The islands of the Gods in Bali

Legong and Kecak Dances

When and if you ever visit the Islands of the Gods in Bali you must see one of the very many different dances they have at the many temples that surround Ubud. These dances have been practiced and handed down from ancient times. Sometimes the dances depict a story or just an animal or nature. Like the aboriginal chicken dance the Kecak dance uses the nature of the monkey’s call.  Art and  dance hold culture and themes that are played out and expressed in the Bali style. What a style it is. Funny, they still pray and make a procession for everything . They make offerings to the gods when they open a store, begin the day or have the first sale. I asked one lady why  she was offering a Marlboro cigarette to the god (s) on his/her/its plate . She told me, “It’s not real cigarette,it’s a special cigarette .”
 
Nevertheless, these moments and actions is what makes Bali what it is, a Yogi’s heaven and an artists’ rain forest hide out getaway! I will go back!

The Legong “JOBOG” dance story is based on the story of two brothers , Kings Subali and Sugriwa , who were turned into monkeys. At the beginning of the dance the two brothers , represented by the Legong, are living peacefully together. After some time we see the two monkeys ( this has happened because of
acts not shown in the dance; Princess Dewi Tara had brought a powerful magic and the brothers wanted that magic but her father had thrown it away into the river and whomever jumps in that river turns into a monkey). Greedy as they are the two brothers jumped in for the magic and “poof ” they became monkeys. When they look at each other as monkeys they become confused and forget they are brothers and start a brawl.

Finally, when neither one wins or looses , they become tired and recognize each as Subali and Sugriwa . This story is from the “Ramayana Epic.”

Most dances in Bali that are of ancient origin come from the Ramayana Epic.

The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being  Mahabharata. It
depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal
servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king.

The name Ramayana is a tatpurusha compound of Rāma and ayana “going, advancing”, translating to “Rama‘s Journey“. The Ramayana consists of
24,000 verses in seven books (kāṇḍas) and 500 cantos (sargas), and tells the story
of Rama (an incarnation of the Hindu
preserver-god Vishnu), whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon (Rakshasa) king of Lanka, Ravana.
Thematically, the epic explores themes of human existence and the concept of dharma.

Verses in Ramayana are written in a 32-syllable meter called anustubh.
The epic was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Indian life and
culture, primarily through its establishment of the shloka meter. Like its epic cousin the Mahābhārata, however, the Ramayana is
not just an ordinary story: it contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and
presents them through allegory in narrative and the interspersion of the
philosophical and the devotional. The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman and Ravana (the villain of the
piece) are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India.