Good afternoon, good evening, all blurt friends, so on this occasion I will again post about the beauty of dance or art in my area, this time I will discuss the beauty of the Baris memedi dance.
In Pakraman Puluk Puluk Village, Tengkudak Village, Penebel District, Tabanan, there is a unique tradition when the Ngaben ceremony is held, namely performing the Baris Memedi dance as an escort of spirits to heaven.
When a resident dies in Puluk Puluk Pakraman Village, Tengkudak Village, Penebel District, Tabanan and is about to hold a Ngaben ceremony, the Baris Memedi dance will be performed first.
However, before being implemented, there are several conditions that must be met, namely the person who dies must already have grandchildren or great-grandchildren. If you don't have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, the Baris Memedi dance performance may be cancelled.
"If there is a big pangabenan or a large pangabenan using a large container, the Baris Memedi dance will be performed before the funeral," said a community leader in Pakraman Puluk Puluk Village.
The Memedi line in Puluk Puluk Pakraman Village has actually been around for a long time. However, no one knows for sure how the Baris Memedi started. To be sure, local people believe Baris Memedi is a symbol to deliver the spirits of the dead to reach heaven. "This tradition is passed down from generation to generation," he continued.
Susana Yasa explained that Baris Memedi dancers consist of an odd number of men, a maximum of 11 people with one person as Panemprat who wears a mask when dancing. The dancers also dance spontaneously without any previous routine practice, like line dance in general. Uniquely, Baris Memedi uses dried or hardened banana leaves as clothing, plus fresh leaves which are all obtained around the local setra (graves).
“The number of dancers is odd, it can be 7, 9 or a maximum of 11 people, but more often it is 9 people according to the nine cardinal directions. They dance spontaneously," he explained.
Baris memedi has been performed several times at the Bali Arts Festival. Because it is considered a sacred dance, at that time the residents first performed a ritual to ask for instructions, whether they would like to be performed at PKB. If you don't get the blessing of Ida Sasuhunan, then the Pakraman Puluk Puluk Village will not dare to try to stage it. "For appearances at PKB, we did a long time of preparation and practiced dance and percussion," he said, adding, Baris Memedi is not only in Puluk Puluk Pakraman Village. But also in the Jatiluwih Traditional Village, Jatiluwih Village, Penebel District, Tabanan.
The last time Baris Memedi was staged was during mass cremation or ngaben cringe, last August 15, 2018. According to one of the dancers, I Nyoman Suwirka, 47, who has been dancing Baris Memedi since 1984, Baris Memedi is an ancestral tradition that is carried out from generation to generation, to be exact, every D-1 of the Pangabenan ceremony. "But not just any cremation ceremony. The line of Memedi is only danced during Ngaben Madya and higher,
Baris Memedi is unique, including in terms of clothing. The dancers wear clothes made of dried banana leaves or keraras, carriage leaves and shrouds or gauze used by the deceased. Usually using dried banana leaves and carriage taken directly from trees in the local setra area.
“Before dancing, the dancers are first accompanied by Shiva's Stakeholders. Because, Baris Memedi is an unen-unen at Ulun Setra or Prajapati Temple which will deliver the spirit of the diaben,
Not infrequently, the dancers, who are all male, are in a trance or trance. Even in ancient times, dancers would run around and experience mental disorders if the ceremony was not complete. Therefore, in the performance, there is one dancer who serves as Panemprat.
“Panemprat will come out after the other dancers dance for about 20 minutes. Panemprat will stop the dancers from returning to the setra and not entering residential areas,” explained Suwirka, who happens to be a panemprat dancer.
As panemprat, Suwirka brought a tool in the form of a ceremonial kelatkat to awaken the dancers who were in trouble by hitting the dancer's head three times. After dancing, the Baris Memedi dancers (also called Baris Tujeng because they are accompanied by a percussion called Tabuh Tujeng), will be wound at Campuhan Batu Panglukatan in Tukad Yeh Baat.
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