Gambuh

     One of the types of courtly dance-drama mentioned in the old records survives in Bali today, preserved by a continuous performing tradition that goes back 400 years. This is Gambuh, a bebali, or semi-secular, dance of the temple’s second courtyard, which is performed without masks. In Gambuh, aspects of the manners and ideals of the sophisticated courtiers of the Majapahit era are preserved, as well as the musical repertoire, choreographic ideas, and highly refined literature of the period. Archaic, formal, and stately, Gambuh is accompanied by its peculiar form of music, dominated by wailing flutes (suling), and is presented by grave dancer-actors who chant and intone lengthy speeches.

Gambuh is also of great importance in Balinese dance because of its influence on later forms; it is the source and prototype for the more modern forms of dance-drama like Topeng, Wayang Wong, Arja, Legong, and Balinese choreographers have relied heavily on Gambuh for notions of structure, characterization, means of dramatization, compositional elements, costume, musical repertoire, and other features. In addition, Gambuh is the point of contact and communication between the dancer and the accompanying gamelan in every type of dance that developed later (Figure 4).

The traditional locus for the Gambuh performance is the jaba tengah, or second courtyard, of the temple. This space serves as the ante-room to the jeroan and, like it, is enclosed by a wall about 2 meters high. It contains buildings and pavilions in which kitchen equipment, ceremonial paraphernalia, musical instruments, and costume items are stored between festivals. Tall ceremonial gateways (candi bentar) give access to the outer courtyard and to the jeroan. As the middle space in the traditional Balinese temple, the Jana tengah is, in effect, a transitional zone between the sacred and secular space.