Story of Bali, Indonesia

Only a very brief episode is depicted on the stage, and often in such a way as to elude recognition. This, in a modified form, is characteristic of all Balinese plays except Ardja. But in Gamboch the irrelevant clowning of Baris and Topeng is replaced by flamboyant dancing equally irrelevant to the plot, and the choreographic ritual preliminaries completely overshadow the story. No one in Bali really cams about the story, and it is doubtful whether it unfolds itself even during the orgies of Gamboeh which take place in certain villages, notably those which most felt the aristocratic influence of the rajas' courts.

Any one you question about the plot will murmur: 'Amad' or 'Lasem', 'Prebangsa' or Praboe Megada'; for the Balinese is satisfied with a very vague allocation of parts. The story is evoked by the mere utterance of great names familiar to every one, and the feeling that a certain character is present seems to be sufficient. Names are a spell, and the mind of the Balinese is not eagerly roaming like ours in search of logical connections. He loses himself not in the inner but in the outer movement, and to the impatient question: 'What is happening?' will probably reply: 'Gamboeh.'

The possible number of characters in Gamboeh is very large, for each rank has its own particular heralds and attendants, and if more than one of each type of character is introduced there will be a corresponding increase of satellites. It is generally only after very long and elaborate choreographic evolutions that an individual name will emerge which one can perhaps fit in with the apparent action on the stage.
It is important to master the costumes and style of the main characters and their essential attendants, for then we shall at least have a clue to the formal pattern of the play, if not to the actual story, and at whatever point we happen to arrive we shall know from the style of the persons on the stage whether a king or prince or patih is to be expected; for even if the cast is reduced to its slightest complement, the sequence of each group is as invariable as the hours of the day

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