Philosophical and religious background of dance in Indonesia

Abstract

I would like to start my paper by saying that I am very much impressed by the speech of Dr. Aurora Roxas-Lim, Assistant Co-ordinator of a philosophical approach to the field of dance. SPAFA, which gave talk about therefore would like to ask a little bit more of your time to the philosophical background of Balinese dance. Although I talk mostly about Bali, I believe that in some ways, other parts of Indonesia share more or less the same conceptions. To the Balinese the universe is the macrocosm. It is believed to consist of five elements, the Panca Maha Buta. Let me quote the line from Penyahcah Parwa, Balinese wayang kulit which describes in a very condensed form how the universe was created out of the five basic elements: in every -- ... gumeter gatin ikanan pertiwi - apah - bayu - teja akasa." Translated, the phrase goes like this: "... vibrations or churning/ the earth, water, wind, light, ether are born."