issue
04
monkey business topeng monyet on the streets of Jakarta
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+ the art of travel opera in Bali spice in Ternate water in Sumba
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this issue
people | places
kabar |
issue 4
The islands of Indonesia have intrigued outsiders for centuries, drawing curious souls to these shores in search of everything from the Greater Bird of Paradise to gamelan music. It’s a stream of interaction that continues to find forms of expression as diverse as monkeys with dyed blonde hair dressed to look like Evel Knievel and an opera about a Canadian expat in 1930s Bali. In Sumba, a French balloonist has come down to earth to dig wells, while in Ternate, street art is as likely to reflect a passion for Japanese anime as for heroes of the struggle for Indonesian independence. The creativity fostered at Bali Purnati sees collaborations between cultures take flight and find their place on an international stage, while the Blair brothers shared stories of the exotic unknown that still dazzle today. Grittier realities are found on the streets of Jakarta, where both performing monkeys and their teenage handlers endure harsh existences. And a world away, Amandari celebrates 20 years, while visits to Novus Gawana and Amanwana are celebrations of Indonesia’s stunning natural beauty.
Image from the 2004 Singapore performance of Robert Wilson’s epic I La Galigo, based on the Bugis creation my th. (courtesy of Bali Purnati – see page 46)
kabar |
issue 4
people | art | travel 07
The Art of Travel Vessels, journeys, and destinations to
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Ring of Fire The documentaries that chronicled
An Ubud institution celebrates a special anniversary.
stir the spirit of adventure.
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20 Years of Amandari
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Novus Gawana A beautiful base from which to
the 10-year Indonesian odyssey of
explore the charms of the West Bali
brothers Lawrence and Lorne Blair.
National Park.
Image: A House in Bali (p. 48)
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Magical Moyo Amanwana is a nature-lover’s dream,
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Spice on the Streets Ternate’s vibrant streetscapes belie an
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A House in Bali When Canadian composer Colin
a luxurious camp located on the
island languor in a veritable smor-
McPhee heard gamelan recordings
national reserve of Moyo island in
gasbord of colour, style, quirks, and
in Paris, it changed his life forever. A
Sumbawa Besar.
themes.
new opera tells his story.
The Sky Above, The Earth Below
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Bali Purnati A centre for the arts unlike any other,
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Monkey Business On the streets of Jakarta, the topeng
Former balloonist André Graff came
Bali Purnati fosters the creation of
monyet is a traditional entertainment.
back down to earth in Sumba, where
extraordinary works of art and oppor-
The story of the harsh existences
he now helps to build much-needed
tunities for meaningful intercultural
young monkey handlers adds a new
wells in remote villages.
exchanges.
twist to the tale.
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Welcome to Mien. Be enchanted by a myriad of lifestyle, interior, home and gift ideas.
Kolm Polien O lumsan hent ver sequat alisit init.
atmosphere • antiques • art • accessories
Bali Jl. Petitenget 198X/Unit 3-4 Kuta, Bali Tel./Fax: + 62 361 735 964 info@mien-design.com
www.mien-design.com
Jakarta Jl. Benda 98 Unit E - F Kemang, Jakarta Selatan Tel.: +62 21 7802483 mien.kemang@gmail.com
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Amanikan There are few things more fun than messing about on boats, and when it’s a boat like this, it’s bliss. Amanikan is a a custom-built 32-metre pinisi style coastal cruiser that has its home at Amanwana on Moyo island in Sumbawa Besar. Available for six months a year, the seven-night Amanwana Komodo Expedition includes two nights at Amanwana and five nights aboard Amanikan, as it visits Rinca and Komodo Islands to see the legendary Komodo dragons, hopping from island to island in one of the world’s most pristine marine environments.
7 Image cour tesy of Aman Resor ts
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Lorne & Lawrence Blair’s
Ring of Fire “ Are you one of those people who believe that there’s nothing left to discover in this world of ours? Then here’s the story of Lawrence Blair and his brother Lorne, who came East in search of adventure and found themselves wandering for 10 years in the most volcanic region on earth, into the Ring of Fire…”
The documentary voice-over, with its plummily English tones, was an introduction to an inimitable Indonesian odyssey that called for a sense of romance, idealism, inspiration, stubbornness, and moments of sheer insanity; today, there are few journeys to compare. Watching the Ring of Fire series is still an intensely evocative experience. The films chronicle the Blair brothers’ ten years of exploration of the Indonesian archipelago that started in 1972 and their encounters with primitive tribes and exotic creatures, from the Punan Dayaks to the Asmats of Papua and from the cuscus to the Greater Bird of Paradise. David Bowie and Mick Jagger gave each other copies for Christmas in the year it came out, says Lawrence, “so when they came over [to Indonesia] they contacted me and I was their sort of glorified tour guide. They were the musicians of our generation, and the poets, and I am the poet-explorer of it.”
Almost 40 years ago, the Blair brothers Lorne (left) and Lawrence (centre) began their Indonesian odyssey: 10 years of exploring the archipelago and f ilming their sometimes incredible experiences.
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The Blairs were never destined to lead conventional lives. As young boys in drab 1950s Britain, they heard a world of colourful stories from their actress mother about her youth in Calcutta, Kipling-esque tales of the days of the Raj and the life she and their father had left for the London stage. When she married their stepfather, a pilot and merchant adventurer, the family moved to Mexico. “ I was 14 and my brother was 11,” Lawrence recalls. “We took a ship on our own, which was a hell of an adventure to take. I remember we didn’t have a clue about how to handle money. We stopped in New York for a day, took five dollars ashore and went for a long long walk, and then we finally had ourselves a hamburger and a cup of coffee and it wasn’t enough! And the guy tapped us on the shoulders and said, ‘well guys, can you wash dishes?’ We made it back to the boat just in time. It’s probably a little young to send people off on their own on an adventure like that...”
facing page (left) The Sinar Surya, seen from above: the pinisi schooner that bore the brothers from Sulawesi to Aru, a voyage that lasted nine months. facing page (right) The Greater Bird of Paradise: the mythical bird that drew the brothers to eastern Indonesia, following in the footsteps of Alfred Russel Wallace. above (left) Lorne Blair in a Borneo powerboat, on a quest to find the Punan Dayaks. Lorne passed away in Bali in the mid-nineties, a casualty of an uncovered manhole in Kuta. above (right) Lawrence Blair still resides in Bali and continues to explore the remotest regions of the Indonesian archipelago, leading tours and filming tribes and creatures whose ways are still little known in the rest of the world.
In Mexico, the adventures continued; they learned to dive and began going on their first expeditions. “So when we got to Indonesia, we were sort of prepared.” It was Subud that first brought them to Indonesia – the spiritual movement started by a Javanese man that attracted followers from all over the world. Their mother Lydia was already here, having moved to the Subud compound in Jakarta after the death of her husband in Mexico. The two brothers joined her, and they began reading about Indonesia. “We realised that this was Mexico multiplied by a hundred. Everything could be found here if you were nosy and adventurous.” Their idea for the first film, for which Ringo Starr offered to put up £2,000 and the cost of post-production, was to follow the path of Alfred Russel Wallace, taking a traditional pinisi schooner with a crew of Bugis tribesmen from Sulawesi to Aru in the East, a 2,500-mile voyage. Wallace was the first Westerner to see the Greater Bird of Paradise alive; the Blairs were on a quest to find and take the first colour footage of the legendary bird in its natural habitat. It was not an easy journey. The ship drifted for nine months, with little food and no contact with the outside world. But eventually, they reached Aru and captured minutes of precious footage of the birds. It was the beginning of a decade of exploration, and a celebration of the art of travel in search of adventure. Ring of Fire DVDs are currently available at selected outlets in Bali, with wider distribution planned for 2010; the book, Ring of Fire, is set for republication in 2010.
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Alor Sunrise by Nick Ross www.nickrains.com “ Situated east of Flores, Alor is at the farthest reaches of the island chain that stretches from Java to the east of Indonesia. This stunning volcanic island is rich in cultural diversity; its population of over 160,000 people has been divided by rough terrain into 50 tribes, with over 15 indigenous languages (most of the Papuan family).
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After it opened in 1989, Amandari quickly became an Ubud institution, influential in everything from architecture to the arts. Its strong bonds with the community of Kedewatan are key to its charm and to the blend that it achieves of timeless opulence and age-old Balinese culture.
Amandari 20 years of grace
15 Image cour tesy of mario utama
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With all Aman properties, the community relationship is important; this is perhaps even more true of Amandari, where local community life is an integral part of the resort. Peter Muller designed the property to melt into the side of the valley like any other village, incorporating into the construction a sacred path to the temple in the valley below and other elements that acknowledged the importance of harmonious coexistence with the surrounding community. “Respect is the key to working with the community,” says Ibu Asih, who works to create strong links between Amandari and the village of Kedewatan. The resort is involved with the banjar adat, adhering to important traditions and customs, and working well with the village institutions in a spirit of open communication. Managers and staff go to the village temples to join communal prayers, make offerings, give donations, and offer condolences when someone passes away – there is a real involvement in community life that goes beyond the token gesture. One of the most visible and vibrant elements of the community relationship is dance: every day, up to twenty children come to the resort to learn dance and gamelan with Ibu Agung, who has taught there since the early days of Amandari. “I enjoyed it from the beginning,” says Ibu Agung of her work, “and expected to stay here forever.” The children really want to learn; they have talent and they take it seriously, supported by their parents. Some have even become teachers themselves. “I feel happy and proud to see them realise their potential.” Classes are also open to the children of guests, giving them a unique experience of a fundamental aspect of Balinese culture and tradition.
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Amandari Kedewatan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia Tel. +62 361 975333 amandari@amanresorts.com
I had, several years earlier, designed three villas for an Italian friend, Gabriella Teggia, on a parcel of land which is today the north end of Amandari. With my wife Carole, Gabriella, and Rudy Gusde, we formed a company we called Villa Ayu to purchase more land, and when Gabriella had finally acquired what is now Amandari, I proceeded to design a 30-villa complex initially for selling to friends and managing as a club. During construction (I was the architect and the builder) we changed our mind and decided to turn it into a luxury resort hotel to be managed by Rudy. However, that did not eventuate and we decided to invite Adrian Zecha to become a fourth partner with the objective of having him eventually take over the management contract. He agreed as a “sleeping partner” and eventually acquired Rudy’s share, taking control of management several months before completion. A year after the opening in October 1999 he acquired both our remaining two shares.
At Amandari, Australian architect Peter Muller created a property infused with a respect for traditional Balinese architecture; sharing its timelessness and intrinsic beauty, yet inflected with a new quality that was soon recognised and emulated across the island. Here he recalls for Kabar the story behind the creation of Amandari, and why he believes that today, 20 years on, the appeal of the property remains as strong as ever.
My abiding memories of that time are a great mixture of many emotions. Hugely stressful, wonderfully exhilarating, the brilliance of the Balinese in comprehending and interpreting what I was trying to achieve, the help and support of so many friends. I didn’t have a sense of the impact that the property might have. Nothing could have been further from my mind. It was a great surprise to me when, in 1973, today’s Bali Oberoi was also emulated by so many others for so many years afterwards. When you put so much time and effort into something it is always agreeable to see the result so appreciated. Fashion is by definition something short lived. Keep clear of the “colour of the day” mentality and use local, well-tried materials (organic), respect local knowledge (cultural, spiritual), and maintain integrity. Amandari has always been my tribute paid to the brilliance of the Balinese village people and its success lies truly with them, not me.
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A Gawana Gallivant
Image cour tesy of Nov us Gawana
Pushing westwards out of Ubud, the lush tropical forests give way to vast open terraces of padi field as you approach Tabanan, one of Bali’s largest rice baskets. The green terraces weave through the hills and rise upwards from where where they give way to a magnificent vista of the western coast. The descent begins, and a smooth cruise on the new coastal road offers some stunning views of long secluded beaches, passing the popular Madewi and Balian surfing beaches before you hit the town of Negara, known for its mekepung (buffalo) races, which originated in Sulawesi, where pampered bulls are spruced up with accessories and hitched in pairs as they are steered around a dirt track by their jockeys. Two of these chariot-like pairs are run around the track, their jockeys combining the skills of their respective bulls to a racing finish.
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ovus Gawana is a West Bali destination that has
Past Negara and you really begin to feel a shift as the highway perks up with busloads of tourists and truckloads of goods coming from Java through Gilimanuk, going on to permeate Indonesia’s international island escape and rendezvous point for travellers, adventurers, vacationers, and creators. Banking east, the topography shifts from a coastal west Bali dotted with minarets and Javastyle street warungs serving up teh botol and nasi goreng into an American-style country road that ribbons the ground along the West Bali National Park where low lying vegetation and the arid fields on the lower plains rise to a woody bush of trees that scribble around the megalithic peaks, breaking through the blankets of forest green.
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been inspired by the natural surroundings Covering around 70,000 acres, this western park is famous for the white starling (Leucopear Rothchildii) and the wild bull (Boss Javanicus) and its savannah-like vegetation provides spectacular walking trails. Along the road you’ll find the Park embellished by an occasional resort hideaway or inn, tucked along the coast and hidden amongst mangroves. With a little planning, and luck, you’ll find some of Bali’s best kept secret escapes. One such gem is the Novus Gawana which welcomes travellers off the beaten path and onto the edge of a pristine bay. A delightful plunge in the resort’s pool is shared with the swallows that dive and sip while you swim and take in the magnificent explosions of orange and purple hues that is the sunset out west.
(above) Each lumbung, a structure on stilts traditionally used as a rice granary, has been converted into comfortable accommodation at the Novus Gawana. (left)The resort welcomes travellers off the beaten path and onto the edge of a pristine bay.
Novus Gawana West Bali National Park Tel. +62 362 94598. www.novusgawana.com
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Novus Gawana is a West Bali destination that has been inspired by the natural surroundings and with accommodation carefully balanced with the environment, it evokes the feeling of being in a magical jungle oasis where the edges of the wilderness creep towards your luxuriously fitted lumbung cabins, embroidered with fallen branches from the surroundings.
A delightful
Resort living demands a certain art to providing guests with a feast for the senses. At the Novus Gawana you have a magical bay and exotic landscaping with a cool breeze that brings the Bali sea to you. Delightful walks around the resort will witness a variety of tropical birds and Bali’s best diving is just a 30-minute boat ride away, plunge in the resort’s next to Menjangan Island.
pool is shared with the swallows that dive and sip while you swim and take in the magnificent explosions of orange and purple hues that is the sunset out west.
On the resort there are expert masseuses at a spa that overlooks the bay and delicate touches of wood throughout that connect human with nature in a manner that reminds us of why we must leave the city every so often. But perhaps the ultimate luxury in the resort is a natural spring, heated by the power of Mount Ijen on the coast of Java, making their passage under the Bali sea, and filling your hot tub with the natural healing water.
Dinner at the deck is an experience that brings together the salt air and the bay breeze that has made its way around the woody peaks that surround you. Breakfast at the same deck will give you a sunrise that lights up the magnificent Mount Ijen to your west and some of the friendliest staff in Bali will ensure you do not have too much to think about apart from your dining choices. An inspiring jaunt into a place where Bali becomes more attuned to nature, the serenity at the Gawana stems from the grandness of the mountains and the stillness of the bay. It is an escape energized by a powerful bay breeze and a space that lets you take in the earth’s beauty in a magical garden in the wilderness.
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Tastes of India
Delicious and healthy Indian cuisine from our home kitchen For our catering services and menu call +62 (0) 81 891 4837
or email hazuria@cbn.net.id
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Magical Moyo A sojourn at Amanwana’s luxury jungle camp.
top to bottom The Amanwana boardwalk provides a sundrenched spot from which to observe the activity at the jetty, occasionally taking a splash in the freshwater pool set against a wall of coral rock; the marine life in the Flores Sea is abundant, and Amanwana supports this with a coral protection programme; the library at Amanwana is a cool escape from outdoor pursuits, stocked with the best books on Indonesia, travel, and nature.
Amanwana Moyo Island West Sumbawa Regency Tel. +62 371 22233 Email. amanwana@amanresorts.com www.amanresorts.com
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When it comes to Amanwana, it really is almost about the journey as much as the destination. Situated on Moyo island in Sumbawa Besar, the jungle resort is just an hour’s f light from Bali in a C-208 Amphibian Cessna Caravan f loat plane that f lies impossibly close to stunning volcanoes and dives into marshmallow clouds of brilliant white, emerging again to reveal dazzling views of rugged green slopes and picture perfect coastlines before it lands at a backward tilt with a gentle series of splashes on the most perfectly sapphire waters. A multitude of varieties of fish are already visible as the plane pulls up to the jetty and the door opens. “Selamat pagi. Welcome to the jungle.” The beautiful island of Moyo is located just kilome-
tres off the northern coast of Sumbawa. Since 1976 it has been a protected zone for an abundance of animal and bird life, from deer and banteng bull to wild boar, macaque monkeys, sea eagles, and osprey. The island has a population of just 3,500, residing in eight villages around the coast and subsisting through fishing, farming, and trading. Amanwana, styled as a luxury camp, has been here since 1993. Of the island’s 36,000 hectares, Amanwana actively manages 12,000, officially set aside as a nature reserve. Moyo is truly a nature lover’s dream, offering a fascinating natural environment for exploration, with vegetation that ranges from dry savannah to dense jungle and hikes that take in a series of spring-fed waterfalls and cool freshwater pools. Its shores are lapped by the Flores Sea, in which a wealth of coral is
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The floatplane door opens. “Selamat Pagi. Welcome to the jungle.” found, from stag horn to gorgonian fans, while throughout the waters can be seen a profusion of colourful tropical fish and sometimes also dolphins, manta rays, and whales. Amanwana has its own dive centre and offers PADI certified dive courses, so divers at all levels can experience the magnificent worlds under these waters. “I’d rather be in a tent than in a house,” Mary Leakey famously said, and in tents like these, few would argue. With either ocean or jungle views and linked by sand pathways under a canopy of tropical forest through which families of monkeys scramble, the resort accommodation consists of 20 luxury air-conditioned tents that are bright, spacious, and airy, each enclosed by a solid wall underneath a canvas ceiling, with teak-framed windows along the sides offering panoramic views of the surroundings. The tents are not walled off from the rest of the island, which is also a sanctuary for the indigenous Rusa deer, beneficiaries of Amanwana’s breeding programme, which has ensured a steady increase in numbers of their population. In May 2008, Amanwana created the Moyo Conservation Fund, which enables guests to contribute to the conservation efforts and community work on the island. From restoring the coral reef to building a school in the nearby village of Labuan Aji, the resort works towards protecting, nurturing and enriching the environment for future generations of islanders and visitors. These efforts also include a turtle protection project, waste recycling scheme, and education and support for stewardship of the land. At another level of community involvement, one-third of the staff is from local villages, opening up opportunities to them abroad while strengthening ties between the resort and the villages back home. A sense of this harmony with both the environment and the surrounding communities is deeply felt during a stay here. Add to this the usual impeccable Aman service and understated elegance, and you have the ingredients of an incomparable resort and a truly memorably experience.
Nammos Beach Club
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An Abdi Dalem (Jogjakartan Palace Servant) sharing ‘sego gurih’ or holy rice at the Labuhan Merapi ritual. These Javanese believe that ‘sego gurih’ can give them certain blessings. The rice itself is cooked together with grilled coconut and served on special occasions such as this. The ritual itself has been performed for decades at the top of Mount Merapi, one of the most sacred mountains in Java, where Javanese gather to pray and humbly bring offerings to Mbah Merapi, the ruler of the mountain.
The photographer: Karolus Naga
K arolus Naga is a traveller and photographer, whose work
includes photojournalism, documentary, portrait and street photography. Based in Jogjakarta, he can be contacted at karolus_naga@yahoo.com or +628179413312
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The Sky Above, The Earth Below Frenchman André Graff was once a hot air balloonist, flying high with the world’s wealthiest people. When a bout of Lyme’s disease brought him back down to earth, he discovered an opportunity to work with some of its poorest, digging wells for remote tribes on the islands of Sumba and Savu.
1 Troppo (facing page) “Heat sickness can cause serious physiological and psychological problems,” says André. “In some parts of East Nusa Tenggara, other members of the community follow these ‘crazy’ people around all day to make sure that they don’t hurt themselves. In this way, the ‘craziness’ has been turned into an emotional and touching ritual that has become accepted in society. According to ‘village medicine’, a good way to get rid of the trance brought on by this heat sickness is to crawl around in the mud of the mangroves in the hot sun. Even though I have never ‘gone troppo’, I did try the local remedy soon after I first visited Sumba. The feeling of complete relaxation I got after emerging from that dirt bath reminded me of the ‘fango mud’ treatments people pay a lot of money for in chic health spas in the West.”
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All images are courtesy of André Graff, from his collection of 25,000 photographs of Sumba and Savu, the “awareness-raising tools” of his adventure.
The ‘second half’ of André’s life began when he was travelling through Indonesia as a tourist in 2004. Particularly taken with the islands of East Nusa Tenggara, he returned there the following year to find the people he had met and give them the photographs he had taken of them. For most, it was the first time that they had ever seen a picture of themselves. He brought more than 3,500 photos with him, distributing them by hand. On this visit, he found himself becoming concerned with the living conditions of his new friends, and in particular with the difficulties they had in establishing convenient fresh water supplies.
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Death in Sumba André Graff recently held an exhibition of images of Sumba at the Alliance Française in Denpasar, Bali (including many of the images on these pages). Some of his images are still available for sale at Cempaka Gallery in Bali, with proceeds going towards the fund for construction of wells in Sumba and Savu. For more information, contact Cempaka, Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai 8, Simpang Suir, Bali 80361 Tel. +62 361 766555 More on André Graff’s projects can be found on his website: web.me.com/graffounet.
Villagers, generally women, would spend much of each day walking for miles to fetch water. It wasn’t that fresh water was unavailable where they were; rather, they simply did not have the means or know-how to get to it. He built his first well in Savu in November 2005, in a small village called Ledetadu where the water supply had for a long time been unsafe to consume. The idea for this first well was suggested to him by a missionary he met (someone he describes as being “closer to Léo Ferré than the Vatican”) who had learned a technique for creating wells, using tubes formed of rings of concrete, that seemed to André perfectly adapted to problems he had encountered in west Sumba, where there was sufficient water available but no appropriate techniques for capturing and storing it. The ease and relatively little cost with which the project was completed had a major impact on André; a few days work and a few hundred Euro were all that it took to create a clean water supply for the inhabitants of seven villages, improving the quality of their daily lives immeasurably. It became a mission for the Frenchman: to date, André has built a total of 23 wells in Sumba and Savu, and his work continues apace. He himself has been adopted by a village in Sumba and is still enamoured of the charm of their “rude but marvellous way of life”, while working to make it a little better.
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Streets Spice on the
Although hanging onto a grumbling 1721 metre high volcano, Gunung Gamalama, the island of Ternate yielded and continues to yield fruits of the earth – cloves, nutmeg and coffee included. Once the pawn of colonial powers – the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and the English have left their traces here – this tiny volcanic island (65 square kilometres) in North Maluku thankfully has its calmer side of volcanic lakes and white sand beaches. Ternate continues to surprise. It is not only rich in history, produce, or natural sights, its vibrant streetscapes belie an island languor in a veritable smorgasbord of colour, style, quirks, and themes. It’s a warm welcome to Ternate via its street paintings. Whether engaging, perplexing, incomprehensible or ribtickling, they are certainly novel, even when copied from other sources; Mom & Pop, Batman, and ‘Smiley’ icons stare down at passers-by. Soccer is always a popular topic, with recognisable stars from FC Barcelona or AC Milan all placed in the Djarum League! Culture too, in the form of an East Javanese reog dancer, this time gracing the back of a truck incongruously entitled ‘Absolute’!
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Find the sobriquet “apatite (sic) for destruction” placed below a representation of a grinning skull. Is that dark humour or an outlet for aggression? Then there’s a pair of intertwined hands below the word “Topans” which may refer to “typhoon”. As with all art, it’s up to individual interpretation. All manner of pop and rock icons, whether the Sex Pistols or Iwan Fals, a celebrated Indonesian singer and songwriter on social issues, share wallspace and bus stops with local wayang puppet or cheerful Japanese anime characters. Social comment is rife. Wry or tongue-in-cheek observations in a riot of images pepper surfaces in an almost defiant rebuttal against tropical torpor. All it takes is a lick of paint to record the profound or the inane, or maybe the insane. Not forever, perhaps, but till the next creative outburst.
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Heroes Iwan Fals and Imam Bonjol are among the characters that enliven Ternate walls.
“A ‘Superman’ variant here A ‘pahlawan’ or warrior there It’s street art galore In Ternate everywhere.” (Swee Lin Kaehlig)
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Bali Purnati 42 k a
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{
“It’s a very important place, Purnati,” says Leonard Lueras. “It was a lot of work but I’m glad we did it, and now it has a life of its own.” On this sacred and secluded expanse of land just south of Batuan village, a centre for the arts unlike any other has begun to thrive, fostering the creation of extraordinary works of art and opportunities for meaningful intercultural exchanges.
Image cour tesy of mario utama
}
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Within the beautiful grounds of Bali Purnati (a Balinese word signifying a peaceful or pure heart) are an outdoor amphitheatre, an imposing pavilion, a large temple, comfortable two-storey lumbung structures for accommodation, and a large swimming pool overlooking rice terraces and the Mbeng river valley. Meditation sites are found throughout, the most special of these on the edge of the property, near the river and an ancient cave with a holy spring. Previously owned by the queen of Gianyar, the grounds were used in the past as a sacred bathing area. The site retains a powerful energy, which has led to its being embraced by the yoga world as well as by its creative visitors and guests. Japanese drummers from Nara have developed new works here, as have dancers from Manhattan, sculptors from Papua, and individual artists-in-residence from all over the world. The centre has also facilitated gatherings that range from regional think tanks to CEO conventions and cultural events tailor-made for the Hermès fashion house.
“ It began almost by accident,” says Leonard. He himself had been visiting Bali since the early seventies, taking breaks from his job as a war correspondent in Vietnam to come down to the island for some surfing R&R. Later, in 1984, he was commissioned to write a book about Bali, which became Bali: The Ultimate Island. He moved here with his two children and it has been his home ever since, a base from which he continues to publish. “I’ve done maybe 38 books now, in different roles, as writer, photographer, designer, publisher.” The Purnati story began with a phone call from Marina Mahathir. “She told me that she’d met this young chap working with the Herald Tribune (as executive assistant to the publisher) and that he was interested to stay in Bali…his name was Justin Smith. Justin is from Connecticut and he is now the president of The Atlantic magazine. So, he showed up with friends and they all stayed here with me. We became good pals and so they kept coming back periodically.” It was a group of friends from all over the world, who had met while studying together at Georgetown University. The idea of creating a compound in Bali gradually evolved into the establishment of a foundation with a mission to dedicate itself to “the preservation, promotion, presentation and creation of new directions in the performing, visual and design arts”, with separate divisions to manage activities related to traditional Balinese dance, music, arts and crafts, publishing and graphic design. “ Basically,” explains Leonard, “it’s a place for people to go and develop new art forms; that’s the plan. It’s local, regional, or international. It’s for cross-cultural exchange. It’s worked out and there’s been some marvellous things happening there. It’s a work-inprogress.”
To find out more about Bali Purnati, visit www.balipurnati.com. Bali Purnati, Jl. Gunung Abang, Br. Penataran, Negara Batuan, Sukawati, Gianyar, Bali. Tel. +62 361 294590 The centre is located approximately 15 minutes from Ubud, 25 minutes from Sanur and 45 minutes from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.
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I La Galigo
Inspired by Sureg Galigo (the Galigo Manuscripts), an epic poem that relates the creation myth of the Bugis people of South Sulawesi, I La Galigo is a work that combines theatre, dance, music, and poetry.
The 6,000-page poem upon which it is based was written in the Old Bugis tongue and tells the story of the creation of the Middle World (this world) and the first six generations of the descendents of the gods. Developed at Bali Purnati in 2003 by acclaimed theatre director Robert Wilson, with music composed by Indonesian composer Rahayu Supanggah, I La Galigo was described by the New York Times as “stunningly beautiful”. More than a hundred dancers, actors and musicians came to Purnati from all over Indonesia to work closely with Wilson and a team of international production assistants at Bali Purnati to develop this operatic piece. “ I think it’s the biggest theatre piece that’s ever left Indonesia,” says Leonard. “It’s still touring the world. It sold out at the Lincoln Center in New York, played at six major theatres in Europe, Melbourne, Taipei. It premiered at the Esplanade in Singapore. That was a very big success and it’s still ongoing, with an all-Indonesian cast.”
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The Kronos Quartet & Rahayu Supanggah
In June 2009, the world-renowned Kronos Quartet came to Bali to spend a week developing a new work with Indonesian composer Rahayu Supanggah at Bali Purnati, a time that culminated in a very special concert, their first performance in Indonesia.
In its three decades of existence, the quartet has had more than 500 works written for them by hundreds of composers all over the world. ronos founder David Harrington described the opportunity K to finally collaborate and perform in Indonesia as a “win-win situation”. “ I’ve always found Indonesian music to be very mysterious. Beautifully, totally, wonderfully mysterious. Going to Bali has probably increased my curiosity…our time at Purnati allowed us the opportunity to get a little sense of the wider culture.” The collaboration with Supanggah began when he came to San Francisco for a week at the beginning of the year; work continued at Purnati, and then finally he arrived in San Francisco in October with a 30-minute piece. “We were thinking of it as a continuation of the piece we performed at Purnati, but the piece has taken on a much different form. Supanggah says he’s never done something like this before. What I always want is for each composer who writes for us to write the piece that they have to do – that life won’t be quite right if they don’t do it.” The quartet, together with Supanggah, premiered the completed work, entitled ‘Purnati’, in October 2009 at the Ann Hamilton Tower in California. When they
played in the open-air pavilion at Bali Purnati, it felt as though all of nature was joining in with them: cicadas sang, frogs croaked, and wind rustled through the trees at uncannily apt moments. “That has never happened quite in that same way before,” says David. It became an integral part of the piece, to the extent that in the performance of it in California, they used recordings of the ambient sounds at Purnati to recreate the magical effect. Perhaps the strongest memory that will remain with them is of Made Sidia, the elderly puppet master that they went to visit in Bone village during their stay. “We were invited to his home, and basically he came out of retirement to do a performance for us. I will never ever forget that. It was like Dickens, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Bartók… anyone whose artistic scope is just vast. I would love to do something with him in future.”
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A House in Bali “ It was quite by accident that I had heard the few gramophone records that were to change my life completely, bringing me out here in search of something quite indefinable – music or experience, I could not at this moment say. The records had been made in Bali, and the clear, metallic sounds of the music were like the stirring of a thousand bells, delicate, confused, with a sensuous charm, a mystery that was quite overpowering. I begged to keep the records for a few days, and as I played them over and over I became more and more enchanted with the sound. Who were the musicians? I wondered. How had this music come about? Above all, how was it possible, in this late day, for such a music to have been able to survive?” Colin McPhee, A House in Bali (1944)
Dewa Ketut Alit, on kendang, with the Gamelan Salukat during the June 2009 performance of A House In Bali in Puri Saraswati, Ubud.
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g Kadek Dewi Aryani, playing both Rantun, the cook, and Camplung, Sampih’s dance teacher, is one of the most promising and talented young Balinese performers today, having participated in numerous festivals and performances around the world, including Robert Wilson’s epic I La Galigo, composed by Rahayu Supanggah. She is a creative performer, combining her knowledge of traditional Balinese dance with more contemporary approaches.
It was in 1931 that Canadian composer Colin McPhee first heard recordings of the Balinese gamelan; fascinated by these new sounds, he travelled to Bali and remained there until 1939. Evan Ziporyn’s opera, A House in Bali, performed for the first time this year in both Bali and California, is based on his autobiographical account of his years there. McPhee’s musical transcriptions, photographs, and writings about the island of Bali contributed significantly to Western awareness and to the development of contemporary classical music, influencing composers from Benjamin Britten (who was later a housemate of his in New York) to Philip Glass. The opera takes up his story after McPhee’s first visit to Bali. He was in Paris, feeling disillusioned and alienated from western culture, and decided to return to the island to take up his meticulous work of documenting gamelan music. He built a
house on Sayan Ridge next to his friend, anthropologist Margaret Mead, while another important companion, artist Walter Spies, was just a couple of miles away in Campuhan. The trials and tribulations of building the house must still have resonance for some expatriate residents of Bali today; as Evan puts it, “by his own account, he chooses a bad location, builds at an inauspicious time, gets barricaded by the villagers, and buys his way out of the jam.” He became absorbed in his study of the music, in transcribing and describing what he heard: “I had lost all track of time; I no longer answered letters; once in a while I would send Pugog to Den Pasar to ask at the hotel what day of the week it was…” The opera touches on his homosexuality, a topic seldom discussed, and hints at an ambiguity in his relationship with Sampih, the
McPhee (played by tenor Marc Molomot) experiences some trouble while building his house, when the villagers barricade him in for violations of adat. He eventually agrees to join the banjar and make annual contributions, and the situation is smoothed over with a ceremony performed at the house.
Kadek Dewi Aryani and Desak Made Suarti Laksmi, a performer of Balinese dance, arja, and gamelan and one of only two female composers from Bali whose work is performed internationally. She has toured extensively and has taught at Clark University, Emerson College, Eastman School of Music, and MIT, where she co-founded Gamelan Galak Tika in 1993.
young boy who saves him from drowning and is then taken into McPhee’s household and trained as a dancer. The exploration of this theme has caused a little controversy since the opera was first performed this year, but Evan defends his characterisation of the composer. “He is discontent, searching, and his emotions take him by surprise. How he reacts to this seems to make people uncomfortable, but I think it’s an honest portrayal. He’s not meant to be Papageno or the Music Man – hopefully people will recognize something in him. We touched a nerve, some people find that bracing, others find it threatening – I can live with that.” Whatever of the debate over the portrayal of McPhee, the most noteworthy aspect of the production proved to be the music itself, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “an ingenious and often beautiful fusion of contemporary classical strains and
Sampih, played by Nyoman Triyana Usadhi. Nyoman was born in Boston, and began dancing at the age of six, performing in public with several gamelans in the U.S., before returning to Bali, where he became a primary dancer for the children’s gong kebyar competition.
Balinese gamelan”. East met West in the respective ensembles of the Bang On A Can All-Stars and Gamelan Salukat, led by founder Dewa Ketut Alit, a vibrant and thrilling collaboration. The opera closes as McPhee departs from Bali. Spies was arrested five days later, and subsequently perished on a POW ship that was bombed by a Japanese warplane as it travelled from Sumatra to Ceylon. Sampih performed internationally and enjoyed fame and fortune, but was brutally murdered 16 years later upon returning to Bali from Broadway. McPhee never made it back to the island where he had spent such idyllic days, and the few pieces of music that he later composed are filled with nostalgia for those times. A House in Bali is due to be performed again in the United States in the fall of 2010 (location yet to be announced). For more information, see www.houseinbali.org.
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Monkey Business Topeng Monyet – masked monkeys – are a traditional Jakarta entertainment, borrowing their visuals and sense of drama from the masked human dancers of Cirebon in West Java. Dave Goodwin discovers that the teenaged monkey handlers from one of Jakarta’s darkest slums provide a new twist to an old tale.
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It’s raw morning in a stinking Jakarta slum. A muddy, sloping walkway separates lines of shanty houses made of brick or wooden planks and topped with corrugated iron. Thin, almost clear sunlight – highly unusual for the third most polluted megacity in the world – lights up working girls teetering on spattered high heels as they return home from their nightly business. The occasional banci wanders by with an extra swing of the hips as the group of young monkey-handlers looks on with tired disinterest. None of the monkey boys are more than twenty years old; most weigh in at about fourteen or fifteen. Two of the boys argue over a pile of wooden toys while another allows his grey macaque to check his hair for fleas. A ten-year-old arrives on the edge of the gang and sets down two bulky boxes suspended by a bamboo stick. He arches his shoulder in pain. “Fuck me. That was heavy.”
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His older partner pokes the monkey inside one of the boxes while the younger boy opens the second box to reveal a cassette recorder and speaker sitting on top of a car battery. He touches two wires together and flicks a switch before the slum’s walkway is drowned with extra-loud, tangy, Bollywood-style dangdut music. Syarifudin, 14, comes to sit with us; he can’t stop talking. He’s got a scar running across his left cheek (“a monkey claw”) and looks like he’s on speed. “I like it in Japan,” he says with an unrelenting grin. “Tokyo’s where it’s at… I like the cars, smart, loads of silver cars there, filled with chicks, just try and take me away from there…”. Syarifudin’s been playing the streets since he was nine, shining shoes and sniffing glue from under his T-shirt until he ended up working for the monkey boss. Like all of the boys, he and his busker-friend Sito, 16, rent a monkey and props from the boss for Rp.30,000 (US$3) a day. From dawn to dusk they hope to make enough to eat, smoke and buy the odd plastic bag of arak that they sip through a straw when they’re feeling flush. The older Sito interrupts his friend’s frantic monologue to tell us that he wanted to be a policeman ‘when he was young’, but just doesn’t have the grades. Most of the boys are lucky to have passed primary
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school. The boss appears in the doorway of a house from across the leaking street: the monkey teams, in pairs and threes, trickle down to the road where the first of the morning’s monster buses surface through the gathering smog to take them to the four corners of this hectic, industrial-strength Gotham. There are plenty of stomping grounds to choose from, like middleclass Pasar Minggu in the south of the city, or the central leafy avenues and fake Roman mansions of military Menteng where the old generals live. Then there are the Chinese-Indonesians in the west, while the port of Tanjung Priok – notorious for its close-knit gangland culture – hangs like a deadweight in the north of the capital. But today it’s the quiet, carefully swept gangs – alleyways – of workingclass East Jakarta. The monkey boss insists that he accompany me as I tag along with a trio of boys and Lilis, their usual 2-year-old female macaque. The boss brings with him – pirate-like, on his shoulders – two more monkeys that are dressed in Evel Knievel costumes. The monkeys look like urban rock-and-roll casualties. “I dyed this one’s hair blonde,” the boss points to the smaller of the monkeys, “so that he looks more like a bule.”
“ I dyed this one’s hair blonde,” the boss points to the smaller of the monkeys, “so that he looks more like a bule.”
I ask Sawal, the boss, how he trains his monkeys to perform the stunts. The boss replies: “I hit them with a large stick until they do what I ask.” Old men sit smoking on their doorsteps while girls in long, dark-blue skirts and white headscarves amble and laugh their way to school. A toddler shuffles past wearing her mother’s outsized shoes in a thick-aired, other-worldly, Jakarta dream. The monkey boys pick their pitch and set the heavy wooden boxes down on the hot pavement. Instead of the car-battery-driven cassette recorder, they’ve opted for a more traditional approach: cow-skin drums that the shy 18-year-old Udin thumps on rhythmically while Samin, 17, taps out a flowing, melodic, Eastern tune on the gamelan at his feet. Rohim, 19, controls Lilis with shouted commands while he yanks on her chain to encourage her various stunts. First, the young Lilis sits on a little wooden chair and pretends to do her make-up in the mirror – “like the Dutch ladies when they were here” explains the boss. Next she takes to a wooden bicycle and parades in front of the children that have gathered at the sound of the
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here is no room for T sentimentality in Jakarta.
music; and finally a stint as an Indonesian soldier of the 1945-49 Revolution, sniping at Dutch soldiers until she’s blown up by a Dutch bomb. Only once is the peace broken, when one of the pair dressed as Evel Knievel takes a swipe at a passing mother on a bike: long periods of captivity and harsh beatings mean temperaments can swing from cutely calm to fiercely aggressive in one sweep of the paw. The grey macaques – caught by hunters in the retreating, once-lush jungles of West Java – are known to carry rabies into the densely-populated metropolis. Similarly, the performing monkeys of Jakarta have tested positive for both simian T-cell infection (believed to be the primate ancestor to the human version of the virus that causes T-cell leukemia in people) and the potentially fatal herpes B virus. It’s not surprising when some city residents shut their doors or become uncharacteristically impolite when topeng monyet – literally, masked monkeys – threaten to come their way. Despite being a Jakartan tradition once played out with dogs and snakes, and originating from the masked human dances of Cirebon,
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not everyone is happy with the exploitative status quo of the game. For Sawal, the boss, it’s a money-spinner. For Udin, Samin and Rohim, topeng monyet is a necessary way of life in a city well-known to its citizens for its asphalt-hardness. There is no room for sentimentality in Jakarta. Nine hours of walking brings us fullcircle back to the slum. The Evel Knievel couple, in their surreal, his-and-hers stars-and-stripes cloaks, have also had their shot at the limelight during the afternoon: cheered by some, stones thrown by others. I want to photograph the hut where the monkey boys sleep – 18 to a four by five-metre room courtesy of Sawal – but the boys don’t think their boss would like it. Udin politely takes me aside as night falls and the mosquitoes begin to bite. “You’re always welcome here during the day. But at night, be careful. There are a lot of things in the slum you don’t want to know about.” He’s right: not everybody was made for the monkey business in starless Jakarta.
rebuilding padang After an earthquake on September 30, 2009 that killed and injured thousands and damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings, the people of West Sumatra are still dealing with the loss of loved ones, homes and jobs, and they still need help.
Here are some organisations through which you can contribute: Surf Aid International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering through community-based health programs, with the support of the New Zealand and Australian governments, the global surfing community, and local communities in affected areas. www.surfaidinternational.org
Build Change is an international non-profit social enterprise that designs earthquake-resistant houses in developing countries and trains builders, homeowners, engineers, and government officials to build them. Build Change leaves in place permanent change in construction practice by building local skills and stimulating local demand. www.buildchange.org Mercy Corps seeks to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. The Mercy Corps team of 3700 professionals consists of engineers, financial analysts, drivers, community organizers, project managers, public health experts, administrators, social entrepreneurs and logisticians. www.mercycorps.org (click to donate to Asia Pacific Disaster) image: Chad Bouchard