New songs for old ceremonies at Festival Tepi Sawah

Nusantara-style thanks to Mother Nature 

 

All over Indonesia and indeed many parts of the world, there is the tradition of celebrating the harvest with song and dance, prayers, and a general sense of gratitude for the harvest yields but also rejoicing for the end of the months of hard work and the start of preparations for making handy crafts before the next planting season. In many parts of Indonesia, celebrations to give thanks to Mother Nature or Ibu Pertiwi as she is known here, take place in the rice fields and are given different names in different places and are one of the most enduring of all ceremonies in the archipelago. 

 

'Festival Tepi Sawah, Performing Arts in Nature' is a community-based event held in this spirit with a particular focus on celebrating the enormous variety of musical genres found throughout the archipelago with the aim of increasing environmental awareness. 

 

Make no mistake, this is not a reenactment of post-harvest traditions, but rather an opportunity for artists young and old, famous and unknown to gather together over 2 days and share the joy of playing music as an offering to nature in a relaxed and intimate environment, acknowledging their deep roots while allowing new sprouts to flourish.  

 

Strengthening the bonds that bridge generations and styles Festival Tepi Sawah is indeed a celebration of Indonesian traditions in their most vibrant, essential, and ever-renewing forms. Set on the beautiful grounds of Pejeng’s Omah Apik, with lush vegetation, wooden buildings, and expansive rice fields next door, this festival is an astounding tribute to the vitality of community-based arts in Indonesia bringing attention to the role that nature plays in inspiring the arts and supporting life. 

 

Omah Apik is host to monthly meetings of Indonesian percussionists who come together to share their love of Indonesian-based percussion with the younger generation as inspiration to use traditional Nusantara instruments to create contemporary arrangements. Fascinating Rhythm will be performed on one of the three stages of the festival grounds. 

 

Part of Omah Apik owner Etha Widiyanto’s community engagement includes founding and hosting the Clean Bali Series (since 2006) in which youths from the surrounding community are invited to listen to master storyteller and community elder Made Taro beguile them with stories about the natural environment that he tells with musical accompaniment that he plays on the traditional Balinese Rindik. “When I was young, there were two rindik in every rice field and farmers would play as a way to relax after their hard work. I believe the harmonies for Balinese fold songs come from the songs of the birds that the farmers would hear in the fields”, explained Elder Taro at a recent press conference held in Denpasar’s Kubu Kopi.  

 

Apart from the three tri-lingual (Indonesian, Balinese, and English) children’s books about caring for the environment that the Bali Clean Series has published, they also encourage youth in the neighborhood to express themselves creatively in, about and for the environment and play traditional games that foster love and understanding of nature. 

 

Every artist who will perform in this year’s Festival Tepi Sawah, and indeed everyone involved in organizing this low-key yet monumental event are actively engaged in community-based initiatives of various kinds ranging from eco-friendly businesses to fine arts programming, bringing Indonesian musical traditions to a broader public, bring art to mentally ill youth and a myriad of other inspiring activities that make positive contributions the social and eco-systems of their localities. 

 

Festival Tepi Sawah co-founded by internationally acclaimed jazz singer Nita Aartsen, Antida Productions’ Anom Darsana, and Omah Apik owner Etha Widiyanto, is only in its second year and despite being entirely self-funded by participants, they have managed to put together a truly remarkable line-up with added draw of several workshops. 

 

Along with youth groups and local rising stars, the bill also includes extremely well-known artists who will be playing songs based on the festival theme, well-known Indonesian folk songs, and a tribute to pop legend Chrisye. 

 

Another not-missed performance is musician, composer, and researcher Wayan Gede Yudane’s presentation of his gamelan composition played by 24 musicians on old instruments but with a new sound. The piece, he explained is inspired by water –but not in the sense of general inspiration but rather the specific sound that water makes when it comes in contact with stone. 

 

Along with the countless other rare treats in store for audiences at Festival Tepi Sawah, is the festival’s closing ritual art performance celebrating the animism/dynamism at the heart of Indonesian culture presented by a group from Sumatra along with many if not all the other artists in the festival. 

 

Maestro Made Taro will share his multilingual musical storytelling and artists from Papua, Java, Bali, Maluku, and Sumatra will also share their passion for music and nature during Festival Tepi Sawah – Performing Arts in Nature, which will be held on September 8-9, 2018 at Omah Apik, Pejeng. 

 

Pre-event musical performances will be held on August, 19th, 22nd, 26th, and 30th at venues in Pejeng, Sanur, Ubud and Candidasa.

 

Written by Gabrielle Thibaudeau, Published August 2018 by International Bali Post