Full Description
Since it first mesmerised Western audiences in the early twentieth century, Balinese masked dance-drama (Topeng) has drawn sustained scholarly attention. Yet until now, much of that attention has been filtered through non-Balinese perspectives. Telling Other Tales seeks to redress this imbalance by presenting Topeng as a living, plural tradition—one whose meaning is co-created by Balinese and non-Balinese performers, scholars, and other observers alike. In these essays, academic rigor and personal testimony sit in rich dialogue. Historians, anthropologists, and theatre scholars engage alongside Balinese priests, musicians, Topeng practitioners, weaving together formal analysis with evocative reflections. Together, they illuminate how this ancient theatrical form is not only studied, but lived, acted, and re imagined in the everyday.
This volume will appeal to scholars of performance, Asian studies, and cultural anthropology—or to anyone curious about how traditional forms both shape and are shaped by the many people who carry them forward.
Contents
1 Introduction: Circulating Experiences in the Topeng World, Irving Chan Johnson I. Form, History, Text 2 Speculations on the Origins of Topeng Pajegan, Bruce W Carpenter 3 "Playing with the Past": Visitation and Illusion in the Mask Theatre of Bali, John Emigh 4 Jelantik Goes to Blambangan: A Topeng Pajegan Performance by I Nyoman Kakul, John Emigh 5 Topeng as Performance, I Wayan Budiarsa 6 Personal Reflections on Topeng and Hinduism, I Gede Adhinata 7 A Theatre of Cruelty: The Contexts of a Topeng Performance, Hildred Geertz 8 Topeng "Tuan Tepis": A New Form of Theatre, I Wayan Dibia II. Practices and Materialities 9 Sidha Karya: A Balinese Cultural Icon, I Made Bandem 10 Circulations of Knowledge in Topeng Mask-Making, Kristian Vincent Gunawan 11 The Music of the Topeng Theatre, I Nyoman Kariasa and I Gde Made Indra Sadguna 12 The Variable Careers of Topeng Masks: A View from Bukit Poh Village, Ni Wayan Pasek Ariati and Laurel Kendall 13 "To be Human is to Sing": A Masked Performance of Sarawati's Sacred Wisdom, Ron Jenkins 14 Experiencing Adult Topeng Classes in Bali, Kaori Fushiki III. Genealogies and Biographies 15 I Ketut Rinda as a Topeng Master, Adrian Vickers 16 Cokorda Oka Tublen and the Palace Mask-makers of Singapadu, Cokorda Alit Artawan 17 The Many Lives of I Dewa Putu Kebes: An Ethnographic Biography, Irving Chan Johnson 18 I Nyoman Kakul: An Autobiography of a Topeng Dancer, I Ketut Wirtawan 19 Becoming a King: How I Learnt the Topeng Dalem Arsawijaya Dance, Ida Bagus Gede Surya Peradantha 20 I Wayan Tangguh: Maestro of Traditional Balinese Topeng Carving, I Komang Sudirga 21 Topeng Sidha Karya: An Interview with Ida Bagus Alit, Rucina Ballinger 22 The Story of Dancer and Mask-Maker I Made Regug, I Wayan Suprapta IV. Global Encounters 23 A French Artistic Journey through Topeng, Joanna Belloni 24 Being a Woman Being a Man: Gender and Balinese Topeng Performance, Margaret Coldiron 25 Talking to Lydia Martin, an American Topeng Dancera Martín, Topeng Dancer, Monali Varaiya 26 "An-other" Learning Experience: A Journey in Topeng Characterization, Carmencita Palermo
