI, 1904, 128-135; Photogr.
"Archeological Survey of Indonesia" 7900, 7901.
3 Photogr. "Marzuki", II f2.
4 Slide "Marzuki", 12,14.
XX. Deutscher Orientalistentag 1977 in Erlangen
i i
The BaUnese Baris Dadap, its Tradition and Texts 451
in Solo, called Panji dadap, rendering the fight between Panji and his adversary'.
The shield they make use of is called dadap and its shape is similar to that of the
scrolls and of the Balinese dance (fig. 6). Of the little figures on top of the shields, however, no mention is made in the texts. It is remarkable that on the scrolls only the heroes of the stories have a dadap-shielA with such a little figure. Possibly these figures represent the patrons of the owners of the shield. The oldest dated informa¬
tion on the Balinese baris dadap we found in a charter of the King of Tabanan*. In
1756 AD King Jumeneng decided by decree that the members of a kabayan-famiXy
from Curah were allowed to perform baris dadap at ceremonies of the court. In
recent literature on Bali only the baris dadap of the Batur-area in the province of
Bangli is mentioned^. During our various stays in Bali we came across the baris
dadap in four coastal villages in the Southern part of Bali, viz.: Bebali, Krambitan,
Curah (prov. of Tabanan) and Klepekan (prov. of Badung). The most important
fact is that out of all varieties of baris dances only the baris dadap is accompanied by a song.
In the following part of our lecture we will describe only the dadap of South
Bali. In each of the four viUages the dancers are organized in a special association (sekaa baris dadap). In Be, Kr. Cu the members are adults, in Kl. they are unmarried boys (truna). The shields are provided with leather figures representing heroes from
Ramayana (Rama, Hanuman, Anggada, Sugriwa, Nila) and from Mahäbhärata
(Kresna, Dharmawangsa). These figures all belong to the same party. When the
shields are not used, they are deposited in a sanctuary, because they are holy. Each member keeps at home the kris and the dancing-clothes. The shields are the posses¬
sion of a specific family (Cu, Kr), group (Kl) or village (Be). Each sekaa has a lead¬
er. In Kr the leadership is hereditary, in the other viUages this is not the case. The
number of members varies. In Cu and Kr the group has six dancers, in Be we found
eight dancers and a priest, and in Kl eight dancers, eight singers and a priest. The
priest is the keeper of the sanctuary (Kl) and the maker of the Holy Water of the
shields (Be, Kl).
The dance takes place only on occasion of a ceremony. In Be, Kr, Cu it is per¬
formed during the pamuspan-ninaX of a cremation ceremony. The dancers form an
escort during a procession with offerings for the soul of the deceased, who wUl
become a god-ancestor. After this they perform twice: once in front of a little
sanctuary with offerings for the gods Brahma, Wisnu and Iswara and once in front
of the deceased. In Cu the dance is also performed during "mapag toya", a festival
connected with the fertilising water and with the gods protecting a dam. The
dancers also form an escort to the gods. In Kl it is performed during the festival
(piodalan) of the temple in which the shields are kept (pura dalem Intaranj. First
the dancers accompany the gods to and from the Holy Bathing Place, afterwards
£i Inform. Mrs. Clara Brakel, a student of Leiden University, specializing in Javanese dance.
6 I received a transcription of the charter from l.G. Ng. Gde from Kaba-Kaba, for which I am very grateful.
7 W. Spies, R. Goris, Overzicht van dans en tooneel in Bali, Djawa 17, 1937, 205-229; Pro- gramma Cultureel Congres v. Bali, Djawa 17, 1937, 435-437; R. Goris, Toelichting op enkele dansen, Djawa 17, 1937, 444-447; Verslag van het Congres, Djawa 18, 1938; B. de Zoete, W. Spies, Dance and Drama in Bah, 1938.
452 D. Hinz ler
they perform in front of them. Also at a very important "rite de passage" — third month of a baby — a performance takes place. This "rite de passage" can be con¬
nected with the god-ancestors too, because on occasion of this ceremony the
ancestor incarnated into the child is revealed with the help of a medium. So we may state that generally the baris dance accompanies and protects ancestors and gods on their way from earth to heaven, vice versa, and on earth. The performances consist of three parts: I) the offerings brought to the shields before the dance starts. As the
shields are holy they have to be honoured before use. II) the Holy Water made by
the priest or leader of the group, in case of a cremation or third month-ceremony.
The Holy Water, made by means of the shields, is sprinkled on the deceased or on
the baby. This is of crucial importance for the success of the ceremony. As the gods are already holy, they do not need the water, so at the piodalan or mapag toya it is not made. Ill) the dance itself. The movements differ in each of the four vihages,
but there are elements in common, e.g. the dancers remain standing in two rows,
taking only a few steps forwards or backwards, or making a turn; the movements
of hands, arms and feet are quite slow and are repeated towards the points of the
compass. When the kris is taken out of its scabbard, the dancers move it towards
their own shields, point it upwards or downwards, but never make threatening
movements with it towards each other. We may conclude that the dancers as a
group threaten possible adversaires of the ancestors and gods. Thus the aspect of
the Balinese dadap-Amce — escort, protection — differs from that of the Javanese
dadap, being the fight between a hero and his adversary.
In Be, Kr., Kl the dancers sing only one song, but in Cu we came across four
different songs (Cu/1, 2, 3, 4). The integral texts of Be und Kr are quite close. The
texts of Cu/3, 4 have some lines in common with them. The text of Kl is in a way
related to those of Be and Kr. Cu/1, 2 are completely different. Most of the lan¬
guage of the songs is Middle Javanese. The dancers generally do not understand the
exact meaning of it. As a result most of the lines they sing are corrupted . The con¬
tents of the songs of Be, Kr, Cu/3 are all alike: the warriors stand in a row. A boat sailing at full sail is in search of a landing place. The concentration of the mind be¬
fore one dies, death and the baris accompanying a god or ancestor on its journey.
Besides this, there are allusions to the dance-movements, like turning, squatting, taking the kris out of its scabbard. Also battle cries are to be heard. All these songs
are sung during the death ritual. We find a relationship between the kind of cere¬
mony and the contents of the song. This is also the case with the text of Cu/2. In
the texts of Cu/1 ,4 we meet allusions to the course of the sun, moon and stars, the
rains and to fertility, while the song is used during the ceremony connected with
the dam. The K16pekan-text is very difficult to understand. It consists mainly of a
kind of riddles (wawangsalan) not unlike those we come across in the jangger and
barong landung songs, but in our case the solution to the riddles is not given. Allu¬
sions to the dance-movements and battles-cries are also heard.
Illustrations
fig. 1: da(/flp-shield Bali; fig. 2,3: ditto from Pacitan/Supomo, scroll 3 part 4, scroll 4 part 2;
fig. 4,5: da^ap - shield Gelaran, scroll 3 part 2; fig. 6: afadap-shield Solo.
The Bahnese Baris Dadap, its Tradition and Texts 453
Illustrations "the Balinese baris dadap, its tradition and texts" by Drs Hedi 1.:. R. Hinzler.
DIE GOTTHEITEN IN DER INVOKATINOSFORMEL
DER MEROITISCHEN TOTENTEXTE
von Inge Hofmann, Wien
Von den bisher publizierten 810 meroitischen Texten entfällt ein sehr großer
Teil auf die sogenannten Totentexte, die entweder auf Opfertafeln oder auf Stelen
geschrieben wurden. Der Textaufbau der Inschriften kann in vier Abschnitte unter¬
gliedert werden:
I. Invokation: Anrufung von Göttern;
II. Nomination: Nennung der Namen des Toten, der Mutter und des Vaters;
III. Deskription: Titel und andere Qualifikationen des Toten;
IV. Benediktion: Opferformeln.
Vor, in und nach der Benediktion wud gelegentlich die Invokation noch einmal
wiederholt.
In den weitaus meisten Belegstellen besteht die Invokation lediglich aus der An¬
rufung der beiden Gottheiten Isis und Osiris; nur zweimal wird Osiris vor Isis ge¬
nannt. Er wird allein namentlich nicht genannt, dagegen kann Isis, vor allem bei der
Wiederaufnahme der Invokation innerhalb des Textes, durchaus gelegentlich allein
angerufen werden. Auf einer Opfertafel aus Meroe (REM 0430) wird Osiris aller¬
dings ersetzt durch eine Sonderform des Amun; die Invokation lautet nämhch:
wolSi nümni „o Isis, o Mash-Amun", wobei Mash wahrscheinlich mit einer Sonnen¬
gottheit zu identifizieren ist, so daß Mash-Amun wohl die meroitische Interpreta¬
tion des ägyptischen Amun-Re ist. Für den Fortgang unserer Darlegung ist es wich¬
tig festzuhalten, daß der Toten- und Unterweltsgott Osiris einen Konkurrenten in
Gestalt des Amun, des höchsten Gottes des meroitischen Reiches haben konnte.
Denn in einigen Inschriften wird neben Isis und Osiris ein mklhli angerufen, ein
Komplex, der mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit übersetzt werden muß mit ,,o großer
Gott". Nun ist der einzige Gott, der in meroitischen Texten das Beiwort „groß"
trägt, Amun, so daß es schon von daher möglich wäre, den „großen Gott" mit
Amun zu identifizieren. Dafür spricht ferner, daß in einer Inschrift aus Karanog
(REM 0201) neben Isis und Osiris Amanap, der Amun von Luksor, angerufen wird.
Die beherrschende Rohe, die Amun in der Welt der Lebenden spielte, hatte er also
auch im meroitischen Reich auf die Welt der Toten ausweiten können, ohne daß es
ihm jedoch gelungen war, Osiris zu beseitigen, von Isis ganz zu schweigen. In diesem
Zusammenhang kann auch Herodot II, 29 herangezogen werden, der im Hinblick
auf Meroe schreibt, daß man dort nur zwei Götter anbete, nämlich Zeus und Diony¬
sos, d.h. also gemäß der Interpretatio Graeca Amun und Osiris. Die meroitischen Totentexte lassen aber erkennen, daß als Totengottheit par excellence Isis galt; sie
ist „Herrin der Nekropole" (Barkenuntersatz von Wad ban Naqa) und „Herrin des
Himmels, der Erde, der Unterwelt" (Graffito Phüae 417). Mit dieser Auffassung der
XX. Deutscher Orientalistentag 1977 in Erlangen
