Singapadu: village
of the 'twin kings'
The history of the small village of Singapadu, just up the road
from Batubulan, goes back to the reign of I Dewa Kaleran, a king
of Kalianget who assisted the ruler of Sukawati, I Dewa Agung
Anom, to defeat the king of Mengwi with the aid of two powerful
kerises.
As an expression of gratitude and to strengthen family ties, I
Dewa Agung Anom offered his sister to be Dewa Kaleran's bride.
Impatient at the long wait for his sister's pregnancy, I Dewa
Agung then presented another princess to Dewa Kaleran, this time
one who was already pregnant. This princess gave birth to a boy,
called I Dewa Agung Api. Meanwhile, Dewa Agung's first wife also
became pregnant and gave birth to another son, Dewa Kaleran Sakti.
With the birth of both sons, two princes had rights to the throne,
and the name singha-padu meaning "twin lions" was given
to the place.
Some believe that Dewa Kaleran's sacred keris, Sekar Sandat, possesses
creative powers and has therefore helped dance, music and carving
to flourish in the area. In the past Singapadu was known as a
center for dance and music. Unfortunately, these groups have today
largely withered away. However, barong and legong groups continuing
the traditions of the past can be found in Banjar sungguan. At
one time these dance groups only entertained locals in temples,
but now, they perform for tourists at the large hotels.
Apart from the gong gede, a type of gamelan which most banjars
in Singapadu possess, two banjars, namely Apuan and Seseh, have
an older type of gamelan known as the gong saron. This is mainly
used to accompany death ceremonies, as the tones produced are
thought to express sadness and sorrow. The seven-key xylophones
of the gong saron differ from the 10-key gangsa of a typical gamelan.
Many well-known dancers have come from Singapadu, such as Wayan
Griya, Ketut Rujag, Wayan Kengguh, Made Kerdek and Ni Ketut Senun.
Today, there are many good ones left, such as Nyoman Cerita, Ketut
Kodi, Ni Nyoman Candri and Ketut Rumita. Made Raos, another prominent
dancer, is one of Singapadu's best barong (bapang) dancers. Two
other prominent figures in the field of dance, Dr I Made Bandem,
Rector of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) in Yogyakarta,
and Dr. I Wayan Dibia, Director of STSI (the Academy of Music
and Dance) in Denpasar, are also natives of Singapadu.
In the field of topeng and barong mask making, the late Cokorda
Oka's mastery has now been handed down to his pupils, I Wayan
Tangguh, Cokorda Raka Tisnu and Nyoman Juala. Wayan Pugeg and
Ketut Muja also exhibit great talent in carving wood statues. |
