The Dynamics of Rejang Renteng Dance in Bali as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the World

Abstract

This current study is intended to interpret a Balinese cultural product which has taken root in and connected to the Hindu religious system, namely the Rejang Renteng dance. Apart from becoming a cultural product, it also functions as a social cohesion as it involves a significant number of dancers who are children, women, elderly people and the homemakers who become the members of an organisation known referred to as PKK (Family Welfare Education). They interact with one another. The growth and development of the dance have been used as the icon of every Hindu religious activity in Bali, and also as an icon of different social activities. The question is why the Rejang Renteng dance has developed more rapidly than the other dance forms. This current study is also intended to answer different matters on the Rejang Renteng dance, which cannot be separated from the dynamics of the development of the Balinese society which is changing in the current globalisation era. It is also intended to explore the shift in its meaning, function and, which has taken place from the beginning until the current times. The current study was conducted at Masceti Temple Gianyar, Karangasem and Denpasar. The qualitative method, especially the observation, interview and documentary techniques, were applied to collect the data. The data were analysed through four steps; they are reduction, classification, interpretation and conclusion drawing. The informants were determined using the purposive method as they had been determined based on their capacities.

The result of the study shows that (1) the Rejang Renteng dance (Rente) can only be performed by the women attaining menopause and are appointed by what is locally referred to as Ida Betara (the God who resides at the temple where the dance is performed) and may not be replaced by others; (2) a purification ceremony is held for the dance; therefore, it is classified as a sacred dance locally referred to as Tari Wali; (3) the Rejang Renteng dance (Rerejangan), which is seasonally performed, is referred to as the Balih-balihan dance; it is a result of the creative reconstruction made by the artists who were inspired by the sacred Rejang dance (Tari Wali). It is massively performed by the women who are the members of the PKK organisation for which no purification ceremony is held. Being a sacred dance, the Rejang Renteng dance is only performed at the temples or the other holy places; however, the creatively reconstructed Rejang Renteng dance can be performed as a part of different religious and social activities. Symbolically, it is a cosmic dance which refers to the concept of the event when the angels descend from the heaven to watch the ritual performed by human beings and is performed in the formation of a circle (renteng). Its sacred meaning empties into the concept of satyam (the truth), siwam (holiness), and sundaram (beauty).