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Glossary
balungan – The generally slow-moving central melody of Javanese gamelan music.
barong – A high-spirited, mercurial mythical beast (in Balinese religion and theater) representing the power of good; danced by two men inside an ornate costume.
celempung – A plucked zither with metal strings.
dalang – A shadow play puppeteer in Java and Bali, this master storyteller brings their tales alive with as many as 100 puppets, each character with a distinctive voice. The dalang holds special authority within the community and is responsible, among other things, for representing wise and ethical conduct.
gambang – A wooden xylophone.
gamelan – A set of instruments, mainly metallophones and bronze gongs of different shapes and sizes. In the past, gamelan sets were often considered sacred heirlooms handed down through generations and can be, for instance, emblematic of a monarch’s power. In large gamelan ensembles, different instruments may perform four different functions with regards to the melody, rhythm, punctuating emphasis, and phrase decoration.
gendèr – A family of metallophones found in Java and Bali usually consisting of bronze keys suspended over bamboo tube resonators; played with two light mallets with a round disk of wood at the end in Bali and with padded mallets in Javanese gamelan; the gender instruments within a Balinese ensemble are purposely made in pairs that are slightly “out of tune” to create acoustical or “shimmering” beats that create the characteristic Balinese gamelan sound.
genggong – An Indonesian jaw harp or jew’s harp made from wood.
Mahabharata – An Indian epic known throughout much of Southeast Asia from which many stories are drawn for wayang or shadow play.
pélog – A specific seven tone system of tuning used in gamelan. Since each gamelan has a unique personal tuning, there are literally hundreds of pélog “scales” (and in some variations—such as gamelan gong kebyar—a five tone version is used).
Ramayana – An Indian tale used as the storyline for many Balinese and Javanese performing arts. The story tells of the kidnapping of Princess Sita, Prince Rama’s wife, by the wicked King Rawana, and the defeat of Rawana by Rama’s monkey allies. The latter is illustrated in Bali by the kecak or monkey chant.
rebab – A bowed stringed instrument.
saron – A metallophone with several thick bronze keys over a wooden trough resonator.
sléndro – A specific five-tone tuning system with relatively equidistant pitches used in gamelan. No tuning is precisely equidistant, and as with pélog, there are almost as many sléndro tunings as there are gamelans in Indonesia.
slentem – A metallophone with several thin bronze keys each suspended over a tuned bamboo resonator.
suling – End-blown bamboo flutes.
wayang – A style of Balinese and Javanese theater that uses flat leather puppets to create shadows behind a white screen back-lit with an oil lamp. Referred to in the West as “shadow puppets” or “shadow play,” this is a complex art form involving skillful manipulation of puppets, a totally integrated musical accompaniment, vast knowledge of the epic literature, and a secure grip on the practice of mysticism and occult meaning behind the particular story that is chosen for the night’s performance.
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Glossary
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