A Club of Little Men…A Children’s Tale From Bali

Warning: I advise you not to try to find this on the internet, just follow my link below.

Our family has lived with a Javanese Gamelan in our home for most of our children’s lives.

At one time each of us could play at least one of the instruments. My husband, who has his Masters in Ethnomusicology and whose instrument of choice is the Celempung, below, would rather listen to this music than any other sound on earth. He’s convinced there will be Gamelan music in Heaven.

Celempung

When I hear a live 40 piece Gamelan playing in a large hall or outdoors, (I’m privileged to hear it more than I expected here at Cornell University which owns their own}, it brings back every good memory I have of Java: Warm, tropical breezes; gracious, beautiful people; the most delicious, spicy food on earth; visits to classy, but inexpensive five star hotels.

But, I have other memories of Gamelan also; of hot nights, clove cigarettes lingering in the air, migraines and late nights when I couldn’t go to sleep in my home because of “practice”.

This story, “A Club of Little Men”, was written in 1948, by Colin McPhee. McPhee was a Canadian composer and musicologist. He is primarily known for being the first Western composer to make an ethnomusicological study of Bali.

Gongs and some of the Gamelan Instruments

It was recommended to us by a friend in the South East Asia Department at Cornell.  I think it sounds interesting, and thought you might enjoy hearing about it!

A Club of Little Men: A Children’s Tale from Bali by Colin McPhee, illustrated by Trina Bohan Tyrie

Loved by the people, music is as much a part of Bali’s environment as rivers, trees and the snarl of traffic. It’s often difficult to know where music ends and nature  or Balinese life begins. Echoing, throbbing  xylophones, drums and clashing  cymbals can heard all hours of the day and night,  blending with chirping crickets, croaking frogs and barking dogs.

On this island of perpetual music people spend their free time making beautiful things to offer up to the gods and   perform wonderful music and dance to give both viewers and the deities pleasure and entertainment. All over Bali can be heard the sound of gamelan orchestras with their huge metal gongs, simple flutes, bronze instruments and cymbals.

To achieve the rich sonic complexity and subtlety of Balinese music – without a notational system – requires long hours of rehearsal. Depending on the orchestra, rehearsals are held as infrequently as once every six months or as often as five days a week. In preparation for a big upcoming festival, temple anniversary or to provide music for a dance troupe, incessant researsals take place.

Training starts at a very early age. The instruments remain in the bale banjar for anyone who wishes to practice. When musicians take a break, a mob of little boys descend upon the gamelan and start improvising a melody, often quite deftly. It’s almost impossible to damage the instruments.

A Club of Little Men, originally published in 1948 and re-illustrated in this edition in full color, tells the story of the first ever Balinese music club of young boys, how it all got started and how their teacher puts them through their paces to bring off a successful performance.

Today any visitor to Bali may witness gamelan rehearsals or live performances by just following their ears while  traveling the island’s roadways. The metallic, jangly energy and deep, reverberating gongs are difficult to miss. Village rehearsals are casual, open-air affairs with dogs prancing across the dance floor, infants suckling, villagers walking to and fro.

This charming story takes place in the village of Sayan to the west of Ubud at a time when it was on the edge of a wilderness. We meet Kayun and his friends Kantin, Dapat, Dog, Kinigan and Bedil (as well as his cheeky monkey), and the American stranger who comes into their lives. We follow the adventures of the boys and their eventual mastery of their instruments.

There is every reason to believe that this delightful tale is drawn from real life. Colin McPhee first began his career as pianist and composer. He fell in love with the music of Bali when by chance he encountered a rare recording of  Balinese gamelan music in 1929 which subsequently changed his life. McPhee spent six years in the 1930s in the village of Sayan where he made an intense study of both gamelan and dance and encouraged the talents of the local children.

The Canadian author is most famous for his fascinating book about his stay on the island, A House in Bali, which has been reprinted by Periplus Editions in 2002 and previously reviewed in Toko Buku. Readers can be assured that the technical aspects of gamelan playing are accurately reported as McPhee’s Music in Bali (Yale University Press, 1966) is an early definitive classic in the literature of Balinese gamelan and musical life, combining keen ethnographic description with detailed analysis of instrumentation and repertoire.

In children’s books, the illustrative material is at least as  important as the text. Illustrator Trina Bohan Tyrie, a  professional water-colorist living in Indonesia, has had her work exhibited all over the world for the past 20 years. Her paintings are obviously greatly influenced byIndonesia’s   colors, textures and arts and crafts.

In the present day, a famous children’s gamelan established by the Agung Rai Museum of Art in Peliatan in 1998, has carried on the tradition. The group won the prestigious 1st prize of the children’s section in The Bali Arts Festival. The youngest member is only eight years old and both the       complexity and sheer quantity of material the children are able to learn and perform is astonishing. As in the 1930s, these “small men” are able to communicate complex emotions way beyond their own field of experience.

A Club of Little Men: A Children’s Tale from Bali by Colin McPhee, illustrated by Trina Bohan Tyrie, published by Periplus Editions 2002, 48 pages, ISBN 0-7946-0074-3. For related titles, check out http://www.tuttlepublishing.com.

Available for Rp85,000 at Periplus Bookshops in the Bali Galleria and in the Matahari in Kuta, Warung Made in Seminyak, Ngurah Rai Airport (both the international and domestic terminals), Keris Gallery in Nusa Dua and in Gramedia Bookstores.

For comments and suggestions, please write : pakbill2003@yahoo.com

Copyright@2004 PakBill

You can read all past articles of Toko Buku at http://www.BaliAdvertiser.biz

http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/tokobuku/2004/little_man.html

Colin McPhee, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_McPhee

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Herman Cain’s Teachable Moment

Image by TalkMediaNews via Flickr

This morning we woke up to allegations of Herman Cain‘s sexual misconduct while he was CEO of the Restaurant Association.

In the court of public opinion, our principle of law, “innocent until proven guilty” is seldom the case.

Interesting that this comes out as he edges past all other candidates in the Republican Primary Race. He’s denying that there is any truth to the stories. There is breaking news that his wife, absent until now from the campaign trail,  will be appearing by his side sometime soon.

The mistreatment and harassment of women in the workplace is crude and cruel. I hope that Mr. Cain did no such thing, that he is a man of such strong character that it never entered his mind to do what he is accused of doing. If true, he has nothing to fear and can simply “hang tough”.

I wonder though, if there may be a cultural component to this that possibly will never be discussed. I just watched Tyler Perry’s highly successful film, “Medea’s Family Reunion”,  the other night and found it surprisingly laced with violence toward children, and explicit sexual talk…and it is a family film.

It seems that African American Culture has different standards for what is acceptable humor, sexual conduct, violence, and polite conversation than White culture.  How about Latino Culture? Our experience with Asian culture is that there are different standards…very different ones.

If Herman Cain did wrong, and covered it up, it will be better if he simply admits his fault, and seeks forgiveness from the women he harmed. As a Christian man, familiar with sin and forgiveness, he can attempt to right this wrong (allegedly the women were paid to keep quiet) and serve as a role model to others. It will mean the end of his political career, but he will be a better man for admitting his failures.

Cain calls claims a ‘witch hunt’ By: Reid J. Epstein October 31, 2011 12:12 PM EDT

Herman Cain on Monday called stories about sexual harassment allegations against him “a witch hunt” and repeatedly said that he never harassed female employees while he was CEO of the National Restaurant Association.“Number one, in all of my over 40 years of business experience … I have never sexually harassed anyone,” Cain told the National Press Club. “Number two, while at the restaurant association, I was accused of sexual harassment. Falsely accused, I might add. I was falsely accused of sexual harassment, and when the charges were brought, as the leader of the organization, I recused myself and allowed my general counsel and human resource officer to handle it.”Asked by press club president Mark Hamrick if he thought a fellow presidential candidate floated the sexual harassment story, Cain pleaded ignorance.“I have no idea,” he said. “We have no idea the source of this witch hunt, which is really what this is.”Cain reiterated that he’s not aware of any settlements paid to women who accused him of harassment. He said there is no reason for the restaurant association to divulge more information about the story.“As far as we’re concerned, enough said about the issue,” he said. “There’s nothing there to dig up.”The press club appearance followed Cain’s Fox News interview earlier Monday morning, the first time he addressed the POLITICO story.Cain told Fox he was “falsely accused” of sexual harassment while CEO of the National Restaurant Association and doesn’t know of any settlements paid to resolve such allegations.“It is totally baseless and totally false,” Cain said. “Never have I evercommitted any kind of sexual harassment.”He added: “If the restaurant association did a settlement, I wasn’t even aware of it and I hope it wasn’t for much. If there was a settlement, it was handled by some of the other officers at the restaurant association.”Cain said it’s possible that more sexual harassment allegations could be forthcoming, but that they would be baseless. “If more allegations come, I assure you, people will simply make them up. … The only other allegations will be trumped-up allegations. There is nothing else.”Cain also said the campaign is working to schedule “an exclusive interview” with his wife of 43 years, Gloria, who has not appeared with him on the campaign trail.Cain also acknowledged that the POLITICO storydetailing the accusations against him may hurt his campaign.“Some people are going to be turned off by this cloud that someone wanted to put over my campaign,” he said. “But a lot of people aren’t going to be turned off.”The Fox News interview followed Cain’s appearance at the American Enterprise Institute, where he declined to addressthe POLITICO report, citing “ground rules” imposed by AEI.“I’m going by the ground rules that my hosts have said,” Cain said. Cain’s statements come after his campaign sought to push back against the report but did not directly deny that cash settlements had been paid to women to resolve complaints about his behavior. Cain’s campaign manager, Mark Block, said on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” on Monday that Cain has “never sexually harassed anybody” but referred questions about settlements to the National Restaurant Association. The association’s general counsel, Peter Kilgore, has so far declined to comment on whether any settlements existed. “Herman Cain has never sexually harassed anybody. Period. End of story,” Block said. “The only people who spoke publicly about the story in that article are the ones in the best position to know. They were the chair, vice chair and immediate past chair of the National Restaurant Association.” Block added: “Every negative word and accusation in the article is sourced to a series of unnamed or anonymous sources. And this is questionable at best. I am not personally aware of any cash settlement relating to sexual harassment charges related to Mr. Cain.” When the story dropped Sunday night, the campaign’s immediate response was to claim the insurgent candidate was the target of media and the establishment wrath. “Fearing the message of Herman Cain, who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, inside-the-Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain,” the campaign said in a statement released to Byron York of the Washington Examiner. “Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the chief executive officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts. Since Washington establishment critics haven’t had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain’s ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can.” The denials Cain campaign officials have offered thus far have been broadly worded. When pressed for specifics, they have referred questions to the National Restaurant Association or dodged the questions. Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said “yes” to The Associated Press on Sunday night when asked if he was denying the report. But in a six-minute exchange with Geraldo Rivera on Fox News, he repeatedly did not answer specific questions, leading Rivera to warn: “J.D., what you are saying and what you are doing right now is a recipe for disaster, mate.” And Block, on MSNBC on Monday morning, said Cain would respond directly to accusations if the accusers — who, according to the POLITICO story, signed confidentiality agreements barring them from speaking publicly about the matter — address him in public. “He said to me emphatically, ‘Where there is facts, bring them to me. Let me face my accusers and we will do this then,’” Block said. Later in the interview, when host Chuck Todd informed Block that he has independent sourcing that there were settlements involving female restaurant association employees, Block said he has “complete confidence that what Mr. Cain told me is absolutely factual and true.” Todd asked: “You’re 100 percent confident that all parts of this story are inaccurate?” Block replied: “Yes.” Todd: “One hundred percent?” Block: “Yes sir. How many times do I have to say it to you?”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67233.html

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Kill Your Enemy or At Least, Hate Him

Banksy 2008

I’m going to be blunt here and say, the three major faiths in the world aren’t living up to what they claim to be.

Recently, an Israeli family of settlers living in the Yitzhar settlement near Nablus offered  $100,000 to kill or capture two Palestinian prisoners released in mid-October’s Gilad Shalit deal.

Now, in retaliation, a Saudi Cleric and and a Saudi Prince offered $1million dollars for the capture of an Israeli soldier.

History shows that Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together as neighbors in relative peace in the Middle East for hundreds of years.

Who are the “bad guys” here?

That educated people would escalate violence by putting a price on the heads of their “enemies” defies common sense, and begs the question, where is “the Peacemaker”?

Who will reach across the vast chasm between two sides and take the risk to “love their enemies”?

It seems rather old-fashioned in our modern, Western culture to have enemies, doesn’t it? Not so in the Middle East and much of the world.

Jesus knew about human nature when he told us we  to “love our enemies…and do good to those who persecute us”.  Jesus didn’t make loopholes for love.

Muslims claim their faith is one of peace.  The Holy Book of the Jews claims that they came to be a “light” to the rest of the world.

Followers of Jesus, called, Christians, are required to love their enemies, whether they are Jews, Muslims, or other Christians.

Do you see much Peace, Light or Love coming out of these three Faiths toward one another?  I certainly don’t hear a lot of talk about loving Muslims coming from Christians…I wish I did!

Read this latest report from PNN. (Palestine Network News established by Holy Land Trust)

http://english.pnn.ps/

Saudi Prince Offers $1 Million for Capture of Israeli Soldier

29.10.11 – 23:57

PNN Saudi Prince Khaled bin Talal Abdulaziz al-Saud, one of 7,000 members of the ruling al-Saud family in Saudi Arabia, offered $900,000 to match a previous $100,000 reward offered by a Saudi cleric for the capture of any Israeli soldier. The total reward of $1 million is claimed to be a response to similar offers by Israeli settlers for the captures or murders of freed Palestinian prisoners. Saudi Prince Khaled bin Talal Abdulaziz al-Saud, who offered the reward money (al-Wattan TV). Saudi cleric Awad al-Qurni offered $100,000 for the capture of an Israeli soldier last week, matching the amount that an Israeli family of settlers living in the Yitzhar settlement near Nablus offered to kill or capture two Palestinian prisoners released in mid-October’s Gilad Shalit deal. Al-Qurni has been targeted by Jewish groups for his actions and at least one group reportedly offered $1 million for his death. Prince Khaled, originally quoted by the Palestinian network al-Wattan TV, said, “Al-Qurni offered $100,000 for whoever kidnaps a soldier, then [unnamed Israeli groups] offered $1 million to kill al-Quri, and now I’m saying to al-Qurni that I’m supporting you by offering another $900,000, which will make it a million for whoever kidnaps a soldier.” The oil wealth of the al-Saud family is thought to be well in excess of $500 billion, with some estimates reaching $1 trillion. Prince Khaled’s personal wealth is unknown, but he is the brother of Prince al-Walid bin Talal, the 26th richest person in the world. According to his Wikipedia page, Prince Khaled is the former president of a Saudi Arabian volleyball club and the third son of Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz, who is not in the succession line to the monarchy.