Telling Other Tales

Experiencing the Balinese Mask World
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-90-485-6077-6
Verlag: Pallas Publications

Buch, Englisch, 424 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Asian Heritages

Since it first mesmerized Western audiences in the early 20th 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 and 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.

Zielgruppe

Academic and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Chan Johnson, Irving

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunstformen, Kunsthandwerk Installations-, Aktions-, Computer- und Videokunst

Inhaltsverzeichnis

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

Über Autor(innen)

Irving Chan Johnson is an associate professor in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. He received his PhD in social anthropology from Harvard University in 2004. His research interests span issues of personhood, circulation, borderlands, artisanship and traditional performance in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Irving is the founder and artistic director of Eka Suwara Santhi, a Balinese dance group based in Singapore.